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Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence - Oasis Chorale

34,524 views โ€ข Nov 6, 2021

Description

"Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence" sung by Oasis Chorale for their Hymns of the Church, Volume 4 recording project. For more information and recordings, visit: https://www.oasischorale.org/ Recorded at Cornerstone Mennonite Fellowship in Ephrata, Pennsylvania July, 2021.
The Historic Faith · Hymn Companion

Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence

Words by Liturgy of St. James; translated from Greek by Gerard MoultrieMusic by Traditional French carol melody; harmonized by Ralph Vaughan WilliamsWritten Tune PICARDY

Let all mortal flesh keep silence,
and with fear and trembling stand;
ponder 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 vesture,
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-winged seraph,
cherubim, with sleepless eye,
veil their faces to the Presence,
as with ceaseless voice they cry,
Alleluia, alleluia,
alleluia, Lord Most High!

Story Behind the Song

The text is drawn from the ancient Liturgy of St. James, traditionally associated with the Eucharistic worship of the early church in Jerusalem and Antioch. Gerard Moultrie translated it into English in the 19th century, and it became widely known after its pairing with the French folk tune PICARDY in The English Hymnal of 1906. The hymn is especially associated with Advent, Christmas, and Communion because of its imagery of the incarnate Christ giving himself as heavenly food.

Scripture

Found In

The English Hymnal, Hymnal 1982, Trinity Hymnal, Lutheran Service Book, Presbyterian Hymnal