Devotional 11-1-13

St. Ambrose, archbishop of Milan, was one of the most influential church figures in the 4th century. He was a strong advocate of faithful church doctrine and worked hard to repel heresies that arose. His hymn which follows has been translated with several variations though it is a beautifully reflective poem that contemplates the presence of God in the arrival of the dawn. I've kept his hymn handy for morning prayer. I cobbled together some text from varying sources into a hymn which we will use to open our "All Saints Sunday" service of worship this week. May I offer the thought that you read this as a prayer. And come sing it with us on Sunday!

Dawn Sprinkles All the East with Light

Dawn sprinkles all the east with light
Day o’er the earth is gli-ding bright;
Morn’s shi-ning rays their course be-gin;
Fare-well to dark-ness and to sin.

May phan-toms of the night, we pray,
And trace of guilt be cleansed away.
What-e-ver weighs u-pon the heart
Let it with dark-ness now de-part.

Then, when that fi-nal morn ar-rives,
With hum-ble faith we hope our lives
May see, il-lu-mined by new sight,
What we now sing by ear-ly light:

Praise God from whom all bles-sings flow,
Praise God, all crea-tures here be-low.
Praise God a-bove ye heav’n-ly host.
Praise Fa-ther, Son, and Ho-ly Ghost.

“Aurora Jam Spargit Polum”
St. Ambrose, 4th c.
Text ed. jwl 2013
Tune:  Tallis’ Canon; Thomas Tallis 1505-1585

Rev. Jack Lipphardt