All the Earth with Joy Is Sounding

This Easter hymn was written by me in 1995 during my pastorate at Grace Lutheran Church in Middletown, Connecticut and was first included in Hymnal Supplement 98. In this hymn, I sought to explore less commonly used Easter themes: Christ as the greater Jonah, the stronger strong man, and the author of salvation.  The strong tune MICHAEL was composed by Herbert Howells (1892-1983) around 1930 and was named after his son who had died at the age of 9 from meningitis in 1929.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4TUej8B2iI

1.

All the earth with joy is sounding:

    Christ has risen from the dead!

He, the greater Jonah, bounding

    From the grave, His three-day bed,

        Wins the prize:

        Death’s demise—

    Songs of triumph fill the skies.

2. 

Christ, the devil’s might unwinding,

    Leaves behind His borrowed tomb.

Stronger He, the strong man binding,

    Takes, disarms his house of doom;

        In the rout

        Casting out

    Pow’rs of darkness, sin, and doubt.

3. 

Jesus, author of salvation,

    Shared in our humanity;

Crowned with radiant exaltation,

    Now He shares His victory!

        From His face

        Shines the grace

    Meant for all our fallen race.

4. 

Praise the Lord, His reign commences,

    Reign of life and liberty—

Paschal Lamb, for our offenses

    Slain and raised to set us free!

        Evermore

        Bow before

    Christ, the Lord of Life adore!

Christ Is Risen, Christ Is Living

The hymn text is by Argentinian poet and Disciples of Christ minister Nicolás Martinez (1917-72) and is based upon 1 Corinthians 15:12-23.  Translating the hymn into English was the task of the Dutch-born English Congregationalist minister, Fred Kaan (1929-2009).  This translation's use of many one-syllable words provides the hymn with a driving, staccato vibrancy appropriate to the hymn's Easter message.  The tune, CENTRAL, was composed in 1960 by Pablo Sosa and takes its name from Central United Methodist Church in Buenos Aires.  The tune has an energetic rhythm, suggesting accompaniment better suited to a guitar than an organ.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHaGl8l6KsE    (text in original Spanish)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbJIEYynlGA   (piano with solo voice)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIRuozXbJ7A&pbjreload=10  (Christ Church, Fitchburg, Mass. [Episcopalian], English and Spanish with assorted instruments, choir)

1.  

Christ is risen, Christ is living,

    Dry your tears, be unafraid!

Death and darkness could not hold Him,

    Nor the tomb in which He lay.

Do not look among the dead for

    One who lives forevermore;

Tell the world that Christ is risen,

    Make it known He goes before.

2. 

If the Lord had never risen,

    We’d have nothing to believe;

But His promise can be trusted:

    “You will live, because I live.”

As we share the death of Adam,

    So in Christ we live again;

Death has lost its sting and terror,

    Christ the Lord has come to reign.

3. 

Death has lost its old dominion,

    Let the world rejoice and shout!

Christ, the firstborn of the living,

    Gives us life and leads us out.

Let us thank our God, who causes

    Hope to spring up from the ground.

Christ is risen, Christ is giving

    Life eternal, life profound.

1.

¡Cristo vive, fuera_el llanto,

    los lamentos y_el pesar!

Ni la muerte ni_el sepulcro

    lo_han podido sujetar.

No busquéis entre los muertos

    al que siempre_ha de vivir,

¡Cristo vive, estas nuevas

    por doquier dejad oir.

2. 

Que si Cristo no viviera

    vana fuera nuestra fe;

Mas se cumple su promesa:

    “Porque vivo, viviréis.”

Si_en Adán entró la muerte,

    por Jesús la vida_entró;

No temáis, el triunfo_es vuestro:

    ¡El Señor resucitó!

3. 

Si es verdad que de la muerte

    el pecado es aguijón,

No temáis pues Jesucristo

    nos da vida y salvación.

Gracias demos al Dios Padre

    que nos da seguridad,

Que quien cree en Jesucristo

    vive por la eternidad.

If Christ Had Not Been Raised From Death

Christopher Idle (b. 1938) wrote this text in May of 1984 while serving as minister at Limehouse, East London.  The text was conceived and written as a response to liberal voices of the late 20th century that had questioned the central doctrine of the Christian faith: Christ's bodily resurrection from the dead.  This is no new heresy.  St. Paul had addressed this same issue nearly 2,000 years earlier in 1 Corinthians 15, the great resurrection chapter penned by the apostle under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The tune UNION CITY was composed by Phillip Magness (b. 1963) who had attended his grandmother's funeral in Union City, Tennessee and the funeral sermon was on the passage of Scripture on which this hymn is based.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsKo-AoN_9I 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3DcM-GhUIY

1.

If Christ had not been raised from death

    Our faith would be in vain,

Our preaching but a waste of breath,

    Our sin and guilt remain.

But now the Lord is ris’n indeed;

    He rules in earth and heav’n:

His gospel meets a world of need—

    In Christ we are forgiv’n.

2. 

If Christ still lay within the tomb

    Then death would be the end,

And we should face our final doom

    With neither guide nor friend.

But now the Savior is raised up,

    So when a Christian dies

We mourn, yet look to God in hope—

    In Christ the saints arise!

3. 

If Christ had not been truly raised,

    His Church would live a lie;

His name should nevermore be praised,

    His words deserve to die.

But now our great Redeemer lives;

    Through this we are restored:

His Word endures, His Church revives

    In Christ, our risen Lord.

This Joyful Eastertide

This hymn was written by George Ratcliffe Woodford (1848-1934). The scriptural basis for the text is 1 Corinthians 15, St. Paul's great resurrection chapter.  In it, the apostle refutes any claims that Christ did not rise bodily from the dead. Herein Christians receive comfort, hope, and the assurance of their own bodily resurrection from the dead on the Last Day.  (The original order of the stanzas is 1, 3, 2 [reflected in the King's College Cambridge and Quarantine Choir links below] was altered, most likely to place the sequence of events in chronological order: the death of the believer, the body's rest in the grave, and then the waking of the dead at the Last Day.) The tune VRUECHTEN (Dutch for "fruits") is from Davids Psalmen, Amsterdam, 1684.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tipsbcfuB4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyNYjD91TyI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDjkPwHVJoc   (organ only)

1.

This joyful Eastertide

    Away with sin and sorrow!

My love, the Crucified,

    Has sprung to life this morrow:

Had Christ, who once was slain,

    Not burst His three-day prison,

Our faith had been in vain:

    But now has Christ arisen, arisen, arisen;

    But now has Christ arisen!

2.

Death’s flood has lost its chill

    Since Jesus crossed the river;

Lover of souls, from ill

    My passing soul deliver:

Had Christ, who once was slain,

    Not burst His three-day prison,

Our faith had been in vain:

    But now has Christ arisen, arisen, arisen;

    But now has Christ arisen!

3. 

My flesh in hope shall rest

    And for a season slumber

Till trump from east to west

    Shall wake the dead in number:

Had Christ, who once was slain,

    Not burst His three-day prison,

Our faith had been in vain:

    But now has Christ arisen, arisen, arisen;

    But now has Christ arisen!

Christ Has Arisen, Alleluia

An Easter hymn by Bernard Kyamanywa (b. 1938), translated by Howard S. Olsen (1922-2010) has become a favorite in our Lutheran Service Book hymnal (LSB 466).  The tune MFURAHINI HALELUYA is from Tanzania in Africa.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmWgMeD5cmg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EE2zi1JqnSw

1.

Christ has arisen, alleluia.

Rejoice and praise Him, alleluia.

For our Redeemer burst from the tomb,

Even from death, dispelling its gloom.

Let us sing praise to Him with endless joy;

Death’s fearful sting He has come to destroy.

    Our sin forgiving, alleluia!

    Jesus is living, alleluia!

2. 

For three long days the grave did its worst

Until its strength by God was dispersed.

He who gives life did death undergo;

And in its conquest His might did show.

Let us sing praise to Him with endless joy;

Death’s fearful sting He has come to destroy.

    Our sin forgiving, alleluia!

    Jesus is living, alleluia!

3. 

The angel said to them, “Do not fear!

You look for Jesus who is not here.

See for yourselves the tomb is all bare;

Only the grave cloths are lying there.”

Let us sing praise to Him with endless joy;

Death’s fearful sting He has come to destroy.

    Our sin forgiving, alleluia!

    Jesus is living, alleluia!

4. 

“Go spread the news: He’s not in the grave;

He has arisen this world to save.

Jesus’ redeeming labors are done;

Even the battle with sin is won.”

Let us sing praise to Him with endless joy;

Death’s fearful sting He has come to destroy.

    Our sin forgiving, alleluia!

    Jesus is living, alleluia!

5. 

Christ has arisen; He sets us free;

Alleluia, to Him praises be.

Jesus is living! Let us all sing;

He reigns triumphant, heavenly king.

Let us sing praise to Him with endless joy;

Death’s fearful sting He has come to destroy.

    Our sin forgiving, alleluia!

    Jesus is living, alleluia!