Kitabı oku: «Hymns from the East», sayfa 3

CHRISTMAS

CAROL ¹

καὶ Ποιμένες εἶδον τὸ θαῦμα,

Ἀγγέλων ἀνυμνούντων, καὶ λεγόντων·

Δόξα

I

 
The Lord of Life to earth came down, —
Come, gaily sound His praises high;
O ’twas a day of high renown,
While angels praise Him in the sky.
 

Refrain

 
The shepherds saw a wondrous sight,
In Bethlehem’s fields at even,
When, lo! a star, in radiance bright,
Shed o’er the plains its glorious light,
And angel bands, harmonious quite,
His praises sang from heaven.
 

II

 
Say, came He forth by myriads led? —
Come, gaily sound his praises high;
A crown of gold upon his head?
While angels praise Him in the sky.
Refrain.
 

III

 
Of earthly pomp the Lord had none, —
Come, gaily sound His praises high;
His kingly crown had not been won,
While angels praise Him in the sky.
Refrain.
 

IV

 
A little child the Lord became, —
Come, gaily sound His praises high,
To bear our guilt, and share our shame,
While angels praise Him in the sky.
Refrain.
 

V

 
O Jesu, Who in manger lay, —
Come, gaily sound his praises high,
Make me a little child to-day,
While angels praise Thee in the sky.
Refrain.
 

VI

 
And may I come, with spirit meet, —
Come, gaily sound His praises high,
To lay my tribute at Thy feet,
While angels praise Thee in the sky.
Refrain.
 

VII

 
To Father, Spirit, One with Christ, —
Come, gaily sound His praises high,
Be endless praise, Whose love sufficed,
While angels praise Him in the sky.
Refrain.
 

CAROL ²

εὐφράνθητι Ἱερουσαλὴμ

I

 
Jerusalem, rejoice!
Keep festival and sing;
All ye who dwell in Zion’s courts,
Bring forth an offering.
Rejoice, rejoice,
Jerusalem, rejoice;
And sing with glee, right merrily,
Let every heart and voice.
 

II

 
To-day the chain is loosed
That long hath bound our race,
The condemnation is removed
Through God’s abounding grace.
Rejoice, rejoice, etc.
 

III

 
The gates of heaven are wide,
And Satan’s work undone;
For She³ who fell beneath his power,
Now gives the world God’s Son.
Rejoice, rejoice, etc.
 

IV

 
O depth of riches great!
O height of wisdom strong!
O knowledge of the Living God,
To right such grievous wrong!
Rejoice, rejoice, etc.
 

V

 
Now, let creation sing
And leap, nor brook control,
For Christ hath come to call it back,
And save each ruined soul.
Rejoice, rejoice,
Jerusalem rejoice;
And sing with glee, right merrily,
Let every heart and voice.
 

I

 
The best that heaven could bring —
First fruits, an offering free —
Was brought from far, when, by the star,
The wise men came to Thee.
 

II

 
No sceptre, and no throne!
The magi were amazed,
As, with surprise, on humble guise
And poverty, they gazed.
 

III

 
But there Thy God-head shone,
Despite the manger bed;
O Christ, the Lord, Incarnate Word!
’Twas there Thou laid’st Thy head.
 

I

 
Out from the rising of the sun,
O’er tracts of desert wild,
The Magi came on journey lone,
To seek the heaven-born child;
The star o’erhead their footsteps led,
And hope their way beguiled.
 

II

 
They bore Him costly gifts of gold,
And myrrh and spices sweet:
“For He is King,” they had been told,
Whom they would meekly greet;
And they would go, in reverence low,
And worship at His feet.
 

III

 
O humble Child, in manger laid!
The wise beheld Thee there,
And reverently their homage paid,
And gave their offerings rare.
Their quest was found, and to the ground
They bowed the head in prayer.
 

IV

 
O Jesu, who in manger lay,
The Son of God most high,
Let me my humble homage pay,
And bring my offerings nigh,
And humbly greet Thee at Thy feet,
And low in worship lie.
 

EASTER

I

 
O woeful hour! when from the night
Emerged in wrath Satanic might,
To crush the Christ, whom God in heaven,
To raise our fallen race, had given.
 

II

 
O woeful hour! when, with the scorn
Of sinful men, His soul was torn;
When sin exulting bowed the knee,
And stung the Christ with mockery.
 

III

 
O woeful hour! when to the tree
The Christ was nailed in agony;
When anguish for our sin He bore,
And thorns His throbbing temples tore.
 

IV

 
O woeful hour! O darkest day!
The God-Man, still, entombed lay,
For death his cruel shaft had driven
To quell the hope our God had given.
 

V

 
O saddened soul! the night is past,
The morn, bright morn, has come at last;
The rage of sin its worst hath done,
Yet lives in power th’ eternal Son.
 

VI

 
The dark hath vanished in the light;
O futile now, Satanic might;
Sin wounded lies, and death is slain
By Him who lives in power again.
 

VII

 
Hail, glorious morn! the Christ hath risen;
Hail Victor from the darkest prison!
Up, up, my soul! thy praises pour
To Christ, Thy God, for evermore.
 

I

 
Crown the Lord of glory,
Angels, crown your King;
Saints whose souls He ransomed,
Bring your offering;
Let no voice be silent,
Laud and honour bring.
 

II

 
Crown the Lord of glory, —
Once He dwelt below,
Bore the cross of sorrow,
Drank the cup of woe;
Now He reigns triumphant,
Let your praises flow.
 

III

 
Crown the Lord of glory, —
On the earth He wore
Purple robe that mocked Him,
Thorns His brow that tore;
Now His griefs are ended,
Praise Him evermore.
 

IV

 
Crown the Lord of glory,
For His work is done;
Crown the King of glory,
God’s eternal Son;
In my life enthroned,
Be Thy reign begun!
 

I

 
O Christ, when on the shameful tree,
Thou bor’st such cruel pain for me,
Thine every member felt the smart,
And sent its sorrows to Thy heart.
 

II

 
A crown of thorns Thy temples tore,
Thy face, O Christ, vile spittings bore,
And cruel hands, O action base!
Smote Thee, defiant, in the face.
 

III

 
When in Thy thirst, men heard Thee call,
Thy lips were drenched with bitter gall;
And to Thine ears the words were borne
Of blasphemy and ribald scorn.
 

IV

 
Thy hands and feet with nails were riven,
The spear into Thy side was driven; —
O Christ, when dying on the tree,
How great the pain Thou bor’st for me!
 

V

 
Now, by Thy Cross, Almighty King,
Salvation to the sinner bring,
And let Thy sacrifice for me
Teach me to sacrifice for Thee.
 

I

 
O God of love, whose mercy came
To this dark world of sin and shame,
And on a Cross of suffering sore,
That sin and shame in meekness bore.
 

II

 
Supreme the love the Christ displayed,
When He, True God, True Man was made;
When He was scorned, His patience then
Shone forth divine, with sinful men.
 

III

 
Did e’er such mercy lead the great
To stoop from high to low estate?
Did e’er such love incline the heart
To take the erring sinner’s part?
 

IV

 
’Twas God who loved, ’twas God who gave
His Son our erring souls to save;
’Tis Christ that wins us by the love
From earth below to heaven above.
 

V

 
Win me, O Lord, whose mercy came
To this dark world of sin and shame,
To that bright world whose beauties shine
Forever in Thy love divine.
 

VI

 
To Thee, O Father, glory be,
And glory, Christ, God-Man, to Thee,
And to the Spirit, Three in One,
Now, and while countless ages run.
 

I

 
When Hades held the Lord of Life,
The boast of sin was vaunting high;
’Twas much to wound a sinless soul,
But more to see the God-Man die.
 

II

 
When Hades held the Lord of Life,
The gates were barred to hold Him fast.
No prison bars so closely drawn
Were e’er by soul of mortal passed.
 

III

 
When Hades held the Lord of Life,
Rejoicing, death beheld Him there; —
“Now close the ancient barriers draw,
And drive the prisoner to despair.”
 

IV

 
O, blank surprise when Hades shook!
O, ringing joy through all the gloom!
Asunder fell the gates of night,
And rose the Conqueror from the tomb.
 

V

 
Immortal Saviour! death is dead,
No more it holds the souls of men;
For Thou hast crushed the power of sin,
And brought us back to life again.
 

I

 
When Thou, O Christ, upon the tree,
Wert bearing pain for sinful men,
The sun, lamenting, hid his face,
And clothed himself with darkness then;
 

II

 
And o’er the world, when noontide came,
The light grew faint and faded soon;
And men in wonder saw the dark
Bring in the night at hour of noon.
 

III

 
But, low in Hades’ depths there shone
Such light as never shone before;
And prisoners saw the Light of lights,
And joyed to feel their bondage o’er.
 

IV

 
O blessed art Thou, Christ, our Lord,
For all the pain so meekly borne;
The dark that hid Thee in Thy woe,
Has ushered in a glorious morn.
 

I

 
To Thy Cross and Resurrection,
Laud and praise we humbly give;
In Thy death and life immortal,
We will die, and ever live.
 

II

 
Christ Incarnate! by Thy Manhood,
Thou to God hast brought me nigh;
Christ the humble! by Thy meekness,
Thou hast raised my horn on high.
 

III

 
Source of life! O Christ, the anguish
Borne upon the cruel tree
Lifts me to the bliss abiding,
Where from suffering, souls are free.
 

IV

 
Endless praises, bright and thankful,
Christ, to Thee be ever given,
By the souls in sorrow singing,
By the souls redeemed in heaven.
 

I

 
Light is dawning ’mong the hills,
Light of light Thy beams display,
All the darkness chase away,
Light that dawned upon our ills.
 

II

 
Dark the day the Cross was raised
By the hands of cruel men;
Great Thy load of sorrow then;
Angel hosts were sore amazed.
 

III

 
Dark the world while in the tomb,
Lone in death the Saviour lay,
Till the stone was rolled away,
And His Rising quelled the gloom.
 

IV

 
Fadeless now, O Light of light,
Glory of the Father, Thou,
Shine upon Thy people now,
Rise upon their darkest night.
 

I

 
Hail rising morn! for He hath risen;
Hail light that gilds the Eastern skies;
For, from the bonds of darkest prison,
Thy first beams saw the Christ arise.
 

II

 
O merciful and gracious One!
The gates of Hades Thou hast rent,
And by Thy Rising, Christ the Son,
No more we lie in bondage pent.
 

III

 
To-day the lips of Adam sing;
Eve hails the Christ of mankind born;
And patriarchs and prophets bring
Their hymns to greet the wondrous morn.
 

IV

 
And Thine the glory, Thine the power,
By glowing hearts in praise expressed;
For Thine the might, this glorious hour,
By which the sons of men are blessed.
 

I

 
We worship, Lord, before Thee now,
For great, and good, and pure art Thou.
O Christ, the God, our stumblings heal,
And lead us all Thy love to feel.
 

II

 
For of Thy will it pleased Thee well
Here, in our flesh, with us to dwell,
To bear the Cross, that we might be
From Satan’s servitude set free.
 

III

 
Wherefore we cry aloud and praise,
With thankful voice, Thy name always;
For, O! our Saviour, Thou didst bring
The joy that makes our souls to sing.
 

I

 
Heavy laden with thy grief,
Do thy tears like raindrops flow?
Christ hath all thy sorrows borne
Long ago.
 

II

 
See Him in the garden, prone,
While He poured His soul to God;
Then He bore affliction keen,
And the rod.
 

III

 
Weary, laden with thy sin,
Dost thou bow beneath the load?
Cast the burden of thy woe,