For God Alone: Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence

Let all mortal flesh keep silence, and with fear and trembling stand;

Ponder nothing earthly-minded, for with blessing in his hand,

Christ our God to earth descendeth, our full homage to demand. 

King of kings, yet born of Mary, as of old on earth he stood, 

Lord of lords, in human vesture, in the body and the blood, 

He will give to all the faithful, His own self for heav'nly food. 

Rank on rank the host of heaven spreads its vanguard on the way,

As the Light of light descendeth from the realms of endless day, 

That the pow'rs of hell may vanish as the darkness clears away. 

At his feet the six-winged seraph, cherubim, with sleepless eye, 

Veil their faces to the presence, as with ceaseless voice they cry, 

"Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, Lord Most High!”

Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence

Church Folk Project

College Church in Wheaton

www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUdzMtVYlZo

Like many ancient texts, Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence stems from different sources, and has been the subject of much study and research over the centuries. The text we sing today has its genesis in the Liturgy of St. James (the Less), the first Bishop of Jerusalem, and one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. (Mark 3:16-19)

He appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder); Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, 

and Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

(Mark 3:16-19)

Part of the strength and enduring quality of this text is its many scripture references.

But the Lord is in his holy temple; 

let all the earth keep silence before him. 

(Habakkuk 2:20)

Be silent, all flesh, before the Lord, 

for he has roused himself from his holy dwelling. 

(Zechariah 2:13)

On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, 

King of kings and Lord of lords. 

(Revelation 19:16)

For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, 

and then he will repay each person according to what he has done. 

(Matthew 16:27)

Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, 

and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: 

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”

 (Isaiah 6:2-3)

And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.” 

(Revelation 5:8-10)

In 1864, Gerard Moultrie (1829-1885) wrote his paraphrase of the ancient Greek text. Moultrie’s poem paints a vivid picture of the nativity of Christ in a majestic manner, and in a much larger context than just his birth in Bethlehem, and we, the worshippers, are drawn into the awe and mystery with our own alleluias.

In the 1990’s, modern worship song writer, Matt Redman wrote The Heart of Worship. The worship band in his home church in Watford, England had become the greater focus of their worship - instead of God. In other words, that congregation was committing the sin of idolatry. Recognizing the problem, the congregation’s pastor, Mike Pilavachi, called his flock into a season of prayer and soul-searching. He even called the worship band, of which Matt Redman was leader, into a season of silence.

Following this months-long season, Redman wrote The Heart of Worship, which, in a way, tells the story of his own spiritual pilgrimage.

When the music fades, all is stripped away and I simply come;

Longing just to bring something that's of worth that will bless Your heart.

I'll bring you more than a song, for a song in itself is not what You have required

You search much deeper within through the way things appear;

You're looking into my heart.

I'm coming back to the heart of worship

And it's all about You, it's all about You, Jesus.

I'm sorry, Lord, for the thing I've made it 

When it's all about You, it's all about You, Jesus.

King of endless worth, no one could express how much You deserve.

Though I'm weak and poor, all I have is Yours, every single breath

I'll bring You more than a song, for a song in itself is not what You have required

You search much deeper within through the way things appear

You're looking into my heart.

I'm coming back to the heart of worship

And it's all about You, it's all about You, Jesus.

I'm sorry, Lord, for the thing I've made it when it's all about You,

It's all about You, Jesus.

The Heart of Worship, Matt Redman (b. 1974)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4RUjGsTfks

May we never forget that the worship we offer is for God, who, alone, is the object of our worship. 

Not music. Not musicians. Not preachers.

Worship is … communion with God in which believers, by grace, center their mind’s attention and heart’s affection on the Lord, humbly glorifying God in response to His greatness, His word, and His supreme worth.

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. (Deuteronomy 6:5-9)

© Paul R. Magyar, 2020