O Spirit, that dost prefer

Had this one sitting on the shelf since 2008, but finally got a lovely recording of it, thanks to the First Readings Project, J. David Moore conducting.

You can hear it here, or if you want to follow along on the score, here: https://scorefol.io/w/q7b5twgumvmx9h7jqqc63ntz

Text by John Milton, from book 1 of Paradise Lost:

O Spirit, that dost prefer
Before all Temples th’ upright heart and pure,
Instruct me, for Thou know’st; Thou from the first
Wast present, and with mighty wings outspread
Dove-like satst brooding on the vast Abyss
And mad’st it pregnant: What in me is dark
Illumin, what is low raise and support;
That to the highth of this great Argument
I may assert Eternal Providence,
And justifie the wayes of God to men.

Recorded ‘live’ at Grace Episcopal Church, 2026.