Hark! a Thrilling Voice Is Sounding

Representative Text

1. Hark! a thrilling voice is sounding:
"Christ is nigh!" it seems to say,
"Cast away the dreams of darkness,
O ye children of the day!"

2. Wakened by the solemn warning,
Let the Earth-bound soul arise;
Christ, the Sun, all ill dispelling,
Shines upon the morning skies.

3. Lo! the Lamb, so long-expected,
Comes with pardon down from Heav'n;
Let us haste, with tears of sorrow,
One and all to be forgiv'n.

4. So when next he comes with glory
And the world is wrapped in fear,
With his mercy he may shield us,
And with words of love draw near.

5. Honor, glory, might, and blessing
To the Father and the Son,
With the everlasting Spirit,
While eternal ages run.

Source: Hymns and Devotions for Daily Worship #14

Translator: Edward Caswall

Edward Caswall was born in 1814, at Yately, in Hampshire, where his father was a clergyman. In 1832, he went to Brasenose College, Oxford, and in 1836, took a second-class in classics. His humorous work, "The Art of Pluck," was published in 1835; it is still selling at Oxford, having passed through many editions. In 1838, he was ordained Deacon, and in 1839, Priest. He became perpetural Curate of Stratford-sub-Castle in 1840. In 1841, he resigned his incumbency and visited Ireland. In 1847, he joined the Church of Rome. In 1850, he was admitted into the Congregation of the Oratory at Birmingham, where he has since remained. He has published several works in prose and poetry. --Annotations of the Hymnal, Charles Hutchins, M.A. 1872… Go to person page >

Scripture References:
st. 1 = Rom. 13:11-12
st. 2 = 2 Pet. 1:19
st. 3 = John 1:29
st. 4 = Luke 21:25-28
st. 5 = Rev. 5:13

Although earliest manuscript copy dates from the tenth century, this text is possibly as old as the fifth century. It is based on the Latin hymn 'Vox clara ecce intonat" and its 1632 revision "En clara vox redarguit." The text in the Psalter
Hymnal
is a revision of both Edward Caswall's (PHH 438) translation in his Lyra Catholica (1849) and the translation in Hymns Ancient and Modern (1861).

The hymn is most useful for Advent because it permits various interpretations of Christ's coming. Stanzas 1-3 contain references to Christ's first coming, but they can be used to celebrate his second coming as well. Stanza 4 surely refers to the second coming, and stanza 5, the only stanza addressed to God, is a doxology.

Liturgical Use:
During Advent for worship services that stress Christ's second coming; use stanza 5 as an Advent doxology.

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook

Notes

Scripture References:
st. 1 = Rom. 13:11-12
st. 2 = 2 Pet. 1:19
st. 3 = John 1:29
st. 4 = Luke 21:25-28
st. 5 = Rev. 5:13

Although earliest manuscript copy dates from the tenth century, this text is possibly as old as the fifth century. It is based on the Latin hymn 'Vox clara ecce intonat" and its 1632 revision "En clara vox redarguit." The text in the Psalter
Hymnal
is a revision of both Edward Caswall's (PHH 438) translation in his Lyra Catholica (1849) and the translation in Hymns Ancient and Modern (1861).

The hymn is most useful for Advent because it permits various interpretations of Christ's coming. Stanzas 1-3 contain references to Christ's first coming, but they can be used to celebrate his second coming as well. Stanza 4 surely refers to the second coming, and stanza 5, the only stanza addressed to God, is a doxology.

Liturgical Use:
During Advent for worship services that stress Christ's second coming; use stanza 5 as an Advent doxology.

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook

Tune

MERTON (Monk)

William H. Monk (b. Brompton, London, England, 1823; d. London, 1889) composed MERTON and published it in The Parish Choir (1850). The tune has been associated with this text since the 1861 edition of Hymns Ancient and Modern. The tune's title is thought to refer to Walter de Merton, founder of Mert…

Go to tune page >


Timeline

Media

You have access to this FlexScore.
Download:
Are parts of this score outside of your desired range? Try transposing this FlexScore.
General Settings
Stanza Selection
Voice Selection
Text size:
Music size:
Transpose (Half Steps):
Capo:
Contacting server...
Contacting server...
Questions? Check out the FAQ

A separate copy of this score must be purchased for each choir member. If this score will be projected or included in a bulletin, usage must be reported to a licensing agent (e.g. CCLI, OneLicense, etc).

This is a preview of your FlexScore.
The Cyber Hymnal #2639
  • Adobe Acrobat image (PDF)
  • Noteworthy Composer score (NWC)
  • XML score (XML)
Psalter Hymnal (Gray) #332
  • Full Score (PDF, XML)
  • Bulletin Score (PDF)
  • Bulletin Score (melody only) (PDF)

Instances

Instances (101 - 139 of 139)
Page Scan

The English Hymnal #5

Page Scan

The English Hymnal #5

The English Hymnal #5

Page Scan

The Evangelical Hymnal #79

Page Scan

The Evangelical Hymnal. Text edition #79

The Hymn Book of the Anglican Church of Canada and the United Church of Canada #392

TextPage Scan

The Hymnal 1982 #59

TextPage Scan

The Hymnal and Order of Service #12

Text

The Hymnal and Order of Service #12

The Hymnal of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America 1940 #9

The Hymnal of the United Church of Christ #77

TextPage Scan

The Hymnal, Revised and Enlarged, as adopted by the General Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America in the year of our Lord 1892 #41a

TextPage Scan

The Hymnal, Revised and Enlarged, as adopted by the General Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America in the year of our Lord 1892 #41b

TextPage Scan

The Hymnal #63

Page Scan

The Hymnal #41a

Page Scan

The Hymnal #41b

Text

The Irish Presbyterian Hymnbook #647

Page Scan

The Jubilee Harp #448

TextPage Scan

The Lutheran Hymnal #60

TextPage Scan

The Lutheran Hymnary #164

Page Scan

The New Baptist Praise Book #143

Page Scan

The New Baptist Praise Book #143

Page Scan

The New Congregational Hymn and Tune Book, for Public, Social and Private Worship #605

TextPage Scan

The New English Hymnal #5

The Oxford Hymn Book #45

Page Scan

The Oxford Hymn Book #45

Page Scan

The People's Hymn Book #323

Page Scan

The Praise Hymnal #187

Page Scan

The Reformed Church Hymnal #147

The Sarum Hymnal #25

Page Scan

The Songs of Zion #126

Page Scan

The Spirit of Praise #81

Page Scan

The St. Gregory Hymnal and Catholic Choir Book. Singers' ed., Melody ed. #1

The Summit Choirbook #13

Page Scan

The Westminster Abbey Hymn-Book #45

The Westminster Hymnal, New and revised edition #3

Text

Together in Song #264

TextPage Scan

Worship Supplement #704

ကီရ်ပိှသီ [The Church Hymnal With Notes Sagaw Kayin] #1

Pages

Exclude 105 pre-1979 instances
Suggestions or corrections? Contact us
It looks like you are using an ad-blocker. Ad revenue helps keep us running. Please consider white-listing Hymnary.org or getting Hymnary Pro to eliminate ads entirely and help support Hymnary.org.