Ed, Farjeon's lyrics do say "fresh from the Word" (as in, "In the beginning was The Word ... ".
BTW, I just listened to Cat Stevens singing "Morning Has Broken" and it sounds like he sings "the word." I don't hear any "l" there at all.
Anyway, Cat wasn't "Yusuf" until many years after he recorded MHB.

I suspect it was them there Unitarians (contemporary type) who changed it from "The Word" to "the world," to purge the song of strong Christian theological language. (Though that reference to God as "The Word" is as much Judaic as it is Christian.) Unitarians are well known for often avoiding "the G word" or its variants (Lord, Father, Master).

I think this is an example of where the attempt to rewrite old or classic hymns ends up with something either nonsensical or oxymoronic or perhaps worse. (Especially since the UU Hymnal still contains the line "God's re-creation of the new day.)

I'm not sure what "Praise for (the morning, the singing) springing fresh from the world" is supposed to mean.    Anyway, I don't see the need to change the original lyrics.