Brightest and Best of the Sons of the Morning Lyrics Reginald Heber, 1811
5 verses, meter 11, 10, 11, 10, public domain, free to print and project.
The words
Verse 1. Brightest and best of the sons of the morning,
Dawn on our darkness and lend us thine aid;
Star of the East, the horizon adorning,
Guide where our infant Redeemer is laid.
Verse 2. Cold on His cradle the dewdrops are shining;
Low lies His head with the beasts of the stall:
Angels adore Him in slumber reclining,
Maker and Monarch and Savior of all!
Verse 3. Say, shall we yield Him, in costly devotion,
Odors of Edom and offerings divine,
Gems of the mountain and pearls of the ocean,
Myrrh from the forest, or gold from the mine?
Verse 4. Vainly we offer each ample oblation;
Vainly with gifts would His favor secure.
Richer by far is the heart’s adoration;
Dearer to God are the prayers of the poor.
Verse 5. Brightest and best of the sons of the morning,
Dawn on our darkness and lend us thine aid;
Star of the East, the horizon adorning,
Guide where our infant Redeemer is laid.
Words copied from Evangelical Lutheran Hymn-Book (Abridged Edition) (1927). They were published in 1811, so they are in the public domain in the United States, and your church may print them, show them and sing them without a license.
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