Hymn: Longest Night of Earthly Vigil

Here is another Lenten hymn, to pair with my recent setting of my old hymn text "When Time Had Come for Christ to Die."  Whereas that hymn is fitting for commemorating Christ's death on Good Friday, this hymn is a hymn of the myrrh-bearers, who came to anoint Christ's tomb.  It is a hymn of abandonment, a hymn of Holy Saturday.  I first wrote it almost a decade ago, with some adjustments throughout the years, and I'm happy to finally share it.

The tune is "Picardy," a French carol tune.  It is best-known through Ralph Vaughan Williams' arrangement of "Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence."  That is certainly the inspiration for my use of it here, as the text of that hymn is used as the Cherubikon for Holy Saturday.

Have a blessed Fast.

Longest Night of Earthly Vigil by Brandon P. Otto on Scribd

Scribd link:https://www.scribd.com/document/706723610/Longest-Night-of-Earthly-Vigil

Internet Archive mirror: https://archive.org/details/longest-night-of-earthly-vigil

Text:

1. Longest night of earthly vigil,
'fore the rock now keeps the Bride.
Taken from the bloody sigil
In the Tomb He'll e'er abide.

R: Christ the Lord to earth descended,
O black earth, release Him now!

2.  Rank on rank the hosts of heaven
Took their leave so silently.
Hast Thou lost that holy leaven
Which would raise Thee gloriously?

3. Moon and stars of night are fading
And the sun no more will rise.
Yet, departing, some faint shading
In the darkness piques our eyes.

4. All the night we've kept in sorrow,
Yet the dark has just begun.
Return shall we on the morrow
And each night till time has run.

5. On the morrow we anoint Thee
If the rock will bend away.
For myrrh makes the dead smell sweetly
But can God redeem death's prey?

6. Farewell, O our Friend and Master!
Now we take our bitter leave!
Farewell, O our wolf-maimed Pastor!
At the blood of dawn, we grieve!

Lyrics ©2023 Brandon P. Otto.  Licensed via CC BY-NC.  Feel free to redistribute non-commercially, as long as credit is given to the lyricist.

Hymn: When Time Had Come for Christ to Die

In a blog post from 2014, reflecting on Good Friday, I included a hymn I had written, to be set to the tune JESU DULCIS MEMORIA.  Almost ten years later, I have finally prepared this musical setting:

Scribd mirror: https://www.scribd.com/document/706718005/When-Time-Had-Come-for-Christ-to-Die

 

The bare text of the hymn is here:

 

When time had come for Christ to die,

and Judas had betrayed Him by

a twisted kiss for silver's gain,

the sky did not hold back its rain.

His Blood upon the ground did fall

as guards brought Him the bitter gall.

The sun did darken in that hour

for sorrow did it overpower.

In two spots did blood run that day,

from the betrayer, from betrayed,

in Akeldama's soiled field,

on Golgotha where thunder pealed.

Sixth hour passed when He was nailed,

Ninth hour now the One who's hailed

as He Who comes in the Lord's name

will die the death of the infame.

One thief to Heaven, one to Hell:

the Psalm is now the Lord's death knell.

And letting out His final breath,

the Christ has fin'lly come to death.

Silence now reigns upon the earth,

soaked by the blood of countless worth.

In sorrow is now sealed the Tomb,

of glorious birth the second womb.

 

Hymn Text ©2014 Brandon P. Otto.  Licensed via CC BY-NC.  Feel free to redistribute non-commercially, as long as credit is given to the author.

"Rejoice, Rabbi"

 

 "And immediately approaching Jesus [Judas] said, 'Rejoice, rabbi': and he kissed Him."--Mt 26:49

The apostate who ran to the high priests with the Bread of Heaven still in his mouth betrayed our Lord with a kiss.  What is a symbol of filial love, the kiss (φιληματος), Judas turned into a symbol of betrayal.  He who was one of the twelve chosen by Christ to follow Him gave full rein to his greed and allowed Satan entrance into his heart.  Since he betrayed with an act of love the Lover of Mankind, it is fitting that Jesus said, "It would be better for this man if he were never born."  And if the betrayal by an act of love were not horrific enough, ponder the words Judas spoke: "Rejoice, rabbi."