Vespers in the Paschal Octave
Easter Week at Vespers –
The Lamb’s high banquet called to share,
Arrayed in garments white and fair,
The Red Sea past, we now would sing
To Jesus our triumphant King.
Protected in the Paschal night
From the destroying angel’s might,
In triumph went the ransomed free
From Pharaoh’s cruel tyranny.
Now Christ our Passover is slain,
The Lamb of God without a stain;
His flesh, the true unleavened bread,
Is freely offered in our stead.
O all sufficient Sacrifice,
Beneath thee hell defeated lies;
Thy captive people are set free,
And endless life restored in thee.
All praise be thine, O risen Lord,
From death to endless life restored;
All praise to God the Father be
And Holy Ghost eternally. Amen.
~Office Hymn
~The Ghent Altarpiece; a large, complex 15th-century Early Flemish polyptych altarpiece in St Bavo’s Cathedral, attributed to the brothers Hubert and Jan van Eyck.