The Feast of Pentecost

Our blest Redeemer, ere he breathed
His tender last farewell,
A Guide, a Comforter, bequeathed
With us to dwell.

She came in semblance of a dove,
With sheltering wings outspread,
The holy balm of peace and love
On earth to shed.

She came in tongues of living flame
To teach, convince, subdue,
All pow'rful as the wind she came
As viewless too.

And hers that gentle voice we hear,
Soft as the breath of ev'n,
That checks each fault, that calms each fear,
And speaks of heav’n.

Spirit of purity and grace,
Our love, we plead thee, see:
O make our hearts thy dwelling place
And worthier thee.

Harriet Auber, 1829; alt.
Tune: WREFORD (8.6.8.4.)
Edmund S. Carter, 1874

This text by Anglican hymnwriter Harriet Auber (somewhat amended here) is cited by John Julian in his Dictionary of Hymnology as one of her most well-known, and it did still appear in twentieth-century hymnals, though perhaps not as often in the present day.

The much less famous Edmund Sardinson Carter (1845-1923), another Victorian member of the clergy with musical tendencies, probably wrote more tunes than the few currently mentioned online.




Eight (Liturgical) Years Ago: Joy! because the circling year

Seven (Liturgical) Years Ago:  O prophet souls of all the years

Seven (Calendar) Years Ago: Samuel Webbe

Six (Liturgical) Years Ago: Above the starry spheres

Six (Calendar) Years Ago: Austin C. Lovelace    

Five (Liturgical) Years Ago: Hail thee, festival day

Four (Liturgical) Years Ago: Hail festal day! through every age

Three (Liturgical) Years Ago: O God, the Holy Ghost

Three (Calendar) Years Ago: Samuel Webbe

Two (Liturgical) Years Ago: Spirit of grace and health and pow'r

One (Liturgical) Year Ago: Come, O come, thou quick'ning Spirit

The Feast of the Presentation

We come round again to our fourth Feast of the Presentation here at the blog. The story is told in Luke 2:22-40, how Jesus was brought to the temple forty days after his birth, there to be recognized by Anna and Simeon as the fulfillment of ancient prophecy.

The Song of Simeon, which begins in verse 29, also known as the Nunc dimittis, has been a part of Christian liturgy for hundreds of years. It is often sung in various musical settings, but today's version was set as a hymn by Martin Luther, and adapted from a translation by Catherine Winkworth.



In peace and joy I now depart,
According to thy will;
For full of comfort is my heart,
So calm and still.

For thou in mercy unto all
Hast set this Savior forth;
To Christ's dominion thou dost call
The whole wide earth.

Christ is the Hope, the saving Light,
That earthly nations need,
And those who know thee now aright
Will teach and lead.

Martin Luther, 16th cent.
tr. Catherine Winkworth, 1869; adapt.
Tune: WREFORD (8.6.8.4.)
Edmund S. Carter, 1874

The weather in many parts of the country today has probably cancelled many midweek observances of the day (including ours here in CT) but here you have four hymns for the occasion to consider without going outside in the cold.

Three Years Ago: O Zion, open wide thy gates

Two Years Ago: Hail to the Lord who comes

One Year Ago: O Jerusalem beloved