1 "Christ the Lord is risen today,"
Sons of men and angels say:
Raise your joys and triumphs high;
Sing, ye heavens, and earth, reply.

2 Vain the stone, the watch, the seal;
Christ has burst the gates of hell:
Death in vain forbids his rise;
Christ has opened Paradise.

3 Lives again our glorious King:
Where, O death, is now thy sting?
Once He died, our souls to save:
Where thy victory, O grave?

3 Soar we now where Christ has led,
Following our exalted Head:
Made like Him, like Him we rise;
Ours the cross, the grave, the skies.

5 Hail the Lord of earth and heaven!
Praise to Thee by both be given:
Thee we greet triumphant now;
Hail, the Resurrection Thou!

Amen.

The Hymnal: Published by the authority of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., 1895

Scripture References:
st. 1 = Matt. 28:1-10
st. 2 = Acts 2:24
st. 3 = Hosea 13:14, 1 Cor. 15:20-23
st. 4 = Phil. 3:10-11
st. 5 = Phil. 2:10

Charles Wesley (PHH 267) composed this "Hymn for Easter Day" in eleven stanzas. First sung at the famous Foundry Meeting House, the text was published in Hymns and Sacred Poems (1739). The "alleluia" responses, reflecting ancient Jewish and Christian practice, were added by later editors to fit the tune. Wesley's stanzas 1-2a and 3b-6 are included.

The text contains some of the most familiar Easter themes: all creatures rejoice in Christ's resurrection (st. 1); the work of redemption is complete (st. 2); death is vanquished (st. 3); we have new life in Christ now (st. 4); we praise the victorious Christ (st. 5). The "alleluias," which remind us of the ancient Easter greeting, do more than interrupt the textual flow: they provide the framework for praising God with each line of text.

Liturgical Use:
Easter Sunday morning; a great processional hymn.

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook