1 Come, O come, our voices raise,
sounding God Almighty's praise;
hither bring in one consent
heart, and voice, and instrument.
Alleluia!
2 Sound the trumpet, touch the lute,
let no tongue nor string be mute,
nor a voiceless creature found,
that hath neither note nor sound.
Alleluia!
3 Come ye all before his face,
in this chorus take your place;
and amid the mortal throng,
be you masters of the song.
Alleluia!
4 Let, in praise of God, the sound
run a never-ending round,
that our songs of praise may be
everlasting, as is he.
Alleluia!
5 So this huge wide orb we see
shall one choir, one temple be;
where in such a praiseful tone
we will sing what he hath done.
Alleluia!
6 Thus our song shall overclimb
all the bounds of space and time;
come, then, come, our voices raise,
sounding God Almighty's praise.
Alleluia!
Source: The Hymnal 1982: according to the use of the Episcopal Church #430
First Line: | Come, O come with sacred lays |
Author: | George Wither |
Meter: | 7.7.7.7 with alleluia |
Language: | English |
Copyright: | Public Domain |
Come, 0 come with sacred [pious] lays. G. Wither. [Ps. cxlviii.] From his version of Ps. 148 in his Haleluiah, 1641, Bk. i., No. 1. It is in the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge Hymns, 1852, and other collections.
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907)