1 The angel sped on wings of light,
With wondrous tidings laden;
He came from heav'n's unclouded height
To greet a lowly maiden:
2 For God upon her low estate
Had looked with royal favor;
And all earth's kindreds celebrate
The mighty gift He gave her.
3 Oh, awful bliss! that from her womb
Should spring the Uncreated,
The great and holy One, for Whom
The world so long had waited.
4 O Son divine! we fain would trace
Thy mother's steps so lowly,
Her joys and woes, her saintly grace,
Her life so calm and holy.
5 But lo! as all too near we press,
A veil the scene enfoldeth!
No tongue may sings its loveliness,
No eye its peace beholdeth!
6 And as we read with kindling eye
This day's all-gracious story,
The blessèd mother passeth by
And Thine is all the glory!
Amen.
The Hymnal: revised and enlarged as adopted by the General Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America in the year of our Lord 1892
William W. How (b. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England, 1823; d. Leenane, County Mayo, Ireland, 1897) studied at Wadham College, Oxford, and Durham University and was ordained in the Church of England in 1847. He served various congregations and became Suffragan Bishop in east London in 1879 and Bishop of Wakefield in 1888. Called both the "poor man's bishop" and "the children's bishop," How was known for his work among the destitute in the London slums and among the factory workers in west Yorkshire. He wrote a number of theological works about controversies surrounding the Oxford Movement and attempted to reconcile biblical creation with the theory of evolution. He was joint editor of Psalms and Hymns (1854) and Church Hymns (1871). While rec… Go to person page >
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