Scripture Verse

I saw a star fall from Heaven, and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit…the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon. Revelation 9:1,11

Introduction

Words: Rha­ba­nus Mau­rus (776–856) (Tibi Chris­te, splen­dor Pa­tris). Trans­lat­ed from La­tin to Eng­lish by John M. Neale, Med­iæ­val Hymns, 1851.

Music: Un­ser Herr­scher Jo­ach­im Ne­an­der, 1680 (🔊 pdf nwc).

portrait
Rhabanus Maurus
(776–856)

Lyrics

illustration
Angel with the Key to the Bottomless Pit
Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528)

Thee, O Christ, the Fa­ther’s splen­dor,
Life and vir­tue of the heart,
In the pre­sence of the an­gels
Sing we now with tune­ful art,
Meetly in al­ter­nate chor­us,
Bearing our re­spons­ive part.

Thus we praise with ve­ne­ra­tion
All the ar­mies of the sky;
Chiefly him, the war­rior pri­mate,
Of ce­les­ti­al chi­val­ry,
Michael, who in prince­ly vir­tue
Cast Abad­don from on high.

By whose watch­ful care re­pel­ling—
King of ev­er­last­ing grace—
Every ghost­ly ad­ver­sa­ry,
All things ev­il, all things base,
Grant us of Thine on­ly good­ness,
In Thy pa­ra­dise a place.

Laud and hon­or to the Fa­ther,
Laud and hon­or to the Son,
Laud and hon­or to the Spir­it,
Ever Three, and ev­er One,
Consubstantial, co-eter­nal,
While un­en­ding ag­es run.