Music by Arthur H. Messiter, 1883 (1834-1916)

Rejoice ye pure in heart!

Rejoice, give thanks, and sing;

Your festal banner wave on high,

The cross of Christ your King.

Refrain

Rejoice, rejoice, rejoice,

Give thanks and sing.

With voice as full and strong

As ocean's surging praise,

Send forth the sturdy hymns of old,

The psalms of ancient days.

Refrain

Rejoice, rejoice, rejoice,

Give thanks and sing.

With all the angel choirs,

With all the saints of earth,

Pour out the strains of joy and bliss,

True rapture, noblest mirth.

Refrain

Rejoice, rejoice, rejoice,

Give thanks and sing.

Yes, on through life's long path,

Still chanting as ye go;

From youth to age, by night and day,

In gladness and in woe.

Refrain

Rejoice, rejoice, rejoice,

Give thanks and sing.

Praise Him who reigns on high,

The Lord whom we adore,

The Father, Son and Holy Ghost,

One God forever more.

Refrain

Rejoice, rejoice, rejoice,

Give thanks and sing.

     Born on August 6, 1821, in London, England, Edward Hayes Plumptre was educated at King’s College, London, and University College, Oxford, graduating as a double first in 1844. He was for some time Fellow of Brasenose. On taking Holy Orders in 1846, he rapidly reached a foremost position as theologian and preacher. His appointments included assistant preacher at Lincoln’s Inn; select preacher at Oxford; Professor of Pastoral Theology at King’s College, Oxford; Prebendary in St. Paul’s Cathedral, London; Professor of Exegesis of the New Testament, King’s College, London; Boyle Lecturer; Grinfield Lecturer on the Septuagint, Oxford; and many others.

Rejoice, Ye Pure in Heart! has as its theme Psalm 20:5 - "We will rejoice in Thy salvation, and in the name of our God we will set up our banners." The words were written in 1865 as a processional hymn for a choir festival, and originally had 11 stanzas, to accommodate the length of time it would take a large choir to traverse the center aisle of a great cathedral.

Plumptre's hymns include:

   1. Behold They Gain the Lonely Height

   2. For All Thy Countless Bounties

   3. Lo, Summer Comes Again!

   4. March, March Onward Sol­diers True

   5. O Light, Whose Beams Il­lum­ine All

   6. O Lord of Hosts, All Heaven Possessing

   7. O Praise the Lord Our God

   8. Rejoice, Ye Pure in Heart

   9. Thine Arm, O Lord, in Days of Old

  10. Thy Hand, O God, Has Guided

He died on February 1, 1891, at the Deanery, Wells, England.