Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.
Isaiah 60:1
Words: James Montgomery, Sacred Poems and Hymns (New York: D. Appleton, 1854), number 261, alt. On the jubilee of the London Missionary Society.
Music: Maitland George N. Allen, The Oberlin Social and Sabbath Hymn Book (Oberlin, Ohio: James M. Fitch, 1844), number 109 (🔊 pdf nwc).
Alternate Tunes:
Arise and shine, your light is come,
Fair islands of the West!
Awake and sing, once deaf and dumb,
Now islands of the blest.
Shine, for the glory of the Lord
Your coral reefs surrounds:
Sing, for the trumpet of His word
O’er all your ocean sounds.
Poor Africa! through thy waste sands,
Where Calvary’s fountain flows,
Deserts become Immanuel’s lands,
And blossom like the rose.
India, beneath the chariot wheels
Of Juggernaut o’erthrown,
Thy heart a quickening spirit feels,
A pulse beats through the stone.
O China! see thy quaking wall:
Foredoomed by Heav’n’s decree,
A hand is writing on it— Fall!
A voice goes forth— Be free!
Ye pagan tribes! of every race,
Clime, country, language, hue,
Believe, obey, be saved by grace,
The Gospel speaks to you.
Father of lights! Thy will be done
Here, as by saints above;
Give earth’s whole empire to Thy Son,
For He must reign in love.
Reign, till beneath His feet, all foes
Forever vanquished lie;
And the last judgment’s sentence close
The book of prophecy.