LLaudes Domini

This Latin phrase has been used throughout time and has been used in various musical ways to show praise and honor to our Lord, Jesus Christ. Much has been written both in prose and poetry on this subject.  First, let us take a look at the Latin and its meaning.  Laudes is the nominative plural of the noun “laus.”  It is translated as praise or glory.  The word domini is the plural form of the masculine noun dominus. It has both biblical and non-biblical meaning as Lord, master, or owner. Thus, the literal translation would be “Praise the Lord.”

If we look to the Old Testament (“O. T.”) book of Psalms, king David wrote in Psalm 28 about praising his God and Lord. In my book, Reflection: Journey through the Psalms, I entitled this chapter, The Rock…A Fortress of Salvation. The final verses in this praiseworthy psalm provide much insight into this Latin phrase.  Listen to David, “The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to Him in song.” (Psalm 28:7)

A German hymn writer, Katholisches Gesanglruch, penned a beautiful praiseworthy hymn entitled “Beim frühen Morgenlicht.” The German-to-English translation occurred as early as 1843.  The original German text has fourteen verses, but Edward Caswell’s translation only contains six verses. The title in English reads, “When Morning Gilds the Skies.” The modern English version in use today was translated by a man named Robert Bridges, an English physician and poet.  All six verses were used in the Service Book and Hymnal of LCA (#416) published in 1958.  Listen to two of the six verses of this great hymn:

Ye nations of mankind,

In this your concord find,

May Jesus Christ be praised.

Let all the earth around

Ring joyous with the sound,

May Jesus Christ be praise. (verse 5)

Sing, suns and stars of space,

Sing, ye that see his face,

Sing, “Jesus Christ be praised.”

God’s whole creation o’er,

For aye and evermore

Shall Jesus Christ be praised. Amen (verse 6)

As I walked into church recently, I listened as our organist was practicing the hymns of the day.  And yes, he was playing this hymn when I walked through the door.  Immediately, I felt uplifted as I was contemplating the well-known words and was jubilant.  As I took my seat in church, still pondering the organist’s notes, I was drawn to St. Paul’s words from his epistle to the church at Philippi.  Listen to Paul as he wrote from prison: “Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is LORD.” (Philippians 2:9-11)

God uses His believers in so many ways.  Before this writing, I never knew this Robert Bridges.  Now, I see how God indeed used him in so many ways.  This man was born in England in 1844.  He lost his father at age ten with his mother remarrying. He was educated at Eton College and Oxford.  He then went on to study medicine in London at St. Bartholmew’s Hospital. His specialty was casualty type medicine but also focused on sick children. Lung disease shortened his medical practice life, but not his poetry, hymn writing, and translating. We know that Dr. Bridges was a Christian man, but little is written about his Christian background.  He was named Poet Laureate in 1913, the only medical graduate to have held this office.

Examining his list of Christian hymns (10 total, per Wikipedia), we find some notable hymns including When Morning Gilds the Skies.  Also listed is Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring. Many of his hymns are listed in various Baptist hymnals.  The latter title was first written by Johann Sabastian Bach in 1723. His work is a four-part setting with independent orchestral accompaniment of two stanzas of the hymn, Jesu, meiner Seelen Wonne” written by Martin Janus in 1661.  An English version was worded by Dr. Bridges.

Jesu, joy of man’s desiring,

Holy wisdom, love most bright;

Drawn by Thee, our souls aspiring

Soar to uncreated light.

Word of God, our flesh that fashioned,

With the fire of life impassioned,

Striving still to truth unknown,

Soaring, dying round Thy throne.

Through the way where hope is guiding,

Hark, what peaceful music rings;

Where the flock, in Thee confiding,

Drink of joy from deathless springs.

Theirs is beauty’s fairest pleasure;

Theirs is wisdom’s holiest treasure.

Thou dost ever lead Thine own

In the love of joys unknown.

Just as St. Paul wrote his “Book of Joy,” (Philippians), and Dr. Bridges put words to the Jesu theme, we too today sing praises to the LORD God Almighty.  While the Latin phrase Laudes Domini may long be forgotten, its English translation has left us with a myriad of poetry and prose, including many Christian hymns of praise.  I am particularly taken by Dr. Bridges’ phrase in the third stanza of Jesu, “drink of joy from deathless springs.” The term joy is often used interchangeably with happiness in a secular sense. But to the Christian, joy is eternal while happiness is transient.  As a Christian, we have that “living water” that our LORD spoke about in His earthly ministry.  And that living water is generated from deathless springs, meaning that we will live with Him in eternity having overcome death by the Messiah’s atonement on Calvary.  Praise the Lord. Amen.

Peace

Connected in Him, I stand

GHR

P. S. I am thankful that I took Latin in high school.  More importantly, I am thankful for my Latin teacher, Ms. Marjorie Rork.  She also taught the course, Latin and Greek Derivatives, that has been helpful to me throughout life. I was later drawn to her side as her pharmacist as she declined in health – a joy to serve one of my favorite teachers!