The Cathedral, or the Catholic and Apostolic Church in England Second edition [by Isaac Williams] |
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| THE SACRAMENTAL HYMN. |
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 | The Cathedral, or the Catholic and Apostolic Church in England |  |
THE SACRAMENTAL HYMN.
I.
1. Men.
Glory be to God on high:Beyond where dwells the evening star
In his golden house afar;
Where upon th'eternal noon
Never look'd the silver moon;
Thro' innumerable skies
Multitudinous voices rise,
And in harmonious concord meet
Around our Saviour's feet,
Beneath mysterious veils descending from His seat.
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2. Angels.
Peace be upon earth below:God is in His holy hill;
Let the earth and sea be still;
And the child of sin and woe
Come before Him, bowing low;
In His breast the living One
Makes His altar and His throne;
He comes from Heav'n's high citadel,
With men on earth to dwell,—
The pure in heart alone shall see the Invisible.
3. Men and Angels.
Good will to man from God above:From dwellings of th'Eternal Word,
Whose house is immortality,
He letteth down the triple chord,
Of Faith and Hope and Love from high;
And from His cradle to His throne
Extends a living zone,
Which binds anew the ancient Heav'ns and earth,
Now teeming with the throes of a more glorious birth.
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II.
1. Men.
Glory be to God on high:Angel faces stand aloof
On the starry temple roof;—
Your bright-wing'd consistory
Round our altars we deem nigh;
Now, in awe and dread amaze,
From your crystal heights ye gaze;
And see the sun that lights you, sent
From your deep firmament,
And coming down with man to make his lowly tent.
2. Angels.
Peace be upon earth below:Wisdom deep in sacred lore
Hides within her secret store,
Like the sweet soul of the lyre,
Slumbering in the silent wire;
But in Christ their blending tone,
In responsive union,
Rings out with solemn harmonies,
The music of the skies,
At whose heart-soothing sound the evil spirit flies.
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3. Men and Angels.
Good will to man from God above:The Law and Prophets here have won
The glory of their Master's light,
As Mòses and Elias shone
With Him upon the mountain height:
The Gospel in His light display'd,
Is all translucent made,
As when, reveal'd on Tabor's holy ground,
With light divinely burn'd His clothing's skirts around.
III.
1. Men.
Glory be to God on high,Where, in bosom of all space,
Sun and moon have found no place;
Where lies the waveless, shoreless sea
Of eternal clarity;
Where the Saints have fled life's woes
To their haven of repose,
And earth beneath them as they soar,
Releas'd for evermore,
Seems but a wither'd leaf on some bright wat'ry floor.
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2. Angels.
Peace be upon earth below:Pride and envy have no place
Where His sons God doth embrace;
Where the fountain overflows,
Whose full breast no lessening knows;
Where old Eden's fallen towers
The new tree of life embowers,
That, fearless of the fiery brand,
And bold in God's command,
There man may eat, and live, led by Angelic hand.
3. Men and Angels.
Good will to man from God above:Here at His feast doth Love preside,
Love weaves anew the nuptial tie,
Love decks with health the living Bride,
And clothes with holy poverty:
The ancient Heavens array'd in might,
Walk their high paths of light,
As Duty marshals their appointed way,
But Love attunes their steps to an harmonious lay.
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IV.
1. Men.
Glory be to God on high,Where the armies of the skies
Stand in snowy galaxies,
Fair as dreams, in bright platoon,
Brighter than th'Autumnal moon,
Where many a wild avenue
Draws afar the eager view;
And worlds, in darker distance sown,
People the living zone,
Like sparks that issue forth from Glory's burning throne.
2. Angels.
Peace be upon earth below,Where in visions half divine
Sunsets part, and parting twine
Bridal robes of earth and sky,
Passing fair, tho' born to die;
Where unearthly hues adorn
The advance of rising morn;
And dimly thro' the gates of earth,
'Mid want, decay, and dearth,
There wander embryo shapes which speak a heavenly birth.
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3. Men and Angels.
Good will to man from God above:A little while I hid my face;
But Mercy shall to thee abound,
Firm as the mountains in their place,
With everlasting arms around:
Yea, the strong mountains' firm array,
And hills shall pass away,
But in that hour My Love shall stand with thee,
Rising from mists of time, a mansion strong and free.
V.
1. Men.
Glory be to God on high:Bright and golden panoplies,
Sweet angelic harmonies,
That, all dark to our weak sight,
In the centre of all light,
Sing, and singing sweetly move,—
'Tween you and the fount of Love,
There never yet came ought of blame,
But, free from sin and shame,
Fresh in your innocence ye lift your glad acclaim.
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2. Angels.
Peace be upon earth below,Where Repentance, lowly-wise,
In spirit of self-sacrifice,
Lowly bows her shame to feel,
And her sin-wrought wounds to heal;
Till the breath of new desires,
Here enkindling holy fires,
Devours the seeds of death and sin,
Until there stirs within
A voice not all unmeet His praises to begin.
3. Men and Angels.
Good will to man from God above;Here encircling round Him swells
The sea of boundless charity,
Which thence doth work thro' secret cells,
Unnumber'd fountains to supply,
Till through Creation's utmost round
Sweet flowing streams abound,
Upon whose banks His creatures find repose,
Where many a flower lies hid, or towering cedar grows.
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VI.
1. Men.
Glory be to God on high,Where the lov'd and lost ones meet
Safe beneath their Saviour's feet:
Faces dear, 'tis now ye smile,
Ye, whom I have miss'd awhile,
Missing you, I long have hung
Downcast, silent, and unstrung,
And faint and feeble is the strain
I e'er shall wake again,
Until I join your lays beyond the reach of pain.
2. Angels.
Peace be upon earth below;Seek ye, mourners, for release?
Here behold the cup of peace!
Here, with your poor fleshly ties
Are divinest sympathies;
Tho' hid a little while from sight
These spirits soft that cheer'd your night,
They are but gone like stars of morn,
Before the sun is born;—
Still near you tho' unseen His temple they adorn.
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3. Men and Angels.
Good will to man from God above:Tho' death doth raise his veil between,
Yet Thee in them, and them in Thee,
We solemnize awhile unseen,
And soon the cleansed sight shall see.
The Church dwells here a sufferer still,
Yet, born of heavenly birth,
Her nurture is of heavenly food, until
Her stature fills the sky, while she doth walk on earth.
VII.
1. Men.
Glory be to God on high:Where is Death, that uncouth thing?
He hath now a sheltering wing.
Awful phantom, where art thou?
Heav'n's own bloom is on thy brow,
Earth hath nothing half so fair,
Christ's own flesh and blood is there.
On thy cold lips and silent tongue
A deathless health hath sprung,
Which thro' the days of Heav'n for ever shall grow young.
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2. Angels.
Peace be upon earth below.Shape of woe! if form that be
Which is but deformity,
Death, the gloomy King of tears,
Waited on by spectral fears,
Now thy dark-illumin'd shade
Is in hope a solemn glade,
That leadeth to the place of God.
Christ is the staff and rod;
His presence lights the vale which He Himself hath trod.
3. Men and Angels.
Good will to man from God above:The light breaks forth on shapes afar
That darkly throng'd life's closing gate,
And there keeps watch a gleaming star,
Where dismal shadows seem'd to wait;
As clouds along the bending sky,
Like mountains pil'd on high,
When lo, Thy gentle gale Thou bidd'st to blow,
And into empty air before Thy breath they go.
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VIII.
1. Men.
Glory be to God on high:God hath ris'n, and bent His bow,
Lo, before His face they go,
Discontent with fretting chain,
Sin and sorrow, shame and pain,
To night's jail they troop away,
Like mists before the rising ray,
Which long hath climb'd conceal'd from sight,
Then from some mountain height
Majestically breaks upon the rear of night.
2. Angels.
Peace be upon earth below:Here there is a living cup—
Wells of water springing up
Unto life that cannot die,—
The pledge of immortality;
'Tis a fount of heavenly strength,—
A sea of love with breadth and length
Proportion'd to th'undying soul,—
The spirit of controul
Which takes the reins of thought, and urges to the goal.
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3. Men and Angels.
Good will to man from God above:The bending Heav'ns have brought Him down
From out their heights of highest height,
The exil'd wanderer to own;
The abysses of the Infinite
Are all about Him,—seas and sky
Of glory,—ear and eye
Cannot discern, nor speak the mortal tongue,
But in the heart's deep home the Spirit hath a song.
IX.
1. Men.
Glory be to God on high.Scarcely, earth's new cradle round,
Had ye rais'd your gladsome sound,
When Creation drooping hung,
And your alter'd descant rung:
Then, to pleading Mercy giv'n,
Drops of pardon fell from Heav'n,
The thorn of sorrow bore the rose,
Balm was in woman's throes,
And the dark gates of death the Lord of life disclose.
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2. Angels.
Peace be upon earth below,Nature smooth'd her mournful brow,
When she saw the gleaming bow,
Which encompass'd the dark place
With the covenant of grace:
Oft as down Heav'n's cloudy stair
Comes that harbinger so fair,
The earth with incense-breathing dew,
Her veil of sorrow through,
Looks tearfully to Heav'n, and grateful smiles anew.
3. Men and Angels.
Good will to man from God above.As, o'er the flood-reviving earth
That witness stands in Heav'n secure,
Thus o'er our new and better birth
This sacramental seal is sure:
Until the sun shall make his bed,
And time be withered,
The pledge of saving mercy shall remain;
None to His breast shall turn, and thither turn in vain.
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X.
1. Men.
Glory be to God on high.When His people He would save,
Seas hung back on wondering wave,
And beheld their Master nigh,
Marshalling their deeps on high;
Then beneath the watery wall
Banner'd hosts went at His call,
And safe were harbour'd, till again,
Fresh bursting from his chain,
With tumbling billows rush'd the bold avenging main.
2. Angels.
Peace be upon earth below,Which life's toils but rock to rest,
Cradled on a Father's breast.
When the ark descended low,
Jordan's streams forgot to flow,
Bridling back their horned march
To a hanging wavy arch,
And, lo, upon the promis'd strand
There stood an armed Hand,—
No sword of yours doth gain this fair and flowery land.
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3. Men and Angels.
Good will to man from God above.Lo, in the shadowy vale of years,
Oft imag'd in redeeming love,
'Tis Christ the living Way appears,
And leads to happier coasts above:—
Ready to whelm, on either hand
The awe-struck waters stand,
And, with their ancient brethren of the sky,
The ransom'd on the shore shall lift their song on high.
XI.
1. Men.
Glory be to God on high,Who well knew, yet, knowing well,
Lov'd His thankless Israel:
He His hand upon the wild
Open'd, and old Horeb smil'd:
Nature's face was sear and lone,
Helpless to sustain His own,
Lo, on Sinai's rugged side
Heav'n's doors were open'd wide,
They fed on Angel's food,—but like their fathers died.
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2. Angels.
Peace be upon earth below.Where the lone Bethsaida
Looks upon the watery spray,
Lifting up His sacred eyes,
He brought blessings from the skies;
Ever to the hands anew,
Lo, th'unearthly fragments grew;
But they who eat on that dread day,
Death's sure and silent prey,
Liv'd but their mortal span, then pass'd from earth away.
3. Men and Angels.
Good will to man from God above.But now behold the Sacrifice,
On which alone the soul can live;
Higher than Heav'n th'uncounted price,
The boon which nature cannot give;
Fast as His holy hand supplies,
The blessing multiplies,
'Mid earthly vanities the Bread of Truth,
And 'mid decay and death food of immortal youth.
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XII.
1. Men.
Glory be to God on high.From Thy skirts in mortal life
Flow'd a stream with healing rife;
What new blessings shall attend
The everlasting Friend,
Coming from His holy seat
In the living Paraclete?
The savour of celestial things
In the deep bosom springs,
And Faith o'er the cold heart extends her brooding wings.
2. Angels.
Peace be upon earth below.Soft as falls the heavenly dew,
Weary nature to renew,
Or the flakes, unearthly pure,
Of the snowy coverture,
Thus, too high for mortal sense,
Christ His presence doth dispense,
Seen in diviner sympathies,
In sacred things made wise,
And the deep Spirit's voice of penitential sighs.
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3. Men and Angels.
Good will to man from God above.Jesus hath left His flock below,
And gone into the mount to pray
For His disciples, left to go
Without Him on the stormy way;
They, when the storm their souls shall try,
Shall see Him walking nigh,
And find anon upon the heavenly shore,
Where they shall go from Him on stormy waves no more.
| The Cathedral, or the Catholic and Apostolic Church in England | |