John Rutter (*1945)

This is the day

Choirs of Westminster Abbey & Her Majesty’s Chapel Royal, James O’Donnell

This is the day which the Lord hath made,
we will rejoice and be glad in it.
O praise the Lord of heav’n,
praise him in the height.
Praise him, all ye angels of his,
praise him, all his host.
Praise him, sun and moon,
praise him, all ye stars and light.
Let them praise the Name of the Lord.
For he shall give his angels charge over thee
to keep thee in all thy ways.
The Lord himself is thy keeper,
the Lord is thy defence upon thy right hand;
so that the sun shall not burn thee by day
neither the moon by night.
The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil,
yea, it is even he that shall keep thy soul.
The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in
from this time forth for evermore.
He shall defend thee under his wings.
Be strong, and he shall comfort thine heart,
and put thou thy trust in the Lord.

Psalms 118: 24; 148: 1-3, 5a; 91: 4a, 11; 121: 5-8; 27: 16b