On earth was darkness spread

On earth was darkness spread,
One boundless night;
“Let there be light,” God said,—
And there was light!

There hung a deeper gloom
O’er quick and dead,
But Jesus burst the tomb,
And darkness fled.

God by His word arrayed
Darkness with light;
God by His Son displayed
Day without night.

For thee, O man, arose
Creation’s ray;
For thee, too, brighter glows
Salvation’s day.

The beams first poured on earth
For mortals shone;
The light of later birth
Immortals own.

Source: A Book of Hymns for Public and Private Devotion (15th ed.) #138