The following hymn is most suitable at the celebration of Mass during this season of Advent. Indeed, it refers to golden bells announcing Christ's coming.
Thou art coming, O my Saviour,
Thou art coming, O my King,
In Thy beauty all resplendent,
In Thy glory all transcendent;
Well may we rejoice and sing:
Coming! in the opening east
Herald brightness slowly swells;
Coming! O my glorious Priest,
Hear we not Thy golden bells?
Thou art coming, Thou art coming;
We shall meet Thee on Thy way,
We shall see Thee, we shall know Thee,
We shall bless Thee, we shall show Thee
All our hearts could ever say:
What an anthem that will be,
Ringing out our love to Thee,
Pouring out our rapture sweet
At Thine own all glorious feet.
Thou art coming; at Thy altar
We are witnesses for this;
While remembering hearts Thou meetest
In communion clearest, sweetest,
Earnest of our coming bliss,
Showing not Thy death alone,
And Thy love exceeding great;
But Thy coming and Thy throne,
All for which we long and wait.
O the joy to see Thee reigning,
Thee, my own belovèd Lord!
Every tongue Thy Name confessing,
Worship, honour, glory, blessing
Brought to Thee with glad accord;
Thee, my Master and my Friend,
Vindicated and enthroned;
Unto earth’s remotest end
Glorified, adored, and owned!
Frances Havergal - 1873
2 comments:
Interesting use of Frances Havergal's great hymn. But I'm sure you realize she is speaking of the glorious second coming of Christ, not His incarnation.
Actually, the same error is made with Isaac Watts's "Joy to the World." It is considered a Christmas carol by most, but speaks of Christ's return, when He comes to "judge the earth" (Ps. 98:9).
Yes Robert, I realise that my use of the hymn was a little 'tongue in cheek', but I really like the hymn and wanted some excuse for using it! I like to meditate on Christ's second coming during the earlier part of Advent and then focus more on His first coming as we move closer to Christmas.
Sadly few of our hymn books in the UK still contain Frances Havergal's hymn.
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