A Poor Brother's Hymnal
Friday, April 06, 2007
  Let the Song Be Begun (Easter)
Let the song be begun
For the battle is done,
And the vict'ry won:
And the foe is scatt'd,
And the prison shatter'd
Sing of joy, joy, joy
Sing of joy, joy;
And today raise the lay,
Gloria in Excelsis
Gloria in Excelsis,
in Excelsis

They that follow'd in pain
Shall now follow to reign,
And the crown shall obtain;
they were sore assaulted;
They shall be exalted;
Sing of joy, joy, joy
Sing of joy, joy;
And again, Pour the strain,
Gloria in Excelsis
Gloria in Excelsis,
in Excelsis

For the foe nevermore
Can approach to the shore
When the conflict is o'er,
There is joy supernal,
There is life eternal:
Sing of joy, joy, joy
Sing of joy, joy;
Earth and skies, Bid it rise,
Gloria in Excelsis
Gloria in Excelsis,
in Excelsis

Then be brave, then be true,
Ye despis'd and ye few,
For the crown is for you;
Christ that went before you,
Spreads His buckler o'er you;
Sing of joy, joy, joy
Sing of joy, joy;
And today raise the lay,
Gloria in Excelsis
Gloria in Excelsis,
in Excelsis

(to the tune of Ideo)

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Thursday, April 05, 2007
  Jesus, Our Lord, Is Crucified
“Those who passed by hurled insults at Him, shaking their heads and saying, ‘You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself!’” Matthew 27:39-40

Frederick W. Faber (1814-1863)

Words: Fred­er­ick W. Fa­ber, 1849, alt.

Music: St. Cross, John B. Dykes, in Hymns An­cient and Mo­dern, 1861 (MI­DI, score). Al­ter­nate tune:

  • Das Lei­den des Herrn, tra­di­tion­al Ger­man mel­o­dy (MI­DI, score)

John B. Dykes (1823-1876)

O come and mourn with me awhile;
And tarry here the cross beside;
O come, together let us mourn;
Jesus, our Lord, is crucified.

Have we no tears to shed for Him,
While soldiers scoff and foes deride?
Ah! look how patiently He hangs;
Jesus, our Lord, is crucified.

How fast His hands and feet are nailed;
His blessed tongue with thirst is tied,
His failing eyes are blind with blood:
Jesus, our Lord, is crucified.

His mother cannot reach His face;
She stands in helplessness beside;
Her heart is martyred with her Son’s:
Jesus, our Lord, is Crucified.

Seven times He spoke, seven words of love;
And all three hours His silence cried
For mercy on the souls of men;
Jesus, our Lord, is crucified.

Come, let us stand beneath the cross;
So may the blood from out His side
Fall gently on us drop by drop;
Jesus, our Lord, is crucified.

O break, O break, hard heart of mine!
Thy weak self-love and guilty pride
His Pilate and His Judas were:
Jesus, our Lord, is crucified.

A broken heart, a fount of tears,
Ask, and they will not be denied;
A broken heart love’s cradle is:
Jesus, our Lord, is crucified.

O love of God! O sin of man!
In this dread act Your strength is tried;
And victory remains with love;
For Thou our Lord, art crucified!



G C G / Am G / G C G / C D G

D C G / Em D / G C G / C D G

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Monday, April 02, 2007
  Thou, Hallowed Chosen Morn of Praise
“Now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.” 1 Corinthians 15:20

John of Damascus (675-749)

Words: John of Da­mas­cus, 8th Cen­tu­ry (Αὕτη ἥ κλητή κλητή καὶ ἁγία ἡμέρα); trans­lat­ed from Greek to Eng­lish by John M. Neale, 1862.

Music: Ei­sen­ach, Jo­hann H. Schein, 1628; har­mo­ny by Jo­hann S. Bach (1685-1750) (MI­DI, score).


Johann H. Schein (1586-1630)

Thou hallowed chosen morn of praise,
That best and greatest shinest;
Fair Easter, queen of all the days,
Of seasons, best, divinest!
Christ rose from death; and we adore
Forever and forevermore.

Come, let us taste the vine’s new fruit,
For heav’nly joy preparing;
Today the branches with the root
In resurrection sharing:
Whom as true God our hymns adore
Forever and forevermore.

Rise, Zion, rise! and looking forth,
Behold thy children round thee!
From east and west, from south and north,
Thy scattered sons have found thee;
And in thy bosom Christ adore
Forever and for evermore.

O Father, O co-equal Son,
O co-eternal Spirit,
In persons Three, in Godhead One,
And One in power and merit;
In Thee baptized, we Thee adore
Forever and for evermore.

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  Lift Your Voice Rejoicing, Mary
Lift your voice rejoicing, Mary,
Christ has risen from the tomb;
on the cross a suffering victim,
now as victor he is come.
Whom your tears in death were mourning,
welcome with your smiles returning.
Let your alleluias rise!

Raise your weary eyelids, Mary,
see him living evermore;
see his countenance how gracious,
see the wounds for you he bore.
All the glory of the morning
pales before those wounds redeeming.
Let your alleluias rise!

Life is yours for ever, Mary,
for your light is come once more
and the strength of death is broken;
now your songs of joy outpour.
Ended now the night of sorrow,
love has brought the blessed morrow.
Let your alleluias rise.

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  Over the Chaos of the Empty Waters
Over the chaos of the empty waters hovered the Spirit, bringing forth creation;
So from the empty tomb the Second Adam issued triumphant.

By the same spirit we, regerated into the body of our risen Savior
Seek through the power of the new creation life everlasting.

By the same Spirit we are called to worship God our Creator, Savior, Sancifier
of whom the glory, in both earth and heaven, is manifested.

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  At the Lamb's High Feast We Sing
“One of the soldiers with a spear pierced His side, and forthwith came there out blood and water.” John 19:34

Words: Un­known au­thor, prob­ab­ly 6th Cen­tu­ry (Ad re­gi­as Ag­ni da­pes); trans­lat­ed from La­tin to En­glish by Ro­bert Camp­bell, 1849.

Music: Salzburg (Hintze), Ja­kob Hintze, 1678 (MI­DI, score).

If you have ac­cess to a pic­ture of Ja­kob Hintze or Ro­bert Camp­bell that we could put on­line, please click here.


At the Lamb’s high feast we sing,
Praise to our victorious King,
Who hath washed us in the tide
Flowing from his piercèd side;
Praise we Him, Whose love divine
Gives His sacred blood for wine,
Gives His body for the feast,
Christ the Victim, Christ the Priest.

Where the Paschal blood is poured,
Death’s dark angel sheathes his sword;
Israel’s hosts triumphant go
Through the wave that drowns the foe.
Praise we Christ, Whose blood was shed,
Paschal Victim, paschal Bread;
With sincerity and love
Eat we Manna from above.

Mighty Victim from the sky,
Hell’s fierce powers beneath Thee lie;
Thou hast conquered in the fight,
Thou hast brought us life and light;
Now no more can death appall,
Now no more the grave enthrall;
Thou hast opened Paradise,
And in Thee Thy saints shall rise.

Paschal triumph, Easter joy,
Only sin can this destroy;
From sin’s death do Thou set free
Souls reborn, O Lord, in Thee.
Hymns of glory and of praise,
Father, to Thee we raise;
Risen Lord, all praise to Thee,
Ever with the Spirit be.

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  Praise the Savior, Now and Ever
“That through death He might destroy him that had the power of death.” Hebrews 2:14


Venantius Fortunatus (530-609)
Words: Ve­nan­ti­us For­tu­na­tus (cir­ca 530-609) (Pan­ge lin­g­ua glor­i­o­si proe­li­um cer­tam­in­is); trans­lat­ed by Au­gus­tus Nel­son.

Music: Upp, Min Tun­ga, Swed­ish Kor­al­bok, 1697 (MI­DI, score). Al­ter­nate tune:

  • Lauda An­i­ma, John Goss, 1869 (MI­DI, score)

If you have ac­cess to a pic­ture of Au­gus­tus Nel­son that we could put on­line, please click here.


Praise the Savior now and ever;
Praise Him, all beneath the skies;
Prostrate lying, suff’ring, dying
On the cross, a sacrifice.
Vict’ry gaining, life obtaining,
Now in glory He doth rise.

Man’s work faileth, Christ’s availeth;
He is all our righteousness;
He, our Savior, has forever
Set us free from dire distress.
Through His merit we inherit
Light and peace and happiness.

Sin’s bonds severed, we’re delivered,
Christ has bruised the serpent’s head;
Death no longer is the stronger,
Hell itself is captive led.
Christ has risen from death’s prison,
O’er the tomb He light has shed.

For His favor, praise forever,
Unto God the Father sing;
Praise the Savior, praise Him ever,
Son of God, our Lord and King.
Praise the Spirit, through Christ’s merit,
He doth us salvation bring.

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  That Eastertide with Joy Was Bright
“Look at My hands and My feet. It is I Myself! Touch Me and see.” Luke 24:39

Michael Praetorius (1571-1621)

Words: Un­known au­thor, 5th Cen­tu­ry (Au­ro­ra lu­cis ru­ti­lat); trans­lated from La­tin to Eng­lish in Hymns An­cient and Mo­dern, 1861, based on John M. Neale’s text in the Hymn­al Not­ed, 1851.

Music: Pu­er No­bis Nas­ci­tur, Trier man­u­script, 15th Cen­tu­ry, adapt­ed by Mi­chael Prae­tor­i­us, 1609; har­mo­ny by George R. Wood­ward, 1910 (MI­DI, score). Al­ter­nate tune:

  • Tristes Erant, Wil­liam H. Monk, 1861 (MI­DI, score)

John M. Neale (1818-1866)

That Eastertide with joy was bright,
The sun shone out with fairer light,
When, to their longing eyes restored,
The glad apostles saw their Lord.

He bade them see His hands, His side,
Where yet the glorious wounds abide;
The tokens true which made it plain
Their Lord indeed was risen again.

Jesus, the King of gentleness,
Do Thou Thyself our hearts possess
That we may give Thee all our days
The tribute of our grateful praise.

O Lord of all, with us abide
In this our joyful Eastertide;
From every weapon death can wield
Thine own redeemed forever shield.

All praise be Thine, O risen Lord,
From death to endless life restored;
All praise to God the Father be
And Holy Ghost eternally.

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  Welcome, Happy Morning
“I [am] He that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore.” Revelation 1:18

John Ellerton (1826-1893)

Words: Venantius For­tu­na­tus, cir­ca 590 (Sal­ve, fes­ta di­es); trans­lat­ed from La­tin to Eng­lish by John Ell­er­ton, 1868.

Music: For­tu­na­tus, Ar­thur S. Sull­i­van, in The Hymnary, by Jo­seph Barn­by, 1872 (MI­DI, score). Al­ter­nate tunes:


Arthur S. Sullivan (1842-1900)

“Welcome, happy morning!” age to age shall say:
“Hell today is vanquished, Heav’n is won today!”
Lo! the dead is living, God forevermore!
Him, their true Creator, all His works adore!

Refrain

“Welcome, happy morning!”
Age to age shall say.

Earth her joy confesses, clothing her for spring,
All fresh gifts returned with her returning King:
Bloom in every meadow, leaves on every bough,
Speak His sorrow ended, hail His triumph now.

Refrain

Months in due succession, days of lengthening light,
Hours and passing moments praise Thee in their flight.
Brightness of the morning, sky and fields and sea,
Vanquisher of darkness, bring their praise to Thee.

Refrain

Maker and Redeemer, life and health of all,
Thou from heaven beholding human nature’s fall,
Of the Father’s Godhead true and only Son,
Mankind to deliver, manhood didst put on.

Refrain

Thou, of life the Author, death didst undergo,
Tread the path of darkness, saving strength to show;
Come, then True and Faithful, now fulfill Thy Word;
’Tis Thine own third morning; rise, O buried Lord!

Refrain

Loose the souls long prisoned, bound with Satan’s chain;
All that now is fallen raise to life again;
Show Thy face in brightness, bid the nations see;
Bring again our daylight: day returns with Thee!

Refrain

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  Now the Green Blade Rises
“After three days I will rise again.” Matthew 27:63

Martin F. Shaw (1875-1958)

Words: John M. C. Crum, in the Ox­ford Book of Car­ols, 1928.

Music: Noël Nou­ve­let (Sing We Now of Christmas), 15th Cen­tu­ry French mel­o­dy; ar­ranged by Mar­tin F. Shaw (1875-1958) (MI­DI, score).



Now the green blade rises from the buried grain,
Wheat that in the dark earth many years has lain;
Love lives again, that with the dead has been:
Love is come again, like wheat that springs up green.

In the grave they laid Him, Love Whom we had slain,
Thinking that He’d never wake to life again,
Laid in the earth like grain that sleeps unseen:
Love is come again, like wheat that springs up green.

Up He sprang at Easter, like the risen grain,
He that for three days in the grave had lain;
Up from the dead my risen Lord is seen:
Love is come again, like wheat that springs up green.

When our hearts are saddened, grieving or in pain,
By Your touch You call us back to life again;
Fields of our hearts that dead and bare have been:
Love is come again, like wheat that springs up green.

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  Rejoice, Angelic Choirs, Rejoice
Rejoice, angelic choirs, rejoice! Rejoice now, all creation!
Let trumpets loudly raise their voice to hail the Lord's salvation;
Let all Christ's holy priesthood sing
The triumph of their mighty king
In festive celebration!

O earth, exult in radiance bright, illumined by Christ's splendor!
Your darkness now is put to flight; to him due praises render!
Be glad, O Church! Sing out your songs!
Your temples fill with shouting throngs
To hail the glorious victor!

Let all who gather round this flame, the sign of Christ's arising,
The deathless light of Christ accplaim, His saving mercy prizing
;
That all may live by faith in Him
Who conquered death, despair and sing,
To make us his forever.

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  Hail Thee, Festival Day!
“Blessed be the Lord this day.” 1 Kings 5:7

Venantius Fortunatus (530-609)

Words: Venan­ti­us For­tu­na­tus (530-609) (Sal­ve fes­ta di­es toto ven­er­a­bi­lis ae­vo); trans­lat­ed from La­tin to Eng­lish by Maurice F. Bell in The Eng­lish Hymn­al (Lon­don: Ox­ford Un­i­ver­si­ty Press, 1906), num­ber 624.

Music: Salve Festa Dies, Ralph Vaughan Williams, in The Eng­lish Hymn­al (Lon­don: Ox­ford Un­i­ver­si­ty Press, 1906) (MI­DI, score). Originally credited to “Anonymous,” Vaugh­an Will­iams was named as the com­pos­er in Songs of Praise, 1931.

The com­plex­i­ty of this score makes it a chal­lenge for con­gre­ga­tion­al use (there are three ver­sions for dif­fer­ent oc­ca­sions, which can be sung sep­ar­ate­ly or com­bined). How­ev­er, it can be quite im­press­ive when sung by a trained choir.


Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)

EASTER

Refrain

Hail thee, festival day!
Blessed day to be hallowed forever;
Day when our Lord was raised,
Breaking the kingdom of death.

Lo, the fair beauty of the earth,
From the death of the winter arising!
Every good gift of the year
Now with its Master returns.

Refrain

Rise from the grave now, O Lord,
The author of life and creation.
Treading the pathway of death,
New life You give to us all.


ASCENSION

Refrain

Hail thee, festival day!
Blessed day to be hallowed forever;
Day when our risen Lord
Rose in the heavens to reign.

He who was nailed to the cross
Is Ruler and Lord of all people.
All things created on earth
Sing to the glory of God.

Refrain

Daily the loveliness grows,
Adorned with glory of blossom;
Heaven her gates unbars,
Flinging her increase of light.

Refrain


PENTECOST

Refrain

Hail thee, festival day!
Blessed day to be hallowed forever;
Day when the Holy Ghost
Shone in the world full of grace.

Bright and in the likeness of fire,
On those who await your appearing,
You Whom the Lord had foretold
Suddenly, swiftly descend.

Refrain

Forth from the Father You come
With sevenfold mystical offering,
Pouring on all human souls
Infinite riches of God.

Refrain


ALL OCCASIONS

God the Almighty Lord,
The Ruler of earth and the heavens,
Guard us from harm without;
Cleanse us from evil within.

Jesus the health of the world,
Enlighten our minds, great Redeemer,
Son of the Father supreme,
Only begotten of God.

Spirit of life and of power,
Now flow in us, fount of our being,
Light that enlightens us all,
Life that in all may abide.

Praise to the giver of good!
O lover and author of concord,
Pour out your balm on our days;
Order our ways in your peace.

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  The Day of Resurrection
“He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see Him.” Matthew 28:7

John of Damascus (675-749)

Words: John of Da­mas­cus (675-749) (Αναστάσεως ήμέρα); trans­lat­ed from Greek to Eng­lish by John M. Neale, 1862.

Music: Lancashire, Hen­ry T. Smart, 1835 (MI­DI, score). Smart wrote this tune for a mu­sic fes­tiv­al in Black­burn, Lan­ca­shire, Eng­land, com­mem­o­rat­ing the 350th an­ni­ver­sa­ry of the Re­for­ma­tion in Eng­land. Al­ter­nate tunes:

  • Ellacombe, Würt­tem­berg, Ger­ma­ny: 1784; adapt­ed and har­mo­nized by Will­iam H. Monk, 1868 (MI­DI, score)
  • Herz­lich Tut Mich Er­freu­en, Jo­hann Wal­ther, Ein Schön­er Geist­lich­er und Christ­lich­er New­er Berck­re­yen, 1522 (MI­DI, score)
  • Rotterdam, Ber­thold Tours, 1875 (MI­DI, score)

Henry T. Smart (1813-1879)

John Neale de­scribed how ear­ly Greek Christ­ians sang this hymn:

As mid­night ap­proached, the arch­bi­shop, with his priests, ac­com­pa­nied by the king and queen, left the church and sta­tioned them­selves on the plat­form, which was raised con­sid­er­a­bly from the ground, so that they were dis­tinct­ly seen by the peo­ple. Ev­er­y­one now re­mained in breath­less ex­pec­ta­tion, hold­ing an un­light­ed ta­per in rea­di­ness when the glad mo­ment should ar­rive, while the priests still con­tin­ued mur­mur­ing their mel­an­cho­ly chant in a low half whis­per. Sud­den­ly a single re­port of a can­non an­nounced that twelve o’clock had struck and that Eas­ter Day had be­gun; then the old arch­bi­shop, ele­vat­ing the cross, ex­claimed in a loud, ex­ult­ing tone, “Christ­os anes­te!” “Christ is ris­en!” and in­stant­ly ev­ery sin­gle in­di­vid­u­al of all that host took up the cry…At that same mo­ment the op­press­ive dark­ness was suc­ceed­ed by a blaze of light from thou­sands of tap­ers which…seemed to send streams of fire in all di­rect­ions.


The day of resurrection! Earth, tell it out abroad;
The Passover of gladness, the Passover of God.
From death to life eternal, from earth unto the sky,
Our Christ hath brought us over, with hymns of victory.

Our hearts be pure from evil, that we may see aright
The Lord in rays eternal of resurrection light;
And listening to His accents, may hear, so calm and plain,
His own “All hail!” and, hearing, may raise the victor strain.

Now let the heavens be joyful! Let earth the song begin!
Let the round world keep triumph, and all that is therein!
Let all things seen and unseen their notes in gladness blend,
For Christ the Lord hath risen, our joy that hath no end.

Then praise we God the Father, And praise we Christ His Son,
With them the Holy Spirit, Eternal Three in One;
'Till all the ransomed number fall down before the throne,
And honor, pow'r and glory ascribe to God alone!


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  O Sons and Daughters of the King
Am Em G Am
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

Am G Em D Am
O sons and daughters of the King,
B F D Em Am
Whom heavenly hosts in glory sing,
D Am Em
Today the grave has lost its sting!
B D A Am Em G A
Alleluia! Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

That Easter morn, at break of day,
The faithful women went their way
To seek the tomb where Jesus lay.
Alleluia! Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

An angel clad in white they see,
Who sit and speaks unto the three,
"Your Lord will go to Galilee."
Alleluia! Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

That night the apostles met in fear;
Among them came their master dear
And said, "MY peace be with you here."
Alleluia! Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

When Thomas first the tidings heard
That they had seen the risen Lord,
He doubted the disciples’ word.
Alleluia! Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

"My pierced side, O Thomas, see,
And look upon my hands, my feet;
Not faithless but believing be."
Alleluia! Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

No longer Thomas then denied;
He saw the feet, the hands, the side;
"You are my Lord and God!" he cried.
Alleluia! Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

How blest are they who have not seen
And yet whose faith has constant been,
For they eternal life shall win.
Alleluia! Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

On this most holy day of days
Be laud and jubilee and praise:
To God your hearts and voice raise.
Alleluia! Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

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  Christians, to the Paschal Victim
Christians, to the Paschal victim
offer your thankful praises!

A lamb the sheep redeemeth:
Christ, who only is sinless,
reconcileth sinners to the Father.

Death and life have contended
in that combat stupendous:
the Prince of life, who died,
reigns immortal.

Speak, Mary, declaring
what thou sawest, wayfaring:

"The tomb of Christ, who is living,
the glory of Jesus' resurrection;

"Bright angels attesting,
the shroud and napkin resting.

"Yea, Christ my hope is arisen;
to Galilee he will go before you."

Christ indeed from death is risen,
our new life obtaining;
have mercy, victor King, ever reigning!
Amen.

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  Christ Is Arisen
Christ is arisen from the grave's dark prison,
So let our joy rise full and free;
Christ our comfort true will be,
Alleluia!

Were Christ not arisen, then death were still our prison.
Now, with Him to life restored,
We praise the Father of our Lord.
Alleluia!

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
Now let our joy rise full and free;
Christ our comfort true will be.
Alleluia!

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  Come Ye Faithful, Raise the Strain
“As Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” Matthew 12:40

John of Damascus (675-749)

Words: John of Da­mas­cus (675-749) (Αισωμεν πάντες Λαοί); trans­lat­ed from Greek to Eng­lish by John M. Neale, 1859.

Music: St. Ke­vin, Ar­thur S. Sul­li­van, 1872 (MI­DI, score). Al­ter­nate tunes:

  • Ave Vir­go Vir­gin­um, Jo­hann Roh, 1544 (MI­DI, score)
  • Chestnut Hill, Will­iam P. Merr­ill, 1895 (MI­DI, score)
  • Spring of Souls, Lud­vig M. Lin­de­man (1812-1887) (MI­DI, score)
  • St. John Damascene, Ar­thur H. Brown, in Hymns An­cient and Mo­dern, 1861 (MI­DI, score)

Arthur S. Sullivan (1842-1900)

Come, ye faithful, raise the strain of triumphant gladness;
God hath brought forth Israel into joy from sadness;
Loosed from Pharaoh’s bitter yoke Jacob’s sons and daughters,
Led them with unmoistened foot through the Red Sea waters.

’Tis the spring of souls today; Christ has burst His prison,
And from three days’ sleep in death as a sun hath risen;
All the winter of our sins, long and dark, is flying
From His light, to Whom we give laud and praise undying.

Now the queen of seasons, bright with the day of splendor,
With the royal feast of feasts, comes its joy to render;
Comes to glad Jerusalem, who with true affection
Welcomes in unwearied strains Jesus’ resurrection.

Neither might the gates of death, nor the tomb’s dark portal,
Nor the watchers, nor the seal hold Thee as a mortal;
But today amidst the twelve Thou didst stand, bestowing
That Thy peace which evermore passeth human knowing.

“Alleluia!” now we cry to our King immortal,
Who, triumphant, burst the bars of the tomb’s dark portal;
“Alleluia!” with the Son, God the Father praising,
“Alleluia!” yet again to the Spirit raising.

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  Christ the Lord Is Risen Today
“The angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, Who was crucified. He is not here; He has risen, just as He said.’” Matthew 28:5-6

Charles Wesley (1707-1788)

Words: Charles Wes­ley, 1739. Stanzas 8-10, au­thor un­known, 14th Cen­tu­ry; trans­lat­ed from La­tin to Eng­lish in Lyra Da­vid­i­ca. This ex­ub­er­ant song is one of the most pop­u­lar East­er hymns in the Eng­lish lang­uage.

Music: Easter Hymn, com­pos­er un­known, in Lyra Da­vid­i­ca (Lon­don: 1708) (MI­DI, score).

Wesley’s words were writ­ten for use at the first wor­ship ser­vice at the Wes­ley­an Chap­el in Lon­don. The cha­pel, on the site of a for­mer iron found­ry, be­came known as the Found­ry Meet­ing House, and this hymn was in­clud­ed in the Found­ry Col­lect­ion.


Christ, the Lord, is risen today, Alleluia!
Sons of men and angels say, Alleluia!
Raise your joys and triumphs high, Alleluia!
Sing, ye heavens, and earth, reply, Alleluia!

Love’s redeeming work is done, Alleluia!
Fought the fight, the battle won, Alleluia!
Lo! the Sun’s eclipse is over, Alleluia!
Lo! He sets in blood no more, Alleluia!

Vain the stone, the watch, the seal, Alleluia!
Christ hath burst the gates of hell, Alleluia!
Death in vain forbids His rise, Alleluia!
Christ hath opened paradise, Alleluia!

Lives again our glorious King, Alleluia!
Where, O death, is now thy sting? Alleluia!
Once He died our souls to save, Alleluia!
Where thy victory, O grave? Alleluia!

Soar we now where Christ hath led, Alleluia!
Following our exalted Head, Alleluia!
Made like Him, like Him we rise, Alleluia!
Ours the cross, the grave, the skies, Alleluia!

Hail, the Lord of earth and Heaven, Alleluia!
Praise to Thee by both be given, Alleluia!
Thee we greet triumphant now, Alleluia!
Hail, the resurrection, thou, Alleluia!

King of glory, Soul of bliss, Alleluia!
Everlasting life is this, Alleluia!
Thee to know, Thy power to prove, Alleluia!
Thus to sing and thus to love, Alleluia!

Hymns of praise then let us sing, Alleluia!
Unto Christ, our heavenly King, Alleluia!
Who endured the cross and grave, Alleluia!
Sinners to redeem and save. Alleluia!

But the pains that He endured, Alleluia!
Our salvation have procured, Alleluia!
Now above the sky He’s King, Alleluia!
Where the angels ever sing. Alleluia!

Jesus Christ is risen today, Alleluia!
Our triumphant holy day, Alleluia!
Who did once upon the cross, Alleluia!
Suffer to redeem our loss. Alleluia!



C G/B C F F/C-C C-Dm7 C--F C--G C

F C F C Dm7 C C/G-G C-Dm7 C--F C--G C

G Am G/B G C Dm7 C G Am7 G--C G D G

(G) C F F/C-C C-F Dm7 C--G C

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  What Wondrous Love
“Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13


William Walker (1809-1875)
Words: At­trib­ut­ed to Al­ex­an­der Means.

Music: From The South­ern Har­mo­ny and Mu­sic­al Com­pan­ion, by Will­iam Walk­er (New York: Hast­ings House, 1835); ar­ranged by Will­iam Jen­son Rey­nolds (1920-) (MI­DI, score).


What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this that caused the Lord of bliss
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul, for my soul,
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul.

When I was sinking down, sinking down, sinking down,
When I was sinking down, sinking down,
When I was sinking down beneath God’s righteous frown,
Christ laid aside His crown for my soul, for my soul,
Christ laid aside His crown for my soul.

To God and to the Lamb, I will sing, I will sing;
To God and to the Lamb, I will sing.
To God and to the Lamb Who is the great “I Am”;
While millions join the theme, I will sing, I will sing;
While millions join the theme, I will sing.

And when from death I’m free, I’ll sing on, I’ll sing on;
And when from death I’m free, I’ll sing on.
And when from death I’m free, I’ll sing and joyful be;
And through eternity, I’ll sing on, I’ll sing on;
And through eternity, I’ll sing on.



Dm C F C Dm C Am

F Am Em F Dm

G Am G Am C Dm F Am Em Dm

(Dm) C (Am) (Em) F C Am Dm C Am

F Am G F G Am Em C Dm

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All my favorite hymns. Most of them are from before the Reformation.

ARCHIVES
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Links of Interest: The Celtic Catholic Church | Sacred Space | 7 Deadly Sins, 7 Heavenly Virtues | My School | My Website (In Progress)


Links that will add fire to my already extended stay in Purgatory: Ambrose Bierce's Devil's Dictionary | The Devil's Dictionary X | The Brick Testament | Jesus of the Week | The Onion Dome | The Onion | Ship of Fools | The Daily Show