Even in your childhood

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Even in your childhood, in the desert places,
You had a refuge from the city gained,
Far from all slander and its bitter traces
Living unstained.

Often had prophets in the distant ages
Sought to announce the Daystar and to name him;
But John the Baptist, last of all the sages,
You did proclaim him.

For John the Baptist, none of all Eve's daughters
Ever bore a greater, whether high or lowly:
He was thought worthy, washing in the waters,
Jesus the holy.

Let your example, holy John, remind us,
Ere we can praise our God in awe and wonder.
Hearts must be chastened, and the bonds that bind us
Broken asunder!

Music: Herr, deinen zorn J. Cruger (17th C)
Words: Paulus Diaconus (8th C)