Scripture Verse

The seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in Heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever. Revelation 11:15

Introduction

Words: A. B. W., 1908, alt. Ap­peared in Hymns of the Se­cond Com­ing of Our Lord Je­sus Christ, ed­it­ed by Bai­lie Brown & Pe­ter P. Bil­horn (Chi­ca­go, Il­li­nois: Bil­horn Bro­thers, 1911), page 66.

Music: Vin­nyt­sia W. Still­man Mar­tin (🔊 pdf nwc).

If you know A. B. W.’s full name, or where to get a good pho­to of him (head & shoul­ders, at least 200×300 pix­els),

portrait
W. Stillman Martin
1862–1935

Lyrics

The light of His coming is flashing afar,
The rising and glo­ry of Bethlehem’s star,
The heavens receive Him no longer from sight,
Descending, encompassed with seraphim bright.

Refrain

Rejoice, O ye faithful, the circling of years
Has hastened His coming to dry up your tears;
The sweet fields of Eden again are restored—
The kingdoms of earth now belong to your Lord.

He comes, the Messiah, to harvest the earth,
The gems of His crown are bright jewels of worth;
The mantle of death is now folded away,
The faithful of ages are born in a day.

Refrain

Behold the despisèd, the cru­ci­fied One,
Once led to the cross, now ascending the throne;
The kings of the earth cast their crowns at His feet,
The hosts of the heavens His praises repeat.

Refrain

An ex­pand­ed, mo­di­fied ver­sion of these ly­rics was print­ed in The Ca­na­di­an Watch­man, vol­ume 1, num­ber 6 (Osh­a­wa, On­tar­io: June 1921), page 29, marked as Se­lect­ed.

The light of His coming is flashing afar,
The rising and glo­ry of Bethlehem’s star;
The heavens conceal Him no longer from sight,
Descending, encompassed with seraphim bright.

He comes! lo, He comes for the harvest of earth!
The gems of His crown are bright jewels of worth;
And the mantle of death is folded away,
And the faithful of ages are born in a day.

Hail, land of the Orient, lift up thy head!
The Just One has come; the destroyer has fled!
The hills of Judea with gladness rejoice,
And the trees clap their hands at the sound of His voice.

Thou tribute to strangers no longer must yield,
Nor the place of His throne be plowed as a field;
But the city of God will arise on its height,
And the saved of the nations shall walk in its light.

Behold the despisèd and cru­ci­fied One,
Once led to the cross, now ascending the throne!
And the kings of the earth cast their crowns at His feet,
And the hosts of the heavens His praises repeat.

Rejoice, O ye faithful! the circling of years
Has hastened His coming to dry up your tears;
The sweet fields of Eden again are restored—
The kingdom of Je­sus. Rejoice in the Lord!