Henry Purcell: A Morning Hymn – Thou wakeful Shepherd
Vox Luminis
Zsuzsi Toth, Soprano; Simon Linne, Theorbo; Ricardo Rodriguez MIranda, Viola da Gamba

A Morning Hymn

Thou wakeful shepherd that does Israel keep,
Raised by thy goodness from the bed of sleep,
To thee I offer up this hymn
As my best morning sacrifice;
May it be gracious in thine eyes
To raise me from the bed of sin.
And do I live to see another day?
I vow, My God, henceforth to walk thy ways,
And sing thy praise all these few days Thou shalt allow.
Could I redeem the time I have mis-spent in sinful merriment,
Could I untread those paths I led
I would so expiate each past offence that ev’n from thence
The innocent should wish themselves like me
When with such crimes they such repentance see.
With joy I’d sing away my breath,
Yet who can die so to receive his death?