Scripture Verse

O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? 1 Corinthians 15:55

Introduction

portrait
Isaac Watts (1674–1748)

Words: Is­aac Watts, Hymns and Spi­ri­tu­al Songs 1707. The original title was O for an Overcoming Faith; it was recast in the Church of Scotland’s Trans­la­tions and Pa­ra­phras­es in 1781, where the revised version was at­trib­ut­ed to William Cameron.

Music: Mount Auburn George Kings­ley (1811–1884) (🔊 pdf nwc).

If you know where to get a good pic­ture of Cameron or Kingsley (head & shoul­ders, at least 200×300 pix­els),

Lyrics

When the last trumpet’s awful voice
This rending earth shall shake;
When opening graves shall yield their charge
And dust to life awake;

Those bodies that corrupted fell
Shall incorrupt arise,
And mortal forms shall spring to life
Immortal in the skies.

Behold, what heavenly prophets sung
Is now at last fulfilled;
And Death yields up his ancient reign,
And, vanquished, quits the field.

Let Faith exalt her joyful voice,
And now in triumph sing:
O Grave, where is thy vic­to­ry?
And where, O Death, thy sting?