Author: James Montgomery Meter: 8.6.8.6 Appears in 4 hymnals Lyrics:
1 Arise and shine, your light is come,
Fair islands of the West!
Awake and sing, once deaf and dumb,
Now islands of the blest.
2 Shine, for the glory of the Lord
Your coral reefs surrounds:
Sing, for the trumpet of His word
O’er all your ocean sounds.
3 Poor Africa! through thy waste sands,
Where Calvary’s fountain flows,
Deserts become Immanuel’s lands,
And blossom like the rose.
4 India, beneath the chariot wheels
Of Juggernaut o’erthrown,
Thy heart a quickening spirit feels,
A pulse beats through the stone.
5 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!"
6 Ye pagan tribes! of every race,
Clime, country, language, hue,
Believe, obey, be saved by grace,
The Gospel speaks to you.
7 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.
8 Reign, till beneath His feet, all foes
Forever vanquished lie;
And the last judgment’s sentence close
The book of prophecy.
Used With Tune: MAITLAND Text Sources: Sacred Poems and Hymns, (New York: D. Appleton, 1854)
Arise And Shine, Your Light Is Come