Scripture Verse

Everlasting joy shall be upon their head…sorrow and mourning shall flee away. Isaiah 35:10

Introduction

portrait
Robert S. Bridges (1844–1930)

Words: Ad­am of St. Vic­tor, 12th Cen­tu­ry (Su­per­nae ma­tris gau­dia). Trans­lat­ed from La­tin to Eng­lish by Ro­bert S. Bridg­es, Yat­ten­don Hym­nal, 1899.

Music: Bour­geois com­posed or adapt­ed by Lou­is Bour­geois, 1551 (🔊 pdf nwc).

If you know where to get a good pic­ture of Ad­am of St. Vic­tor or Lou­is Bour­geois (head & shoul­ders, at least 200×300 pix­els),

Lyrics

Joy and triumph ev­er­last­ing
Hath the heav’nly Church on high;
For that pure immortal gladness
All our feast days mourn and sigh:
Yet in death’s dark desert wild
Doth the mother aid her child;
Guards celestial thence attend us,
Stand in combat to defend us.

Here the world’s perpetual warfare
Holds from Heav’n the soul apart;
Legioned foes in shadowy terror
Vex the Sabbath of the heart.
O how happy that estate
Where delight doth not abate!
For that home the spirit yearneth,
Where none languisheth nor mourneth.

There the body hath no torment,
There the mind is free from care,
There is every voice rejoicing,
Every heart is loving there.
Angels in that city dwell;
Them their king delighteth well:
Still they joy and weary ne­ver,
More and more desiring ever.

There the seers and fathers holy,
There the prophets glorified,
All their doubts and darkness ended,
In the Light of Light abide.
There the saints, whose memories old
We in faithful hymns uphold,
Have forgot their bitter story
In the joy of Je­sus’ glo­ry.