This sixth series of hymns from the Greek Offices is sent forth in the hope that some of the flowers that bloom in the gardens of the East, in which our Lord prayed and His Apostles tilled, may serve to beautify the homes of the faithful in Western lands. Cut flowers lose their beauty and freshness soon, but not infrequently their perfume remains; and roots transplanted do not always continue to put forth leaves and blossoms in that richness which adorns them in their native soil; but if in the case of the culled flowers, which are here presented, some of their perfume may chance to linger, it will probably serve to suggest their original attractiveness. That they may, in some capacity, be used to adorn the worship of Christ in our sterner clime, is the earnest prayer of the translator.
J. B.
Trinity Manse,
Portpatrick, July, 1911.
INDEX OF FIRST LINES
PAGE [Introduction] xi HYMNS [My God, shall sin its power maintain] 3 Christmas— [Hark! upon the morning breezes] 9 [Hail to the morn that dawns on eastern hills] 11 [Hail to the King, who comes in weakness now] 13 [Ye saints, exult with cheerful song] 15 [He came because the Father willed] 17 [Now the King Immortal] 19 [When o’er the world Augustus reigned] 21 [O Light resplendent of the morn] 23 Passiontide— [O wounded hands and feet] 27 [When Jesus to the judgment hall] 29 [They brought Him to the hill of death] 31 [“Watch with Me,” the Master said] 33 [They cried, “Let Him be crucified!”] 35 [O darkest night that ever fell] 37 [Nailed to the cross the Saviour dies] 39 [O Son of God, afflicted] 41 [This be our prayer, O Saviour of our souls,] 43 Easter— [Lo, in its brightness the morning arising] 49 [In the dark of early morn] 51 [Glory to God! The morn appointed breaks] 53 [Glory to God! The Christ hath left the tomb] 55 [Rise, O glorious orb of day] 58 Ascension— [Borne on the clouds, the Christ arose] 63 [Lift up the gates] 65 [Borne on the wings of light] 67 Pentecost— [Like the beams that from the sun] 71 [Come, Holy Ghost, in might] 73 [Spirit of God, in love descend] 75 [Lord, may Thy Holy Spirit calm] 77 [O God, the Holy Ghost] 78 Various— [When Jesus to the Jordan came] 83 [When on the mount the Lord appeared] 85 [Behold, the King of Zion rides] 87 [Waving in the autumn breeze] 89 [When in the clouds of heaven] 91 [Rest in the Lord, O servant by His grace] 93 [Thou dost not pass a lonesome way] 95 [The man who erring counsel shuns] 97 [Lord, a band of foes increasing] 99 [Light of my life, O Lord, Thou art] 101 [From the hills the light is streaming] 103 [The day declines to night] 105 [Lord, let us feel that Thou art near] 107 [Come, praise with gladness, the Lord of all creation] 109 Penitence and Love— [Now, with my weeping would I cleanse my soul] 115 [O God of love, on bended knee] 117 [O God, in mercy hear] 119 [Come to the Christ in tears] 122 [Forgive my heart its vain regrets] 124 [Far let me flee from worldly sin] 126 [Lord of mercy, at Thy gate] 128 [Burdened with a heavy load] 130 [Lord of a countless throng] 132 [Let all the world abroad] 134 [Thou Saviour of our sinful race] 136 [Where the Lord reveals His presence] 138 [O love of God, surpassing far] 140 [O God of our salvation] 142 [O Jesus, when my guilty fears] 144 [Lord, I am Thine, for Thou hast died for me] 146 Aspirations— [Lord, let our eyes the things unseen behold] 151 [Wake to the songs that lips unsullied sing] 153 [Bring to the Christ your fears] 155 [Lord, soothe my anxious, troubled soul] 158 [Surpassing great the gift of God] 160 [My hope is firmly set] 162 [The time is drawing near] 164 [I will not yield my sword] 166 [If in the cause of right I must] 168 [The Christ on Olive’s mount in prayer] 170 [Like music at the stilly hour] 172 [O Lord, Thou in the hour of need] 174 [My harp upon the willows, grave] 176 [To Thee my soul enraptured sings] 178 Modern Greek Hymns— [Christ The Word! Thine Incarnation] 183 [Come, keep this Feast, who holy things revere] 186
INTRODUCTION
Critics are of three classes:—the laudatory, who, if they see anything to complain of, make no complaint; the severe, who, if they see anything deserving commendation, say nothing about it; and the discriminating, who see both and say it, and at the same time throw out hints which as a rule are both acceptable and helpful. Particularly is this the case when the advice tendered confirms a growing conviction on the part of a writer.
One cannot work continuously at a subject, and all the while get the thoughtful criticism of his observers, without improving his methods. From a review of a recent volume by the writer, the following is taken:—“It seems to us that it is in the adaptation, rather than strict translation, that the wealth of thought and emotion buried in the service books of the Eastern Church will be minted into coin of golden praise meet for sanctuary use, and comparable in worth and beauty to the splendid currency of these latter days.” This is strictly true, and it is the conviction which has for some time possessed the author, with the result that he has been giving less attention to translation, or transliteration, and more attention to suggestion, adaptation, and reminiscence. One cannot spend a day with the Greek service books (say with the Triodion, which contains the incomparable Lenten and Easter offices) without having his mind filled with thoughts the most beautiful, thoughts which can sometimes be expressed in almost identical phrase with the original, but which oftener, in order to do them justice by revealing them in all their richness, require to be dwelt upon, expanded, and clothed in appropriate western phrase. This is without doubt the best way in which to deal with the praise material of the Greek service books, and the present writer has set himself in this volume to act according to that conviction. Here, there are fewer translations than in any former volume, and the greater number of the hymns are reminiscences of the Greek.
The contents of this book may be ranged under three categories:—A few translations or renderings, as literal as it is possible or desirable to make them; centos, or patchwork, i.e., pieces which are not versions of any particular hymn in the original, but which are made up of portions of various hymns; and suggestions, or reminiscences of the Greek. In the case of the last, the best that can be said of them is that they owe their existence in the present instance, to the Greek. While to the ordinary reader there may be nothing in these suggestions to indicate their source, no one who is acquainted with the praise of the Eastern Church will fail to detect here and there certain marks which inevitably announce their origin. In most cases initial Greek headlines have been dispensed with, for the reason that they can serve no useful purpose, nor indicate with any certainty the source of any particular hymn.
When one rises from a contemplation of Christian worship as it is presented to him in the ancient forms of the Apostolic Church, it is with pain that his ears are assailed with charges which he knows to be as lacking in truth as they would be if they were levelled against ourselves. God knows how far we have all drifted from our ideal, and those who have the best excuse, not the farthest. But this offensive and ungrateful spirit is surely unbecoming on the part of those who owe so much to the Church which they censure. If Christian love would abound on all sides, how soon would the wounds of Christ’s Body heal! If those deep wounds are to be bound up, it will only be by pouring in oil and wine. Controversy and argument have been tried for centuries. They have failed. We must all begin where the beloved St. John so feelingly bids us,—“Little children, love one another.” Love implies humility, and if we are humble, and stoop to love, we will find hearts all over the world only longing and praying for the balm of that Divine oil. Then dogmatic differences will be solved in a new manner, and much more.