Scripture Verse

Thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. Isaiah 60:1

Introduction

Words: Ma­ry E. Ser­voss, in Ho­ly Voic­es, ed­it­ed by Isai­ah Balt­zell & Ed­mund S. Lo­renz (Day­ton, Ohio: Will­iam J. Shu­ey, 1883), num­ber 235.

Music: Ba­tan­gas George C. Steb­bins, in Roy­al Hym­nal, ed­it­ed by Ro­bert Low­ry & Ira D. San­key (New York and Chi­ca­go, Il­li­nois: Big­low & Main, 1898), num­ber 47 (🔊 pdf nwc).

If you know where to get a good pho­to of Ser­voss (head & shoul­ders, at least 200×300 pix­els),

portrait
George Stebbins
(1846–1945)

Lyrics

What means this glo­ri­ous ra­di­ance
Across Ju­dea’s plain?
These white winged an­gels sing­ing
In such ex­ult­ant strain?

Refrain

The King of glo­ry com­eth,
Earth’s brok­en hearts to bind,
And God’s sal­va­tion morn­ing
Hath dawned for all man­kind.

What means this won­drous sto­ry
The ho­ly an­gels tell,
Of One who reigned in Hea­ven,
And now on earth would dwell?

Refrain

Why bend these east­ern sag­es
To One of low­ly birth?
What means this heav’n­ly mes­sage
Of love and peace on earth?

Refrain

Ye wan­d’rers in earth’s dark­ness,
On ocean deep and land,
Hail, hail the joy­ful tid­ings,
The morn­ing is at hand.

Refrain