Hark! A Thrilling Voice Is Sounding
Hark! A Thrilling Voice Is Sounding
Hark! a thrilling voice is sounding.
“Christ is nigh,” it seems to say;
“Cast away the works of darkness,
O ye children of the day.”
Wakened by the solemn warning,
From earth’s bondage let us rise;
Christ, our sun, all sloth dispelling,
Shines upon the morning skies.
Lo! the Lamb, so long expected,
Comes with pardon down from heaven;
Let us haste, with tears of sorrow,
One and all to be forgiven;
So when next He comes with glory,
And the world is wrapped in fear,
May He with His mercy shield us,
And with words of love draw near.
Honor, glory, might, and blessing
To the Father and the Son,
With the everlasting Spirit
While unending ages run.
From Hymns Ancient and Modern, 1861, altered.
LIKE MANY GOOD WORKS of poetry, this ancient hymn is not easy to understand. It takes a little thinking to sort it out.
What is the “thrilling voice” that’s sounding? If we read this in chronological order, it must be the voice of the Old Testament prophets. In many ways they announced to their people, “Christ is nigh!” and they urged them to reform their ways. The mention of Christ as “our sun” in the second stanza may allude to Malachi 4:2, the last of the messianic prophecies in the Old Testament.
The third stanza, of course, refers to Christ in His first coming as the Lamb who came to be our sacrifice. We find forgiveness as we come to Him. At His next coming, as the world shudders with fear, we will receive mercy and love. And we’ll join in the eternal praise invoked by the final stanza.
The day of the Lord’s return will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night. When people are saying, “Everything is peaceful and secure,” then disaster will fall on them as suddenly as a pregnant woman’s labor pains begin.
1 Thessalonians 5:2-3
From the book
