This edition was prepared by Barry Johnston — free to download, print, rehearse and perform.
Happy Retribution
Staff Notation • Sacred
Preview
0
0
2 editions of this piece
Different typesettings and voicings of the same work. This page shows the main edition; the others are below.
SATB · Barry Johnston
Preview
Subscribed as
Want Sunday picks sent to another address too?
Free weekly email
Your choir should not be left out in what's trending
Sunday mass selections, psalms, and trending songs in your area — straight to your inbox.
Happy Retribution by Jeremiah Ingalls — Lyrics
Brief life is here our portion;
Brief sorrow, shortlived care:
The life that knows no ending.
The tearless life, is there.
O happy retribution!
Short toil, eternal rest;
For mortals and for sinner
A mansion with the blest!
That we should look, poor wanderers,
To have our home on high!
Read full lyrics
About Happy Retribution
The words of this anthem paint a picture of hope and heavenly reward for those who endure earthly hardship. Jeremiah Ingalls sets this English text for SATB choir, exploring themes of "happy retribution," where brief toil leads to eternal rest and a "mansion with the blest." The lyrics express a profound yearning for a "tearless life" beyond the "starry sky," a "celestial grace" and "eternal place" for all who "mourn their fall." It speaks of divine compensation for earthly suffering, offering solace and anticipation of a blissful afterlife.
