The new Book of Praise (7)
Hymn 32–“Christ the Lord is Risen Today”
“Christ the Lord is Risen Today” is one of the best known and most joyous Easter tunes. If you look at the top left of the first stanza, where the name of the tune is always printed, you will notice that the tune is called “Easter Hymn.”
Charles Wesley, the composer, recalled an Easter theme in each of the four stanzas:
- stanza 1–All of creation praises the risen Christ;
- stanza 2–death has been completely vanquished;
- stanza 3–the redeeming work of Christ is complete;
- stanza 4–we praise Christ, the Lord of heaven and earth.
The dancing “alleluia” at the end of each line adds a joyful exuberance to our praise.
An interesting additional note about Charles Wesley is that he wrote over 6,000 hymns.
~gvp
Sources: Psalter Hymnal Handbook; Internet.
