Radcliffe

O how amiable

O how amiable are thy dwellings: thou Lord of Hosts!
My soul hath a desire and longing 
to enter into the courts of the Lord: 
My heart and my flesh rejoice in the living God. 
Yea, the sparrow hath found her an house, 
and the swallow a nest where she may lay her young: 
even thy altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God. 
Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: 
They will be alway praising thee. 
Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee: 
in whose heart are thy ways. 

Thomas Ravenscroft

Remember, O thou man

Remember, O thou man, 
O thou man, O thou man, 
Remember, O thou man, 
Thy time is spent:  
Remember, O thou man, 
How thou cam’st to me then, 
And I did what I can, 
Therefore repent.

Remember God’s goodness, 
O thou man, O thou man, 
Remember God’s goodness 
And promise made:  
Remember God’s goodness, 
How his only Son he sent, 
Our sins for to redress:  
Be not afraid.

Give thanks to God always,
O thou man, O thou man, 
Give thanks to God always, 
With hearts most jolly:  
Give thanks to God always 
Upon this blessed day; 
Let all men sing and say,
Holy, holy.

John Rutter

Open thou mine eyes

Open thou mine eyes and I shall see,
Incline my heart and I shall desire,
Order my steps and I shall walk
In the ways of thy commandments.

Open thou mine eyes and I shall see,
Incline my heart and I shall desire,
Order my steps and I shall walk
In the ways of thy commandments.

O Lord God, be thou to me a God
And beside thee let there be none else,
No other, nought else with thee.
Vouchsafe to me to worship thee
and serve thee
According to thy commandments
In truth of spirit,
In reverence of body,
In blessing of lips,
In private and in public.

Sans Day Carol

Now the holly bears a berry as white as the milk, 
And Mary bore Jesus, who was wrapped up in silk: 
And Mary bore Jesus Christ our Saviour for to be, 
And the first tree in the greenwood, it was the holly!

Now the holly bears a berry as green as the grass, 
And Mary bore Jesus, who died on the cross:
And Mary bore Jesus Christ our Saviour for to be, 
And the first tree in the greenwood, it was the holly!

Now the holly bears a berry as black as the coal, 
And Mary bore Jesus, who died for us all:
And Mary bore Jesus Christ our Saviour for to be, 
And the first tree in the greenwood, it was the holly!

Now the holly bears a berry as blood it is red, 
Then trust we our Saviour, who rose from the dead: 
And Mary bore Jesus Christ our Saviour for to be, 
And the first tree in the greenwood, it was the holly!

What sweeter music

What sweeter music can we bring 
Than a carol, for to sing 
The birth of this our heavenly King? 
Awake the voice! Awake the string! 

Dark and dull night, fly hence away, 
And give the honour to this day 
That sees December turned to May. 

Why does the chilling winter's morn 
Smile, like a field beset with corn? 
Or smell like a meadow newly shorn 
Thus on the sudden? Come and see 
The cause, why things thus fragrant be: 

'Tis he is born. whose quickening birth 
Gives life and lustre, public mirth, 
To heaven and the under-earth. 

We see him come, and know him ours, 
Who, with his sunshine and his showers, 
Turns all the patient ground to flowers. 

The darling of the world is come, 
And fit it is, we find a room 
To welcome him, to welcome him. 

The nobler part of all the house here, is the heart. 
Which we will give him: and bequeath 
This holly, and this ivy wreath. 
To do him honour. who's our King, 
And Lord of all this revelling. 

Carl Rütti (b.1949)

I wonder as I wander

I wonder as I wander, out under the sky, 
How Jesus the Saviour did come for to die 
For poor on’ry people like you and like I. 
I wonder as I wander, out under the sky.

When Mary birthed Jesus, ’twas in a cow’s stall, 
With wise men and farmers and shepherds and all, 
But high from the heavens a star’s light did fall, 
And promise of ages it then did recall.

If Jesus had wanted for any wee thing, 
A star in the sky, or a bird on the wing, 
Or all of God’s angels in heaven for to sing, 
He surely could have it, ’cause he was the King.

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