Lord, Your Word Abiding

Word of Consolation, Message of Salvation

Lord, Your Word Abiding is an Anthony G. Petti adaption of the 1861 hymn written by the Anglican Vicar, Henry W. Baker (1821-1877). As ed­it­or-in-chief from 1860 to 1877 of Hymns: An­cient and Mo­dern, Baker con­tri­but­ed a number of hymns, tunes, and trans­la­tions to this influential and still popular hymnal. Lord, Your Word Abiding is set to the 1861 tune, Ravenshaw by William H.Monk (1823-1889), which he adapted from the 1531 tune, Ave Hierarchia composed by the Lutheran Pastor and contemporary of Martin Luther, Michael Weisse (c1488-c.1534). In the Liturgy of the Hours it is used during the Office of Readings.


Tune: Ravenshaw

LORD, THY WORD ABIDETH by Henry W. Baker, 1861 (Public Domain)

1. Lord, Thy Word abideth,
And our footsteps guideth;
Who its truth believeth
Light and joy receiveth.

2. When our foes are near us,
Then Thy Word doth cheer us,
Word of consolation,
Message of salvation.

3. When the storms are o’er us,
And dark clouds before us,
Then its light directeth,
And our way protecteth.

4. Who can tell the pleasure,
Who recount the treasure,
By Thy Word imparted
To the simple hearted?

5. Word of mercy, giving
Succor to the living;
Word of life, supplying
Comfort to the dying!

6. O that we, discerning,
Its most holy learning,
Lord, may love and fear Thee,
Evermore be near Thee!


Performed by the Ely Cathedral Choir

Of the Father's Love Begotten / Corde Natus Ex Parentis

Evermore and Evermore

Of the Father's Love Begotten is a translation of the Latin poem, Corde Natus Ex Parentis by the Roman poet Aurelius Prudentius (348-c.413). It is drawn from his work Liber Cathemerinon, comprised of 12 poems that contemplate the canonical hours, and liturgical feast days and seasons. The original 1851 English translation by John Mason Neale (1818-1866) was later edited and re-edited by Henry W. Baker (1821-1877) and Roby Furley Davis (1866–1937) for various hymnals of the Church of England. It is set to the tune, Divinum Mysterium, first published in 1582 in the Piae Cantiones, and based upon an ancient plainchant melody (see 2nd video). In the Divine Office, Of the Father's Love Begotten is used during the Christmas Season and related Feast Days of the Nativity.





Corde natus ex parentis
Ante mundi exordium
A et O cognominatus,
ipse fons et clausula
Omnium quae sunt, fuerunt,
quaeque post futura sunt.
Saeculorum saeculis.

The King of Love My Shepherd Is

Your  Cross Will Ever Guide Me

The King Of Love My Shepherd Is, is an Anthony G. Petti (1932-1985) adaption of the 1868 Sir Henry W. Baker (1821-1877) paraphrase of Psalm 23. Baker took Holy Orders in the Church of England in 1844. He was closely associated with hymnody in the Church. Besides writing, translating, and composing a number of hymns, his most notable role was as Ed­it­or-in-Chief of the first edition of Hymns An­cient and Mo­dern (1861) which sold over 60 million copies. The King of Love My Shepherd Is has proven to be his most enduring work. It is said that as he lay dying his final words were those of the 3rd stanza: "Perverse and foolish, oft I strayed, but yet in love he sought me; and on his shoulder gently laid, and home, rejoicing, brought me." It is sung to the tune: St. Columba, a traditional Irish melody. In the Liturgy of the Hours it is used in the Common of Pastors and with the Office for the Dead.



THE KING OF LOVE MY SHEPHERD IS by Henry Baker, 1868 (Public Domain)

1. The King of love my Shepherd is,
Whose goodness faileth never,
I nothing lack if I am His
And He is mine forever.

2. Where streams of living water flow
My ransomed soul He leadeth,
And where the verdant pastures grow,
With food celestial feedeth.

3. Perverse and foolish oft I strayed,
But yet in love He sought me,
And on His shoulder gently laid,
And home, rejoicing, brought me.

4. In death’s dark vale I fear no ill
With Thee, dear Lord, beside me;
Thy rod and staff my comfort still,
Thy cross before to guide me.

5. Thou spread’st a table in my sight;
Thy unction grace bestoweth;
And O what transport of delight
From Thy pure chalice floweth!

6. And so through all the length of days
Thy goodness faileth never;
Good Shepherd, may I sing
Thy praise Within Thy house forever.

O Sacred Head, Surrounded

Crown of Piercing Thorn 

O Sacred Head, Surrounded is a translation by Sir Henry W. Baker (1821-1877) of the final portion of the medieval Latin poem, Salve Mundi Salutare. This lengthy medieval poem is a meditation on the sufferings of Christ's body at the crucifixion. Historically it has been attributed to St. Bernard of Clairvaux (1091-1153), but recent research suggests it is more likely the work of the Cistercian Abbot, Arnulf of Leuven (c.1200-1250). An early translation into German was done by the Lutheran hymnist, Paul Gerhardt (1607-1676). That version was then translated into english by Presbyterian minister and theologian, James W. Alexander (1804-1859). His, O Sacred Head, Now Wounded is the source of the different versions of the hymn by that same name. It is believed that Baker's hymn is instead a translation from the original latin. The text included in the Liturgy of the Hours contains an additional verse written by Melvin Farrell, S.S., first published in 1961. It is set to the Passion Chorale by Hans Leo Hassler (1564-1612) which was originally published as the tune for a secular love song in 1601, and then eventually adapted to Gerhardt's hymn in 1656. Other famous composers who have used the same melody include: Johann Sebastian Bach (St Matthew's Passion), Franz Liszt (Way of the Cross), and Paul Simon (American Tune). In the Liturgy of the Hours, O Sacred Head, Surrounded is used on Palm Sunday and during Holy Week.



O SACRED HEAD SURROUNDED - Translated by Henry Baker (Public Domain)

1. O Sacred Head surrounded
By crown of piercing thorn!
O bleeding Head so wounded,
Reviled and put to scorn!
Death's pallid hue comes o'er Thee,
The glow of life decays,
Yet angel hosts adore Thee,
And tremble as they gaze.

2.   I see Thy strength and vigor
All fading in the strife,
And death with cruel rigor,
Bereaving Thee of life:
O agony and dying!
O love to sinners free!
Jesus, all grace supplying,
O turn Thy face on me.

3.  In this, Thy bitter passion,
Good shepherd, think of me,
With Thy most sweet compassion,
Unworthy though I be:
Beneath Thy cross abiding,
Forever would I rest;
In Thy dear love confiding,
And with Thy presence blest.

4.  But death too is my ending;
In that dread hour of need,
My friendless cause befriending,
Lord, to my rescue speed:
Thyself, O Jesus, trace me,
Right passage to the grave,
And from Thy cross embrace me,
With arms outstretched to save.

On This Day, the First of Days / Die Parente Temporum

We Rest this Day with Thee.

On This Day, the First of Days is a 1861 translation by Anglican, Sir Henry W. Baker of the Latin hymn: 'Die parente temporum' which first appeared in the Carcassion Brievary in 1745, and then the Le Mans Breviary (1748). In these two typical 18th century French diocean publications, 'Dei parente temporum' is indicated for use on the Sunday at Nocturns from Pentecost to Advent. It is set to the tune Gott Sei Dank (Lubeck) first published in Freylinghausen's Gesangbuch (1704). In the Liturgy of the Hours On This Day, the First of Days is used during Ordinary Time for Morning Prayer on Sundays.

On This Day, the First of Days (H.W. Baker, 1861, Public Domain)

On this day, the first of days,
God the Father's Name we praise,
who, creation's Lord and spring,
did the world from darkness bring.

On this day the eternal Son
over death his triumph won;
on this day the Spirit came
with his gifts of living flame.

Maker, who didst fashion me
image of thyself to be,
fill me with thy love divine,
let my every thought be thine.

Holy Jesus, may I be
dead and buried here with thee;
and, by love inflamed,
arise unto thee a sacrifice.

Thou who dost all gifts impart,
shine, blest Spirit, in my heart;
best of gifts, thyself bestow;
make me burn thy love to know.

God, the blessèd Three in One,
dwell within my heart alone;
thou dost give thyself to me,
may I give myself to thee.


Die Parente Temporum (Tradition Latin, Public Domain)

Die parente temporum
Quo, numen extra proferens,
Rerum Pater, fons omnium,
Verbo fit orbis artifex.

Quo, morte victa, Filius
Se de sepulcro suscitat;
Donisque mentes igneis
Fcecundat almus Spiritus.

Adsit refusa cordibus
Qua ferveamus caritas;
Qua praedicemus debitis
Vitae Datorem laudibus.