Awake, awake, O Zion

Awake, awake, O Zion. Benjamin Gough. [Second Advent.] First published in his collection Lyra Sabbatica, or Hymns and Poems for Sacred Seasons (1865, page 151) in 6 stanzas of 8 lines. The hymn is entitled "The Coming Millennium" and carries the thematic epigraph of Isaiah 52:1, "Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments."

From Lyra Sabbatica, the hymn rapidly gained popularity as a Second Advent and missionary hymn. It was included in the Anglo-Catholic collection The People's Hymnal (1867) and Henry Allon's Supplemental Hymns for Public Worship (1868, abridged to 5 stanzas). It subsequently found a place in numerous other denominational hymnals across Great Britain and North America. Gough later chose this inspiring piece as the opening hymn for his own collected volume, Hymns of Prayer and Praise, published in 1875. The text expresses an ardent expectation of the universal reign of Christ and the triumph of the Church.