Sing Alleluia Forth in Duteous Praise

Sing Alleluia forth in duteous praise,
Ye citizens of Heav’n; O sweetly raise
An endless Alleluia.

Ye powers, who stand before the Eternal Light,
In hymning choirs re-echo to the height,
An endless Alleluia.

The holy city shall take up your strain,
And with glad songs resounding wake again
An endless Alleluia.

In blissful antiphons ye thus rejoice
To render to the Lord with thankful voice
An endless Alleluia.

Ye who have gained at length your palms in bliss,
Victorious ones, your chant will still be this,
An endless Alleluia.

There, in one grand acclaim, forever ring
The strains which tell the honor of your King,
An endless Alleluia.

This is sweet rest for weary ones brought back,
This is glad food and drink which ne’er shall lack,
An endless Alleluia.

While Thee, by Whom were all things made, we praise
Forever, and tell out in sweetest lays,
An endless Alleluia.

Almighty Christ, to Thee our voices sing
Glory forevermore; to Thee we bring
An endless Alleluia.

Author: Unknown

Year: 5

This is an English translation of the 5th-century Latin hymn "Alleluia piis edite laudibus". The original Latin author is unknown (sometimes attributed to the school of St. Ambrose or to an anonymous Mozarabic source). The most common English version was translated by John Ellerton in 1868, but the text here matches an older, more archaic translation (likely by an anonymous hand or from a 19th-century hymnal). Because the original author is unidentified, "Unknown" is the appropriate attribution.