3. Every soul in thee rejoices;
From men and from angelic voices
Be glory given to thee alone!
Now the gates of pearl receive us,
Thy presence never more shall leave us,
We stand with Angels round thy throne.
Earth cannot give below
The bliss thou dost bestow.
Alleluya!
Grant us to raise,
To length of days,
The triumph-chorus of thy praise.
HEN came in flesh the incarnate Word,
The heedless world slept on,
And only simple shepherds heard
That God had sent his Son.
2 When comes the Saviour at the last,
From east to west shall shine
The awful pomp, and earth aghast
Shall tremble at the sign.
3 Then shall the pure of heart be blest;
As mild he comes to them,
As when upon the Virgin's breast
He lay at Bethlehem :
4 As mild to meek-eyed love and faith,
Only more strong to save;
Strengthened by having bowed to death,
By having burst the grave.
5 Lord, who could dare see thee descend
In state, unless he knew
Thou art the sorrowing sinner's friend,
The gracious and the true?
6. Dwell in our hearts, O Saviour blest;
So shall thine advent's dawn
"Twixt us and thee, our bosom-guest,
Be but the veil withdrawn.
The following are also suitable:
374 Christian, seek not yet repose.
462 O quickly come, dread judge of all.
487 That day of wrath, that dreadful day.
492 The Lord will come and not be slow.
495 The world is very evil.
504 Thy kingdom come! on bended knee.
518 Ye servants of the Lord.
554 Thy kingdom come, O God.
647 Litany of the Advent.
734 The Advent Antiphons.
735 Drop down, ye heavens.
St. Ambrose, 340-97. Tr. J. M. Neale and others.
Veni, Redemptor gentium.
YOME, thou Redeemer of the earth,
And manifest thy virgin-birth :
Let every age adoring fall;
Such birth befits the God of all.
2 Begotten of no human will,
But of the Spirit, thou art still
The Word of God in flesh arrayed,
The promised fruit to man displayed.
3 The virgin womb that burden gained
With virgin honour all unstained;
The banners there of virtue glow;
God in his temple dwells below.
4 Forth from his chamber goeth he,
That royal home of purity,
A giant in twofold substance one,
Rejoicing now his course to run.
5 From God the Father he proceeds,
To God the Father back he speeds;
His course he runs to death and hell,
Returning on God's throne to dwell.
6 O equal to thy Father, thou!
Gird on thy fleshly mantle now;
The weakness of our mortal state
With deathless might invigorate.
7 Thy cradle here shall glitter bright,
And darkness breathe a newer light,
Where endless faith shall shine serene,
And twilight never intervene.
8. All laud to God the Father be,
All praise, eternal Son, to thee:
All glory, as is ever meet,
To God the holy Paraclete. Amen.
Bishop Phillips Brooks, 1835-93.
LITTLE town of Bethlehem,
How still we see thee lie!
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
The silent stars go by.
Yet in thy dark streets shineth
The everlasting light;
The hopes and fears of all the years
Are met in thee to-night.
2 O morning stars, together
Proclaim the holy birth,
And praises sing to God the King,
And peace to men on earth;
For Christ is born of Mary;
And, gathered all above,
While mortals sleep, the angels keep
Their watch of wondering love.
3 How silently, how silently,
The wondrous gift is given!
So God imparts to human hearts
The blessings of his heaven.
No ear may hear his coming;
But in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive him, still
The dear Christ enters in.
4* Where children pure and happy
Pray to the blessed Child,
Where misery cries out to thee,
Son of the mother mild;
Where charity stands watching
And faith holds wide the door,
The dark night wakes, the glory breaks,
And Christmas comes once more.
5. O holy Child of Bethlehem,
Descend to us, we pray;
Cast out our sin, and enter in,
Be born in us to-day.
We hear the Christmas Angels
The great glad tidings tell :
O come to us, abide with us,
Our Lord Emmanuel.
THE Maker of the sun and moon,
The Maker of our earth,
Lo! late in time, a fairer boon,
Himself is brought to birth!
2 How blest was all creation then,
When God so gave increase;
And Christ, to heal the hearts of men,
Brought righteousness and peace!
3 No star in all the heights of heaven
But burned to see him go;
Yet unto earth alone was given
His human form to know.
4 His human form, by man denied,
Took death for human sin :
His endless love, through faith descried,
Still lives the world to win.
5. O perfect Love, outpassing sight,
O Light beyond our ken,
Come down through all the world to-night,
And heal the hearts of men!
See also: 613 Of the Father's heart begotten.
6th cent. Tr. J. M. Neale.
Christe Redemptor omnium.
ESU, the Father's only Son,
Whose death for all redemption won ;
Before the worlds, of God most high
Begotten all ineffably :
2 The Father's light and splendour thou,
Their endless hope to thee that bow;
Accept the prayers and praise to-day
That through the world thy servants pay.
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