Publisher Desc.  Based on the uplifting text by William R. Newell and the joyous melody by Daniel B. Towner, this brief "opener" for a service or concert focuses on the new life in Christ that is available to all by accepting Christ and his sacrifice on the cross for our sins. The joy that is obviously present in the opening verse and chorus and restated in the recapitulation at the end surrounds a slower more expressive section based on motivic material excerpted from the chorus. There is also a hint of the "Dies Irae" (Song of death) that strives to capture, inadequately at best, the pain and death our Savior suffered for us At Calvary. The ending is triumphant and exudes the glory of Christ's victory over the cross and the grave.