112
As With Gladness Men of Old
Verse 1
As with gladness men of old
Did the guiding star behold,
As with joy they hailed its light,
Leading onward, beaming bright,
So, most gracious Lord, may we
Evermore be led to Thee.
Did the guiding star behold,
As with joy they hailed its light,
Leading onward, beaming bright,
So, most gracious Lord, may we
Evermore be led to Thee.
Verse 2
As with joyful steps they sped
To that lowly mangerbed,
There to bend the knee before
Him whom heaven and earth adore,
So, may we with willing feet
Ever seek Thy mercy seat.
To that lowly mangerbed,
There to bend the knee before
Him whom heaven and earth adore,
So, may we with willing feet
Ever seek Thy mercy seat.
Verse 3
As they offered gifts most rare
At that manger rude and bare,
So may we with holy joy,
Pure, and free from sin’s alloy,
All our costliest treasures bring,
Christ, to Thee our heavenly King.
At that manger rude and bare,
So may we with holy joy,
Pure, and free from sin’s alloy,
All our costliest treasures bring,
Christ, to Thee our heavenly King.
Verse 4
Holy Jesus, every day
Keep us in the narrow way;
And, when earthly things are past,
Bring our ransomed souls at last
Where they need no star to guide,
Where no clouds Thy glory hide.
Keep us in the narrow way;
And, when earthly things are past,
Bring our ransomed souls at last
Where they need no star to guide,
Where no clouds Thy glory hide.
Dix wrote this hymn as a meditation on the Magi's gifts to Jesus, combining rich theological imagery with the German tune DIX.