The Day is Near, the Judgment is at Hand

The Day is Near, the Judgment is at Hand

Translator: John Mason Neale (1862); Author: Saint Theodore, Studites (826)
Published in 4 hymnals

Representative Text

The Day is near, the judgment is at hand,
Awake, my soul, awake, and ready stand!
Where chiefs shall go with them that filled the throne,
Where rich and poor the same tribunal own:
And every thought and deed
Shall find its righteous meed.

There with the sheep the shepherd of the fold
Shall stand together; there the young and old;
Master and slave one doom shall undergo;
Widow and maiden one tribunal know.
Oh woe, oh woe, to them
Whom lawless lives condemn!

That Judgment-seat, impartial in decree,
Accepts no bribe, admits no subtilty:
No orator persuasion may exert,
No perjured witness wrong to right convert:
But all things, hid in night,
Shall then be dragged to light.

Let me not enter in the land of woe,
Let me not realms of outer darkness know!
Nor from the wedding-feast reject Thou me,
For my soiled vest of immortality;
Bound hand and foot, and cast
In anguish that shall last!

When Thou, the nations ranged on either side,
The righteous from the sinners shalt divide,
Then give me to be found amongst Thy sheep,
Then from the goats Thy trembling servant keep:
That I may hear the voice
That bids Thy Saints rejoice!

When righteous inquisition shall be made,
And the books opened, and the thrones arrayed,
My soul, what plea to shield thee canst thou know,
Who hast no fruit of righteousness to show,
No holy deeds to bring
To CHRIST the LORD and King?,

I hear the rich man’s wail and bitter cry,
Out of the torments of eternity;
I know, beholding that devouring flame,
My guilt and condemnation are the same;
And spare me, LORD, I say,
In the great judgment Day!

The WORD and SPIRIT, with the FATHER ONE,
One Light and emanation of One Sun,
The WORD by generation, we adore,
The SPIRIT by procession, evermore;
And with creation raise
The thankful hymn of praise.

Hymns of the Eastern Church, 1866

Translator: John Mason Neale

John M. Neale's life is a study in contrasts: born into an evangelical home, he had sympathies toward Rome; in perpetual ill health, he was incredibly productive; of scholarly tem­perament, he devoted much time to improving social conditions in his area; often ignored or despised by his contemporaries, he is lauded today for his contributions to the church and hymnody. Neale's gifts came to expression early–he won the Seatonian prize for religious poetry eleven times while a student at Trinity College, Cambridge, England. He was ordained in the Church of England in 1842, but ill health and his strong support of the Oxford Movement kept him from ordinary parish ministry. So Neale spent the years between 1846 and 1866 as a warden of Sackvi… Go to person page >

Author: Saint Theodore, Studites

Theodore, St., of the Studium. One of the Greek hymnwriters. He was born at Constantinople, circa 759, and educated by his uncle, St. Plato. He was banished by Constantine, for his resolute refusal to acknowledge the Emperor’s illicit marriage with Theodora, in 797. On the accession of Irene (798), he was recalled, and enjoyed the favour of the Empress. In 809 he was again banished, for the old cause, refusal to acknowledge the legitimacy of Constantine's marriage. Recalled once more in 811, he was imprisoned and again banished for his defence of the Icons, under Leo the Armenian. He was recalled a third time at the death of Leo, and died Nov. 11, 826 (Dr. Neale adds, "in banishment"). He succeeded his uncle, St. Plato, as Hegumen of the… Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: The Day is Near, the Judgment is at Hand
Translator: John Mason Neale (1862)
Author: Saint Theodore, Studites (826)
Meter: 10.10.10.10.6.6
Language: English
Copyright: Public Domain

Timeline

Instances

Instances (1 - 4 of 4)
Page Scan

Christ in Song #366

Page Scan

Hymns and Poetry of the Eastern Church #148

TextPage Scan

Hymns of the Eastern Church (5th ed.) #178

The Invalid's Hymn-book #34

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