In the Eastern Orthodox Church, December 2 is the feast of the prophet Habakkuk; and the original inspiration for this very old Christmas text may well come from a line in Habakkuk’s writing, from perhaps the 6th or 5th century BC: “The Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him” (Habakkuk 2:20). This idea of all the world’s people bowing in hushed reverence before the Lord is developed more fully in the Liturgy of St James, an ancient order of service named in honor of James the brother of the Lord, and still occasionally used in the Eastern Orthodox tradition. It probably dates from the 4th century AD. The full text of the liturgy, in English translation, may be found here.
The portion of the liturgy named “The Cherubic Hymn” reads:
Let all mortal flesh be silent, and stand with fear and trembling,
and meditate nothing earthly within itself.
For the King of kings and Lord of lords, Christ our God,
comes forward to be sacrificed, and to be given for food to the faithful.
And the bands of angels go before Him with every power and dominion,
the many-eyed cherubim, and the six-winged seraphim,
covering their faces, and crying aloud the hymn,
Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia.
In 1864 Gerard Moultrie (1829-1885) translated and versified this material into the Advent hymn we know today. The 17th century French tune “Picardy” was arranged in 1906 by Ralph Vaugn Williams (1872-1958).
1. Let all mortal flesh keep silence And with fear and trembling stand.
Ponder nothing earthly-minded, For with blessing in his hand,
Christ our God to earth descendeth Our full homage to demand.
2. King of kings yet borne of Mary As of old on earth he stood.
Lord of lords in human vesture, In the body and the blood,
He will give to all the faithful His own self for heavenly food.
3. Rank on rank the host of heaven Spreads its vanguard on the way,
As the light of light descendeth From the realms of endless day,
That the powers of hell may vanish, As the darkness clears away.
4. At his feet the six-winged seraph, Cherubim with sleepless eye,
Veil their faces to the presence As with ceaseless voice they cry,
“Alleluia, alleluia! Alleluia Lord most high!”
Here is a nice rendition by Red Mountain Music.
james-ayers.com 