Scripture Verse

The Lord Himself will come down from Heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God. 1 Thessalonians 4:16

Introduction

portrait
Ignaz J. Pleyel (1757–1831)

Words: Ben­ja­min Bed­dome (1717–1795). Pub­lished post­hu­mous­ly in Hymns Adapt­ed to Pub­lic Wor­ship (Lon­don: Bu­rton & Briggs, 1818), num­ber 801, alt. The Fi­nal Sen­tence.

Music: Grace Church Ig­naz J. Pley­el, 1815 (🔊 pdf nwc).

Alternate Tunes:

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

Lyrics

The trum­pet sounds, the Judge des­cends,
A nu­mer­ous guard sur­rounds his throne;
His once-dis­hon­ored form appears,
Far bright­er than the noon-day sun.

Millions be­fore Him trem­bling stand,
And wait the great de­ci­sive word—
Depart to ev­er­last­ing woe,
Or Come, ye bless­èd of the Lord.

According to their deeds per­formed,
The right­eous sen­tence shall be giv’n;
For saints and sin­ners is pre­pared,
A dread­ful hell or glo­ri­ous Heav’n.