Creator of the Stars of Night

Representative Text

1 Creator of the stars of night,
your people’s everlasting light,
O Christ, Redeemer of us all,
we pray you, hear us when we call.

2 In sorrow that the ancient curse
should doom to death a universe,
you came to save a ruined race
with healing gifts of heav'nly grace.

3 When earth drew on to darkest night,
you came, but not in splendor bright,
not as a king, but the child
of Mary, virgin mother mild.

4 At your great name, majestic now,
all knees must bend, all hearts must bow;
all things on earth with one accord
join those in heav’n to call you Lord.

5 To God the Father, God the Son,
and God the Spirit, Three in One,
praise, honor, might, and glory be
from age to age eternally.

Amen.

Source: Christian Worship: Hymnal #323

Translator: J. M. Neale

John M. Neale's life is a study in contrasts: born into an evangelical home, he had sympathies toward Rome; in perpetual ill health, he was incredibly productive; of scholarly tem­perament, he devoted much time to improving social conditions in his area; often ignored or despised by his contemporaries, he is lauded today for his contributions to the church and hymnody. Neale's gifts came to expression early–he won the Seatonian prize for religious poetry eleven times while a student at Trinity College, Cambridge, England. He was ordained in the Church of England in 1842, but ill health and his strong support of the Oxford Movement kept him from ordinary parish ministry. So Neale spent the years between 1846 and 1866 as a warden of Sackvi… Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: Creator of the stars of night
Title: Creator of the Stars of Night
Latin Title: Conditor alme siderum
Translator: J. M. Neale
Meter: 8.8.8.8
Source: Latin Hymn, 9th Century; Latin, 6th-7th c.
Language: English
Copyright: Public Domain

Notes

Conditor [Creator] alme siderum. [Advent.] This hymn is sometimes ascribed to St. Ambrose, but on insufficient evidence. It was rejected as such by the Benedictine editors; and with this the best authorities agree. It is known in various forms…
Translation in common use:— i. The Sarum Breviary Text: Conditor alme siderum.
1. Creator of the stars of night, by J. M. Neale, in the first edition of the Hymnal Noted, 1852, No. 10, in 6 stanzas of 4 lines. This is repeated without alteration in later editions of the Hymnal Noted; in Skinner's Daily Hymnal, 1864; in the Hymner, 1882, and others. It is also given as "Creator of the starry height, Thy people's," &c, in Hymns Ancient & Modern, 1861 (the alterations being by the compilers, who had printed another arrangement of the text in their trial copy of 1859), and Allon's Supplemental Hymns, 1868, &c. In Mercer, Oxford ed., 1864, it is rewritten by Mercer. Another rendering, slightly altered, from the Hymnal Noted is, "Creator of the starry height, Of faithful hearts," &c, in the Hymnary, 1872.

--Excerpts from John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

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Instances

Instances (1 - 41 of 41)

A New Hymnal for Colleges and Schools #216

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Ancient and Modern #33a

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Ancient and Modern #33b

Anglican Hymns Old and New (Rev. and Enl.) #148a

Anglican Hymns Old and New (Rev. and Enl.) #148b

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Christian Worship #323

Church Hymnal, Fifth Edition #121

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Church Hymnary (4th ed.) #288

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Common Praise (1998) #96

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Common Praise #25a

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Common Praise #25b

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Complete Anglican Hymns Old and New #135

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CPWI Hymnal #39a

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CPWI Hymnal #39b

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Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary #108

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Evangelical Lutheran Worship #245

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Glory to God #84

Great Songs of the Church (Revised) #160

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Hymns Ancient and Modern, New Standard Edition #23a

Hymns Ancient and Modern, New Standard Edition #23b

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Hymns of Glory, Songs of Praise #288

Hymns Old and New #102

Lead Me, Guide Me (2nd ed.) #239

Lift Up Your Hearts #71

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Lutheran Service Book #351

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Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal #72

The B-Side Christmas Singer #1b

The B-Side Christmas Singer #1c

The B-Side Christmas Singer #1d

The Book of Common Praise of the Reformed Episcopal Church #18

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The Book of Praise #111

The Christian Life Hymnal #76

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The Cyber Hymnal #1089

The New English Hymnal #1a

The New English Hymnal #1b

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The United Methodist Hymnal #692

The United Methodist Hymnal Music Supplement II #41

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