The Celestial Army

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Whence came the armies of the sky

Author: Asa Hull
Tune: [Alas! and did my Savior bleed] (Hull)
Published in 16 hymnals

Piano/Organ
	WONDROUS CROSS, THE

Representative Text

1 Whence came the armies of the sky,
John saw in vision bright?
Whence came their crowns, their robes, their palms,
Too pure for mortal sight?

Chorus:
They looked like men in uniform,
They looked like men of war;
They all were clad in armor bright,
And conquering palms they bore.

2 Were these tried soldiers of the cross
Victorious in the fight?
Were these the trophies they had won,
Reserved in worlds of light? [Chorus]

3 Once they were mourners here below,
And poured out cries and tears;
They wrestled hard, as we do now,
With sins, and doubts, and fears. [Chorus]

4 They saw the star of Bethlehem
Arise in splendor bright;
They followed long its guiding ray,
Till beamed a clearer light. [Chorus]

5 From desert waste, and cities full,
From dungeons dark, they've come,
And now they claim their mansion fair,
They've found their long-sought home. [Chorus]

Source: The Seventh-Day Adventist Hymn and Tune Book: for use in divine worship #995

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Author: Asa Hull

Asa Hull USA 1828-1907. Born in Keene, NY, he became a music publisher in New York City. He married Emma F Atherton, and they had a daughter, Harriett. He wrote many tunes and authored temperance rallying songs. He published 33 works, of which 21 were songbooks, between 1863-1895. He died in Philadelphia, PA. John Perry Go to person page >

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Text Information

Text Information

First Line:	Whence came the armies of the sky
Title:	The Celestial Army
Author:	Asa Hull
Language:	English
Refrain First Line:	Help me, dear Savior, thee to own
Copyright:	Public Domain

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Tune

[Alas! and did my Savior bleed] (Hull)

MARTYRDOM (Wilson)

MARTYRDOM was originally an eighteenth-century Scottish folk melody used for the ballad "Helen of Kirkconnel." Hugh Wilson (b. Fenwick, Ayrshire, Scotland, c. 1766; d. Duntocher, Scotland, 1824) adapted MARTYRDOM into a hymn tune in duple meter around 1800. A triple-meter version of the tune was fir…

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