Hey Church!

“Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence” is one of the oldest hymns still in common use today. It is based on a prayer from the eucharistic Liturgy of St. James, which emerged in the late fourth or early fifth century. Eucharist is a word that would later be used to describe the service of the Lord’s Supper, or what we call communion. 

For the majority of Christian history, the eucharist was not presented to the ordinary mass but, rather, set apart with its own service time and liturgy. This helped to ensure that only the faithful believers would participate, and only after a thorough preparation of heart, mind, and spirit. In its original form, the Liturgy of St. James is said to have lasted four hours–with the congregation standing for the duration. 

Through the centuries, the hymn text was translated into English (Moultrie) and later set to the 17th-century French melody by Ralph Vaughan Williams in 1904). For all of those many generations, “Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence” served as words of preparation, sung before receiving the signs of Christ’s body and blood. We, too, will have the opportunity to stand in that tradition and sing this hymn before sharing communion this Sunday. 

Meditate on these ancient words, sung by believers for more than 1600 years. The song is also linked via YouTube below, so you can familiarize yourself with the melody.