1
O day of resurrection,
O day of joy and light,
O seal of our redemption,
Most beautiful, most bright:
On thee the high and lowly,
Bending before the throne,
Sing “Holy, holy, holy,”
To the great Three in One.
O day of joy and light,
O seal of our redemption,
Most beautiful, most bright:
On thee the high and lowly,
Bending before the throne,
Sing “Holy, holy, holy,”
To the great Three in One.
2
On thee at the creation
The light first had its birth;
On thee, for our salvation,
Christ rose from depths of earth;
On thee, our Lord, victorious,
The Spirit sent from heaven;
And thus on thee, most glorious,
A triple light was given.
The light first had its birth;
On thee, for our salvation,
Christ rose from depths of earth;
On thee, our Lord, victorious,
The Spirit sent from heaven;
And thus on thee, most glorious,
A triple light was given.
3
Today on weary nations
The heavenly manna falls!
To holy convocations
The silver trumpet calls,
Where gospel light is glowing
With pure and radiant beams,
And living water flowing
With soul-refreshing streams.
The heavenly manna falls!
To holy convocations
The silver trumpet calls,
Where gospel light is glowing
With pure and radiant beams,
And living water flowing
With soul-refreshing streams.
4
New graces ever gaining
From this of days the best,
We reach the rest remaining
For people who are blest;
To Holy Ghost be praises,
To Father and to Son;
The Church her voice upraises
To Thee, blest Three in One.
From this of days the best,
We reach the rest remaining
For people who are blest;
To Holy Ghost be praises,
To Father and to Son;
The Church her voice upraises
To Thee, blest Three in One.
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Detroit, MI, United States
In stanza 2, not only the bringing forth of light and Christ's resurrection took place on the 1st day of the week, but also Pentecost occurs on the 1st day of the week, the morrow after the 7th Sabbath (Lev 23:16).
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There are 2 additional stanzas, usually omitted, which follow stanza 2 above:
Thou art a port, protected
from storms that round us rise;
A garden, intersected
with streams of paradise;
Thou art a cooling fountain
in life’s dry, dreary sand;
From thee, like Pisgah’s mountain,
we view our promised land.
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Thou art a holy ladder,
where angels go and come;
Each Sunday finds us gladder,
nearer to heaven, our home;
A day of sweet refection,
thou art a day of love,
A day of resurrection
from earth to things above.
Detroit, MI, United States
"It is the first duty of a hymn," said Christopher Wordsworth, "to teach sound doctrine and thence to save souls." He opposed the trend of 19th century hymnists to write about personal experiences. As the nephew of the noted English poet William Wordsworth, he might have been expected to be a poet as well. But after distinguishing himself as a scholar and athlete at Cambridge, he went into the ministry, eventually becoming a Church of England bishop. He was a recognized Greek scholar and wrote a commentary on the entire Bible as well as a hymnal including 117 original hymns. The 2nd stanza of this hymn is a good example of the way Wordsworth used his hymns to teach doctrine. On the 1st day of the week God created light; on the 1st day of the week Christ arose; and on the 1st day of the week the Holy Spirit was given. Thus Sunday is a day honored 3 times. - Great Songs of Faith by Brown and Norton
The 1st verse and 1st half of the last verse are a bit different in the original:
1st verse:
O day of rest and gladness,
O day of joy and light,
O balm of care and sadness,
Most beautiful, most bright:
On thee the high and lowly,
Through ages joined in tune,
Sing holy, holy, holy,
To the great God Triune.
1st half of last verse:
New graces ever gaining
From this our day of rest,
We reach the rest remaining
To spirits of the blest.