Scripture Verse

He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord. John 1:23

Introduction

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Charles Coffin (1676–1749)

Words: Charles Cof­fin, Hym­ni Sac­ri, 1736 (Jor­dan­is or­as prae­via). Stanzas 1–3 trans­lat­ed from La­tin to Eng­lish by John Chand­ler, Hymns of the Pri­mi­tive Church, 1837. Stanzas 4–5: trans­la­tor un­known.

Music: Win­ches­ter New Mu­sik­al­isch­es Hand­buch (Ham­burg, Ger­ma­ny: 1690). Har­mo­ny by Will­iam H. Monk, 1847, alt. (🔊 pdf nwc).

Alternate Tune:

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William H. Monk (1823–1889)

Lyrics

On Jor­dan’s bank the Bap­tist’s cry
Announces that the Lord is nigh;
Come, then, and heark­en, for He brings
Glad tid­ings from the King of kings.

E’en now the air, the sea, the land,
Feel that their mak­er is at hand;
The very ele­ments re­joice;
And wel­come Him with cheer­ful voice.

Then cleansed be ev­ery Chris­tian breast,
And fur­nished for great a guest!;
Yea, let us each our hearts pre­pare,
For Christ to come and en­ter there

For Thou art our sal­va­tion, Lord—
Our re­fuge, and our great re­ward;
Without Thy grace, our souls must fade
And wi­ther like a flow­er de­cayed.

Stretch forth Thine hand, to heal our sore,
And make us rise and fall no more;
Once more up­on Thy people shine,
And fill the world with love di­vine.

To Him, who left the throne of Hea­ven
To save man­kind, all praise be given!
Like praise be to the Fa­ther done,
And Ho­ly Spi­rit—Three in One!