"In the Time of Herod" Original Hymn (Advent)
"In the Time of Herod" Original Hymn (Advent)
DIGITAL SHEET MUSIC DOWNLOAD
This hymn, originally written for the What do you fear? bundle for Advent 2025, is created for use in congregational worship and other ministry contexts. We’ve set fresh words of faith to a well-loved public domain hymn tune for maximum singability.
License for congregational use is included in the purchase—no reporting to CCLI or other licensing agencies is required. To inquire about other uses, such as recording or publishing, please contact us.
In the Time of Herod
Inspired by Luke 1:5-13
Tune: CRANHAM 11.11.11.11 (“In the Bleak Midwinter”)
Text: Anna Strickland, 2025
Music: Gustav Holst, 1906
DOWNLOAD includes:
PDF sheet music with four-part harmony
JPG image of the lyrics and melody for use in bulletins
Lyrics to copy and paste for bulletins and screens
Lyrics:
In the time of Herod, fear had taken hold
Hope was buried deep and hidden, rare as gold
Ordinary people dared not speak aloud
Dreams of the Messiah breaking through the clouds
Thick as fog the fear grew, slowly creeping in
Day by day the people bent and drew within
With the clouds so heavy, who could see the stars?
Hopelessness had trapped them, strong as prison bars
Piercing through the stratus comes the angels’ song
“Do not fear!” rings hollow when we’ve feared so long
Still in the recesses of our weary souls
Something is awakened—could it be our hope?
In the time of Herod, fear has taken hold
Still we share a longing for a glimpse of hope
Ordinary people shout the truth we trust:
God will stop at nothing to be here with us
credit info:
Hymn text by Rev. Anna Strickland | A Sanctified Art, LLC | sanctifiedart.org
