Hail, harbinger of morn

Representative Text

1 Hail, harbinger of morn:
thou that art this day born,
and heraldest the Word with clarion voice!
Ye faithful ones, in him
behold the dawning dim
of the bright day, and let your hearts rejoice.

2 John – by that chosen name
to call him Gabriel came
by God's appointment from his home on high:
what deeds that babe should do
to manhood when he grew,
God sent his angel forth to testify.

3 There is none greater, none,
than Zechariah's son;
than this no mightier prophet hath been born:
of prophets he may claim
more than a prophet's fame;
sublimer deeds than theirs his brow adorn.

4 'Lo, to prepare thy way,'
did God the Father say,
'before thy face my Messenger I send,
thy coming to forerun;
as on the orient sun
doth the bright Daystar morn by morn attend.'

5 Praise therefore God most high;
praise him who came to die
for us, his Son that liveth evermore;
and to the Spirit raise,
the Comforter, like praise,
while time endureth, and when time is o'er.

Source: CPWI Hymnal #774

Author: The Venerable Bede

Bede (b. circa 672-673; d. May 26, 735), also known as Saint Bede or the Venerable Bede, was an English monk at Northumbrian monastery at Monkwearmouth (now Jarrow). Sent to the monastery at the young age of seven, he became deacon very early on, and then a priest at the age of thirty. An author and scholar, he is particularly known for his Ecclesiastical History of the English People, which gained him the title “Father of English History.” He also wrote many scientific and theological works, as well as poetry and music. Bede is the only native of Great Britain to have ever been made a Doctor of the Church. He died on Ascension Day, May 26, 735, and was buried in Durham Cathedral. Laura de Jong… Go to person page >

Translator: Charles Stuart Calverley

Calverley, Charles Stewart, M.A., son of the Rev. Henry Blayds, some time Vicar of South Stoke, near Bath (who took the name of Calverley in 1852), was born at Hartley, Worcestershire, Dec. 22, 1831. He entered Harrow in 1846, from whence he passed to Oxford, but coming under the censure of the authorities, he migrated to Cambridge in 1852, where, after gaining some of the best classical prizes of that University, he graduated first class in Classical honour?. In due course he was called to the Bar and followed the Northern circuit. He died at Folkestone, Feb. 17, 1884. He is known to hymnody through several translations from the Latin, which he made for the Hymnary in 1871, and were published therein in 1872. --John Julian, Dictionary o… Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: Hail, harbinger of morn
Author: The Venerable Bede
Translator: Charles Stuart Calverley
Language: English
Copyright: Public Domain

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CPWI Hymnal #774

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The New English Hymnal #169

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