A Christmas Hymn
And eternal victory,
Honor, glory, and dominion,
And unwearied praises be;
Hymn and chant and high thanksgiving,
And, O Holy Ghost, to thee,
Christ, to thee with God the Father,
Evermore and evermore
Every voice in concert ring,
Let no tongue on earth be silent,
And extol our God and King;
Powers, dominions, bow before him,
Angel hosts, His praises sing;
Let the heights of heaven adore Him;
Evermore and evermore
First revealed his sacred face,
And the Babe, the world’s Redeemer,
Bore the Savior of our race;
By the Holy Ghost conceiving,
When the Virgin full of grace,
Of the birth for ever blessed,
Evermore and evermore
And that future years shall see,
Of the things that are, that have been
He the source, the ending He,
He is Alpha and Omega,
Ere the worlds began to be,
Of the Father’s Love Begotten
This beautiful Christmas hymn— number 82 in our 1982 Hymnal— is based on a poem by a 4th Century Christian layman named Marcus Aurelius Prudentius. He practiced law, served as a public servant, and faithfully followed Christ in what is today Northern Spain. Many of our Christmas hymns paint comforting images of a cold winter night when Jesus was born by drawing our attention to what the surroundings may have been like at Jesus’ birth, but Prudentius’ poem gets right to the point: The baby born miraculously to the Virgin Mary is indeed God and the object of our eternal worship! May this ancient, prayerful meditation guide your devotion during this Christmas season.
Joy and Peace,
Deacon Matt Rucker