The Cyber Hymnal ‎#8384

8384. Now Ancient Shadows Flee

1 Now ancient shadows flee,
Now night and terror cease;
Thy God, O earth, begins with thee
A covenant of peace.

2 He who is Light of light,
The true unclouded sun,
Bleeds to remove sad nature’s blight,
From wrongs that we have done.

3 This day He doth bestow
The first-fruits of that blood,
Which will hereafter richly flow
To be our cleansing flood.

4 He takes that sacred name
At which we bend the knee;
Oh, how befitting Him who came
Our sacrifice to be.

5 The Son who gave His blood,
The Father of our Lord,
The Holy Ghost—one God most good,
For ever be adored.

Text Information

• First Line: Now ancient shadows flee
• Title: Now Ancient Shadows Flee
• Latin Title: Debilis cessent elementa legis
• Author: Sebastien Besnault
• Translator: Robert Campbell, 1814-1868
• Meter: SM
• Language: English
• Source: Paris Breviary, 1736; Tr.: Annus Sanctus (Vol. 1) by Orby Shipley (London and New York: Burns & Oates, 1884)
• Copyright: Public Domain
• Notes: Alternate tune: LAKE ENON by Isaac B. Woodbury

Tune Information

• Name: MIDDLEHAM
• Composer: Samuel Sebastian Wesley (1864)
• Meter: SM
• Key: D Major
• Copyright: Public Domain