Christ, We Turn Our Eyes to Thee

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Christ, We Turn Our Eyes to Thee

Translator: John Mason Neale (1862); Author: St. John of Damascus (780)
Published in 1 hymnal

Representative Text

“‘CHRIST, we turn our eyes to Thee,
“‘And this mighty mystery!’
“Habakkuk exclaimed of old,
“In the HOLY SPIRIT bold:
“‘Thou shalt come in time appointed,
“For the help of Thine anointed!’”

Taste of myrrh He deigned to know,
Who redeemed the source of woe:
Now He bids all sickness cease
Through the honeycomb of peace:
And to this world deigns to give
That sweet food by which we live.

124

Patient LORD! with loving eye
Thou invitest Thomas nigh,
Showing Him that Wounded Side:
While the world is certified,
How the third day, from the grave,
JESUS CHRIST arose to save.

Blest, O Didymus, the tongue
Where that first confession hung:
First the SAVIOUR to proclaim
First the LORD of Life to name:
Such the graces it supplied,
—That dear touch of JESU’s side!

Hymns of the Eastern Church, 1866

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Translator: John Mason Neale

John M. Neale's life is a study in contrasts: born into an evangelical home, he had sympathies toward Rome; in perpetual ill health, he was incredibly productive; of scholarly temperament, he devoted much time to improving social conditions in his area; often ignored or despised by his contemporaries, he is lauded today for his contributions to the church and hymnody. Neale's gifts came to expression early–he won the Seatonian prize for religious poetry eleven times while a student at Trinity College, Cambridge, England. He was ordained in the Church of England in 1842, but ill health and his strong support of the Oxford Movement kept him from ordinary parish ministry. So Neale spent the years between 1846 and 1866 as a warden of Sackvi… Go to person page >

Author: St. John of Damascus

Eighth-century Greek poet John of Damascus (b. Damascus, c. 675; d. St. Sabas, near Jerusalem, c. 754) is especially known for his writing of six canons for the major festivals of the church year. John's father, a Christian, was an important official at the court of the Muslim caliph in Damascus. After his father's death, John assumed that position and lived in wealth and honor. At about the age of forty, however, he became dissatisfied with his life, gave away his possessions, freed his slaves, and entered the monastery of St. Sabas in the desert near Jerusalem. One of the last of the Greek fathers, John became a great theologian in the Eastern church. He defended the church's use of icons, codified the practices of Byzantine chant, and wr… Go to person page >

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