In Days of Old on Sinai

In days of old on Sinai
The Lord Almighty came
In majesty of terror,
In thunder cloud and flame:
On Tabor, with the glory
Of sunniest light for vest,
The excellence of beauty
In Jesus was expressed.

All light created paled there,
And did Him worship meet;
The sun itself adored Him,
And bowed before His feet;
While Moses and Elias,
Upon the holy mount,
The co-eternal glory
Of Christ our God recount.

O holy, wondrous vision!
But what when, this life past,
The beauty of Mount Tabor
Shall end in Heav’n at last?
But what when all the glory
Of uncreated light
Shall be the promised guerdon
Of them that win the fight?

Author: John Mason Neale

Year: 1862

This hymn is a translation/adaptation by John Mason Neale of the Greek kontakion for the Feast of the Transfiguration. It appears in his Hymns of the Eastern Church (1862). The text matches Neale's known style and his work on Transfiguration hymns.