Lev. 23:9-14; John 20:17.
Thou First-fruits from among the dead,
We hail Thee, Jesus, Lord!
Of God’s creation, Life and Head,
In Whom all grace is stor’d.
Before Thy God, who Thee had sent,
Thou, risen from the grave,
Ascending, did’st Thyself present,
The Harvest Sheaf to wave.
To Him Thyself Thou then did’st show,
Once dead—alive again;
Triumphant o’er the mighty foe,
Led captive in Thy chain.
Thou, blessedly, the work and will
Of God had’st fully done,
And did’st His holy bosom fill
With joy in Thee, His Son.
The love which e’er in Him had glow’d,
But which by sin was pent,
On Thine ascension freely flow’d,
And found, through Thee, its vent.
Thy bearing all our sin and shame,
Thou, Lamb, who did’st atone,
Brought glory to Thy Father’s name,
And brightness to His throne.
With Thee, now risen Lord, on high,
In Thee forever blest;
We’ll shout Thy praises through the sky,
E’en now Thy worth attest.
O, worthy Thou of all the praise
That heaven and earth can give;
The Light where God Himself displays,
The Life in Whom we live.