Scripture Verse

Thou art the God that doest wonders. Psalm 77:14

Introduction

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John of Damascus (675–749)

Words: John of Da­mas­cus (675–749) (Ἕσωσε λαὸν, ϑαυματουϱγῶν Δεσπότης). Trans­lat­ed from Greek to Eng­lish by Will­iam C. Dix in Ly­ra Mes­si­a­ni­ca, ed­it­ed by Or­by Ship­ley (Lon­don: Long­man, Green, Long­man, Ro­berts & Green, 1864), pag­es 57–58.

Music: Llan­fyll­in, tra­di­tion­al Welsh me­lo­dy, pub­lished 1865 (🔊 pdf nwc).

Lyrics

The wonder working Mas­ter
Once deigned His race to save,
When dry land for His people
He made the Red Sea wave;
Now born for us, all willing,
Of maiden pure and sweet,
The path to heavenly mansions
He opens to our feet.

The bush unburned most truly
Portrays the holy womb,
Whence sprung the Word incarnate
To loose the ancient doom,
And all the bitter sorrows
Of Eva’s curse to stay,
The Word, who hither wended
Our sin to do away.

To Him, with God the Fa­ther
In substance truly One,
One with mankind, from all men
Be laud for ever done:
God to our human nature,
To our mortality
In form conjoined, we worship,
And Him we glorify.

Thee, Word of God eter­nal,
Who wert before the sun,
The star showed to the Magi,
A poor and suffering One:
Thee, swaddled in a manger,
They saw with glad accord,
And hailed Thee with rejoicing,
True man, and yet the Lord.