The Winter’s Sleep Was Long and Deep

The winter’s sleep was long and deep,
But earth is awakened and gay;
For the life ne’er dies that from God doth rise,
And the green comes after the grey.

So God doth bring the world to spring;
And on this holy day
Doth the Church proclaim her Apostles’ fame,
To welcome the first of May.

Two saints of God went by the road
That leadeth on to light;
And they gave up all at their Master’s call,
To work in their Master’s sight.

Would Philip’s mind the Father find?
Lo, he hath found the Way;
For to know the Son is to know the One
Whom the earth and the heavens obey.

And James, ’twas thine by grace divine
To preach the Christian life,
Where our faith is shown by our works alone,
And love overcometh strife.

Lord, grant that we may brethren be—
As Christians live in deed;
For it is but so we can learn to know
The truth that to Thee doth lead.

Author: Unknown

The hymn text appears in various 19th- and early 20th-century hymnals (often linked to St. Philip and St. James' Day on May 1) but is typically listed as anonymous or unattributed. No strong evidence points to a specific well-known hymn writer such as Neale, Dix, or Ellerton; the style is consistent with Victorian-era devotional verse.