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1 Lift up your hearts unto the Lord;
lift up your hearts unto the Lord.
Sing hallelujah, sing hallelujah;
lift up your hearts unto the Lord!
2 In Christ the world has been redeemed,
in Christ the world has been redeemed.
Sing hallelujah, sing hallelujah;
in Christ the world has been redeemed.
3 His resurrection sets us free,
his resurrection sets us free.
Sing hallelujah, sing hallelujah;
his resurrection sets us free.
4 Therefore we celebrate the feast,
therefore we celebrate the feast.
Sing hallelujah, sing hallelujah;
therefore we celebrate the feast.
5 Sing hallelujah to the Lord,
sing hallelujah to the Lord.
Sing hallelujah, sing hallelujah;
sing hallelujah to the Lord.
Source: The Book of Praise #526
First Line: | Lift up your hearts unto the Lord |
Title: | Lift Up Your Hearts unto the Lord |
Meter: | Irregular |
Source: | Early Christian liturgy (st. 1-4 from) |
Language: | English |
Copyright: | Text, st. 5 © 1974, Linda Stassen. Renewed 2002 Linda L. Benjamin, New Song Creations. |
Immensely popular, this praise chorus has been included in hundreds of songbooks, both in North America and in other continents. Linda L. Stassen-Benjamin (b. Laporte, IN, 1951) originally composed what is now stanza 5 rather instantaneously (while she was in the shower!) in June 1974. The song was published and recorded by Maranatha! Music, a ministry of Calvary Chapel, Costa Mesa, California, of which Stassen-Benjamin is a member. Stassen-Benjamin was educated at Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana, and EI Camino College, Torrence, California. During the 1970s she sang and recorded for various ensembles, including David and New Song. Since 1981 she has been secretary, songwriter, and vocalist with New Song Ministries in Costa Mesa.
Following both oral tradition and the format in various published hymnals (including Hymns for Today's Church,1982), the Psalter Hymnal precedes Stassen-Benjamin's stanza with four other stanzas derived from early Christian liturgies and the "Easter Canticle," which quotes from 1 Corinthians 5:7-8 and 15:20-22. So the text contains biblical and liturgical phrasing familiar to all English-speaking Christians. Together these textual ingredients make a powerful praise chorus. Following the tradition of many praise choruses, other stanzas can be added, for example:
Jesus is risen from the dead!
Christ is the Lord of heav'n and earth.
Praise be to God forevermore!
Liturgical Use:
Before or during the Lord’s Supper; especially useful during Easter season; the “feast” in stanza 4 is clearly the Lord’s Supper, but it could also refer to other festivals of the church year.
--Psalter Hymnal Handbook