The Song of Simeon

The Song of Simeon — or “Nunc dimittis,” from its Latin incipit — is a canticle with text from the Gospel of Luke (2:29-32). It is the last of the three great canticles of the New Testament, the other two being the Magnificat (Song of Mary) and the Benedictus (Song of Zechariah). Since the fourth century, it has been used in Christian services of worship such as Evensong (early evening prayer) and Compline (late evening prayer) in the Western church, and Vespers in the Eastern church.

The Song of Simeon is the response of a devout Jew who had been promised by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before seeing the promised Messiah. Luke’s Gospel recounts that Joseph and Mary brought the infant Jesus to the temple in Jerusalem for the Redemption of the First-Born Son, an ancient ceremony in which the father “redeems” his son with a monetary gift to the temple priest, or other sacrifice, in remembrance that God protected the first-born sons of Israel from the Plague of the First-Born in Egypt (Exodus 11-12). When Simeon sees the child, he takes Him in his arms, blesses God, and exclaims:

“Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.”

In addition to its role in evening services, the Song of Simeon is central to the Gospel reading on the commemoration of the Presentation of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Temple, typically 40 days after Christmas.

The text for this setting is a metrical paraphrase of the canticle written by schoolteacher/administrator and lay poet Dewey Westra (1931), which is followed by a paraphrase of the Doxology by poets Nahum Tate and Nicholas Brady (1696). The tune is the familiar Silesian folk melody best-known as the tune to “Fairest Lord Jesus” and “Beautiful Savior.”

SAB/organ score (4 pages, 8.5×11″)