Hymns of the Early Church / being translations from the poetry of the Latin church, arranged in the order of the Christian year

by John Brownlie

And bless the Lord of lowly birth.

XI

The Holy Trinity we’ll praise,

And give our thanks to God always.

HEU! QUID JACES STABULO, OMNIUM CREATOR?

By Jean Momboir, with Johannes Mauburnus for the Latin, and John Mauburn for the English form of his name. Born in 1460 at Brussels; a Canon Regular of the Brethren of the Common Life in the Low Countries; died Abbot of the Cloister of Livry, not far from Paris, in 1502 or 1503. In his large work, the “Spiritual Rose-garden,” there is a rosary on the birth of Christ, consisting of thirteen stanzas, which commence, Eja, mea anima, Bethlehem eamus. The hymn beginning as above consists of three stanzas taken from that poem. The detached stanzas passed into many of the older German hymn-books, met with great favour in the early Reformed Churches, so long as the practice of singing Latin compositions survived among them, and still retain a place in some German hymnals in an old translation, with for opening line, Warum liegt im Krippelein.

I

(Loquitur peccator)

Wherefore in the lowly stall,

O Thou great Creator,