A Christmas Hymn:
O God of God! O Light of Light!
Thou Prince of Peace, Thou King of kings,
To Thee, where angels know no night,
The song of praise forever rings:
To Him Who sits upon the throne,
The Lamb once slain for sinful men,
Be honor, might; all by Him won;
Glory and praise! Amen, Amen.
Deep in the Prophets’ sacred page,
Grand in the poets’ wingèd word,
Slowly in type, from age to age,
Nations beheld their coming Lord;
Till through the deep Judean night
Rang out the song, “Good-will to men!”
Hymned by the first-born sons of light,
Re-echoed now, “Good-will!” Amen.
That life of truth, those deeds of love,
That death of pain, ‘mid hate and scorn;
These all are past, and now above,
He reigns our King! once crowned with thorn.
Lift up your heads, ye heavenly gates;
So sang his hosts, unheard by men;
Lift up your heads, for you He waits.
We lift them up! Amen, Amen!
Sing to the Lord a glorious song,
Sing to His Name, His love forth tell;
Sing on, heaven’s hosts, His praise prolong;
Sing, ye who now on earth do dwell;
Worthy the Lamb for sinners slain,
From angels, praise; and thanks from men;
Worthy the Lamb, enthroned to reign,
Glory and power! Amen, Amen!
Hymn by John Julian, via Hymnary, https://www.hymnary.org/text/o_god_of_god_o_light_of_light
The ESN team prays for a rich and joyful Christmas for all our readers, full of the wonder of Christ’s presence and the hope of the Incarnation. We hope you find this artwork and hymn from believers in different times and places to be a source of meditation during this festive season.
Image: He, Qi. Glory to God in the Highest, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN.http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=46110 [retrieved December 1, 2016]. Original source: heqigallery.com.
About the author:
The Emerging Scholars Network is always seeking opportunities to identify, encourage, and equip the next generation of Christian scholars to be a redeeming influence in the academy, church, and the world. As you have an announcement, a "call for papers", an event, a prayer request (e.g., campus, field, higher ed), a resource suggestion, a review, etc., which is in concord with our Kingdom of God endeavor, please send materials (marketing/sales material not accepted) for consideration to post via email or the ESN Writer Survey. Thank-you. To God be the glory!
Leave a Reply