Come, ye faithful, raise the strain
Of triumphant gladness;
God hath brought His Israel
Into joy from sadness;
Loosed from Pharaoh’s bitter yoke
Jacob’s sons and daughters,
Led them with unmoistened foot
Through the Red Sea waters.
‘Tis the spring of souls today;
Christ hath burst His prison,
And from three days’ sleep in death
As a sun hath risen;
All the winter of our sins,
Long and dark, is flying
From His light, to whom we give
Laud and praise undying.
Now let the heavens be joyful,
Let earth the song begin,
Let the round world keep triumph,
And all that is therein;
Let all things seen and unseen
Their notes of gladness blend,
For Christ the Lord hath risen,
Our joy that hath no end.
Public domain hymn text (1862 (English translation)). Words by John Mason Neale, from John of Damascus.
The Story Behind the Hymn
This hymn's original Greek text was written by John of Damascus, an eighth-century monk and theologian who lived for most of his life in Muslim-controlled territory in the Middle East, having reportedly first worked as a senior civil administrator under the Umayyad Caliphate before leaving that position to enter monastic life at the monastery of Mar Saba near Jerusalem — the very same desert monastery, still an active religious community today, elsewhere connected in this collection to the eighth-century monk Stephen the Sabaite, author of 'Art Thou Weary, Art Thou Languid' (hymn 115).
John of Damascus became one of the most significant theologians of the early Eastern Christian church, particularly known for his vigorous written defense of the use of religious icons during a period of intense Byzantine imperial persecution of icon veneration known as Iconoclasm — writing his defense from the comparative safety of Muslim-controlled territory, where Byzantine imperial authority could not reach him, allowing him to argue publicly for a position that would have been dangerous to hold within the Byzantine Empire itself.
This hymn was originally composed as part of the Eastern Orthodox Easter liturgy, drawing an extended parallel between Israel's ancient deliverance from slavery in Egypt through the parted Red Sea and the New Testament resurrection of Christ, treating the Exodus narrative as a prefigurement of Easter rather than simply an unrelated historical event.
John Mason Neale translated the Greek text into English in 1862, and Arthur Sullivan — half of the famous Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera partnership, better known to most modern audiences for works like 'The Pirates of Penzance' and 'H.M.S. Pinafore' than for sacred music — separately composed the tune, giving this ancient Eastern monastic Easter hymn an unexpected later connection to one of the most successful comic composers of Victorian English theater.
