1 Behold, there comes an hour unknown,
When high upon His burning throne,
The Lord, who died for sinful men,
To judge the world shall come again.
2 Obedient to His high command,
From every nation, tribe and land,
The gathered sons of Adam meet
Around that awful judgment seat.
3 Behold the Judge! that brow of flame
Once wore the thorns and bore the shame;
His blood a Roman cross once dyed—
That Judge for me was crucified.
4 The voice of blasphemy is dumb,
The sinner’s day of fear has come!
The traitor’s kiss, the scorner’s sneer
Are known no more: the Judge is here.
5 Ah, see the myriad throngs divide!
To right and left they turn aside—
What wailing bursts from every heart
Which hears the awful word, "Depart!"
6 But lo! a fair immortal throng
Breaks forth in strains of endless song,
To hear the words, "Ye blessed come!
Receive your kingdom and your home."
7 Oh, sinner, you that Judge must meet,
And face that awful judgment seat;
Repent, and give Him now your heart
Ere you shall hear His word, "Depart."
Source: The Cyber Hymnal #13116
Hastings, Horace Lorenzo, was born at Blandford, Mass., Nov. 26, 1831; commenced writing hymns, and preaching, in his 17th year, and laboured as an evangelist in various parts of the U. S. In 1866 he established The Christian, a monthly paper, in which many of his hymns have appeared, and in 1865 the Scriptural Tract Repository in Boston. He published Social Hymns, Original and Selected, Boston, 1865; Songs of Pilgrimage, a Hymnal for the Churches of Christ, Part i., 1880; and in August, 1886, the same completed, to tho extent of 1533 hymns, 450 of which are original and signed "H." The best known of these is "Shall we meet beyond the river," written in N. Y. city, 1858, and lately published as a leaflet in 14 stanzas of 8 lines. The text i… Go to person page >
My Starred Hymns
My FlexScores
My Hymnals
My Purchased Files