The lyrics to this song were written by J. Wilbur Chapman. This song is a progression of the birth, crucifixion, burial, resurrection and second coming of Christ. The five verses are repeated in the chorus.
Allow me to rearrange the song a little and put the chorus at the very end. Read through each of the verses and then read the chorus as if it were a summary of the five previous verses and I think you will get a renewed appreciation for the song. After gaining an appreciation for the lyrics it will probably bother you as much as it bothers me when your church does not sing all the verses to this great hymn. It seems incomplete when only three or four verses are sung.
One day when heaven was filled with his praises,
One day when sin was as black as could be,
Jesus came forth to be born of a virgin—
Dwelt amongst men, my example is he!
One day they led him up Calvary’s mountain,
One day they nailed him to die on the tree;
Suffering anguish, despised and rejected:
Bearing our sins, my Redeemer is he!
One day they left him alone in the garden,
One day he rested, from suffering free;
Angels came down o’er his tomb to keep vigil;
Hope of the hopeless, my Saviour is he!
One day the grave could conceal him no longer,
One day the stone rolled away from the door;
Then he arose, over death he had conquered;
Now is ascended, my Lord evermore!
One day the trumpet will sound for his coming,
One day the skies with his glories will shine;
Wonderful day, my beloved ones bringing;
Glorious Saviour, this Jesus is mine!
Living, he loved me; dying, he saved me;
Buried, he carried my sins far away;
Rising, he justified freely, for ever:
One day he’s coming—O, glorious day!
Mr. Chapman was the author of another hymn that has great meaning, Our Great Savior!