Scripture Verse

The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. 2 Peter 3:10

Introduction

Words: Bar­tho­lo­mä­us Ring­waldt, cir­ca 1565 (Es ist ge­wiss­lich an der Zeit). Trans­lat­ed from Ger­man to Eng­lish by Jo­hann C. Ja­co­bi, Psal­mo­dia Ger­ma­ni­ca (Lon­don: J. Young, 1722), page 95.

Music: Es ist ge­wiss­lich Geist­liche Lied­er (Wit­ten­berg, Ger­ma­ny: 1535) (🔊 pdf nwc).

If you know where to get a good pic­ture of Ring­waldt or Ja­co­b (head & shoul­ders, at least 200×300 pix­els),

Lyrics

’Tis sure, that awful time will come,
When Christ the Lord of Glory,
Shall from His throne give men their doom,
And change what’s transitory.
Who then will venture to retire
When all’s to be consumed by fire,
As Peter has declarèd?

The waking trumpets all shall hear
Throughout the whole creation;
And all the dead shall then appear,
Placed in their proper station;
But all the living at that time
Shall, in a manner more sublime,
Endure a transmutation.

The great account shall then be read
Of all men’s lives and actions;
And young and old the sentence dread
Of their misdeeds and factions;
Here is no shelter for escape,
But all shall see the very shape
Thy soul has here contracted.

Woe then to him, that has despised
God’s Word and revelation,
And here done nothing but devised
His lusts’ gratification;
Then how confounded will he stand,
When he must go at Christ’s command
With Satan to hell-torment.

Grant, Je­su, then my name be found
Within Thy book unblotted,
When all with awe shall stand around
To hear their doom allotted;
Of which I doubt not in the least,
For Thou, as Sav­ior and high priest,
Hast purchased my sal­va­tion.

I know, as judge Thou shalt appear,
As well as intercessor;
Yet hope, in humble faith and fear,
Thou’lt call me Thy confessor,
And bring me to that blessèd place,
Where I shall see, with open face,
The glo­ry of Thy kingdom.

O Je­su! shorten Thy delay,
And hasten Thy sal­va­tion,
That we may see that glo­ri­ous day
Produce a new creation.
O come, O Lord, our judge and king!
Come, change our mournful notes to sing
Thy praise for­ev­er, Amen.