One of my favourite hymns is
Lo He comes with clouds descending.
Not only is it one you can really sing along with it is usually sung in Advent, it is not about the lead up to Jesus birth at Christmas but The second Coming - a reminder to be prepared for when Jesus will come again in great Glory that no one will be able to ignore!
The first verse –
1 Lo, he comes with clouds descending,
once for favoured sinners slain;
thousand thousand saints attending
swell the triumph of his train:
Alleluia!
God appears on earth to reign.
Reminds us of how it will be as He returns and is based on
Matt. 24:30,
30 “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth[a] will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.
Rev. 5:11-13
11 Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. 12 In a loud voice they were saying:
“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength
and honor and glory and praise!”
13 Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying:
“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
be praise and honor and glory and power,
for ever and ever!”
Also see Rev. 1:7, Zech. 12:10, (bible texts from NIV and Bible Gateway)
The second and third verses emphasise all will see him in “dreadful” or sometimes “fearful” Majesty
and the thought that the we will be amazed by the scars and signs of his of his passion as we finally understand the full implications of what he did for us – maybe we can remember this during Lent and it is such a powerful message maybe we should sing it after Easter or Pentecost to remind us that He will return and that God has won !
2 Every eye shall now behold him
robed in dreadful majesty;
those who set at naught and sold him,
pierced and nailed him to the Tree,
deeply wailing,
shall the true Messiah see.
3 Those dear tokens of his passion
still his dazzling body bears,
cause of endless exultation
to his ransomed worshippers:
with what rapture
gaze we on those glorious scars!
The last verse Is just a great uplifting ending - as it will be – Amen!
Yea, Amen, let all adore thee,
high on thine eternal throne;
Saviour, take the power and glory,
claim the kingdom for thine own:
Alleluia!
Thou shalt reign, and thou alone.
I found a You tube with words from Chet Valley Churches in an easy to sing along with version beautifully sung
or a more steady choral version from Lichfield Cathedral Choir with an amazing descant on the last verse
More more history in in depth discussions can be found below taken from Hymnary.org and Wikipedia just search “Lo he comes”
In 1750 John Cennick, a friend of John and Charles Wesley (PHH 267), wrote an Advent hymn that began, "Lo! he cometh, countless trumpets blow before his bloody sign!" Cennick's hymn was published in his Collection (1752). Charles Wesley completely rewrote the text and published his version in Hymns of Intercession for all Mankind (1758) with the title "Thy Kingdom Come" (changed to "The Second Advent" in other editions). Though later hymnals occasionally mixed Cennick's lines with Wesley's, the Psalter Hymnal includes most of Wesley's original text.
Like so many of Wesley's texts, "Lo! He Comes" abounds with biblical imagery. Stanzas 1, 2, and 4 are based on the rich language of John's apocalyptic visions recorded in Revelation 1:7 and 5:11-13. The third stanza reminds us that Christ's wounds and atoning death should lead us to greater faith and ultimately to our worship of Christ in glory (as Christ himself reminded the doubting Thomas). Stanza 4 is a majestic doxology to Christ, our Savior and Lord.
It is usually sung to the tune, Helmsley, first published in 1763. Probably based on an Irish concert song
"Guardian angels, now protect me".[
Information sourced from wikipedia and Hymnary.org
Mike Bateman