Advent Prayer: May we be ready to meet Him at His Second Advent

O Almighty Father, fountain of light and salvation, we adore thine infinite goodness in sending thy only begotten Son into the world that, believing in him, we may not perish but have everlasting life; and we pray thee that, through the grace of his first advent to save the world, we may be made ready to meet him at his second advent to judge the world; through the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

—Bishop William Walsham How (1823-1897)

H/T The Rev. Kendall Harmon, at TitusOneNine

 

Advent Poems: Christina Rossetti’s “Advent Sunday” (Behold the Bridegroom Cometh) – read by Malcolm Guite

One of the Advent Series I am most excited about is Anglican priest and poet Malcolm Guite’s series for Advent 2015.  He’ll be reading an Advent poem from his Advent poetry anthology “Waiting on the Word” each day.

Today, for Advent Sunday, his reading is Christina Rossetti’s poem “Advent Sunday” (Behold the Bridegroom Cometh)

Here’s the text of the poem, which I found here.

Advent Sunday

Source: The Poetical Works of Christina Georgina Rossetti, with a Memoir and Notes by William Michael Rossetti (1904), page 156

BEHOLD, the Bridegroom cometh: go ye out
With lighted lamps and garlands round about
To meet Him in a rapture with a shout.

It may be at the midnight, black as pitch,
Earth shall cast up her poor, cast up her rich.

It may be at the crowing of the cock
Earth shall upheave her depth, uproot her rock.

For lo, the Bridegroom fetcheth home the Bride:
His Hands are Hands she knows, she knows His Side.

Like pure Rebekah at the appointed place,
Veiled, she unveils her face to meet His Face.

Like great Queen Esther in her triumphing,
She triumphs in the Presence of her King.

His Eyes are as a Dove’s, and she’s Dove-eyed;
He knows His lovely mirror, sister, Bride.

He speaks with Dove-voice of exceeding love,
And she with love-voice of an answering Dove.

Behold, the Bridegroom cometh: go we out
With lamps ablaze and garlands round about
To meet Him in a rapture with a shout.

Before 1886.

Each day’s poetry reading is accompanied by a beautiful illustration by Lancia Smith.  Here’s her image to accompany today’s poem:

art credit:  Lancia E Smith: Behold the Bridegroom Cometh

Recommended Devotional Sites & Resources for Advent 2015

This post is sticky. Look below for new entries.

Happy Advent! Below is a list of some of the best sites for devotionals and prayers throughout Advent. Almost all the sites featured below will have new entries each day of Advent. We will update this list from time to time as we discover new websites. Resources marked “*(A)” are from the Anglican tradition.

Please feel free to share recommendations for Advent links & resources in the comments!

Don’t forget our Advent Devotionals category here at Lent & Beyond.

Click on “Read the rest of the entry” to see all the links.

Two Prayers for the first Sunday of Advent

The traditional Anglican collect for the First Sunday in Advent:

Almighty God, give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness, and put upon us the armour of light, now in the time of this mortal life, in which thy Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious Majesty, to judge both the quick and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, now and ever. Amen.

***

A contemporary prayer for the First Sunday in Advent by Pastor Scotty Smith, from his blog Heavenward:

     You who bring good news to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with a shout, lift it up, do not be afraid; say to the towns of Judah, “Here is your God!” See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power, and he rules with a mighty arm. See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him. He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young. Isa. 40:9-11 (NIV)

     Dear heavenly Father, on this first Sunday of Advent, we praise, bless and adore, for the privilege of celebrating your great faithfulness and your immeasurable generosity. You sent Jesus to us, and have given him for us. Every promise you have made finds its emphatic “Yes!” in Jesus (2 Cor. 1:20).

     Fuel our wonder and enflame our hearts, Father. Help us engage again, with the story of Jesus’ birth, with childlike wonder and renewed hope. Bring familiar Scriptures alive in fresh and transforming ways. We don’t trust in a season, but in our Savior.

     I love how Isaiah describes the Messiah coming to gather us up in his “Advent arms.” To be tended as a helpless lamb, to be held close to your heart, to be gently led—what more could we possibly need or desire? We believe; help our unbelief.

     And in Jesus, you come near to us as the Sovereign Lord, with your sleeves rolled up as the great ruler. Your arm rules over all history and every heartache, over all kings and every crises. Nothing and no one can alter, subvert, or change the story you are telling, and the kingdom you are advancing, through Jesus. Thankfully, these aren’t mere metaphors, Father; for metaphors can’t save us, only inspire us. You really are this involved in our lives, and your really are this merciful and mighty.

     Indeed, the coming of Jesus puts all nations on notice: There is only one true King, and he is Jesus. And the coming of Jesus puts us—your people, face down in adoring love. Over the next several weeks, show us, yet again, how Jesus is a most wonderful and grace-full Savior—Immanuel, the God who is very much with us and totally for us. So very Amen we pray, with Advent longings, in Jesus’ matchless and merciful name.

A Prayer Litany for Marriage from the ACNA college of bishops

The ACNA bishops today released a unanimous statement on the Supreme Court’s decision re: same sex marriage.  You can read the full statement here.

At the end they issue a call to prayer, and include a wonderful litany for marriage.  I urge all of our readers to print this out and pray it regularly.

Today there is no place for either triumphalism or despair, so we prayerfully and sincerely urge a spirit of charity by all. We speak out of a concern for the consequences that our people and our neighbors will suffer from an unjust and unwise decision by five justices of the Supreme Court. We call those justices to repentance, even as we echo Jesus’ words, praying for God the Father to forgive them, for they know not what they have done.

We call our people to a season of prayer for marriage and offer the accompanying Litany and Prayer to guide us.

A Litany for Marriage

We thank you, heavenly Father, for graciously creating us in your image, male and female, and for ordaining

that a man and woman shall be joined as one flesh in the covenant of marriage.

We thank you, O Father.

We thank you for the gift and heritage of children and for placing them in homes which may be havens of

blessing and peace.

We thank you, O Father.

We thank you for the love between fathers and mothers and sons and daughters that binds together the

generations and undergirds our country’s social fabric.

We thank you, O Father.

Lord Jesus Christ, divine Bridegroom, we repent for all the situations in which we have dishonored the

covenant of marriage through selfishness or unfaithfulness.

Lord, have mercy upon us.

We repent as a Church where we have failed to prepare our children for holy matrimony, or to care for those

who are widowed, divorced or single.

Lord, have mercy upon us.

We repent where as citizens we have become complacent and neglected the defense of marriage in the public

square.

Lord, have mercy upon us.

We pray you, Holy Spirit, to restore marriage to its due honor in our country and to revive our marriages and

families as emblems of your love.

Deliver us by your grace and power.

We pray you to strengthen our bishops and other leaders as they join with faithful churches to make a strong

God-honoring defense of your design for marriage.

Deliver us by your grace and power.

We pray you to have mercy on those who have promoted false teaching about marriage and on those who

have been led astray and harmed by it.

Deliver us by your grace and power.

Grant us courage, O Triune God, to hold fast to the truth of your Word, and give grace to those who are

counted worthy to suffer for the Name of Christ.

“Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his

glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and

authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen” (Jude 24-25).

A Prayer for Marriage

Almighty God our heavenly Father, you have created us male and female in your image and have ordained that a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife. Look down in mercy, we pray, on our families, our church and our nation. Knit together in constant affection those who, in Holy Matrimony, have been made one flesh. Turn the hearts of the parents to the children, the hearts of the children to the parents, and the hearts of all to those who are single or alone. Finally, grant that your Church may steadfastly defend the unchangeable bond of marriage which embodies the mystery of Christ’s love for us; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom with you and the Holy Spirit, be all honor and glory, now and forever.

A prayer for diligence in studying Scripture and strength to obey

This WONDERFUL prayer was posted by Trevin Wax at his blog over the weekend.  It really resonates with me.  So often I assume I can search and understand the Scriptures in my own strength instead of relying on the Holy Spirit. 

May Your Spirit, O Christ,
lead me in the right way,
keeping me safe from all forces of evil and destruction.
And, free from all malice,
may I search diligently in Your Holy Word
to discover with the eyes of my mind Your commandments.
Finally, give me the strength of will
to put those commandments into practice
through all the days of my life.

– Bede, 673-735

Stunning Easter Anthem: Blessed be the God and Father (Samuel Sebastian Wesley)

Via Twitter, I discovered this fantastic Easter Anthem by Samuel Sebastian Wesley.  The version in the YouTube below is sung by Consortium.

This version is available for purchase at iTunes here.  There is also a beautiful recording from the Choir of Clare College, Cambridge, here.

Here are the lyrics via the Choral Wiki site:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
which according to his abundant mercy
hath begotten us again unto a lively hope
by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled,
that fadeth not away,
reserved in heaven for you,
Who are kept by the power of God
through faith unto salvation
ready to be revealed at the last time.

But as he which hath called you is holy,
so be ye holy in all manner of conversation.
Pass the time of your sojourning here in fear.

Love one another with a pure heart fervently.
See that ye love one another.
Love one another with a pure heart fervently:

Being born again,
not of corruptible seed,
but of incorruptible,
by the word of God.

For all flesh is as grass,
and all the glory of man
as the flower of grass.
The grass withereth,
and the flower thereof falleth away.

But the word of the Lord endureth for ever.
Amen.

A Compilation of 70 Favorite Easter and Eastertide Hymns

image credit: iTunes

NOTE: This post contains a listing of 70 great Easter hymns, and links to where you can purchase them, as well as links to other good hymn resources, but no audio.  I’ll be posting quite a few of thesehymns here at Lent & Beyond in coming days and weeks…. stay tuned.

***

I notice quite a lot of folks coming to L&B looking for Easter Hymns.  I’m a lover of great Easter hymns, but sadly you might not really know it by browsing Lent & Beyond.  In recent years I’ve posted much more CCM and Contemporary worship music than hymns, primarily because my digital collection of hymns and classical music has until now been quite small.

One of the greatest blessings of the internet, iTunes, YouTube, etc., has been the ability to learn and appreciate a much wider diversity of Eastertide hymns.  In my Episcopal parish growing up, we seemed to sing the same 5 or 6 Easter hymns over and over and over again.  And while that repetition made me grow to love them deeply – they became part of me in a sense – I never realized how much I was missing…

For instance, it wasn’t until I was in my late 20s and working in French-speaking West Africa that I learned the fabulous hymn Thine Be the Glory (actually learning it first in French “A Toi la Gloire, O Ressuscité”) – now one of my absolute Easter playlist essentials!

And then of course, there are online hymnals and their Easter hymn collections which make learning new/old hymns easy these days:

• The Cyber Hymnal (Easter hymns),
• Hymnary.org list of Easter hymns – (Hymnary.org is a MUST VISIT site for resources for hymn lovers. I haven’t mastered its search features yet – it is a massive database.  I’ve mostly used it for looking up individual hymns.  Take some time to explore it…)
• Calvin Institute for Christian Worship’s Easter Worship Resource Guide – here’s their list of Easter songs (hymns & contemporary)
• SongsandHymns.Org is also a good resource for hymns and related devotionals, but their Easter hymn list is rather short.

With all of these resources to scour for good hymns, I devoted a fair bit of time (and a bit of money) in recent weeks to significantly increase my Easter hymn and classical music collection and creating a great Easter hymns & classical anthems playlist.

So, in case it’s a blessing and encouragement and helpful resource, here is a current list of 70 favorite Easter hymns. For each hymn I provide details for the version that’s in my playlist (artist, album, purchase link). I have not included details on composers, tune or lyrics.  In most cases you will find that information at Hymnary.org or the Cyber Hymnal.

For some hymns, I’ve included links to some alternate versions, including alternate tunes, instrumental versions, or contemporary renditions. There are a few modern hymns included – such as In Christ Alone.  The majority of these hymns are from the Anglican tradition, but I’ve thrown in a few Evangelical / Gospel type hymns as well.  My tastes are broad – any hymn that focuses on the joy and glory of Christ’s resurrection and His victory over death and His redemption of His people is fair game!

I’d love for commenters to add suggestions and tell us about your favorites!  Let’s turn this into an OPEN THREAD about memories of favorite Easter hymns… what songs do you love and why?

Note: this list includes only hymns.  I may try to create a separate post with some favorite recordings of Easter classical music, carols and anthems.

***

Below is a list of the Titles and Artists for all the hymns.  Here is a link to the Excel Spreadsheet which will give you full details on the album and a purchase link in the iTunes store (US).

Title,  Artist

• 1  A toi la gloire, Les petits chanteurs de Sainte-Croix de Neuilly
• 2  All Hail the Power – No. 1 [Instrumental – tune: Coronation], The King’s Brass & Tim Zimmerman
• 3  All Hail the Power (arr. Sterling Procter – tune: Diadem), The Chancel Choir, The Chapel Choir, Broadway Baptist Church and The Oratorio Chorus, Southwestern Baptist Seminary, The Festival Brass
• 4  Alleluia! Alleluia! Hearts to Heaven, The Choir Of Sheffield Cathedral
• 5  Alleluia! Sing to Jesus (with handbells), Concordia Publishing House

Easter Hymns: How Shall I Sing That Majesty (Coe Fen)

 

Back in 2012 I blogged about this hymn – having newly discovered it via a blog post by Patrick Comerford.  (Patrick Comerford later posted a much more detailed entry about this hymn here.)

This Easter, I decided to upgrade my Easter hymns playlist, and I treated myself to purchasing this hymn, choosing a version to the tune of Coe Fen, sung by Wells Cathedral Choir, from a 1999 album The English Hymn, Vol. 1 – Christ Triumphant.

Below I’ve posted a pretty good recording of this on YouTube (apologies that there is an ad)

Christ’s Hospital School singing ‘How Shall I Sing That Majesty’ to the tune of Coe Fen by Ken Naylor (CH 1980-86). It was recorded for BBC Radio 2’s Sunday Half Hour.

I much prefer the Wells Cathedral Choir version, however.

Lyrics:

1 How shall I sing that majesty
which angels do admire?
Let dust in dust and silence lie;
sing, sing, ye heavenly choir.
Thousands of thousands stand around
thy throne, O God most high;
ten thousand times ten thousand sound
thy praise; but who am I?

2 Thy brightness unto them appears,
while I thy footsteps trace;
a sound of God comes to my ears,
but they behold thy face.
They sing, because thou art their Sun;
Lord, send a beam on me;
for where heav’n is but once begun,
there alleluias be.

3 Enlighten with faith’s light my heart,
inflame it with love’s fire;
then shall I sing and bear a part
with that celestial choir.
I shall, I fear, be dark and cold,
with all my fire and light;
yet when thou dost accept their gold,
Lord, treasure up my mite.

4 How great a being, Lord, is thine,
which doth all beings keep!
Thy knowledge is the only line
to sound so vast a deep.
Thou art a sea without a shore,
a sun without a sphere;
thy time is now and evermore,
thy place is everywhere.

Learn more about this great hymn and find resources (arrangements, handbell scores, etc.) at Hymnary.org.

Easter Music – Sojourn: the Warrior

The Easter music I’ve chosen for today is one of the best contemporary songs in my Easter playlist, Warrior by the Louisville, KY based group Sojourn. The combination of the words and the great musicianship – a blend of jazz and rock – make it so powerful.

I only discovered Sojourn in 2013.  This is from their album Over the Grave, released in 2009. I also love the songs Over Death and We Are Changed from this same album, and Good Day from the 2011 EP The War.  All of these are 5 star songs in my Easter playlist.

The songs on this album are inspired by hymns written by Isaac Watts:

In the midst of the Reformation in England, Isaac Watts recognized that people needed to see the gospel in the psalms and hymns of the church, and they needed to sing them in language and metaphors that they understood. In this, he became not only the father of the modern hymn, but the pace-setter for contextualizing the gospel for the people of God.

As musicians, pastors and songwriters, our desire was to explore the hundreds of hymns that Watts wrote during his lifetime, to learn from the incredible range and depth of his lyrics, and to re-envision those songs with modern language and melodies. In particular, we gravitated towards themes that seem unfortunately absent in modern worship — themes about God’s wrath and judgment, His righteousness, and a dramatic vision of the cross and atonement of Christ.

This CD is the first installment of the Isaac Watts Project: songs inspired by and adapted from his hymns. The record was written and performed entirely by musicians from Sojourn Community Church — 35 in all. It is our hope that this project, like Watts’s hymns, will point us beyond the music and lyrics to see the glorious Savior who inspires them.

You can find all of Sojourn’s music at their bandcamp page.

David rejoiced in God alone
He was raised by grace to an earthly throne
But Christ the son demands our praise
For His kingdom has no end of daysLord, you rejoice in victory
When another lost soul bows to its knee
Rising tide of righteousness
With the shield of truth upon your breast

Oh the Warrior!

Honor and majesty divine
Around his sacred temple shine
Grace and might so long foretold
In crowns of glory, not of gold

Your hand shall find out every foe
And as a fiery furnace glows
With raging heat and living coals
They will feel your wrath upon their souls

Oh the warrior will conquer all
The world will fall before His feet

Earth and sea will give up their dead
The nations gathered before him
A day of glory, a day of dread
No one dares now ignore him

words: Dave Moisan, Neil Robins, Bobby Gilles, and Isaac Watt

©2008Sojourn Community Churchand Bobby Gilles

CCLI Song #5429035

I found a Chord Sheet here.  I post the lyrics and chord sheet for edification and as a resource, but please respect copyright and purchase the song if you’ll be using and sharing it.

By the way, Project Gutenberg has a number of free downloads of Isaac Watts works available…

Music for Easter – A wonderful anthem: Christ Our Passover is Sacrificed for us – Richard Dirksen

Via the Rev. James Gibson at Vicar’s Versicles last week, I discovered this lovely Easter anthem.  Truly majestic, and a good way to remember the glorious truth of Christ’s resurrection on a Monday morning!

Richard Dirksen: Christ Our Passover

An anthem for Easter composed by Richard Dirksen (1921-2003), performed by the Washington National Cathedral Choir of Men and Girls (dir. Michael McCarthy) and members of the Washington Symphonic Brass

Quotable: Liturgy conforms our bodies to truth

From a FANTASTIC article “Omnivorous Liturgy” by Peter Leithart at First Things – must reading for understanding the role of liturgy in forming us as Christ-followers:

We stand, we kneel, we sit, we stand, we kneel. The postures of liturgy write “upon the bodies of those who perform it frequently a habit of acting as an unworthy recipient of a prevenient gift” (Paul Griffiths, Decreation, 232).

By developing the habits that the liturgy impresses on us, we become “agents whose bodies and words are conformed to the truth that [we] are simultaneously capable of receiving the divine gift, and utterly unworthy to receive it.” This isn’t the result of “trying or learning to feel unworthy-and-worthy” nor do “worshipers knowingly perform liturgically before a mirror lined with your own eyes.” That would be an accommodation to the modern obsession with the inner theater, the concept that the inner theater makes our actions sincere.

Rather, we simply say what the liturgy teaches us to say. We do what the liturgy leads us to do. And by doing and saying over and over again, we develop habits. We become “the kind of person who does and says these things” (233).

YES!!! This is SUCH a powerful image, and so helpful to me!

A Compilation of Eastertide links and resources – celebrating the full 50 days of the Easter Season

UPDATED: 19 April 2015

This post is sticky – look below for new entries

This year more than ever, I feel an urgency to continue to celebrate Easter throughout the entire 50 day Easter Season (traditionally known as “Eastertide” in Anglican circles).  Perhaps it is the bleakness of the world, and the awareness of evil (such as recent terrorist killings of Christians in Kenya and Libya…) that makes me want to cling to the joy of the Lord’s resurrection and meditate on the glorious truth of His victory in a more focused way this year.  Continuing to reflect on His resurrection power also helps remind me that His power is at work in my heart to conquer sin.  Finally, I find myself wanting to continue to strengthen some of the spiritual disciplines started in Lent in terms of time spent in Scripture, taking advantage of this 50 day season to walk with Jesus and fellowship with Him, allowing Him to expound the Scriptures and stir up my heart so it burns with more a passion for Him.  With these goals in mind, I offer the following list of some articles, reflections resources, prayers, music all focused on helping us maintain an Easter-focus during the 50 days of Eastertide. 

***

NEW (April 19) – DON’T MISS THIS:  A Compilation of 70 Favorite Easter and Eastertide Hymns.  Note, there is now a separate Easter Hymns category, since we plan to post a lot more Easter hymns in coming days!

NEW UDPATE! – (April 15): I’ve just posted about a great blog and a new Eastertide devotional resource on the theme Practice Resurrection 2015.  This post also includes a short list of some of the links in our Eastertide compilation (specifically links to reflections on practicing resurrection / celebrating Eastertide).

Let me link the blog and devotional separately:

The blog: This Sacramental Life by Tamara Hill Murphy.  See especially #practiceresurrection2015 – who wants to join me? and her Easter Daybook entries

The devotional:  Eastertide Devotional 2015 from Christ Church Austin (pdf version here)

And you can follow along on Twitter using #practiceresurrection or #practiceresurrection2015

***

First, some of my favorite resources, links and entries from years’ past:

• A table with daily Easter Season Scripture readings for 2015 (Book of Common Prayer Daily Office)

• An Easter Devotional: Don’t let the bright light of Easter dim…– an incredible devotional by Emily Polis Gibson “Eastertide: Dayspring to Dimness” focused Gerard Manley Hopkins’ phrase “Let Him Easter in Us”

• Two archived entries from Splendor in the Ordinary blog:  Becoming Easter People, and Practice Resurrection.

• Recommended Websites for Easter Devotional Reading (from 2014, I hope to update it for 2015)

Keep reading below – there are nearly 50 additional links!

MUST SEE / LISTEN!! – Music for Easter – The Lord is Risen Indeed! (Easter Anthem) William Billings

WOW!!!!!   Thanks to Bruce Benedict of Cardiphonia who tweeted about this.  What a stunning Easter anthem and video.  I don’t believe I’ve ever before heard this anthem by William Billings, but even before the video finished playing, I was looking online for a version to purchase.  Here is a link to iTunes where this version of Billings’ Easter Anthem may be purchased.

This is just a fantastic mix of music and art (Russian Orthodox iconography).

Here’s what the creator of the YouTube video writes:

I received many nice responses from my fusion project involving an 18th century American hymn and Orthodox icons, so, here is a second effort. William Billings was the last prominent composer to work prior to the destruction of American sacred music during the Second Great Awakening. The harmonics, text, and a capella setting are all familiar to an Orthodox Christian. There are those doing their best to preserve this heritage. I give them my regards, wish them well, and extend to them my hope that they succeed in passing on the torch to a new generation.

This piece is sung by His Majesty’s Clerkes under the direction of Paul Hillier.

***

Here is the text of the anthem via the ChoralWiki site:

Text arranged from Edward Young’s “The Complaint”, or “Night Thoughts”, “Night Four”, 1741-44

English text

The Lord is ris’n indeed,
Hallelujah.
Now is Christ risen from the dead,
and become the first fruits of them that slept.
Hallelujah.
And did He rise?
Hear, O ye nations, hear it, O ye dead.
He rose, He burst the bars of death,
He burst the bars of death and triumph’d o’er the grave.
Then I rose,
then first humanity triumphant passed the crystal ports of light,
and seiz’d eternal youth.
Man, all immortal hail, hail,
Heaven, all lavish of strange gifts to man,
Thine’s all the glory, man’s the boundless bliss.

***

There’s more about William Billlings and the Easter anthem here at Hymnary.org

 

Easter Music – Classic Hymns: The Strife is O’er – Truro Cathedral Choir

(I can’t resist reposting this even though I’ve posted it in other years.  I need these words this Easter Morn!  Look for new Easter devotional entries beginning Monday.)

For this morning’s Easter musical selection, I’m choosing one of my favorite classic hymns:

The Strife is O’er performed by the Truro Cathedral Choir.

(Should the embedded music file not display or play, use this link, but please respect copyright and purchase the file should you wish to keep it.)

This version appears on the 2009 album Easter Joy, with 51 hymns and songs by assorted artists.

Here is a pretty close version of the lyrics (there are a few minor differences)

The strife is o’er, the battle done;
Now is the Victor’s triumph won;
Now be the song of praise begun.
Alleluia!

2. Death’s mightiest powers have done their worst,
And Jesus hath His foes dispersed;
Let shouts of praise and joy outburst.
Alleluia!

3. On the third morn He rose again
Glorious in majesty to reign;
Oh, let us swell the joyful strain!
Alleluia!

4. He closed the yawning gates of hell;
The bars from heaven’s high portals fell.
Let songs of praise His triumph tell.
Alleluia!

5. Lord, by the stripes which wounded Thee.
From death’s dread sting Thy servants free
That we may live and sing to Thee.
Alleluia!

Note, as is often the case, the American version of the hymn is somewhat different.