The Cyber Hymnal ‎#2046

2046. The Great Archangel's Trump

1. The great archangel’s trump shall sound,
While twice ten thousand thunders roar
Tear up the graves, and cleave the ground,
And make the greedy sea restore.

2. The greedy sea shall yield her dead,
The earth no more her slain conceal;
Sinners shall lift their guilty head,
And shrink to see a yawning hell.

3. But we, who now our Lord confess,
And faithful to the end endure,
Shall stand in Jesus’ righteousness,
Stand, as the Rock of ages, sure.

4. We, while the stars from heaven shall fall,
And mountains are on mountains hurled,
Shall stand unmoved amidst them all,
And smile to see a burning world.

5. The earth, and all the works therein,
Dissolve, by raging flames destroyed,
While we survey the awful scene,
And mount above the fiery void.

6. By faith we now transcend the skies,
And on that ruined world look down;
By love above all height we rise,
And share the everlasting throne.

Text Information

• First Line: The great archangel's trump shall sound
• Title: The Great Archangel's Trump
• Author: Charles Wesley (1749)
• Meter: LM
• Language: English
• Source: Hymns and Sacred Poems, 1749
• Copyright: Public Domain
• Notes: The Methodist Hymn Book Notes, by Stevenson, 1883, gives the origin of this hymn. It came about as a result of Wesley's visit to a Methodist society meeting in Leeds, England, March 14, 1744: "…in a cold up­per room, which was dense­ly packed, and crowds could not gain ad­miss­ion. He re­moved near­er the door that those with­out might hear, and drew the peo­ple towards him. In­stant­ly the raf­ters broke off short, close to the main beam, the floor sank, and more than one hun­dred people fell, amidst dust and ruins, in­to the room be­low. Sev­er­al were se­vere­ly in­jured, but none were killed. Charles Wes­ley him­self es­caped with slight in­ju­ries. 'I lift­ed up my head,' he said, 'and saw the peo­ple un­der me, heaps upon heaps.' I cried out, 'Fear not, the Lord is with us; our lives are all safe,' and then gave out, 'Praise God from whom all bless­ings flow.'" This hymn, in 12 stanzas, appeared five years later in Hymns and Sacred Poems, headed, After deliverance from death by the fall of an house. In 1780, stanzas 6-9, 11 & 12 were given in the Wesleyan Hymn Book as one of the hymns "Describing Judgment."

Tune Information

• Name: MARYTON
• Composer: Henry Percy Smith (1874)
• Meter: LM
• Incipit: 33343 22255 43117
• Key: E♭ Major
• Source: Church Hymns with Tunes (London: 1874)
• Copyright: Public Domain