The lyrics to this classic Christmas hymn were written by James Montgomery (1771-1854). The son of a Moravian minister, his parents were killed while on mission to the West Indies. Passionate about his beliefs, he eventually became the newspaper editor of the Sheffield Iris. The paper occasionally published articles deemed radical at the time, resulting in his brief imprisonment. He protested against slavery, the indenturement of children, and maltreatment of the poor. He was also a prolific writer of both poetry (11 volumes) and hymns (over 400). His hymns have been favorably compared in quality to those by Isaac Watts and Charles Wesley.

Although this hymn is traditionally sung to a tune written by Henry T. Smart, Chapman instead wrote his own music to accompany the lyrics and arranged the hymn somewhat differently. One of the verses was turned into a bridge, and the chorus was extended to four lines rather than two.