Today's promise: He's alive!
The song of triumph
has begun
For sin is the sting
that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. How we thank God, who
gives us victory over sin and death through Jesus Christ our Lord!
1 Corinthians 15:56 NLT
The strife is o'er — the battle done, the victory of life is won; the song of triumph has begun: Alleluia!
The three sad days have quickly sped, He rises glorious from the dead; all glory to our risen Head! Alleluia!
The Strife is O'er
Latin Hymn Symphonia Serenum Selectarum, 1695
Latin Hymn Symphonia Serenum Selectarum, 1695
God exercised His power on our behalf
Note the pattern of
this hymn: negative undone, positive done, our response. In each triad we see
first the forces of evil that tried to conquer Christ but were beaten. Then we
see a more positive expression of what has occurred. Christ had won, He rises,
He opens heaven and frees slaves. Finally, we respond with songs and shouts of
joy: Alleluia!
The richness of the text was matched by the majesty of the music, written by the sixteenth-century composer Giovanni de Palestrina. He was a devout Roman Catholic who created many wonderful sacred works still used in churches and secular settings. This tune was adapted from a "Gloria Patri" in one of his choral works. It first appeared with Francis Pott's translation of this Latin text in 1861.
The Bible describes the work of Christ in many different ways, and the Christian writers through the ages have elaborated on all these ideas. God exercised His power on our behalf when He raised Christ from the dead. Death has no ultimate power over us because we are risen with Christ. Alleluia!
Our "Resurrection
Week" readings are adapted from The One Year® Book of Hymns by Mark Norton and
Robert Brown, Tyndale House Publishers (1995). Today's is taken from the entry
for April 10.
Content is derived
from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale
Publishing House
