How Sweetly the Morn of the Sabbath Arose

How sweet­ly the morn

Of the Sab­bath arose

When Je­sus the con­quer­or

Had van­quished His foes

Ascended from dark­ness

Dispelling the night

When dawned on the na­tions

The Gos­pel’s fair light.

And soon the bright morn­ing

Spread swift­ly and wide

And awed in­to si­lence

The hosts that de­fied.

The band of dis­ci­ples

A ban­ner un­furled

The Gos­pel’s white ban­ner

To float o’er the world.

Still on­ward

and on­ward

The bright­ness ad­vanced

From riv­er and gla­cier

The sun­ny beam danced;

The hea­then re­joiced

In the warmth of the ray

And wel­comed in glad­ness

Messiah’s mild sway.

A dark­ness

a dark­ness—

All shroud­ed in gloom—

Oh

say

hath the Sav­ior

Returned to the tomb?

The world—must it wan­der

In sor­row again?

Oh

was the great stan­dard

Unfolded in vain?

All hail the white ban­ner!

’Tis wav­ing again;

Adieu then to dark­ness

And er­ror

and pain.

For Bri­ton

and Gaul

And the Swit­zer

there’s rest

And light in the beau­ti­ful

Land of the west.

Strive on then

ye Christ­ians

Be val­iant and strong;

Ne’er faint in the con­flict

Although it be long—

And nev­er re­frain

Till all er­ror is flown

And earth bright and pure

For the bless­èd One’s throne.

Make room! we are com­ing

The gen­tle and young;

Though weak now

and hum­ble

We soon shall be strong.

The hosts of the hea­then

Shall hear of the Lamb

And na­tions un­count­ed

Shall hon­or His name.