'Tis Good, Lord, To Be Here

Thy Glory Fills the Night

'Tis Good, Lord, To Be Here was written by the Anglican Priest, J. Armitage Robinson (1858-1933). He was a renowned scholar in patristics (the study of the Early Church Fathers), and participated in the Malines Conversations which explored the possibilities of reunion between the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England. 'Tis Good, Lord, To Be Here is set to the tune, Narenza adapted by Anglican Priest and hymn writer, William Henry Havergal (1793-1870) from a melody of the Catholicum Hymnologium Germanicum of 1584. In the Liturgy of the Hours it is used on August 6th, the Feast of the Transfiguration.

Tune: Narenza

'TIS GOOD, LORD, TO BE HERE by J. Armitage Robinson, 1888 (Public Domain)

1. 'Tis good, Lord, to be here,
thy glory fills the night;
thy face and garments, like the sun,
shine with unborrowed light.

2. 'Tis good, Lord, to be here,
thy beauty to behold
where Moses and Elijah stand,
thy messengers of old.

3. Fulfiller of the past!
Promise of things to be,
we hail thy body glorified
and our redemption see.

4. Before we taste of death,
we see thy kingdom come;
we fain would hold the vision bright
and make this hill our home.

5. 'Tis good, Lord, to be here.
yet we may not remain;
but since thou bidst us leave the mount,
come with us to the plain.