Last and First

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.