A Classical Hymn after Psalm 126:3, Rich in Vivid Imagery

Note from the Poet

Dear Reader,

When the Lord restores the captives and turns sorrow into singing, the heart cannot stay silent. This hymn was born in the spirit of Psalm 126:3 — a joyful overflow of gratitude for the mighty acts of God across all ages. I have sought to clothe the wonders of Scripture in vivid, classical imagery so that the soul might see afresh what the eye of faith has always known: the Lord has done great things for us, and we are glad.

May these lines stir your heart to remember His faithfulness, to rejoice in His redemption, and to look with hope toward the even greater things He has yet to do.

With praise and prayer,

The Poet

Psalm 126:3 (KJV)

The LORD hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad.

The Lord hath done great things for us,

And we are glad, exceeding glad!

Our mouths with laughter overflowed like mountain torrents in the spring,

Our tongues were clad in robes of song, in shimmering golden dawn.

When Zion’s captives He restored,

As streams in desert places flow—bright crystal veins through barren sand—

We seemed like dreamers wrapped in midnight’s starry cloak,

Yet saw the Lord’s own glory blaze in radiant, holy fire.

What mighty works His hand hath wrought!

Behold a list of wonders, rich and vast, painted on eternity:

He spake, and light from darkness sprang in blinding blaze of first creation,

The heavens arched like sapphire vaults with stars as diamond choir,

The earth He robed in emerald hills and verdant, rolling glory,

And called each star by its own name in whispers soft as dew.

He cleft the sea with staff of old; waves towered as emerald glass,

And made dry land for Israel’s feet where oceans once held sway.

From Pharaoh’s host He swept the wave in thunderous, foaming wrath,

And drowned the proud beneath a crimson, churning, watery grave.

He fed the host with manna white like frost-kissed pearls from heaven’s store,

And drew sweet water from the flint in sparkling silver streams.

He stayed the sun in Joshua’s day—a blazing orb hung still—

Till victory o’er the foe was won beneath an endless golden light.

He raised the dead with thund’rous voice, gave sight to eyes long blind,

Made lame to leap like mountain deer, and dumb to sing like larks at dawn.

The leper shone in snow-white peace, the tempest bowed in calm,

And water turned to ruby wine at wedding feasts beneath the vines.

He bore our griefs upon the tree—a blood-red cross against the sky—

The Just One suffered there for us: the Righteous died for sinners lost,

The Holy One for the unjust throng, the sinless Lamb for guilty ones.

From death’s dark tomb He rose again in robes of dazzling morning light,

And broke the ancient bars of rust where shadows fled like startled ravens.

He sent His Spirit, tongues of fire like living crowns of flame,

On waiting hearts in upper room where heaven’s glory poured like gold.

He built His Church on rock secure, a beacon through the gale-swept night,

And filled the world with Gospel bloom in colours pure as rainbow rain.

He turns our mourning into dance, our sackcloth into robes of gold,

He fills the barren womb with life like desert rose in sudden bloom,

And bids the hopeless heart rejoice in fountains of unending joy.

He guides the pilgrim through death’s vale where shadows whisper fear,

Protects the widow with angel wings like falling drifts of snow,

Shields little children in His arms, lifts poor ones from the dust,

And seats them with the reconciled in heaven’s warm eternal home.

The Lord hath done great things for us—

Creation’s dawn in fiery birth, redemption’s crimson flood,

Mercy like endless oceans deep, and grace like living crystal streams!

Our hearts are filled, our eyes run o’er with tears of diamond joy,

We praise Him where heaven kisses earth in this most holy place.

O come, ye people, join the song, let every tongue His name adore,

For He who wrought these wonders vast shall do still greater things—and more!

Glory to the Father, and to the Son,

And to the Holy Ghost, ever One.

As it was in the beginning, is now,

And ever shall be, world without end. Amen.