December - Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence

Lyrics

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!”

December Bible Memory Verse

1 Samuel 12:24, ESV

“Only fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart. For consider what great things he has done for you.”

Story Behind the Song

This song is nearly as old as Christmas itself! In its earliest form, some say it goes back to the third century, not many generations after the early church. Originally it was a chant which is a simple melody quite close to speech with repeated notes. It was first used around communion for the liturgy of St James and has been found in the old Chant book of Jerusalem. It was originally in the Greek language and then there was also an adaptation in Syriac, an Aramaic dialect.

The modern translation we now regularly use was written by Gerard Moutrie. Ralph Vaugh Williams put it with an old French folk carol melody called ‘Picardy’ in 1906. It is in a minor key which often has a more somber or serious feel to it. It is a good match for these words as they are about being silent before the Lord with reverence. To have reverence means to stand in awe of something. In this old hymn it is with reverence we consider the wonder of God’s holy Son come to our sinful earth to save us.

Something to Think About

When our first baby was born my parents flew over from Northern Ireland to see her. We had been waiting for little Eliza for such a long time. She was the first grandchild for both our families. We were all very excited.

I was sitting in a rocking chair holding her when my mum and dad arrived in the room. They rushed over, came in close, and were so amazed at this new little one there were hardly any words! There was so much breath-taking wonder!

Can you imagine for a moment the even greater wonder of the new baby born to Mary?! How could it be God had come himself to us in this way? How could the glory and joy of heaven be curling his tiny hand round his mother’s fingers? How could the great King of Kings stoop down so far to save us and fill the darkest places with light?

Christmas time for all of us is rarely silent! We are busy, distracted and very noisy. But there is something so much more important and beautiful to stop us in our tracks - to come and see the Savior born to us on that day. There we become still, filled with wonder and awe.

Perhaps we can use this very old and reverent song to help draw us close like the shepherds and the wise men. When they came close they humbly bowed down and worshipped Him in breath-taking wonder.

Prayer

Father in heaven,

We thank you for this Christmas season. Help us to remember and know more deeply the wonder of your gift to us. We thank you for the light and joy, the peace and hope given to all who come and worship the Lord Jesus, the Savior of the world.

Use the words of this old hymn to help our family worship you this Christmas time. We pray many more will hear the good news of Christ’s birth through the carols of Christmas,

In His name we pray

Amen

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