Scripture Verse

The appearance of His face changed, and His clothes became bright as a flash of lightning. Luke 9:29

Introduction

illustration
The Transfiguration
Raphael (1483–1520)

Words: Un­known au­thor, 10th Cen­tu­ry (O na­ta Lux de lu­mi­ne). Trans­lat­ed from La­tin to Eng­lish by Lau­rence Hous­man in The Eng­lish Hym­nal (Lon­don: Ox­ford Uni­ver­si­ty Press, 1906), num­ber 234.

Music: White­hall me­lo­dy by Hen­ry Lawes (1596–1662) (🔊 pdf nwc).

portrait
Laurence Housman
1865–1959

Lyrics

O Light of light, by love in­clined,
Jesu, Re­deem­er of man­kind,
With lov­ing-kind­ness deign to hear
From sup­pli­ant voic­es praise and pray­er.

Thou who to raise our souls from hell
Didst deign in flesh­ly form to dwell,
Vouchsafe us, when our race is run,
In Thy fair bo­dy to be one.

More bright by day Thy face did show,
Thy rai­ment whit­er than the snow,
When on the mount to mor­tals blest
Man’s mak­er Thou was ma­ni­fest.

Two pro­phets, that had faith to see,
With Thine elect found com­pa­ny,
Where un­to each, di­vine­ly shown,
The God­head veiled in form was known.

The hea­vens above His glo­ry named,
The Fa­ther’s voice the Son pro­claimed;
To whom, the King of glo­ry now,
All faith­ful hearts ador­ing bow.

May all who seek Thy praise aright
Through pur­er lives show forth Thy light;
So to the bright­ness of the skies
By ho­ly deeds our hearts shall rise.

Eternal God, to Thee we raise,
The King of kings, our hymn of praise,
Who Three in One and One in Three
Doth live and reign eter­nal­ly.