Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence
This carol may date back to AD 60, but scholars agree that it is a translation from a Greek Christmas devotional. Paraphrased from Habakkah 2:20, “The Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him.” Listen to the carol here.
It may be one of the oldest liturgies developed for the church and is still in use in the Eastern Orthodox Church. Today, it’s popular as a French Carol and sung to a tune by Ralph Vaughan Williams, who adapted a French folk medley. The minor key lends itself beautifully to the words, calling one back to ancient hymns and chants.
In 1864, Gerad Moultrie translated the Greek text into English. The beauty of the hymn is the silence or awe of God it evokes. “Awe” is a sense of reverence or wonder we feel when we encounter something amazing or wonderful. “The minor key and mysterious melody create an emotion of awe as you ‘fn fear and trembling stand.’ There is a time for joy, but there is also a time for silence. Perhaps after you sing the final "‘Alleluia” it would be appropriate simply to stop and keep silence before the Lord.” **
Let all mortal flesh keep silence,
And with fear and trembling stand;
Ponder nothing earthly-minded,
For with blessing in His hand,
Christ our God to earth descendeth,
Our full homage to demand.
King of kings, yet born of Mary,
As of old on earth He stood,
Lord of lords, in human vesture,
In the body and the blood;
He will give to all the faithful
His own self for heav'nly food.
Rank on rank the host of heaven
Spreads its vanguard on the way,
As the Light of light descendeth
From the realms of endless day,
That the pow'rs of hell may vanish
As the darkness clears away.
At His feet the six-winged seraph,
Cherubim with sleepless eye,
Veil their faces to the presence,
As with ceaseless voice they cry:
"Alleluia, Alleluia
Alleluia, Lord Most High!"
“As we prepare our house for the coming Christmas season, we would also prepare our hearts for the returning Christ. As we decorate and celebrate, we do so to mark the memory of your redemptive movement into our broken world, O God.” ***
** “Our Hymns, Our Heritage: A Hosanna Hymnal” by David & Barbara Leeman
*** “Every Moment Holy: Volume 1” by Douglas Kaine McKelvey