The Carols of Advent: Part Three

        Good Morning, Readers!  I trust you all have had a wonderful Christmas Day.  Before the Christmas Holidays are over, however, we come to our final post in the Carols of Advent Series.  The reason why I chose to post this after Christmas Day, is because I believe that this hymn, though rightly sung during Advent, ought also to be sung year round, as I outline below.  But first, the hymn:

"Lo! He comes with clouds descending,

Once for favored sinners slain;

Thousand thousand saints attending,

Swell the triumph of His train:

Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

God appears on earth to reign.

"Every eye shall now behold Him

Robed in dreadful majesty;

Those who set at naught and sold Him,

Pierced and nailed Him to the tree,

Deeply wailing, deeply wailing, deeply wailing,

Shall the true Messiah see.

"Every island, sea, and mountain,

Heav’n and earth, shall flee away;

All who hate Him must, confounded,

Hear the trump proclaim the day:

Come to judgment! Come to judgment! Come to judgment!

Come to judgment! Come away!

"Now redemption, long expected,

See in solemn pomp appear;

All His saints, by man rejected,

Now shall meet Him in the air:

Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

See the day of God appear!

"Yea, Amen! let all adore Thee,

High on Thine eternal throne;

Savior, take the power and glory,

Claim the kingdom for Thine own;

O come quickly! O come quickly! O come quickly!

Everlasting God, come down!"

        As we come to the last post in the Carols of Advent Series (see Parts One & Two), we also come to a grand hymn of praise for the saving work of Christ, but also a hymn of longing for His second coming.  Written in the mid 1700's by Charles Wesley, this hymn, although sung at Advent, is nevertheless a hymn that ought to be sung year-round.  This hymn begins by referencing the text of Revelation 1:7 (ESV): "Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen."  It continues, making reference to Christ's saving work on the cross; of his coming not just as a King, but as a Judge, yet also as a Redeemer of His people.  And finally there is an awesome doxology of praise to the Trinity, and a longing for Christ's promised return.
        We should sing this hymn at advent, remembering the coming of our Saviour to earth as a baby, but we ought also to sing it every day, looking forward to the time when Christ will come again in His glorious second coming.  Those who are his have nothing to fear when that Day comes, but for those who have not placed their trust in Christ there will be just condemnation.  My greatest longing is for those who do not have faith in Christ to put their entire hope in him, and to that end I pray for you, reader.  Will you be ready for Him?

        "Now to him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever: Amen." ~ Rev. 1:5 - 6

Written and Posted by William A. Moore