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The Open Hymnal · No. 137 · Words: John Mason Neale (tr.), from Sarum Breviary (1495) · Tune: Deo Gracias
O Wondrous Type, O Vision Fair
Create PowerPoint slides from this hymn →A translation of a medieval Latin hymn commemorating the Transfiguration of Christ, drawn from the 15th-century Sarum Breviary. Neale's 1851 rendering captures the luminous vision on the mountain where Christ appears with Moses and Elijah before the three disciples.
Verse 1
O wondrous type!
O vision fair Of glory that the Church may share,
Which Christ upon the mountain shows,
where brighter than the sun He glows!
Verse 2
From age to age the tale declare,
How with the three disciples there,
Where Moses and Elijah meet,
The Lord holds converse high and sweet.
Verse 3
The law and prophets there have place,
Two chosen witnesses of grace;
The Father's voice from out the cloud proclaims His only Son aloud.
Verse 4
With shining face and bright array,
Christ deigns to manifest today What glory shall be theirs above who joy in God with perfect love.
Verse 5
And faithful hearts are raised on high by this great vision's mystery;
For which in joyful strains we raise the voice of prayer,
the hymn of praise.
Verse 6
O Father, with th'Eternal Son,
and Holy Spirit, ever One,
Vouchsafe to bring us by Thy grace to see Thy glory face to face.
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