Ancient Hymn - Earth has Many a Noble City

Here is an acient hynm of the early church that a fellow centurion selected for us in Church this morning on the First Sunday after the Epiphany

Words by Prudentius (348-413). The music we used is on this site http://www.oremus.org/hymnal/e/e004.html

Earth has many a noble city

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Earth has many a noble city;
Bethlehem, thou dost all excel:
out of thee the Lord from heaven
came to rule his Israel.

Fairer than the sun at morning
was the star that told his birth,
to the world its God announcing
seen in fleshly form on earth.

Eastern sages at his cradle
make oblations rich and rare;
see them give, in deep devotion,
gold and frankincense and myrrh.

Sacred gifts of mystic meaning:
incense doth their God disclose,
gold the King of kings proclaimeth,
myrrh his sepulcher foreshows.

Jesus, whom the Gentiles worshiped
at thy glad epiphany,
unto thee, with God the Father
and the Spirit, glory be.

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Words: Prudentius (348-413);
trans. Edward Caswall, 1849

Music: Stuttgart

Meter: 87 87

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IN HOC SIGNO VINCES - TIME DEUM ET OPERARE IUSTITIAM
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