Brightest and Best of the Stars of the Morning

This Epiphany hymn by Reginald Heber (1783-1826) first appeared in print in the November 11, 1811 edition of the Christian Observer.  Later it was included in his posthumous collection of texts entitled, "Hymns, written and adapted to the Weekly Church Service of the Year (1827).  Heber's original opening line was "sons of the morning," a reference perhaps to Isaiah 14:12 in which Lucifer is described, or possibly a reference to Job 38:7 in which the "morning stars" and "sons of God" join to praise God for His mighty acts of creation.  In the preparation of Lutheran Book of Worship, the ILCW (Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship) thought it advisable to change Heber's "sons of the morning" to "stars of the morning" to avoid any confusion.  Other minor changes froma the original include the change from "odors" to "fragrance" since "odors" in our modern context usually means unpleasant smells.  The tune MORNING STAR, to which this hymn is set in Lutheran Service Book, was written by James Harding (1850-1911) and first published in an American hymnal in 1901, The New Psalms and Hymns, a hymnal used by Presbyterians of that era.

1.  Brightest and best of the stars of the morning,

        Dawn on our darkness and lend us thine aid;

     Star of the East, the horizon adorning,

        Guide where our infant Redeemer is laid.

2.  Cold on His cradle the dewdrops are shining;

        Low lies His head with the beasts of the stall;

     Angels adore Him in slumber reclining,

        Maker and Monarch and Savior of all.

3.  Shall we not yield Him, in costlly devotion,

        Fragrance of Edom and off'rings divine,

     Gems of the mountain and pearls of the ocean,

        Myrrh from the forest and gold from the mine?

 

4.  Vainly we offer each ample oblation,

        Vainly with gifts would His favor secure,

     Richer by far is the heart's adoration;

        Dearer to God are the prayers of the poor.

5.  Brightest and best of the stars of the morning,

        Dawn on our darkness and lend us thine aid;

     Star of the East, the horizon adorning,

        Guide where our infant Redeemer is laid.

Where Shepherds Lately Knelt

Written at the request of Augsburg Publishing House for a Christmas song for their 1987 Christmas Annual, Jaroslav Vajda penned this text in 1986.  Vajda sought to place himself in spirit at the humble manger bed and review the implications of such a visit for himself and for all human beings.  As the Christmas season comes to its conclusion, it is good to visit the manger one more time in order to ponder the significance of Immanuel, "God-with-us" in the flesh.

1.  Where shepherds lately knelt and kept the angel's word,

     I come in half-belief, a pilgrim strangely stirred:

          but there is room and welcome there for me,

          but there is room and welcome there for me.

2.  In that unlikely place I find Him as they said:

     sweet newborn Babe, how frail! and in a manger bed:

          a still small Voice to cry one day for me,

          a still small Voice to cry one day for me.

3.  How should I not have known Isaiah would be there,

     his prophecies fulfilled?  With pounding heart, I stare:

          a Child, a Son, the Prince of Peace--for me,

          a Child, a Son, the Prince of Peace--for me.

4.  Can I, will I forget how Love was born and burned

      its way into my heart--unasked, unforced, unearned,

           to die, to live, and not alone for me,

           to die, to live, and not alone for me?

          

Now Greet the Swiftly Changing Year

As 2008 comes to its close, it's good to recall with thanksgiving all the blessings that Christ has poured out upon His Church through the hymn texts of Jaroslav J. Vajda (1919-2008).  I had the occasion to meet Pastor Vajda only once, at the very beginning of the Hymnal Project.  The Hymnody Committee spent much of the first morning of their time together just listening to Jaroslav Vajda and Carl Schalk as they freely spoke about their perspectives on the textual and musical aspects of a hymn.  I also corresponded with Pastor Vajda on one occasion, when (in 1993) I wrote "The Tree of Life."  He was very kind and encouraging with his remarks in response to my text.

Vajda's translation of the 17th century Slovakian hymn first appeared in Worship Supplement (1969).  The first line has undergone a few of changes from the original: "Greet, Man, the Swiftly Changing Year."  His second revision is what is printed here.  The final version is: "Greet Now the Swiftly Changing Year."  (What is printed here [LSB 896] was chosen because it fits best with Alfred Fedak's tune, SIXTH NIGHT, a wonderful melody that expresses the joy of this text.)

1.  Now greet the swiftly changing year

     With joy and penitence sincere.

          Rejoice!  Rejoice!  With thanks embrace

          Another year of grace.

2.  Remember now the Son of God

     And how He shed His infant blood.

          Rejoice!  Rejoice!  With thanks embrace

          Another year of grace.

3.  This Jesus came to end sin's war;

     This Name of names for us He bore.

          Rejoice!  Rejoice!  With thanks embrace

          Another year of grace.

4.  His love abundant far exceeds

     The volume of a whole year's needs.

          Rejoice!  Rejoice!  With thanks embrace

          Another year of grace.

5.  With Him as Lord to lead our way

     In want and in prosperity,

          What need we fear in earth or space

          In this new year of grace!

6.  "All glory be to God on high,

       And peace on earth!" the angels cry.

            Rejoice!  Rejoice!  With thanks embrace

            Another year of grace.

7.  God, Father, Son, and Spirit, hear!

     To all our pleas incline Your ear;

          Upon our lives rich blessing trace

          In this new year of grace.

How, Before All Time Began

"For he chose is in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.  In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will--to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.  (Ephesians 1:4-6)

1.  How, before all time began,

         Before the world's creation,

     Could the Lord conceive His plan

         Of mercy and salvation?

     Yet, from that high and timeless place,

     God chose to save our death-bound race:

         Emmanuel--as prophets tell the story

             In Scripture as we know,

         Would veil in flesh His glory

             And dwell with us below!

2.  To the darkness of our night

         And to our need descending,

      Come the Word as Light of Light

         Beyond our comprehending--

     Radiant within the virgin's womb;

     Dawning as day upon our gloom.

          Hail, Jacob's Star! For all You are now shining

              Your beam of grace on earth,

          Your royal might confining

               Within such humble birth.

3.  As the presence of a king

         Brings honor to a city,

     Bethlehem, be glad and sing

          Your Sov'reign's tender pity;

     Join all the angels who rejoice;

     Let ev'ry creature raise its voice--

          Sing "Glory be to God!" for He is solely

              The God who comes to save

          And to our world unholy,

               The Prince of Peace He gave.

4.  Tarshish lords from distant shore,

          Come, pay your tribute to Him;

     Kings of Sheba, kneel before

          The One with worship due Him.

     Rise up, O nations!  See!  Your Lord!

     Long may He live and be adored!

          Oh, may His fame and holy name, transcending

              Each name upon this sphere,

          Be sung with praise unending

               For love so pure and near!

A Stable Lamp Is Lighted

Christ's birth culminates in His death and resurrection.  Even the very stones of creation praise God for such redemptive love.  The text was written by Richard Wilbur (b. 1921) in 1958 for the annual Christmas concert at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut.  (I had the joy and privilege of serving as pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Middletown, Connecticut from 1985-2000 and was on the campus of Wesleyan University on numerous occasions.)  The text was first published in Advice to a Prophet and Other Poems in 1961 under the title "A Christmas Hymn." In 1987, Richard Wilbur was named second Poet Laureate of the United States, following Robert Penn Warren.  "A Stable Lamp Is Lighted" appeared in Hymnal Supplement 98 paired with the tune ANDUJAR, a tune composed by David Hurd (b. 1950).  The tune was named after Lily Andujar Rogers, a Fellow at the American Guild of Organists and choirmaster of the boys' choir in which David Hurd sang at St. Gabriel's Church, Hollis, Long Island.

1.   A stable lamp is lighted

        Whose glow shall wake the sky;

           The stars shall bend their voices,

         And ev'ry stone shall cry.

         And ev'ry stone shall cry,

             And straw like gold shall shine;

                 A barn shall harbor heaven,

             A stall become a shrine.

2.  This child through David's city

         Shall ride in triumph by;

             The palm shall strew its branches,

         And ev'ry stone shall cry.

         And ev'ry stone shall cry.

             Though heavy, dull, and dumb,

                 And lie within the roadway

             To pave His kingdom come.

3.  Yet He shall be forsaken,

         And yielded up to die;

             The sky shall groan and darken,

        And ev'ry stone shall cry.

        And ev'ry stone shall cry,

            For stony hearts of men:

                God's blood upon the spearhead,

            God's love refused again.

4.  But now, as at the ending,

         The low is lifted high;

             The stars shall bend their voices,

         And ev'ry stone shall cry.

         And ev'ry stone shall cry,

             In praises of the Child

                 By whose descent among us

             The worlds are reconciled.