Hymns and Devotions for Daily Worship ‎#41a

41a. Brightest and Best of the Stars of the Morning

1. Brightest and best of the stars of the morning,
Dawn on our darkness and lend us your aid!
Star of the east, the horizon adorning,
Guide where our infant Redeemer is laid.

2. Say, shall we yield him, in costly devotion,
Fragrance of Edom, and off'rings divine?
Gems of the mountain, and pearls of the ocean,
Myrrh from the forest, or gold from the mine?

3. Vainly we offer each ample oblation;
Vainly with gifts would his favour secure:
Richer by far is the heart's adoration;
Dearer to God are the prayers of the poor.

Text Information

• First Line: Brightest and best of the stars of the morning
• Title: Brightest and Best of the Stars of the Morning
• Author: Reginald Heber (1811)
• Meter: 11.10.11.10
• Language: English
• Publication Date: 2024
• Scripture:
  Matthew 2:1-12
• Topic: Epiphany
• Notes: Text by bishop Reginald Heber, from The Christian Observer (1811), alt.

Tune Information

• Name: MORNING STAR
• Composer: James P. Harding (1892)
• Meter: 11.10.11.10
• Incipit: 32176 55171 32
• Key: G Major or modal
• Notes: Tune MORNING STAR by Anglican organist-choirmaster James P. Harding, published as an anthem for Gifford Hall Mission in Islington in 1892.