Luther's Hymn

Great God, what do I see and hear!

p. 50
Key A major
Singing key G major
Time 2/2
4 stanzas

Words

Great God, what do I see and hear!
The end of things created!
The Judge of man I see appear,
On clouds of glory seated;
The trumpet sounds; the graves restore
The dead which they contain'd before:
Prepare, my soul, to meet him.

The dead in Christ shall first arise,
At the last trumpet's sounding,
Caught up to meet him in the skies,
With joy their Lord surrounding
No gloomy fears their souls dismay
His presence sheds eternal day
On those prepared to meet him.

But sinners, fill'd with guilty fears,
Behold his wrath prevailing,
For they shall rise, and find their tears
And sighs are unavailing:
The day of grace is past and gone;
Trembling they stand before the throne,
All unprepared to meet him.

Great God, what do I see and hear!
The end of things created!
The Judge of man I see appear,
On clouds of glory seated:
Beneath his cross I view the day
When heaven and earth shall pass away
And thus prepare to meet him.

About this hymn

As printed As printed: under the music (p. 50) only stanza 1, its first four lines in two text lines under the repeated first half (1st and 2nd time), the last three lines once. The whole text, four stanzas, is printed as verse on p. 51 under the heading "Judgment."; it is reproduced here from p. 51. Each stanza is sung through the whole tune, lines 1–2 and 3–4 on the two passes of the repeat.