THOSE ETERNAL BOWERS

“In the midst of the street…and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life.” Revelation 22:2

Words: Stanzas 1 & 3 attributed to John of Damascus, 8th Century (Ταζ εδραζ ταζ αιωνιαζ); translated from Greek to English by John Mason Neale in Hymns of the Eastern Church, 1862, alt.

Music: “St. Alban’s,” Thomas Morley, 1867

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Those eternal bowers, man hath never trod,
Those unfading flowers round the throne of God:
Who may hope to gain them after weary fight?
Who at length attain them, clad in robes of white?

He who wakes from slumber at the Spirit’s voice,
Daring here to number things unseen his choice:
He whose one oblation is a life of love,
Knit in God’s salvation to the blest above.

Shame upon you, legions of the heav’nly King,
Citizens of regions past imagining!
What! with pipe and tabor dream away the light,
When He bids you labor, when He tells you, “Fight”?

Jesus, Lord of glory, as we breast the tide,
Whisper Thou the story of the other side;
Where the saints are casting crowns before Thy feet,
Safe for everlasting, in Thyself complete.