Poems (Hoffman)/Easter Hymn
For works with similar titles, see Easter Hymn.
EASTER HYMN
'Tis morn in Joseph's garden nowWhere death and night and darkness were,The lilies still in sadness bowAround the Saviour's sepulcher,Angels in shining garments cladSpeak first the word that mortals heed'Till Nature, wrapt in gloom, is glad;The Lord is risen, is risen indeed.
Gladly they bear the message onWho stood beside His empty tomb,The night is o'er, the darkness goneThe angels sing, the lilies bloom.Powerless the chains of death to bindThe captive from their bondage freed,Death's dreary dungeon left behind,The Lord is risen, is risen indeed.
As rose the sun above the heightsChasing the gloom from earth and skiesBehold above the night of nightsThe Sun of Righteousness arise;Burst are the chains of death and hell,Go ye, who hear the message, speed,Above the graves of nations tellThe Lord is risen, is risen indeed.
'Tis morn upon the earth, once more,Sweet Easter morn when lilies springTo greet the sun from shore to shoreAnd saints rejoice and angels sing; All nature now breaks forth in songAnd Easter anthem angels leadWith joyful hearts the strains prolong,The Lord is risen, is risen indeed.
'Tis morn, the gospel light has streamedFrom Africa's coast to India's strand,The dawn of which the prophet dreamedIs flooding each benighted land.Above the vanities of menO'er crumbling shrine and moldering creedHigh o'er the mountain tops of sinThe Lord is risen, is risen indeed.