Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence is an ancient Greek hymn that was translated to English by Gerard Moultrie in the nineteenth century. Its antiquity indicates that it was first sung as a chant (imagine how it would sound within the stone walls of a monastery!). This hymn tune, PICARDY, is the one most frequently associated with the lyric.
Let all mortal flesh keep silence / and with fear and trembling stand;
set your minds on things eternal / for with blessing in his hand
Christ our God to earth descended / come our homage to command.
King of kings, yet born of Mary / once upon the earth he stood;
Lord of lords we now perceive him / in the body and the blood.
He has given to all the faithful / his own self for heavenly food.
Rank on rank, the host of heaven / stream before him on the way,
As the Light of Light, descending / from the realms of endless day,
Comes, the powers of hell to vanquish / clears the gloom of hell away.
At his feet the six-winged seraph / cherubim with sleepless eye
Veil their faces to his presence / as with ceaseless voice they cry:
“Alleluia, alleluia! / Alleluia, Lord Most High!”
Church Calendar: Christmas
Hymn Tune: PICARDY
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