We sang this on Sunday - but only five verses and in a slightly modernised form (40 Hallelujahs might have been too much for us!). It confirms to me again that Wesley is our greatest hymn writer. The line 'Still he loves the earth he leaves' is stunning piece of brilliance.
Hail the day that sees Him rise,
Hallelujah!
To His throne above the skies,
Christ, awhile to mortals given,
Reascends His native heaven,
There the glorious triumph waits,
Lift your heads, eternal gates,
Christ hath conquered death and sin,
Take the King of glory in,
Circled round with angel powers,
Their triumphant Lord, and ours,
Conqueror over death and sin,
“Take the King of glory in!”
Him though highest Heav’n receives,
Still He loves the earth He leaves,
Though returning to His throne,
Still He calls mankind His own,
See! He lifts His hands above,
See! He shows the prints of love,
Hark! His gracious lips bestow,
Blessings on His church below,
Still for us His death He pleads,
Prevalent He intercedes,
Near Himself prepares our place,
Harbinger of human race,
Master, (will we ever say),
Taken from our head to day,
See Thy faithful servants, see,
Ever gazing up to Thee,
Grant, though parted from our sight,
Far above yon azure height,
Grant our hearts may thither rise,
Seeking Thee beyond the skies,
Ever upward let us move,
Wafted on the wings of love,
Looking when our Lord shall come,
Longing, gasping after home,
There we shall with Thee remain,
Partners of Thy endless reign,
There Thy face unclouded see,
Find our heaven of heavens in Thee,
2 comments:
Greetings from Wordwise Hymns. Scholars who have studied our English hymnody would likely agree with you about Wesley--though some would favour Isaac Watts for top spot. Charles Wesley has given us quantity as well as quality, and two of his hymns ("Jesus, Lover of My Soul," and "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing") are frequently ranked in the"Top 10.")
I do wonder a bit about the term "Heavenly Worldliness"--though I have not read your posts on the subject. The Bible uses the word in several ways: to mean planet earth, the population of the earth, or the evil world system dominated by Satan.
When the latter sense is intended, the Word of God is consistently against it (cf. Eph. 2:2; I Jn. 2:15-17). And the book of Ecclesiastes is a sermon from wise King Solomon against the folly of living according to worldly values. "Life under the sun" (i.e. from the cradle to the grave) is the perspective of secular humanism, the philosophy of this sinful world.
Anyway, interesting site, and you got my old brain jump-started for the morning. :-) God bless.
Robert
Thanks for that and glad you appreciated it. The title Heavenly Worldliness is meant to be provocative. I am certainly not advocating worldliness but I am keen for us to live tin the real world. G
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