Rejoice, Ye Pure In Heart
Rejoice, Ye Pure in Heart
Rejoice, ye pure in heart;
Rejoice, give thanks and sing;
Your glorious banner wave on high,
The cross of Christ your King.
Rejoice, rejoice,
Rejoice, give thanks and sing.
Bright youth and snow-crowned age,
Strong men and maidens fair,
Raise high your free, exulting song,
God’s wondrous praise declare.
With voice as full and strong
As ocean’s surging praise,
Send forth the hymns our fathers loved,
The psalms of ancient days.
Yes, on through life’s long path,
Still chanting as ye go;
From youth to age, by night and day,
In gladness and in woe.
Still lift your standard high,
Still march in firm array,
As warriors through the darkness toil
Till dawns the golden day.
THIS HYMN WAS WRITTEN in 1865 as the processional for a choir festival in Petersborough Cathedral in England. There are hints in the text of a marching quality (“glorious banner,” “as ye go,” “lift your standard,” “march in firm array”). You can see an army of choir members stepping down the aisle, and this hymn seems to invite the congregation, and perhaps all Christians everywhere, to join in the song. There is a relentless sense of joy here. One observer comments on the “stately simplicity” of this work.
Edward Plumptre was a noted scholar and author in the Church of England. He wrote a major biography of Bishop Thomas Ken (also a famous hymnwriter), as well as historical works and poetry. He was also a Bible scholar. He wrote this hymn at age forty-four, somewhere between “bright youth and snow-crowned age.”
May we shout for joy when we hear of your victory and raise a victory banner in the name of our God. May the Lord answer all your prayers. . . . Some nations boast of their chariots and horses, but we boast in the name of the Lord our God.
Psalm 20:5, 7
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