O Morning Star, How Fair and Bright

A love song in form, addressed to Christ, and the most beautiful chorale in the tradition.

308Hymn in Evangelical Lutheran Worship

Epiphany

Hear the tune

The words

In church you’ll sing updated words from hymn 308. These are the older words, and most lines are the same.

1

O Morning Star! how fair and bright Thou beamest forth in truth and light! O Sov'reign meek and lowly, Thou Root of Jesse, David's Son, My Lord and Bridegroom, Thou hast won My heart to serve Thee solely! Holy art Thou, Fair and glorious, All victorious, Rich in blessing, Rule and might o'er all possessing.

2

Thou Heavenly Brightness! Light Divine! O deep within my heart now shine, And make Thee there an altar! Fill me with joy and strength to be Thy member, ever joined to Thee In love that cannot falter; Toward Thee longing Doth possess me, Turn and bless me, For Thy gladness Eye and heart here pine in sadness.

3

But if Thou look on me in love, There straightway falls from God above A ray of purest pleasure; Thy Word and Spirit, Flesh and Blood, Refresh my soul with heavenly food, Thou art my hidden treasure; Let Thy grace, Lord, Warm and cheer me, O draw near me; Thou hast taught us Thee to seek since Thou hast sought us!

4

Here will I rest, and hold it fast, The Lord I love is First and Last, The End as the Beginning! Here I can calmly die, for Thou Wilt raise me where Thou dwellest now, Above all tears, all sinning: Amen! Amen! Come, Lord Jesus, Soon release us, With deep yearning, Lord, we look for Thy returning.

As printed in Church Book (General Council. Public domain: free to print, copy and share.

Old words in this hymn

Thee, Thou
you (speaking to one person, often to God)
Thy, Thine
your, yours
Hath, Hast
has, have
Doth, Dost
does, do
Art
are, as in “Thou art”, you are
Wilt, Shalt
will, shall
O’er
over

About this hymn

Nicolai wrote this in the same terrible year as Wake, Awake. Where that one is a warning shouted at midnight, this one is the opposite: unhurried, radiant, almost embarrassingly tender.

The form is borrowed from secular love poetry, and the hymn does not apologise for that. It uses the language of being in love because it could not find a better one.

Epiphany, when the star is the image the whole season hangs on. Also a traditional wedding hymn, for reasons that become obvious about four lines in.

For musicians and planners
Words Philipp Nicolai, 1599 Public domain
Translation Catherine Winkworth, 1862 Public domain
Tune WIE SCHÖN LEUCHTET · Philipp Nicolai, 1599 Public domain

Checked 2026-09-27 against Church Book (General Council; 1890 printing), no. 405, via hymnary.org page scan (p. 289 of the book) and transcription; cross-checked word for word against Evangelical Lutheran Hymnal (Ohio Synod, 1880), no. 278, hymnary.org transcription

Hymn numbers checked against Hymnary.org’s index of Evangelical Lutheran Worship. Full record: Hymnary.