Come, Thou Savior of our race, Choicest Gift of heavenly grace

Representative Text

1 Come, Thou Saviour of our race,
Choicest Gift of heav'nly grace!
O Thou blessed Virgin's Son,
Be Thy race on earth begun,
Be Thy race on earth begun.

2 Not of mortal blood or birth,
He descends from heaven to earth:
By the Holy Ghost conceived,
God and man by us believed,
God and man by us believed.

3 Wondrous birth! O wondrous Child
Of the virgin undefiled!
Though by all the world disowned,
Still to be in heaven enthroned,
Still to be in heaven enthroned.

4 From the Father forth He came,
And returneth to the same;
Captive leading death and hell,--
High the song of triumph swell!
High the song of triumph swell!

5 Equal to the Father now,
Though to dust Thou once didst bow,
Boundless shall Thy kingdom be;
When shall we its glories see?
When shall we its glories see?

6 Brightly doth Thy manger shine!
Glorious in its light divine:
Let not sin o'ercloud this light,
Ever be our faith thus bright,
Ever be our faith thus bright.

Amen.


Source: The Hymnal and Order of Service #23

Author: St. Ambrose

Ambrose (b. Treves, Germany, 340; d. Milan, Italy, 397), one of the great Latin church fathers, is remembered best for his preaching, his struggle against the Arian heresy, and his introduction of metrical and antiphonal singing into the Western church. Ambrose was trained in legal studies and distinguished himself in a civic career, becoming a consul in Northern Italy. When the bishop of Milan, an Arian, died in 374, the people demanded that Ambrose, who was not ordained or even baptized, become the bishop. He was promptly baptized and ordained, and he remained bishop of Milan until his death. Ambrose successfully resisted the Arian heresy and the attempts of the Roman emperors to dominate the church. His most famous convert and disciple w… Go to person page >

Translator (into German): Martin Luther

Luther, Martin, born at Eisleben, Nov. 10, 1483; entered the University of Erfurt, 1501 (B.A. 1502, M.A.. 1503); became an Augustinian monk, 1505; ordained priest, 1507; appointed Professor at the University of Wittenberg, 1508, and in 1512 D.D.; published his 95 Theses, 1517; and burnt the Papal Bull which had condemned them, 1520; attended the Diet of Worms, 1521; translated the Bible into German, 1521-34; and died at Eisleben, Feb. 18, 1546. The details of his life and of his work as a reformer are accessible to English readers in a great variety of forms. Luther had a huge influence on German hymnody. i. Hymn Books. 1. Ellich cristlich lider Lobgesang un Psalm. Wittenberg, 1524. [Hamburg Library.] This contains 8 German h… Go to person page >

Translator (into English): William M. Reynolds

Born: March 4, 1812, Fay­ette Coun­ty, Penn­syl­van­ia. Died: Sep­tem­ber 5, 1876, Oak Park, Il­li­nois. Reynolds was ed­u­cat­ed at Jef­fer­son Coll­ege, Ca­non­sburg, Penn­syl­van­ia, and Luth­er­an Get­tys­burg Sem­in­ary. He was a pro­fes­sor at Penn­syl­van­ia Coll­ege (1833-50); pres­i­dent of Cap­i­tal Un­i­ver­si­ty, Co­lum­bus, Ohio (1850-53); and pres­i­dent of Il­li­nois State Un­i­ver­si­ty (1857-60). He be­came an or­dained Epis­co­pal min­is­ter in 1864, and found­ed the Evan­gel­i­cal Re­view. His last pas­tor­ate was at Christ Church, Har­lem (Oak Park), Il­li­nois, from 1872 un­til his death. Lyrics-- Come, Thou Sav­ior of Our Race Come, Th… Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: Come, Thou Savior of our race, Choicest Gift of heavenly grace
German Title: Nun komm, der heiden Heiland
Translator (into German): Martin Luther (1524)
Translator (into English): William M. Reynolds (1850)
Author: St. Ambrose
Language: English
Copyright: Public Domain

Tune

HENDON (Malan)

HENDON was composed by Henri A. Cesar Malan (b. Geneva, Switzerland, 1787; d. Vandoeuvres, Switzerland, 1864) and included in a series of his own hymn texts and tunes that he began to publish in France in 1823, and which ultimately became his great hymnal Chants de Sion (1841). HENDON is thought to…

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NUN KOMM, DER HEIDEN HEILAND

NUN KOMM DER HEIDEN HEILAND is a chorale derived from a chant. Among the simplest of the Lutheran repertoire, it is framed by identical lines–l and 4. Sing the entire hymn with antiphonal groups (the practice its original Latin author, Ambrose, strongly promoted). Sing some stanzas in unison and o…

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GOTT SEI DANK


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The Cyber Hymnal #1125

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