God shall come from Teman, and the Holy One from the thick and shady mountain of Paran.
Habakkuk 3:3 (Septuagint)
Words: Cosmas the Melodist, 8th Century (Ῥάβδος ἐκ τῆς ῥίζης Ἰεσσαὶ). Translated from Greek to English by John M. Neale, Hymns of the Eastern Church (London: Spottiswoode, 1862).
Music: Schroeder Hermann R. Schroeder, in Great Hymns of the Church Compiled by the Late Right Reverend John Freeman Young, edited by John H. Hopkins (New York: James Pott, 1887), number 106 (🔊 pdf nwc).
Alternate Tune:
If you know where to get a good picture of Schroeder (head-and-shoulders, at least 200×300 pixels), would you ?
Rod of the Root of Jesse,
Thou, Flower of Mary born,
From that thick shady mountain
Cam’st glorious forth this morn:
Of her, the ever virgin,
Incarnate wast Thou made,
The immaterial Essence,
The God by all obeyed!
Glory, Lord, Thy servants pay
To Thy wondrous might today!
The Gentiles’ expectation,
Whom Jacob’s words foretell,
Who Syria’s pride shall vanquish,
Samaria’s power shalt quell;
Thou from the Root of Judah
Like some fair plant dost spring,
To turn old Gentile error
To Thee, its God and King!
Glory, Lord, Thy servants pay
To Thy wondrous might today!
In Balaam’s ancient vision
The eastern seers were skilled;
They marked the constellations,
And joy their spirits filled;
For Thou, bright Star of Jacob,
Arising in Thy might,
Didst call these Gentile first-fruits
To worship in Thy light.
They, in holy reverence bend,
Gifts acceptable present.
As on a fleece descending
The gentle dews distill,
As drops the earth that water,
The virgin didst Thou fill.
Tarshish and Ethiopia,
The Isles and Araby,
And Media, leagues with Sheba,
Fall down and worship Thee.
Glory, Lord, Thy servants pay
To Thy wondrous might today!