We Know Not the Hour

We know not the hour of the Master's appearing

Author: F. E. Belden (1886)
Tune: [We know not the hour of the Master's appearing]
Published in 14 hymnals

Printable scores: PDF, Noteworthy Composer
Audio files: MIDI, Recording

Representative Text

1. We know not the hour of the Master’s appearing,
Yet signs all foretell that the moment is nearing
When He shall return—’tis a promise most cheering—
But we know not the hour.

Refrain:
He will come, let us watch and be ready;
He will come, hallelujah! hallelujah!
He will come in the clouds of His Father’s bright glory—
But we know not the hour.

2. There’s light for the wise who are seeking salvation,
There’s truth in the Book of divine revelation—
Each prophecy points to the great consummation—
But we know not the hour.

3. We’ll watch and we’ll pray, with our lamps trimmed and burning,
We’ll work and we’ll wait till the Master’s returning,
We’ll sing and rejoice, every omen discerning—
But we know not the hour.

Source: 50 Uncommon Songs: for partakers of the common salvation #42

Author: F. E. Belden

Belden was born in Battle Creek, Michigan in 1858. He began writing music in his late teenage years after moving to California with his family. For health reasons he later moved to Colorado. He returned to Battle Creek with his wife in the early 1880s, and there he became involved in Adventist Church publishing. F. E. Belden wrote many hymn tunes, gospel songs, and related texts in the early years of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Belden was able to rapidly write both music and poetry together which enabled him to write a song to fit a sermon while it was still being delivered. He also wrote songs for evang­el­ist Bil­ly Sun­day. Though Belden’s later years were marred by misunderstandings with the church leadership over his royal… Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: We know not the hour of the Master's appearing
Title: We Know Not the Hour
Author: F. E. Belden (1886)
Meter: 12.12.12.6 with refrain
Language: English
Refrain First Line: He will come, let us watch and be ready
Copyright: Public Domain

Timeline

Media

The Cyber Hymnal #11856
  • PDF (PDF)
  • Noteworthy Composer Score (NWC)
Small Church Music #182
  • PDF Score (PDF)

Instances

Instances (1 - 5 of 5)
Audio

Small Church Music #182

TextScoreAudio

The Cyber Hymnal #11856

TextPage Scan

Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal #604

TextPage Scan

50 Uncommon Songs #42

Text

Timeless Truths #560

Include 9 pre-1979 instances
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