Alfred H. Miles, ed. The Sacred Poets of the Nineteenth Century. 1907.
By Hymns. I. Rejoice, ye pure in heartEdward Hayes Plumptre (18211891)
R
Rejoice, give thanks and sing;
Your festal banner wave on high,
The Cross of Christ your King.
Strong men and maidens meek,
Raise high your free exulting song,
God’s wondrous praises speak.
With hymn and chant and song,
Thro’ gate, and porch, and columned aisle
The hallow’d pathways throng.
With all the saints on earth,
Pour out the strains of joy and bliss,
True rapture, noblest mirth.
And Hallelujahs loud,
Whilst answering echoes upward float,
Like wreaths of incense-cloud.
As ocean’s surging praise,
Send forth the hymns our fathers loved,
The psalms of ancient days.
Still chanting as ye go,
From youth to age, by night and day,
In gladness and in woe.
Still march in firm array,
As warriors through the darkness toil,
Till dawns the golden day.
The wearied ones shall rest,
The pilgrims find their Father’s house,
Jerusalem the blest.
Rejoice, give thanks, and sing;
Your festal banner wave on high,
The Cross of Christ your King.
The Lord whom we adore,
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
One God for evermore.