REJOICE, ALL YE BELIEVERS.
Rejoice, all ye believers,
And let your lights appear;
The evening is advancing,
And darker night is near;
The Bridegroom is arising,
And soon He draweth nigh:
Up! pray, and watch, and wrestle!
At midnight comes the cry.
The watchers on the mountain
Proclaim the Bridegroom near;
Go meet Him as He cometh,
With hallelujahs clear:
The marriage feast is waiting,
The gates wide-open stand;
Up, up, ye heirs of glory!
The Bridegroom is at hand.
Our hope and expectation,
O Jesus, now appear;
Arise, thou Sun so longed for
O'er this benighted sphere!
With heart and hands uplifted,
We plead, O Lord, to see
The day of earth's redemption,
That brings us unto Thee.
—Laurenti.