No war nor battle's sound

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No war nor battle's sound

Author: John Milton
Published in 58 hymnals

Printable scores: PDF, Noteworthy Composer
Audio files: MIDI

Representative Text

1 No war nor battle's sound
Was heard the earth around--
No hostile chiefs to furious combat ran;
But peaceful was the night
In which the Prince of Light
His reign of peace upon the earth began.

2 No conqueror's sword he bore,
Nor warlike armor wore,
Nor haughty passions roused to contest wild;
In peace and love he came,
And gentle was the reign
Which o'er the earth he spread by influence mild.

3 Unwilling kings obeyed,
And sheathed the battle-blade,
And called their bloody legions from the field;
In silent awe they wait,
And close the warrior's gate,
Nor know to whom their homage thus they yield.

4 The peaceful Conqueror goes,
And triumphs o'er his foes,
His weapons drawn from armories above;
Behold the vanquished sit
Submissive at his feet,
And strike and hate are changed to peace and love.

Source: The Voice of Praise: a collection of hymns for the use of the Methodist Church #762

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Author: John Milton

Milton, John, was born in London, Dec. 9, 1608, and died there Nov. 8, 1674. His poetical excellences and his literary fame are matters apart from hymnology, and are fully dealt with in numerous memoirs. His influence on English hymn-writing has been very slight, his 19 versions of various Psalms having lain for the most part unused by hymnal compilers. The dates of his paraphrases are:— Ps. cxiv. and cxxxvi., 1623, when he was 15 years of ago. These were given in his Poems in English and Latin 1645. Ps. lxxx.-lxxxviii., written in 1648, and published as Nine Psalmes done into Metre, 1645. Ps. i., 1653; ii., “Done August 8, 1653;" iii., Aug. 9, 1653; iv. Aug. 10, 1653; v., Aug. 12, 1653; vi., Aug. 13, 1653; vii.Aug. 14, 1653; viii… Go to person page >

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