(Go here for lead sheets and chord charts.)
Lyrics
Christ the Lord is risen today
Sons of men and angels say:
“Raise your joys and triumphs high
Sing, ye heavens, and earth, reply”
Love’s redeeming work is done
Fought the fight, the battle won
Lo! the sun’s eclipse is o’er
Lo! He sets in blood no more
He is risen, He is risen indeed
He is risen, He is risen indeed
He is risen, He is risen indeed
“Christ is risen!” This is our creed
Vain the stone, the watch, the seal
Christ has burst the gates of hell
Death in vain forbids His rise
Christ has opened paradise
Lives again our glorious King
Where, O death, is now thy sting?
Once He died our souls to save
Where thy victory, O grave?
Alleluia…
Soar we now where Christ hath led
Following our exalted Head
Made like Him, like Him we rise
Ours the cross, the grave, the skies
Alleluia, He is risen indeed
Alleluia, He is risen indeed
Alleluia, He is risen indeed
“Christ is risen!” This is our creed
Words: Charles Wesley, 1739 (verses); Zac Hicks, 2008 (chorus)
Music: Zac Hicks & Ryan West, 2008; James G. A. Sweeting, 2009 (piano & string arr.)
©2009 Unbudding Fig Music (ASCAP) & Ryan West
Video Tutorial: How to Play “Christ the Lord is Risen Today”
About
“Christ the Lord is Risen Today” is track eight in our old hymns new music project. Some might ask, “Isn’t this an Easter hymn?” Yes, it is, but we must also remember that rejoicing in the theme of Easter—namely, Christ’s resurrection—is something we are called to do every Sunday. In fact, the whole reason that the early Christians shifted the Sabbath and the day of worship from Saturday (which was the Jewish custom) to Sunday was because they believed so strongly that Christ’s rising from the dead (which happened on a Sunday) reoriented all of life around that one event. By worshiping on Sundays, we implicitly celebrate the resurrection.
This very famous hymn was written by one of the most well-known hymn-writers of all time—Charles Wesley (1707-1788). Brother of the Anglican-turned-founder of the Methodist revival movement, John Wesley, Charles penned over 6000 hymns in his lifetime. What makes this particular hymn one of his greatest is its lofty language and deep theology of the resurrection mixed with how followers of Jesus benefit from the resurrection power that comes from being in union with Christ.
Its musical setting is new and depicts, in chordal and melodic movement, a modern battle-hymn. It is a kind of “fight song” for the Christian faith. Added as a Chorus is the response that stems back to the ancient church: “He is risen…He is risen, indeed!”