When Morning Gilds the Skies

When morning gilds the skies
Translator: Edward Caswall (1854)

1 When morning gilds the sky,
our hearts awaking cry:
May Jesus Christ be praised!
in all our work and prayer
we ask his loving care:
May Jesus Christ be praised!

2 To God, the Word on high,
the hosts of angels cry:
May Jesus Christ be praised!
Let mortals too upraise
their voice in hymns of praise:
May Jesus Christ be praised!

3 Let earth's wide circle round
in joyful notes resound:
May Jesus Christ be praised!
Let air and sea and sky
from depth to height reply:
May Jesus Christ be praised!

4 Be this, when day is past,
of all our thoughts the last:
May Jesus Christ be praised!
The night becomes as day
when from the heart we say:
May Jesus Christ be praised!

5 Then let us join to sing
to Christ, our loving King:
May Jesus Christ be praised!
Be this the eternal song
through all the ages long:
May Jesus Christ be praised!

Several of the Psalms begin and end with fervent declarations of praise, such as this: “Praise the Lord! Praise, O servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord! … Praise the Lord!” (Psalm 113:1, 9b ESV). Likewise, from the opening lines of early morning praise to the final couplet about eternal praise before the throne of God in heaven, this hymn has the constant refrain, “May Jesus Christ be praised.”

No one knows the original author of this text, which was translated from the German. One German version with 14 six-line stanzas appeared in Katholisches Gesangbuch of 1828, published in Würzburg by Sebastian Pörtner. In 1855, another German version appeared in F. W. von Ditfurth's Fränkische Volkslieder. Edward Caswall translated part of it into English in 1854 and translated the whole hymn – 28 couplets with the refrain “May Jesus Christ be praised” – for his own The Masque of Mary, and Other Poems in 1858. 

In 1899, Robert Bridges made another translation in 5 twelve-line stanzas for the Yattendon Hymnal, drawing on Caswall's well-known translation for continuity. These two well-known English translations are quite different and may derive from varying German versions. Both of these texts were quite long – longer than suitable for a hymnal – so various centos (excerpts) have been prepared for singing in worship.
The text is given in six-line stanzas in modern hymnals to fit the standard tune. Most hymnals have four stanzas, though some have five or six. The first and last stanzas are nearly always from Caswall's translation, with the few exceptions taking both from Bridges. While there is some agreement on the opening and closing stanzas, the middle stanzas vary greatly in theme.

Because of the wealth of material to draw from in preparing this hymn for publication, there are almost as many versions as there are hymnals. About half the hymnals take their text from only one of the English poets, while the rest combine couplets from both. Roughly a third of Caswall's text and half of Bridges's are never used in hymnals.

This hymn is often classified as a morning hymn simply because of the opening line. However, a number of places throughout the entirety of the text name other times of day; for example, “When sleep her balm denies, my silent spirit sighs.” It is more properly a hymn of praise for various times of day and many situations of life – joy and sorrow, worship and work, and more.

CLICK HERE to listen to When Morning Gilds the Skies

Blessings,
Dorene

Source: https://hymnary.org/text/when_morning_gilds_the_skies_caswall