Advent Calendar #18

Rejoice, Rejoice, Believers!

1. Rejoice, rejoice, believers!
And let your lights appear;
The evening is advancing,
And darker night is near.
The Bridegroom is arising,
And soon he will draw nigh;
Up! pray, and watch, and wrestle!
At midnight comes the cry.

2. See that your lamps are burning;
Replenish them with oil;
Look now for your salvation,
The end of sin and toil.
The watchers on the mountain
Proclaim the Bridegroom near,
Go meet him as he cometh,
With alleluias clear.

3. O wise and holy virgins,
Now raise your voices higher,
Until in songs of triumph
Ye meet the angel choir.
The marriage-feast is waiting,
The gates wide open stand;
Up, up, ye heirs of glory!
The Bridegroom is at hand.

4. Our hope and expectation,
O Jesus, now appear;
Arise, thou Sun so longed for,
O'er this benighted sphere!
With hearts and hands uplifted,
We plead, O Lord, to see
The day of earth's redemption,
And ever be with thee! Amen.

Words: Ermuntert euch, ihr Frommen, Laurentius Laurenti (1660-1722), 1700; Based on the Translation by Sarah B. Findlater (1823-1907), Hymns from the Land of Luther, 1854.