San Francisco Central Seventh-day Adventist Church

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167 Alleluia! Sing to Jesus!

Alleluia! Sing to Jesus! is a traditional Easter hymn. It was written in 1866 by William Dix. It praises Jesus' ascension, after His resurrection. The first two lines of each stanza begin with a jubilant Alleluia! (a Latin form of the Hebrew word hallalujah; meaning “sing to Yahweh.”)

Rowland Pritchard wrote the hymn tune in 1830, when he was 19 years old! The tune name HYFRYDOL means “good cheer” in Welsh. It is also used in our hymnal for #204, Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus. It appears in the hymnals of nearly all churches, with at least a dozen different texts. The tune is used around the world, by many denominations, with a number of texts. Surprisingly, its range encompasses only five notes (with the exception of a sixth note in the climax phrase)! Despite this narrow range, the tune is powerful, and exciting to sing.

Alleluia! sing to Jesus! His the scepter, His the throne.
Alleluia! His the triumph, His the victory alone.
Hark! the songs of peaceful Zion thunder like a mighty flood.
Jesus out of every nation has redeemed us by His blood.

Alleluia! not as orphans are we left in sorrow now;
Alleluia! He is near us, faith believes, nor questions how;
Though the cloud from sight received Him when the forty days were o’er
Shall our hearts forget His promise, “I am with you evermore”?

Alleluia! bread of angels, Thou on earth our food, our stay;
Alleluia! here the sinful flee to Thee from day to day:
Intercessor, Friend of sinners, Earth’s Redeemer, plead for me,
Where the songs of all the sinless sweep across the crystal sea.