1000 Songs/Let all mortal flesh keep silence (St. James)

Let all mortal flesh keep silence (liturgy of St James)

Text

The text of this song is derived from the "Prayer of the Cherubic Hymn" from the Litany of St. James, written in the 4th Century (Σιγησάτο παρα σὰρξ βροτεία), and typically used as part of the Eucharist ceremony. It was translated from Greek to English by Gerard Moultrie, 1864. The Greek original is also found in the Liturgy of Saint Basil.See Translation by Gerard Moultrie For more information on Gerard Moultrie, click here or here. For the wikipedia entry on this song, click here.

Author

Translations/Challenges

Editor's Choice

Let all the earth stay silent,
And with fear and trembling stand;
Think of nothing earthly minded,
For with blessing in His hand,
Christ our God to earth descendeth,
Our full homage to demand.

King of kings, yet born of Mary,
As of old on earth He stood,
Lord of lords, in human clothing,
In the body and the blood;
He will give to all the faithful
His own self for heavenly food.

Rank on rank the host of heaven
Spreads its vanguard on the way,
As the Light of light descendeth
From the realms of endless day,
That the powers of hell may vanish
As the darkness clears away.

At His feet the six wingèd seraph,
Cherubim with sleepless eye,
Veil their faces to the presence,
As with ceaseless voice they cry:
Alleluia, Alleluia
Alleluia, Lord Most High!

Editors note: I simply changed some of the more archaic words to phrases easier to understand in this time period.

Music

"Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence" first appeared in Lyra Eucharistica and The English Hymnal in 1906, with the tune PICARDY, arranged by Ralph Vaughan Williams.