3 At his call the dead awaken,
Rise to life from earth and sea;
All the powers of nature shaken
From his face prepare to flee;
Careless sinner,
What will then become of thee? 4 But to those who have confessèd,
Loved, and served the Lord below;
He will say, Come near, ye blessed,
See the kingdom I bestow:
You for ever
Shall my love and glory know."
The time of the dead is come, that they should be [P.M. judged.--Rev. xi. 18.
1 GREAT God, what do I see and hear:
The end of things created!
The Judge of mankind doth appear,
On clouds of glory seated.
The trumpet sounds, the graves restore
The dead which they contain❜d before:
Prepare, my soul, to meet him.
2 The dead in Christ shall first arise,
At the last trumpet's sounding,
Caught up to meet him in the skies,
With joy their Lord surrounding :
No gloomy fears their souls dismay;
His presence sheds eternal day
On those prepared to meet him.
3 But sinners, fill'd with guilty fears,
Behold his wrath prevailing;
For they shall rise,and find their tears
And sighs are unavailing:
The day of grace is past and gone;
Trembling they stand before the throne,
All unprepared to meet him.
4 Great God, what do I see and hear:
The end of things created!
The Judge of mankind doth appear,
On clouds of glory seated.
Low at his cross I view the day
When heaven and earth shall pass away,
And thus prepare to meet him.'
67 Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also [P.M. heaven.-Heb. xii. 26.
1 THE Lord of might from Sinai's brow
Gave forth his voice of thunder;
And Israel lay on earth below,
Outstretch'd in fear and wonder:
Beneath his feet was pitchy night
And at his left hand and his right
The rocks were rent asunder.
2 The Lord of love on Calvary,
A meek and suffering stranger,
Upraised to heaven his languid eye
In nature's hour of danger;
For us he bore the weight of woe,
For us he gave his blood to flow,
And met his Father's anger.
3 The Lord of love, the Lord of might,
The King of all created,
Shall back return to claim his right,
On clouds of glory seated;
With trumpet-sound, and angel-song,
And Hallelujahs loud and long,
O'er death and hell defeated.'
68 The Lord grant him that he may find mercy of the [P.M Lord in that day.-2 Tim. i. 18.
1 DAY of wrath, O day of mourning!
See the Crucified returning,
Heaven and earth in ashes burning!
O what fear man's bosom rendeth,
When from heaven the Judge descendeth,
On whose sentence all dependeth!
Wondrous sound the trumpet flingeth;
Through earth's sepulchres it ringeth;
All before the throne it bringeth.
2 Death is struck, and nature quaking:
All creation is awaking,
To its Judge an answer making.
Lo, the book exactly worded,
Wherein all hath been recorded:
Thence shall judgment be awarded.
When the Judge his seat attaineth,
And each hidden deed arraigneth,
Nothing unavenged remaineth.
3 What shall I, frail man, be pleading;
Who for me be interceding;
When the just are mercy needing?
King of Majesty tremendous,
Who dost free salvation send us,
Fount of pity, then befriend us.
Think, kind Jesu, my salvation
Caused thy wondrous incarnation :
Leave me not to reprobation.
4 Faint and weary thou hast sought me,
On the cross of suffering bought me ;
Shall such grace be vainly brought me
Righteous Judge, for sin's pollution
Grant thy gift of absolution,
Ere that day of retribution.
Guilty, now I pour my moaning,
All my shame with anguish owning:
Spare, O God, thy suppliant groaning.
5 Thou the sinful woman savedst;
Thou the dying thief forgavest;
And to me a hope vouchsafest.
Worthless are my prayers and sighing,
Yet, good Lord, in grace complying,
Rescue me from fires undying.
With thy favour'd sheep, O place me;
Nor among the goats abase me;
But to thy right hand upraise me.
6 Low I kneel with heart submission;
See, like ashes, my contrition:
Save, O save me from perdition.
Ah, that day of tears and mourning!
From the dust of earth returning,
Man for judgment must prepare him;
Spare, O God, in mercy spare him.
Lord, all pitying, Jesu blest,
Grant us thine eternal rest.
69 The mighty God, even the Lord, hath spoken.
1 THE mighty God, the Lord hath spoken, And bids the trembling earth draw nigh: The silence of long ages broken,
He speaks in thunder from the sky.
2 Forth from the heavenly Zion shining,
In perfect beauty he appears:
Love, wisdom, majesty combining,
Bright are the diadems he wears.
3 A fiery stream devours before him,
And cloud and tempest veil his form:
The countless hosts of heaven adore him,
Amidst the darkness and the storm.
4 He speaks, and all the nations tremble;
Heaven, earth, and hell his voice obey:
In solemn awe his saints assemble,
The world's dim shadows flee away.
50 who can stand, when thou appearest
In robes of majesty divine?
Though now each contrite sigh thou hearest,
What terrors then will round thee shine!
6 O mighty God, O Lord most holy,
Prepare us for that solemn day:
O shield and guard us, save us wholly,
Thy pardoning grace to us display.
70 At midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the [7s. 6s. Bridegroom cometh.-Matt. xxv. 6.
1 REJOICE, all ye believers,
And let your lights appear;
The evening is advancing
And darker night is near.
The Bridegroom is arising,
And soon will he draw nigh:
Up, pray and watch and wrestle :
At midnight comes the cry.
2 See that your lamps are burning,
Replenish them with oil;
Look now for your salvation,
The end of earthly toil.
The watchers on the mountain
Proclaim the Bridegroom near:
Go meet him, as he cometh,
With Hallelujahs clear.
3 Ye wise and holy virgins,
Now raise your voices higher,
Until in songs of triumph
They meet the angel choir.
The marriage feast is waiting,
The gates wide open stand:
Up, up! ye heirs of glory;
The Bridegroom is at hand.
4 Our hope and expectation,
O Jesu, now appear:
Arise, thou Sun, so long'd for,
O'er this benighted sphere:
|