"" (Morning splendour of eternity) is a Christian hymn with German text originally by

Christian Knorr von Rosenroth Christian Knorr von Rosenroth (15/16 July 1636 – 4 May 1689) was a German Christian Hebraist and Christian Cabalist born at Alt-Raudten (today Stara Rudna) in Silesia. After having completed his studies in the universities of Wittenberg and Le ...

, written around 1690 and set to music for private devotion. It became known with a 1662 melody by

Johann Rudolf Ahle Johann Rudolph Ahle (24 December 1625 – 9 July 1673) was a German composer, organist, theorist, and Protestant church musician. Biography Ahle was born in Mühlhausen, Thuringia. While not much is known of his early musical training, he attende ...

. The song is part of modern German hymnals and songbooks. It was translated to English as "Come, Thou Bright and Morning Star", and as "Dayspring of Eternity".

History

, a Lutheran theologian from

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

, wrote the text of "" in 1684, intended for use in private devotion (''Hausandacht''). The song was soon included in Protestant church services. From the 1930s, it also became part of Catholic hymnals. In both denominations, it is used as a morning song and also as a song praising Jesus. The song appears in the Protestant hymnal '' Evangelisches Gesangbuch'' as EG . It is part of the Catholic ''

Gotteslob ''Gotteslob'' ("Praise of God") is the title of the hymnbook authorized by the Catholic dioceses in Germany, Austria, South Tyrol, Luxembourg and Liège, Belgium. First published in Advent 2013, it is the current official hymnal for German-speaki ...

'' of 2013 as a morning song, GL 84, taking the original followed by three stanzas written in 1690 by

Maria Luise Thurmair Maria Luise Thurmair née Mumelter (27 September 1912 – 24 October 2005) was a German Catholic theologian, hymnodist and writer. She contributed the lyrics of many hymns when the Catholic hymnal ''Gotteslob'' was first published in 1975. Care ...

. It is part of many hymnals and songbooks.

Text

The poet wrote seven stanzas of six lines each, rhyming AABBCC, with the last line extremely short. His first stanza has remained almost unchanged, while the other stanzas vary according to occasion and denomination, The following is the original beginning: Morgen-Glantz der Ewigkeit Licht vom unerschöpften Lichte Schick uns diese Morgen-Zeit Deine Strahlen zu Gesichte: Und vertreib durch deine Macht unsre Nacht. Die bewölckte Finsternis Müsse deinem Glantz entfliegen Die durch Adams Apfel-Biß Uns die kleine Welt bestiegen: Daß wir, Herr, durch deinen Schein Selig seyn. In juxtaposition: the first two stanzas as

modified them in 1969 for the Catholic ''

'': Morgenglanz der Ewigkeit, Licht vom unerschaffnen Lichte, schick uns diese Morgenzeit deine Strahlen zu Gesichte, und vertreib’ durch deine Macht unsre Nacht. Such uns heim mit deiner Kraft, o du Aufgang aus der Höhe, dass der Sünde bittre Haft und des Zweifels Not vergehe. Gib uns Trost und Zuversicht durch dein Licht. The morning splendour is a symbol of

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

who is expected to expel the night. The wording "Licht vom unerschöpften Lichte" (light from uncreated light) is reminiscent of a passage in the

Nicean Creed The original Nicene Creed (; grc-gre, Σύμβολον τῆς Νικαίας; la, Symbolum Nicaenum) was first adopted at the First Council of Nicaea in 325. In 381, it was amended at the First Council of Constantinople. The amended form is ...

. Later stanzas are a prayer for a life pleasing God. The final two stanzas compare Jesus to a "Gnaden-Sonne" (sun of mercy) which will shine for the believers also in the Beyond.

Melodies and settings

Rosenroth composed a melody when he first published. However, a ''Halle-Liederbuch'' of 1704 combined it with a melody that

had composed in 1662. The melody was used by

Friedrich Dörr Friedrich Dörr (7 March 190813 May 1993) was a German Catholic priest and professor of theology, who is known as a hymnwriter. He shaped the first common German Catholic hymnal, ''Gotteslob'', published in 1975. Life Friedrich Dörr was born i ...

for the Advent song "

Kündet allen in der Not "" (Tell all in need) is a Christian hymn with German text by Friedrich Dörr written in 1971 to a 1662 melody by Johann Rudolf Ahle. The song is part of the German Catholic hymnal ''Gotteslob''. History Friedrich Dörr wrote the text of "" in 1 ...

Max Reger Johann Baptist Joseph Maximilian Reger (19 March 187311 May 1916) was a German composer, pianist, organist, conductor, and academic teacher. He worked as a concert pianist, as a musical director at the Paulinerkirche, Leipzig, Leipzig University ...

composed a

chorale prelude In music, a chorale prelude or chorale setting is a short liturgical composition for organ using a chorale tune as its basis. It was a predominant style of the German Baroque era and reached its culmination in the works of J.S. Bach, who wrote 46 ...

based on the hymn tune in 1901, as part of his Op. 79b, the fourth of 13 preludes. Johannes Weyrauch wrote a chorale prelude as part of his Op. 52.

Translation

The hymn was translated to English. Richard Massie translated it to "Come, Thou Bright and Morning Star", published in 1857 in the ''Church Psalter & Hymn Book''. A version "Dayspring of Eternity" was written by Robert Brown-Borthwick, published in ''Church Hymns'' in 1871 as a morning hymn.

References

External links

* {{authority control 17th-century hymns in German Lutheran hymns 1684 works