"Long Ago, Prophets Knew", also called "Long Ago, Prophets Knew, Christ would come born a Jew", is an English Christian Advent carol written by Reverend

Fred Pratt Green The Reverend Fred Pratt Green MBE (2 September 1903 – 22 October 2000) was a British Methodist minister and hymnodist. Born in Roby, Lancashire, England, he began his ministry in the Filey circuit. He was ordained as a Methodist minister ...

in 1970.

Textual history

"Long Ago, Prophets Knew" was written by

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

minister Fred Pratt Green in 1970 at the behest of John Wilson. It was self-published in his "''26 Hymns''" a year later. The carol gained popularity within the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

when it was published within the ''More Hymns for Today'' hymnal in 1980 and '' Hymns Ancient and Modern – New Standard''" in 1983. In 1986, when '' The New English Hymnal'' was being compiled with hymns appropriate for

Eucharist The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...

services being prioritised, "Long Ago, Prophets Knew" was included at the behest of the former Archdeacon of Hackney, George Timms, in order to fill required spaces in the hymnal for feast days and promote newer hymns. "Long Ago, Prophets Knew" was one of around 50 hymns written after 1950 to be included in the collection of 506 hymns. Though the carol was written for Advent, it has also been used as a

Christmas carol A Christmas carol is a carol (a song or hymn) on the theme of Christmas, traditionally sung at Christmas itself or during the surrounding Christmas holiday season. The term noel has sometimes been used, especially for carols of French ori ...

. Baptists use the carol in connection with Bible readings from 2 Samuel:7 and

Romans 16 Romans 16 is the sixteenth (and the last) chapter of the Epistle to the Romans in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It is authored by Paul the Apostle, while Paul was in Corinth in the mid 50s AD, with the help of a secretary ( amanuen ...

:17-25. Methodists use the carol on the

Fourth Sunday in Advent Advent is a Christian season of preparation for the Nativity of Christ at Christmas. It is the beginning of the liturgical year in Western Christianity. The name was adopted from Latin "coming; arrival", translating Greek ''parousia''. I ...

Tune

Green set it to the tune of "''

Personent hodie "Personent hodie" is a Christmas carol originally published in the 1582 Finnish song book ''Piae Cantiones'', a volume of 74 Medieval songs with Latin texts collected by Jacobus Finno (Jaakko Suomalainen), a Swedish Lutheran cleric, and publish ...

''". While the carol was written for organ with a 66.666 metre, an additional alternate accompanying supplement for thirteen

handbell A handbell is a bell designed to be rung by hand. To ring a handbell, a ringer grasps the bell by its slightly flexible handle – traditionally made of leather, but often now made of plastic – and moves the arm to make the hinged cla ...

s was also written to tie into the chorus of "ring bells, ring, ring, ring!" The carol was an example of a modern hymn that utilised an older style of including a repetitive monosyllable in the chorus.

References

{{authority control Advent songs Christmas carols 1970 songs Hymns in The New English Hymnal