Sadly in the ga­ther­ing gloom,
Sat three Ma­rys by the tomb;
Lingering in the chill night air,
The last of all that laid Him there:
Therefore first their hearts were cheered,
Soon as their Lord they saw and heard.
Ere the ear­ly dawn ap­peared,
On East­er day in the morn­ing.

Refrain

Thus, while na­ture is weep­ing,
Faith her vigil is keep­ing,
Till the glo­ri­ous orb of day
Shall scat­ter the clouds away.

Fondly in their hands they bring
Spices for their Lord and king—
Aloes, cas­sia, in­cense, myrrh—
To fill the frag­rant se­pul­cher:
Therefore first the ris­en Lord,
To the dear saints that thus adored,
Was like oint­ment sweet out­poured,
On East­er day in the morn­ing.

Refrain

To His grave the stone is rolled;
They, with weep­ing eyes, be­hold,
While His foes, with flouts and flings,
All seal it with their sig­net rings:
Therefore first of all saw they
Cherubim, who, in bright ar­ray,
Rolled that migh­ty stone away,
On East­er day in the morn­ing.

Refrain

Soon they see, with mea­sured tread,
Roman guards ap­proach the Dead;
Sword, and spear, and nod­ding plume
Encamp around the si­lent tomb:
Therefore they were thi­ther led,
When, at the roar of earth­quake dread,
Fast the fear­ful Ro­mans fled,
On East­er day in the morn­ing.

Refrain

Last to kiss His feet were they,
When in death His bo­dy lay;
Last to weep, while they around
His limbs the lin­en grave clothes wound;
First, then, they hear an­gels tell
How the Lord Christ, our foes to quell,
Burst the bands of death and hell,
On East­er day in the morn­ing.

Refrain

Love now wins a new em­ploy;
Last in grief is first in joy:
Woman shall pro­claim to men,
That Je­sus Christ is ris’n again!
We still hear the mes­sage sung,
Sweetly as when, from wo­man’s tongue,
First its thrill­ing rap­tures rung,
On East­er day in the morn­ing.

Refrain