Let all mortal flesh keep silence is an ancient chant of Eucharist

Eucharist

The Eucharist , also called Holy Communion, the Sacrament of the Altar, the Blessed Sacrament, the Lord's Supper, and other names, is a Christian sacrament or ordinance...

ic devotion based on the verses taken from Habakkuk

Habakkuk

Habakkuk , also spelled Habacuc, was a prophet in the Hebrew Bible. The etymology of the name of Habakkuk is not clear. The name is possibly related to the Akkadian khabbaququ, the name of a fragrant plant, or the Hebrew root חבק, meaning "embrace"...

 2:20

"Let all the earth keep silence before Him"

taken from one of the books of the 12 minor prophets of Bible. The original was composed in Greek as a Cherubic Hymn for the Offertory of the Divine Liturgy of St James

Liturgy of St James

The Liturgy of Saint James is the oldest complete form of the Eastern varieties of the Divine Liturgy still in use among certain Christian churches....

 in the fourth Century AD, with local Churches adopting arrangements in Syriac. In modern times, the Ralph Vaughan Williams

Ralph Vaughan Williams

Ralph Vaughan Williams OM was an English composer of symphonies, chamber music, opera, choral music, and film scores. He was also a collector of English folk music and song: this activity both influenced his editorial approach to the English Hymnal, beginning in 1904, in which he included many...

 arrangement of a translation from the Greek by Gerard Moultrie

Gerard Moultrie

Gerald Moultrie was a Victorian public schoolmaster and Anglican hymnographer born in England September 16, 1829, at Rugby Rectory, England. His father, John Moultrie was also a hymn writer. He was educated at Rugby and Exeter College...

 to the tune of Picardy

Picardy (hymn)

"Picardy" is a hymn tune used in Christian churches, based on a French carol; it is in a minor key and its meter is 8.7.8.7.8.7. Its name comes from the province of France from where it is thought to originate. The tune dates back at least to the 17th century, and was originally used for the folk...

, a French medieval folk melody, popularized the hymn among Christian congregations that worship liturgically.

The Moultrie translation is written in 87.87

Meter (hymn)

A hymn meter or metre indicates the number of syllables for the lines in each stanza of a hymn. This provides a means of marrying the hymn's text with an appropriate hymn tune for singing.-Hymn and poetic meter:...

 Trochaic

Trochee

A trochee or choree, choreus, is a metrical foot used in formal poetry consisting of a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed one...

meter. Therefore, winged in the first line of the fourth stanza is correctly read or sung as a single
syllable. However, the two syllable variant wingèd has become commonly accepted, especially outside of the United Kingdom.

Verses

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 heavenly 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 powers 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!

Further reading

• Development of Divine Liturgy of St James
  Liturgy of St James
  The Liturgy of Saint James is the oldest complete form of the Eastern varieties of the Divine Liturgy still in use among certain Christian churches....
  
  
• Wikisource English transcription of Cherubic Hymn
• Author of English lyrics Gerard Moultrie
  Gerard Moultrie
  Gerald Moultrie was a Victorian public schoolmaster and Anglican hymnographer born in England September 16, 1829, at Rugby Rectory, England. His father, John Moultrie was also a hymn writer. He was educated at Rugby and Exeter College...
  
  
• Hymn melody Picardy (hymn)
  Picardy (hymn)
  "Picardy" is a hymn tune used in Christian churches, based on a French carol; it is in a minor key and its meter is 8.7.8.7.8.7. Its name comes from the province of France from where it is thought to originate. The tune dates back at least to the 17th century, and was originally used for the folk...
  
  
• Prayers for Eucharistic adoration
  Eucharistic adoration
  Eucharistic adoration is a practice in the Roman Catholic Church, and in a few Anglican and Lutheran churches, in which the Blessed Sacrament is exposed to and adored by the faithful....
  
  
• Eastern Orthodox Liturgy Cherubikon
  Cherubikon
  The Cherubikon, or Cherubic Hymn, is the troparion normally sung at the Great Entrance during the Byzantine liturgy. The hymn is sung in the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Eastern Catholic Churches. The hymn symbolically incorporates those present at the liturgy into the presence of the angels...
  
  

External links

• Words, MIDI, and score at HymnSite.com
• Musical annotation for playing as MIDI melody or score at Cyber Hymnal
• Hear Real Audio and MP3 samples at Center for Church Music songs and hymn collection "Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence"