Ye holy angels bright

Ye holy angels bright. Richard Baxter* (1615-1691), and others. First published in Baxter’s The Poor Man’s Family Book (1674), entitled ‘A Psalm of Praise, To the Tune of Psal. 148’. This refers to the metre of 6.6.6.6.4.4.4.4 employed for Psalm 148 by John Pullain* in the Old Version, and associated with that psalm thereafter. Thus the tune to which the hymn is normally sung, by John Darwall*, was used for Psalm 148 in the New Version beginning ‘Ye boundless realms of joy’*. Baxter’s great hymn of praise had 16 stanzas. Those used by most hymn compilers are 1, 2 and 5. Baxter’s original text of those stanzas was as follows: Stanzas 1-2: Ye holy Angels bright,   which stand before God’s...