The Cherubic Hymn

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.

King of kings, yet born 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.

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.

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,
Alleluiah, Lord Most High."
Amen.

—From the liturgy of St. James, trans. and vers. Gerard Moultrie
From The People's Hymnal, 1877.


Tune: "Picardy," French carol tune (courtesy The Cyber Hymnal).

About the Author

Gerard Moultrie (1829–1885) was a chaplain in the Anglican church. As a hymnwriter, he dealt with subjects not normally undertaken, and translated hymns from Greek, Latin, and German, as well as writing his own.

Thoughts

I first encountered this hymn at a friend's recommendation, and then found out a week later that a CD I had recently ordered also contained it. Both arrangements are good; one is sung by The Master's Chorale on the album Light All Around (I don't know who arranged it), and the other was arranged by John Rutter and is sung by his Cambridge Singers on the album Sing, Ye Heavens.

The original text of the liturgy, perhaps more grand than the versification, is translated from the Greek by James M. Neale. Picture it being said in a grand cathedral, and ponder its view of God's holiness and other-ness.

Let all mortal flesh keep silence, and stand with fear and trembling, and ponder nothing earthly in itself; for the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Christ our God, cometh forward to be sacrificed and to be given for food to the faithful; and He is preceded by the choirs of the Angels, with every Domination and Power, the many-eyed Cherubim, and the six-winged Seraphim, that cover their faces, and vociferate the hymn, Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia.