Above:  Adoration of the Shepherds, by Jacapo da Ponte

Image in the Public Domain

Original Text by Jiri Tranovsky (1592-1637)

English Translation by J. Vojtko, of whom I know nothing

Hymn Source = American Lutheran Hymnal (1930), The American Lutheran Church (1930-1960) and its immediate predecessors

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Christ the Lord to us is born,

Hallelujah!

On this joyous Christmas morn,

Hallelujah!

Of a Virgin lowly,

He, the King most holy,

To us this day is born,

To us this day is born.

+++++

Prophesied in days of old,

Hallelujah!

God had has sent Him as foretold,

Hallelujah!

Of a Virgin lowly,

He, the King most holy,

To us this day is born,

To us this day is born.

+++++

Realms of heaven He foresook,

Hallelujah!

Our poor human form He took,

Of a Virgin lowly,

He, the King most holy,

To us this day is born,

To us this day is born.

+++++

Prostrate lies the evil one,

Hallelujah!

God has saved us through His Son,

Hallelujah!

Of a Virgin lowly,

He, the King most holy,

To us this day is born,

To us this day is born.

+++++

O Thou Child of God most fair,

Be thou with us,

Keep us from the devil’s snare,

Have mercy on us.

By Thy birth so lowly,

Son of God, most holy,

Be gracious unto us,

Be gracious unto us.

+++++

Grant us all a blessed end, dearest Jesus,

From all evils us defend, gracious Jesus,

By Thy birth so lowly,

Son of God, most holy,

Our souls from death redeem,

Our souls from death redeem.

Above:  Cranberry Harvest in New Jersey

Image in the Public Domain

Hymn Source = American Lutheran Hymnal (1930) American Lutheran Church (1930-1960) and its immediate predecessors

Text (1838) by John Hampden Gurney (1802-1862)

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Lord of the harvest, Thee we hail!

Thine ancient promise doth not fail;

The varying seasons haste their round,

With goodness all our years are crowned;

Our thanks we pay

This festal day;

O let our hearts in tune be found.

+++++

Lord of the harvest!  All is Thine:

The rains that fall, the suns that shine,

The seed once hidden in the ground,

The skill that makes our fruits abound;

New ev’ry year

Thy gifts appear;

New praises from our lips shall sound.

+++++

Immortal honor, endless fame,

Attend th’Almighty Father’s name;

Like honor to th’Incarnate Son,

Who for lost man makes redemption won;

And equal praise

We thankful raise

To Thee, blest Spirit, with them One.

Above:  Icon of the Holy Trinity, by Andrei Rublev

Image in the Public Domain

Hymn Source = American Lutheran Hymnal (1930), The American Lutheran Church (1930-1960) and its immediate predecessor bodies

Original German Text by Johann Konrad Wilhelm Loehe (1808-1872)

English Translation (1894) by Harriet Reynolds Krauth Spaeth (1845-1925)

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O Son of God, in co-eternal might,

O Son of Man, clothed in the living light

Of Godhead manifest, in pow’r and glory;

Lord Jesus Christ, Thou sole Desire

That doth Thy longing worshippers inspire,

For Thee alone my spirit yearns in me;

No, bliss I find until I am with Thee.

+++

The field is golden, flow’rs the meadow strew,

The mountains rise sublime, the skies are blue;

In these the child of earth may well find pleasure;

I too, rejoice in all of them,

But, not content, I want Jerusalem.

Where Thou art throned, thither sets my sail;

Home is not home, except within the veil.

+++

Angelic legions, in Thy brightness bright,

Gaze on Thy face; my fathers share the sight;

The God-man’s matchless glory is unshrouded,

And from that vision, to the soul

Unmeasured waves of joy supernal roll,

That rise in full and ever fuller tone,

Like ocean surges, to the Lamb’s white throne.

+++

Then let me go–what further hinders me?–

To mine own folk, the Son of Man to see.

No glance will I; of that majestic beauty

My eager soul would take her fill.

Joy even now, and trembling, thro’ me thrill.

I must away! Thou hast prepared my place;

My spirit panteth, Lord, to see Thy face.

Above:  Christ Pantocrator

Image in the Public Domain

Hymn Source = American Lutheran Hymnal (1930), American Lutheran Church (1930-1960) and its immediate predecessor bodies

Original German Words (1606) by Martin Behm (1557-1622)

English Translation (1863) by Catherine Winkworth (1827-1878)

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1.  O Jesus, King of glory!

Both David’s God and Son,

Thy realm endures forever,

In heav’n is fixed Thy throne:

Help that in earth’s dominions,

Throughout, from pole to pole,

Thy realm may spread salvation

To each benighted soul.

2.  The Eastern sages, bringing

Their tribute gifts to Thee,

Bear witness to Thy kingdom

And humbly bow the knee.

The Eastern star proclaims Thee,

As doth the inspired Word;

Hence joyously we hail Thee:

Our blest Redeemer, Lord!

3.  Thou art a mighty Monarch,

As by the Word we’re told,

Yet carest Thou but little

For earthly goods or gold;

On no proud steed Thou ridest,

Thou wear’st no jeweled crown,

Nor dwell’st in lordly castle,

But bearest scoff and frown.

4.  Yet art Thou decked with beauty,

With rays of glorious light;

Thou ever teem’st with goodness,

And all Thy ways are right.

Vouchsafe to shield Thy people

With Thine almighty arm,

That they may dwell in safety

From those who mean bu harm.

5.  Ah, look on me with pity,

Though I am weak and poor;

Admit me to Thy kingdom,

To dwell there, blest and sure.

Vouchsafe to keep and guide me

Secure from all my foes,

From sin, and death and Satan;

Free me from all my woes.

6.  And bid Thy Word within me

Shine as the fairest star;

Keep sin and all false doctrine

From all Thy people far;

Help us confess Thee truly,

And with Thy Christendom

Here own Thee King and Savior

And in the world to come.

Above:  The Laying of the Cornerstone of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington, D.C., 1920

Image Source = Library of Congress

Reproduction Number = LC-DIG-npcc-02377

Words (1880) by Conrad Hermann Louis Schuette (1843-1926)

Hymn Source = American Lutheran Hymnal (1930), American Lutheran Church (1930-1960) and its predecessor bodies

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1.  Great God, a blessing from Thy throne

Grant us, who lay this cornerstone

To build a church, in which Thy Word

Is purely taught and gladly heard.

2.  The work is Thine, and not our own;

Then come, and make Thy presence known!

Our prayers accept, our off’rings bless,

And to our labors grant success.

3.  Remember, Lord, what Thou hast done

For us, through Christ, Thine own dear Son,

From sin and death to set us free

And win us unto heav’n and Thee.

4.  We are the people of Thy choice;

And while we in this grace rejoice,

Our prayer is this, and constant care,

That others too this bliss may share.

5.  Then build us here a house and home,

Where Christ to Him may bid us come,

To save us all with grace divine,

That we may be forever Thine.

Above:  Elijah and Enoch

Image in the Public Domain

Words (1925) by Anna Bernadine Dorothy Hoppe (1889-1941)

Hymn Source = American Lutheran Hymnal (1930), American Lutheran Church (1930-1960) and its predecessor bodies

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1.  Like Enoch, let me ever walk with Thee;

Let me, like Mary, kneel at Thy blest feet;

Let me hold Thy truth like Timothy

And keep the faith like Paul, all pure, complete.

2.  Let me, like John, stay ever close to Thy dear heart;

Like Andrew, at the Galilean lake;

From kindred rather than from Thee depart;

Let me like Peter bold confession make.

3.  Like Stephen, grant me strength for foes to pray,

And when for my life’s eventide draws nigh,

O may Thy angels carry me away

To dwell forever, Lord, with Thee on high.

Above:  Air Clouds

Image in the Public Domain

Words (1923) by Anna Bernadine Dorothy Hoppe (1889-1941)

Hymn Source = American Lutheran Hymnal (1930), American Lutheran Church (1930-1960) and its predecessor bodies

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1.  I open wide the portals of my heart

And bid Thee enter, precious Savior mine,

O enter in, Thy riches to impart,

Blest Son of God, Redeemer, Love divine.

2.  Dwell Thou within and let me own Thee, Lord,

To have Thee near is joy and beyond compare;

I feast upon the manna of Thy Word

And taste the sweetness of Thy love in prayer.

3.  If I have Thee, Lord Jesus, I have all;

In trouble solace, courage when I fear;

Strength when I faint and pardon when I fall;

Rest when I’m weary, hope when death is near.

4.  Thou art my sun when clouds encompass me,

My health in sickness and my peace in strife;

In Thee my fount of wealth and joy I see,

My righteousness and my eternal life.

5.  Immanuel, do Thou with me abide

Till I am called to leave this house of clay;

Then let my soul for aye be at Thy side

And see the glory of an endless day.

Above:  Christ Pantocrator

Image in the Public Domain

Hymn Source = American Lutheran Hymnal (1930), American Lutheran Church (1930-1960) and its predecessor bodies

Original German Words (circa 1653) by Johann Franck (1618-1677)

English Translation by Catherine Winkworth (1827-1878)

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1.  Jesus, priceless Treasure,

Fount of truest pleasure,

Dearest Friend to me!

Ah, how long in anguish

Shall my spirit languish,

Thirsting, Lord, for Thee?

Thou art mine, O Lamb divine!

I will suffer naught to hide Thee,

Naught I ask beside Thee.

2.  In Thine arms I rest me,

Foes who would molest me

Cannot reach me here;

Tho’ the earth be quaking

And the heavens shaking,

Jesus calms my fear.

Lightnings flash and thunders crash,

Sin and hell in wrath assail me,

Yet He will not fail me.

3.  Hence, ye earthly treasures!

I disown your pleasures,

Jesus is my choice.

Hence, thou empty glory!

Naught to me thy story,

Told with tempting voice.

Peril, loss, disdain and cross

Shall not from my Savior wrest me,

Who hath owned and blest me.

4.  Hence, ye moods of sadness!

For the sun of gladness

Deigns to shine in me.

They who love the Father,

Tho’ the clouds may gather,

Filled with peace shall be.

Though of care I have my share,

Thou art still my joy and pleasure,

Jesus, priceless Treasure!

Above:  St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church, Atlanta, Georgia, December 16, 2012

Image Source = Bill Monk, Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta

Hymn Source = American Lutheran Hymnal (1930), American Lutheran Church (1930-1960) and its predecessors

Original Words (1671) by Johann(es) Olearius (1611-1684)

English Translation (1880) by Emmauel Cronenwett (1841-1931)

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1.  The new Church Year again is come

And wakes the joy of Christendom;

Thy King, O Zion, comes to thee,

Rejoice, rejoice eternally!

Hallelujah!

2.  Now in our midst anew are heard

The lessons of God’s holy Word,

That lead the way to life and heav’n;

Lord, praise to Thee for this be giv’n!

Hallelujah!

3.  Thy truth repeated o’er and o’er,

Our faith will strengthen more and more;

Let it abide in us, that we

May render endless praise to Thee.

Hallelujah!

Above:  Part of the Hymn, from Glory to God:  The Presbyterian Hymnal (2013)

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Silent Night (Stille Nacht in the original German) is the great Christmas hymn by Father Franz Joseph Mohr (1792-1848), dating to 1816 and published in 1818.  The note in Glory to God:  The Presbyterian Hymnal (2013) mentions the 1816 date, which means that Mohr had the text sitting around long before the Christmas Eve service of 1818.  This fact overturns the part of the traditional story which had the priest writing the text in 1818.

There are English translations of the German text, but the most famous one is that of John Freeman Young (1820-1885), from 1863.  He served as the Episcopal Bishop of Florida from 1867 to 1885.  The most common variations over time in his text explain the difference between

Silent night! Holy night!

and

Silent night, holy night!

The Young text, as reprinted in the Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary (1996), follows:

1.  Silent night! Holy night!

All is calm, all is bright,

Round yon Virgin mother and Child.

Holy Infant, so tender and mild,

Sleep in heavenly peace,

Sleep in heavenly peace.

2.  Silent night! Holy night!

Shepherds quake at the sight.

Glories stream from heaven afar;

Heav’nly hosts sing, Alleluia;

Christ the Savior is born!

Christ the Savior is born!

3.  Silent night! Holy night!

Son of God, love’s pure light

Radiant beams from Thy holy face

With the dawn of redeeming grace,

Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth,

Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth.

Marilyn Kay Stulken, in the Hymnal Companion to the Lutheran Book of Worship (Philadelphia, PA:  Fortress Press, 1981), tells me that the above lyrics were anonymous until 1957.  This is consistent with my survey of old hymnals in my collection.  And I have one hymnal published in 1994 which continues to list the author of these lyrics as anonymous.

These words, the John Freeman Young lyrics, remain unaltered (except for the discrepancy between a comma and an exclamation point) in most contemporary hymnals.  Even The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod’s Lutheran Worship (1982), which turns My Faith Looks Up to Thee into My Faith Looks Trustingly, leaves Silent Night as it was.  Yet The New Century Hymnal (1995), United Church of Christ, which contains rewrites of almost all hymns therein, changes the third verse so that

Son of God

becomes

Child of God

and

thy

becomes

your.

I started thinking about the lyrics of Silent Night late last night, when I picked up my copy of Concordia:  A Collection of Hymns and Spiritual Songs (1917) and flipped through its Christmas section.  There I found different lyrics, which The Lutheran Hymnary (1935) replicates.  These words follow:

1.  Holy night! peaceful night!

Through the darkness beams a light,

Yonder, where they sweet vigils keep

O’er the Babe who in silent sleep,

Rests in heavenly peace,

Rests in heavenly peace.

2.  Silent night! holiest night!

Darkness flies, and all is light!

Shepherds hear the angels sing:

Jesus the Savior is here!

Jesus the Savior is here!

3.  Silent night! holiest night!

Guiding Star, O lend thy light!

See the eastern wise men bring

Gifts and homage to our King!

Jesus the Savior is here!

Jesus the Savior is here!

4.  Silent night! holiest night!

Wondrous Star, O lend thy light!

With the angels let us sing,

Hallelujah to our King!

Jesus our Savior is here!

Jesus our Savior is here!

I have seen this fourth stanza accompany the Young lyrics in modern hymnals.  Sometimes these volumes attribute the final verse to Bishop Young, sometimes to Anonymous, and to Jane Montgomery Campbell (1817-1878) on other occasions.  I do not know how many other stanzas she translated, but I know that she deserves the credit for the first verse of the version of the hymn from The Hymnal (1933), Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A.:

1.  Silent night! holy night!

All is dark, save the light

Yonder, where they sweet vigil keep

O’er the Babe who in silent sleep

Rests in heavenly peace,

Rests in heavenly peace.

2.  Peaceful night! holiest night!

Darkness flies, all is light;

Shepherds hear the angels sing:

“Alleluia! hail the King!

Christ the Saviour is here!

Christ the Saviour is here!”

3.  Silent night! holiest night!

Child of heaven, O how bright

Thou didst smile on us when Thou wast born!

Blest indeed that happy morn,

Full of heavenly joy!

Full of heavenly joy!

I have found various composite versions in The Evangelical Hymnal (1921) and The Methodist Hymnal (1935), both forebears of The United Methodist Hymnal (1989), as well as in the American Lutheran Hymnal (1930).  The latter volume contains the John Freeman Young version then an alternative rendering, a composite which includes the second Young verse.  The first and third stanzas of that composite version follow:

1.  Silent night, holy night!

Golden stars shed their light.

While yon virgin tenderly wakes

At the manger till morning breaks

O’er the heavenly Child,

O’er the heavenly Child.

3.  Silent night, holy night!

Son of God, love’s pure light

Shines so sweetly out of Thine eyes;

‘Tis the light of salvation we prize,

Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth,

Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth.

In 1881 Stopford Brooke (1832-1916), an Irish Anglican clergyman who had converted recently to Unitarianism, published Christian Hymns, reissued twelve years later.  This book included his translation of the Mohr text:

1.  Still the night, holy the night!

Sleeps the world! yet the light

Shines where Mary watches there,

Her child Jesus loved and fair.

Sleeping in heavenly rest;

Sleeping in heavenly rest.

2.  Still the night, holy the night!

Shepherds first told aright

How the Angel of the star

Sang so clear from near and far–

Jesus, a Saviour, is born;

Jesus, a Saviour, is born.

3.  Still the night, holy the night!

Little child, O how bright

Love is smiling from thy face!

Now strikes sweet the hour of grace;

Jesus, our Master, is here,

Jesus, our Master, is here.

The Church Hymnary (1927), Presbyterian, contains a related translation based on the Brooke version:

1.  Still the night, holy the night!

Sleeps the world; hid from sight,

Mary and Joseph in stable bare

Watch o’er the Child beloved and fair,

Sleeping in heavenly rest,

Sleeping in heavenly rest.

2.  Still the night, holy the night!

Shepherds first saw the light,

Heard resounding clear and long,

Far and near, the angel-song,

“Christ the Redeemer is here!

Christ the Redeemer is here!”

3.  Still the night, holy the night!

Son of God,O how bright

Love is smiling from Thy face!

Strikes for us now the hour of grace,

Saviour, since Thou art born!

Saviour, since Thou art born!

I wonder how many other English-language versions I will find.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

NOVEMBER 23, 2013 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT COLUMBAN, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT

THE FEAST OF SAINT CLEMENT OF ROME, BISHOP

THE FEAST OF MIGUEL AGUSTIN PRO, ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYR

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