This classic Christmas carol premiered more than 170 years ago in a small town in southern France. The English version, which was released in Boston just six years before the start of the Civil War, became a favorite among abolitionists. Its popularity survives today perhaps because it straddles the tension between the ideals of “faith with deeds” and “faith without deeds.”

Truly He taught us to love one another; 

His law is love and His gospel is peace. 

Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother; 

And in His name all oppression shall cease.

~words by John Sullivan Dwight, American abolitionist