1 Great was the day, the joy was great,
When the divine disciples met;
While on their heads the Spirit came,
And sat like tongues of cloven flame.
2 What gifts, what miracles he gave!
And pow'r to kill, and pow'r to save!
Furnish'd their tongues with wondrous words,
Instead of shields, and spears, and swords.
3 Nations, the learned and the rude,
Were by these heav'nly arms subdu'd,
The heathens saw thy glory, Lord!
And, wond'ring, bless'd thy gracious word.
4 Come the great day, the glorious hour,
When all shall feel thy saving pow'r,
And the whole race of man confess
The beauty of thy holiness!
Source: A Collection of Hymns and Prayers, for Public and Private Worship #313
First Line: | Great was the day, the joy was great |
Title: | The Effusion of the Spirit; or the Success of the Gospel |
Author: | Isaac Watts |
Meter: | 8.8.8.8 |
Language: | English |
Copyright: | Public Domain |
Great was the day, the joy was great. I. Watts. [Whitsuntide—Missions.] From his Hymns & Sacred Songs, 1709, Book ii., No. 144, in 6 stanzas of 4 lines, into a few modern collections. In the Baptist Psalms & Hymns, 1858, No. 287, the lines:—
"Go, and assert your Saviour's cause;
Go, spread the mystery of His Cross,"
are changed to:—
" Go, and your Saviour's Cross proclaim:
Go, teach all nations in my Name."
This change is not generally adopted.
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)