Brightest and Best of the Sons of the Morning

Representative Text

1 Brightest and best of the sons of the morning,
dawn on our darkness and lend us your aid.
Star of the east, the horizon adorning,
guide where our infant Redeemer is laid.

2 Cold on his cradle the dewdrops are shining;
low lies his head with the beasts of the stall.
Angels adore him in slumber reclining,
maker and monarch and Savior of all.

3 Shall we yield him in costly devotion
rarest of fragrances, tribute divine,
gems of the mountain and pearls of the ocean,
myrrh from the forest and gold from the mine?

4 Vainly we offer each ample oblation,
vainly with gifts would his favor secure.
Richer by far is the heart's adoration,
dearer to God are the prayers of the poor.

5 Brightest and best of the sons of the morning,
dawn on our darkness and lend us your aid.
Star of the east, the horizon adorning,
guide where our infant Redeemer is laid.


Source: Christian Worship: Hymnal #373

Author: Reginald Heber

Reginald Heber was born in 1783 into a wealthy, educated family. He was a bright youth, translating a Latin classic into English verse by the time he was seven, entering Oxford at 17, and winning two awards for his poetry during his time there. After his graduation he became rector of his father's church in the village of Hodnet near Shrewsbury in the west of England where he remained for 16 years. He was appointed Bishop of Calcutta in 1823 and worked tirelessly for three years until the weather and travel took its toll on his health and he died of a stroke. Most of his 57 hymns, which include "Holy, Holy, Holy," are still in use today. -- Greg Scheer, 1995… Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: Brightest and best of the sons of the morning
Title: Brightest and Best of the Sons of the Morning
Author: Reginald Heber (1811)
Meter: 11.10.11.10
Language: English
Refrain First Line: Brightest and best
Copyright: Public Domain

Notes

Brightest and best of the sons of the morning. Bp .R. Heber. [Epiphany.] First published in the Christian Observer, Nov. 1811, p. 697, in 5 stanzas of 4 lines (the last being the first repeated); and again in his posthumous Hymns, &c, 1827, p. 25. Few hymns of merit have troubled compilers more than this. Some have held that its use involved the worshipping of a star, whilst others have been offended with its metre as being too suggestive of a solemn dance. Cotterill gave it in the 8th edition, 1819, of his Selection and omitted it from the 9th, 1820; and Elliott, following the example in detail, had it in his 1st edition Psalms and Hymns, 1835, and dropped it from the 2nd, which others have done much the same. It has, however, survived these changes, and has become one of the most widely used of the Bishop's hymns. In the American Presbyterian Psalms & Hymns for the Worship of God, Richmond, 1867, No. 69, it is given in an altered form as "Hail the blest morn! see the Great Mediator," and attributed in the Index to Tate and Brady. The Rev. R. Bingham has given a Latin rendering in his Hymnologia Christiana Latina, 1871: "Stella, micans coelo nitido magis omnibus una."

-- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

Timeline

Media

You have access to this FlexScore.
Download:
Are parts of this score outside of your desired range? Try transposing this FlexScore.
General Settings
Stanza Selection
Voice Selection
Text size:
Music size:
Transpose (Half Steps):
Capo:
Contacting server...
Contacting server...
Questions? Check out the FAQ

A separate copy of this score must be purchased for each choir member. If this score will be projected or included in a bulletin, usage must be reported to a licensing agent (e.g. CCLI, OneLicense, etc).

This is a preview of your FlexScore.
The Cyber Hymnal #630
  • Adobe Acrobat image (PDF)
  • Noteworthy Composer score (NWC)
  • XML score (XML)
Worship and Rejoice #235

Instances

Instances (1 - 100 of 904)

52 Hymns of the Heart #56

Text

A Book of Hymns for Public and Private Devotion (15th ed.) #108

Page Scan

A Book of Hymns for Public and Private Devotion. (10th ed.) #108

Page Scan

A Church hymnal #261

A Church of England Hymn Book #132

A Collection of Choral Hymns for the ... Hanson Place Methodist Episcopal Congregation #d19

Page Scan

A Collection of Hymns #79

TextPage Scan

A Collection of Hymns and Prayers, for Public and Private Worship #79

A Collection of Hymns for Public, Social and Domestic Worship #d101

A Collection of Hymns for Public, Social and Domestic Worship #d100

A Collection of Hymns for Public, Social, and Domestic Worship #d101

Page Scan

A Collection of Hymns for Public, Social, and Domestic Worship #98

A Collection of Hymns for the Sanctuary. Rev.ed. with a Supplement #d11

Page Scan

A Collection of Hymns for the use of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church in America #117

Page Scan

A Collection of Hymns, for the use of the United Brethren in Christ #90

Page Scan

A Collection of Hymns #55

Page Scan

A Collection of Psalms and Hymns for the use of Universalist Societies and Families (13th ed.) #206

Page Scan

A Collection of Psalms and Hymns for the Use of Universalist Societies and Families 16ed. #206

Page Scan

A Handy Book of Old and Familiar Hymns #39

Page Scan

A Hymnal and Service Book for Sunday Schools, Day Schools, Guilds, Brotherhoods, etc. #197

A Junior Hymnal with Song Stories and Worship Programs #d10

Page Scan

A Liturgy and Hymns for Church Sunday Schools #33

Page Scan

A Manual of Devotion and Hymns for the House of Refuge, City of New York #150

Page Scan

A Manual of Worship #262

Page Scan

A New Hymnal for Sunday Schools #24

A New Service and Tune Book for Sunday Schools. New ed. #d11

A School Service Book #d15

A Selection of Hymns #d31

A Selection of Hymns, from Various Authors #d47

A Selection of Psalms and Hymns for ... Diocese of Nova Scotia. 3rd ed. #d44

A Selection of Psalms and Hymns for the Use of the Diocese of Nova Scotia. 3rd ed. #d44

Page Scan

A Selection of Sacred Songs #21

Page Scan

A Selection of Sacred Songs. 2nd ed. #21

Page Scan

A Selection of Spiritual Songs #250

Page Scan

A Service Book #165a

A Treasury of Hymns, the Best-Loved Hymns, Carols ... #d32

TextPage Scan

African American Heritage Hymnal #219

Page Scan

African Methodist Episcopal hymn and tune book #102

Page Scan

Alleluia #35

Ambassador Hymnal #58

American Church and Church School Hymnal #d30

Page Scan

American Church and Church School Hymnal #77

TextPage Scan

American Lutheran Hymnal #377

Text

Ancient and Modern #96a

Text

Ancient and Modern #96b

Angelic Songs #d21

Anglican Hymns Old and New (Rev. and Enl.) #89

Apples of Gold in Pictures of Silver #d20

Asaph #d36

At Worship #d33

Page Scan

Augsburg Songs for Sunday Schools and other services #52

Page Scan

Augsburg Songs No. 2 #20

Augsburg Songs, Nos. l and 2 Combined #d32

Australian Hymn Book #234

Baptist Harmony #d32

Page Scan

Baptist Hymn Book #aB12

Baptist Hymnal #67

Baptist Songs with Music #d22

Battle Songs of the Cross #d20

Beall's Gospel Songs with supplement entitled Favorite Hymns #d20

Book of Common Praise #d62

Book of Hymns for the Evangelical Lutheran Joint Synod of Wisconsin and Other States #d36

Page Scan

Book of Praise for the Sunday School #17[19]

TextPage Scan

Book of Worship (Rev. ed.) #170

TextPage Scan

Book of Worship with Hymns and Tunes #228

Page Scan

Book of Worship #129

Page Scan

Book of Worship #170a

Page Scan

Book of Worship #170b

TextAudioPage Scan

Boundless Love #180

Page Scan

Bright Gems #135

Brightest and Best #d17

Calvary Selection of Spiritual Songs with Music for the Church and the Choir #d103

Canadian Sabbath-School Hymn Book #d30

Carmina for Social Worship #d26

Page Scan

Carmina for the Sunday School and Social Worship #67

Page Scan

Carmina Sacra #236a

Page Scan

Carmina Sanctorum, a selection of hymns and songs of praise with tunes #161a

Page Scan

Carmina Sanctorum, a selection of hymns and songs of praise with tunes #161b

Page Scan

Carmina Sanctorum #161a

Page Scan

Carmina Sanctorum #161b

Page Scan

Carols for Christmas, Easter and Other Festivals #19

Carols of Christmas #13

Page Scan

Carols Old and Carols New #739

Page Scan

Celestial Songs #726

TextPage Scan

Chalice Hymnal #174

Chapel Hymns #d76

Page Scan

Chapel Treasures (Christ Chapel Sabbath-School, Lebanon, PA) #330

Page Scan

Children's Praise #24

Choral Harp for Sunday Schools #d18

Choral Song #d14

Page Scan

Christ in Song #122

TextPage Scan

Christ in Song #277

Christian Hymns #15

Page Scan

Christian Hymns for Public and Private Worship #891

TextPage Scan

Christian Hymns #266

Christian Praise #d50

Pages

Exclude 842 pre-1979 instances
Suggestions or corrections? Contact us