Scripture Verse

Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined. Psalm 50:2

Introduction

portrait
Martin Opitz (1597–1639)

Words: Mar­tin Op­itz, Die Epis­teln der Son­tage und für­nem­sten Feste des gantz­en Jahrs, auff die Weisen der Frant­zö­sich­en Psalm­en in Lied­er ge­fass­et (Bres­lau [now Wro­cław, Po­land], 1628) (Brich auf, und werde Lichte). Trans­lat­ed from Ger­man to Eng­lish by Ema­nu­el Cro­nen­wett in the Ev­an­ge­li­cal Lu­ther­an Hym­nal (Co­lum­bus, Ohio: Sy­no­di­cal Print­ing House, 1880), number 51.

Music: Inns­bruck Hein­rich Is­aac, 1490, pub­lished 1539. Adapt­ed and har­mo­nized by Jo­hann S. Bach (🔊 pdf nwc).

portrait
Heinrich Isaac (1450–1517)

Lyrics

Zion, awake and bright­en!
Lo, day be­gins to light­en,
Thy Light draws nigh to thee;
The bright­ness of His glo­ry,
The morn of pro­phets’ sto­ry,
Now shines around and ov­er thee.

Though earth is yet be­cloud­ed,
And Gen­tile na­tions shroud­ed
In darkness dense and drear,
The Lord, thy life, hath blessed thee,
With lov­ing grace ca­ressed thee
And crowned thy brow with hon­ors dear.

On this broad earth the na­tions,
Throughout all ge­ne­ra­tions,
That see the light of day,
Shall learn thy bright­er glo­ry;
And men shall haste be­fore thee,
To see thy Light and bless its ray.

Behold the surg­ing mass­es!
Thy Light doth draw all class­es,
The world turns un­to thee,
Thy fame hath reached their hear­ing,
Their sons and daugh­ters, near­ing,
Haste at thy shrine to bend the knee.

Thy heart shall leap with­in thee
When thou shalt see th’as­sem­bly,
Th’abundance of the sea;
Thine eyes shall feast on cours­es
Of my­ri­ad Gen­tile forc­es,
That come con­vert­ed un­to thee.

There are glad de­le­ga­tions
From Ephah and far na­tions,
And clouds from Mi­di­an;
With gold shall Sa­ba cheer thee,
And in­cense; all that near thee
Shall sing thy praise, O chos­en One!