When Sabbath’s holy rest had passed away,
Three women rose before the break of day;
Mary Magdalene, with sorrow deep and true,
Mary the mother of James, and Salome too,
Bought spices fragrant, rich with myrrh and aloes rare,
To anoint the body of their Lord with tender care.

Very early on the first day of the week,
Just as the sun began its golden light to seek,
They came unto the tomb with trembling feet,
And whispered low in sorrow’s shadowed beat:
“Who shall the massive stone for us unseat?
For it is very great—who rolls it hence?”
Yet when they lifted up their eyes to meet
The entrance, lo! the stone was rolled aside immense.

They entered in, and there, to their alarm,
A young man sat upon the right-hand side,
Clothed in a robe of purest shining white,
And they were sore amazed, with terror wide.
“Be not affrighted,” said the heavenly youth,
“Ye seek the Nazarene who once was slain,
Who on the cruel cross was crucified—
He is not here; behold, He rose again!

“Come, see the place where once the Master lay,
The linen cloths alone remain behind;
But go your way, and to His own convey
This word of life that fills the morning wind:
Tell His disciples—and remember Peter too—
He goes before you into Galilee;
There shall ye see Him, as He promised true,
The risen Shepherd calling each by name anew.”

They fled the tomb with fear and great amaze,
Trembling and astonished all their days;
They said not anything to any man,
For terror held their lips in silence’ span.
Yet grace would loose what fear had bound so tight—
The risen Lord appeared in glorious light.

First to Mary Magdalene He showed His face,
From whom He cast seven demons by His grace;
She went and told the mourners, grief-oppressed,
That He was living, and by her was blessed.
They heard, but wept and mourned, and gave no heed,
For resurrection seemed too strange a deed.

Then to two others walking on the way,
He manifested in another form that day;
They told the rest, yet still they disbelieved,
Till Jesus came where the Eleven grieved.
He upbraided them for hardness of their heart,
Because they trusted not the women’s part,
Nor those who walked the Emmaus road apart.

And then He spoke with resurrection power:
“Go ye into all the world this very hour;
Preach the Gospel to every creature born,
That whosoever believes shall not be torn
From life eternal, but from death set free.
He that believes and is baptized shall see
Salvation’s dawn; but he who will not trust
Shall face the judgment, turned away to dust.

“And these signs shall follow those who do believe:
In My name shall they cast out devils dire,
New tongues they’ll speak with heaven’s fire,
And serpents they’ll receive without harm entire;
If deadly thing they drink, it shall not hurt;
On the sick they’ll lay their hands, and they shall rise alert.”

So then the Lord, after He thus had spoken,
Was taken up to heaven’s throne unbroken;
He sat down at the right hand of the throne
Of God the Father, making intercession known.
And they went forth, the disciples bold and true,
And preached the Word in every place they knew;
The Lord worked with them, confirming all they said
With signs and wonders following where they tread.

O glorious dawn! The tomb could not confine
The conquering Christ who broke death’s iron chain.
He rose triumphant, victory divine,
And sent His Church to herald grace again.
From fear to faith, from silence to the shout,
The news of resurrection rings about.
The curse of Eden breaks, new creation sings,
As life eternal from the empty tomb now springs.

Proclaim abroad the resurrection story,
From shore to shore, from age to age the same;
The risen Christ, the King of endless glory,
Abides with us—Emmanuel His name.
Hallelujah! Death has lost its sting;
The Lord is risen—let the heavens ring!