When the gold­en ev­en­ing ga­thered
On the shore of Ga­li­lee,
When the fish­ing boats lay qui­et by the sea,
Long ago the peo­ple won­dered,
Though no sign was in the sky,
For the glo­ry of the Lord was pass­ing by.

Not in robes of pur­ple splen­dor,
Not in silk­en soft­ness shod,
But in rai­ment worn with tra­vel came their God;
And the peo­ple knew His pre­sence
By the heart that ceased to sigh
When the glo­ry of the Lord was pass­ing by.

For He healed their sick at ev­en,
And He cured the le­per’s sore,
So that sin­ful men and women sinned no more;
And the world grew mirth­ful-heart­ed,
And for­got its mi­se­ry
When the glo­ry of the Lord was pass­ing by.

Not in robes of pur­ple splen­dor,
But in lives that do His will,
And in pa­tient acts of kind­ness He comes still;
And the peo­ple cry with won­der,
Though no sign is in the sky,
That the glo­ry of the Lord is pass­ing by.