The Hymnal ‎#64

64. Great God, what do I see and hear!

Great God, what do I see and hear!
The end of things created!
The Judge of all men doth appear
On clouds of glory seated!
The trumpet sounds; the graves restore
The dead which they contained before;
Prepare, my soul, to meet him!

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.

But sinners, filled 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.

Great God, to thee my spirit clings,
Thy boundless love declaring;
One wondrous sight my comfort brings,
The Judge my nature wearing.
Beneath his cross I view the day
When heaven and earth shall pass away,
And thus prepare to meet him.

Amen.

Text Information

• First Line: Great God, what do I see and hear!
• Author: William B. Collyer (1812)
• Altered: Thomas Cotterill (1820)
• Meter: 8.7.8.7.8.8.7
• Language: English
• Publication Date: 1916
• Topic: Advent

Tune Information

• Name: LUTHER
• Meter: 8.7.8.7.8.8.7
• Incipit: 11321 22313 45321
• Key: G Major
• Source: Johann Klug's Gesangbuch, 1535