O Day of Rest and Gladness

Melody - "Ellacomb", 1784
Melody 2 - "Mendebra", Lowell Mason, 1839

Christopher Wordsworth, 1862

O day of rest and gladness,
Of day of joy and light,
O balm of care and sadness,
Most beautiful, most bright:
On Thee, the high and lowly,
Before th' eternal 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. New graces ever gaining
From this our day of rest,
We reach the rest remaining
To spirits of the blessed.
To Holy Ghost be praises,
To Father, and to Son;
The church her voice upraises
To Thee, blest Three in One.

In 1872, the author changed lines 6-8 of v.1 to:
Through ages joined in time,
Sing Holy, Holy, Holy,
To the great God Triune.

Also line 8 of v.2 was changed to:
A threefold light was given.

| English Songs Index | Home Page Robokopp |Home Page Musica|