More Holy Saturday

Now the Word had fallen silent, and the water had run dry,
The bread had all been broken, and the light had left the sky;
The flock had lost its shepherd, and the seed was sadly sown,
The courtiers had betrayed their king, and nailed him to his throne.
O sabbath rest by Calvary, O calm of tomb below,
Where the grave-clothes and the spices cradle him we did not know!
Rest you well, beloved Jesus: Caesar's Lord and Israel's King,
In the brooding of the Spirit, in the darkness of the spring
(Extract from the Easter Oratorio, Lichfield Cathedral, words by Tom Wright )