Scripture Verse

The angel of the Lord descended from Heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. Matthew 28:2

Introduction

portrait
James C. D. Parker
1828–1916

Words: Phill­ips Brooks, 1877.

Music: James C. D. Par­ker, 1872 (🔊 pdf nwc).

portrait
Phillips Brooks (1835–1893)

Lyrics

God hath sent His an­gels to the earth again,
Bringing joy­ful tid­ings to the sons of men;
They who first at Christ­mas
Thronged the hea­ven­ly way,
Now be­side the tomb door sit on East­er day.

Refrain

Angels, sing His tri­umph as you sang His birth,
Christ the Lord is ris­en, peace, good­will on earth!

In the dread­ful desert, where the Lord was tried,
There the faith­ful an­gels ga­thered at His side;
And when, in the gar­den, grief and pain and care
Bowed Him down with ang­uish,
They were with Him there.

Refrain

Yet the Christ they hon­or is the same Christ still
Who, in light and dark­ness, did His Fa­ther’s will;
And the tomb, de­sert­ed, shin­eth like the sky,
Since He passed from out it, in­to vic­to­ry.

Refrain

God has still His an­gels, help­ing at His word,
All His faith­ful child­ren, like their faith­ful Lord;
Soothing them in sor­row, arm­ing them in strife,
Opening wide the tomb doors, lead­ing in­to life.

Refrain