124. Alleluia! sing to Jesus!
William C. Dix, 1837-98
Based on Rev. 5:9: “Thou hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every nation.”
The original poem of five stanzas appeared in Dix’s Altar Songs, 1867, and was entitled “Redemption by the Precious Blood.” The hymn was linked to the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. The third and fourth stanzas, omitted here, are as follows:
Alleluia! Bread of Heaven,
Thou on earth our food, our stay!
Alleluia! here the sinful
Flee to thee from day to day:
Intercessor, friend of sinners,
Earth’s Redeemer, plead for me,
Where the songs of all the sinless,
Sweep across the crystal sea.
Alleluia! King eternal,
Thee the Lord of lords we own:
Alleluia! born of Mary,
Earth thy footstool, heav’n thy throne:
Thou within the veil hast entered,
Robed in flesh, our great High Priest:
Thou on earth both Priest and Victim
In the eucharistic feast.
For comments on William C. Dix see [Hymn 78].
MUSIC. The tune was taken from St. Basil’s Hymnal, Chicago, 1918, where it appears unnamed. It is a traditional Dutch melody. The present arrangement of it is anonymous.