It Is The Church's Holy Call

It Is The Church's Holy Call

For The Annunciation, or Lady Day
March 25

Music: Not Stated

Source: Rev. John Mason Neale, Hymns For Children. A Third Series. (1854), Third Edition (London: Joseph Masters, 1867), #15, p. 20.
See: Christmas in Neale's Hymns for Children

1. It is the Church’s holy call
To keep our solemn Festival:
The God Whom Heaven and Earth obey
Took on Himself our flesh to-day.

2. He left His everlasting Throne
To visit and to save His own;
And, when the appointed time was come,
Did not abhor the Virgin’s womb.

3. To-day the Angel named her Blest
On whom the Holy Ghost should rest;
In whom, to save mankind from hell,
The Everlasting God should dwell.

4. So full of grace, so full of faith,
She wavereth not at that he saith;
— “ Behold the handmaid of the Lord,
Be it according to thy word!"

5. Therefore the Church from shore to shore,
Proclaims her Blessed evermore:
The stem of Jesse’s promis’d Rod,
The Mother of her Lord and God.

6 Glory to God on high be done;
Like glory to the Virgin’s Son;
And equal praise and honour be,
Eternal Spirit, paid to Thee!

Note:

Also found in Mary Sackville Lawson, et al, eds., Collected Hymns, Sequences and Carols of John Mason Neale (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1914), pp. 367-368, citing Luke 1:26-38 (KJV).

26 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,

27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.

28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.

29 And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.

30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.

31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus.

32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:

33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?

35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

36 And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.

37 For with God nothing shall be impossible.

38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

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