A Hymn for the Great Octave of Easter
WE sing of God, the mighty source
Of all things; the stupendous force
On which all strength depends;
From whose right arm, beneath whose eyes,
All period, power, and enterprise
Commences, reigns and ends.
Tell them I AM, the Lord God said,
To Moses while on earth in dread
And smitten to the heart,
At once, above, beneath around,
All nature without voice or sound
Replied, O Lord, thou art.
Glorious the sun in mid career;
Glorious the assembled fires appear;
Glorious the comet’s train:
Glorious the trumpet and alarm;
Glorious the almighty stretched-out arm;
Glorious the enraptured main:
Glorious, most glorious, is the crown
Of him that brought salvation down
By meekness, Mary’s son;
Seers that stupendous truth believed,
And now the matchless deed’s achieved,
Determined, dared, and done.
Christopher Smart
