Title: Lo! He Comes with Clouds Descending, 1758
Author: Charles Wesley, 1707-1788
Scripture Verse: And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. – Mark 13:26 ESV
1 Lo! He comes with clouds descending, Once for favored sinners slain;
Thousand thousand saints attending Swell the triumph of his train:
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia! Christ the Lord returns to reign.
2 Ev'ry eye shall now behold him Robed in glorious majesty;
Those who set at nought and sold him, Pierced and nailed him to the tree,
Deeply wailing, deeply wailing, deeply wailing, Shall their true Messiah see.
3 Those dear tokens of his Passion Still his dazzling body bears,
Cause of endless exultation To his ransomed worshipers.
With what rapture, with what rapture, with what rapture Gaze we on those glorious scars!
4 Yea, amen, let all adore thee, High on thine eternal throne;
Savior, take the pow'r and glory, Claim the kingdom as thine own.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia! Thou shalt reign, and thou alone!
What makes a hymn Lutheran? If you page through any Lutheran hymnal, you will notice that a large percentage of the hymns and songs contained therein do not come from authors with a Lutheran background. In the past, some have expressed concern about this. In 1931, a Norwegian-American Lutheran leader named Paul Glasoe posed the question in the periodical Lutheran Herald: “Are we singing our children out of the Lutheran church?” His fear was that if Lutherans only know hymns from Methodist, Baptist, and other sources, they will not come to appreciate anything distinctive that Lutherans have to offer the Christian world.
This is a valid concern, and in some Lutheran congregations in North America, it is actually rare to hear hymns written by Lutherans. Perhaps a congregation might know Martin Luther’s famous hymn “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” or Martin Rinkhart’s great hymn of thanksgiving “Now Thank We All Our God,” but nothing much beyond that. Especially over the course of the twentieth century, as Lutherans in America moved out of ethnic enclaves, they came to adopt the English-language hymnody of other traditions.
While there is value in learning and singing hymns from Lutheran sources, to which my list of fifty-two favorite hymns testifies, it would be a mistake to think that only hymns written by Lutherans can communicate the Christian faith to us. Indeed, an American Lutheran missionary to China named N. Astrup Larsen argued in the twentieth century that any hymn that speaks of God’s unconditional love for us in Jesus should be considered “Lutheran,” regardless of who wrote it. With any hymn text, we should ask whether the words speak to or assume the themes of God’s grace alone, faith in Christ alone, and Scripture alone as the basis of our teaching. If so, then we have the freedom to sing such hymns and songs joyfully.
As Lutherans in America began to transition from the use of the old European languages such as German, Norwegian, Swedish, and others, they often did not have good English translations of hymns from their native countries. Hence, they began to rely heavily on the English hymns of people like Isaac Watts (author of “Joy to the World,” among many others) and Charles Wesley, the author of this week’s hymn.
Charles Wesley and his brother John were the originators of the English Methodist movement that began at Oxford University in the early 1700s. They did not intend to begin a new denominational tradition called “Methodist”; their revival was carried out within and in support of the Church of England (Anglican Church). Both John and Charles were ordained as priests in the Church of England, but over time a rift developed between the Methodists and the officialdom of the church, and so began the independent Methodist/Wesleyan movement.
John Wesley is often considered the “face” of the historic Methodist tradition, but Charles’ contribution is equally significant and has had an arguably wider impact on the Christian world. A prolific author of hymns, Charles is known for such gems as “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” “Jesus, Lover of My Soul,” “And Can it Be,” “Christ, Whose Glory Fills the Skies,” “Christ the Lord Is Risen Today,” and “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling.”
The season of Advent, the roughly four weeks that precede Christmas, calls to mind the arrival of Jesus Christ in our world, past, present, and future. Even as we look back to Christ’s first Advent, we are also called to look forward to his second Advent, when he, in the words of the Apostles’ Creed, “will come again to judge the living and the dead.” Charles Wesley’s great hymn “Lo! He Comes with Clouds Descending” assists us in that task. Sung often to the majestic tune "Helmsley," these words call to mind the promise of Jesus to return “with the clouds” and bring this present age to a close.
How do we receive the second Advent of our Lord Jesus Christ? An uncomfortable thought for most of us, the second verse of Wesley’s hymn speaks of those who “set at naught” the work of Jesus, disregarding him. There were those long ago who did so when they “pierced and nailed him to the tree.” But even now there are those who hold him in contempt. Upon the coming of Christ, Wesley describes their reaction as “deeply wailing.”
Yet the third verse provides us with the good news that even though we, by our sin, have contributed to Jesus’ wounds as he was “pierced and nailed to the tree,” we can by faith see those still visible scars as good news for our salvation. His “dazzling body” still bears those scars as a testimony to his suffering on our behalf, and we are called, by faith, to look with gratitude upon them. Jesus endured shame, scorn, abandonment, and forsakenness for us. When he comes again, by faith we can receive him and “gaze upon those glorious scars” with joy at the great battle he fought for us.
At the link below, you can find a video of an Anglican congregation singing Wesley’s hymn during Advent of 2012:
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=lo+he+comes+with+clouds+descending+youtube&iax=videos&ia=videos&iai=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DRPmO75cXXcM
*Part of this reflection was inspired by Gracia Grindal's article "What Makes a Hymn Lutheran?" found on pages 479-481 of "ReClaim: Lutheran Hymnal for Church and Home."
Author: Charles Wesley, 1707-1788
Scripture Verse: And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. – Mark 13:26 ESV
1 Lo! He comes with clouds descending, Once for favored sinners slain;
Thousand thousand saints attending Swell the triumph of his train:
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia! Christ the Lord returns to reign.
2 Ev'ry eye shall now behold him Robed in glorious majesty;
Those who set at nought and sold him, Pierced and nailed him to the tree,
Deeply wailing, deeply wailing, deeply wailing, Shall their true Messiah see.
3 Those dear tokens of his Passion Still his dazzling body bears,
Cause of endless exultation To his ransomed worshipers.
With what rapture, with what rapture, with what rapture Gaze we on those glorious scars!
4 Yea, amen, let all adore thee, High on thine eternal throne;
Savior, take the pow'r and glory, Claim the kingdom as thine own.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia! Thou shalt reign, and thou alone!
What makes a hymn Lutheran? If you page through any Lutheran hymnal, you will notice that a large percentage of the hymns and songs contained therein do not come from authors with a Lutheran background. In the past, some have expressed concern about this. In 1931, a Norwegian-American Lutheran leader named Paul Glasoe posed the question in the periodical Lutheran Herald: “Are we singing our children out of the Lutheran church?” His fear was that if Lutherans only know hymns from Methodist, Baptist, and other sources, they will not come to appreciate anything distinctive that Lutherans have to offer the Christian world.
This is a valid concern, and in some Lutheran congregations in North America, it is actually rare to hear hymns written by Lutherans. Perhaps a congregation might know Martin Luther’s famous hymn “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” or Martin Rinkhart’s great hymn of thanksgiving “Now Thank We All Our God,” but nothing much beyond that. Especially over the course of the twentieth century, as Lutherans in America moved out of ethnic enclaves, they came to adopt the English-language hymnody of other traditions.
While there is value in learning and singing hymns from Lutheran sources, to which my list of fifty-two favorite hymns testifies, it would be a mistake to think that only hymns written by Lutherans can communicate the Christian faith to us. Indeed, an American Lutheran missionary to China named N. Astrup Larsen argued in the twentieth century that any hymn that speaks of God’s unconditional love for us in Jesus should be considered “Lutheran,” regardless of who wrote it. With any hymn text, we should ask whether the words speak to or assume the themes of God’s grace alone, faith in Christ alone, and Scripture alone as the basis of our teaching. If so, then we have the freedom to sing such hymns and songs joyfully.
As Lutherans in America began to transition from the use of the old European languages such as German, Norwegian, Swedish, and others, they often did not have good English translations of hymns from their native countries. Hence, they began to rely heavily on the English hymns of people like Isaac Watts (author of “Joy to the World,” among many others) and Charles Wesley, the author of this week’s hymn.
Charles Wesley and his brother John were the originators of the English Methodist movement that began at Oxford University in the early 1700s. They did not intend to begin a new denominational tradition called “Methodist”; their revival was carried out within and in support of the Church of England (Anglican Church). Both John and Charles were ordained as priests in the Church of England, but over time a rift developed between the Methodists and the officialdom of the church, and so began the independent Methodist/Wesleyan movement.
John Wesley is often considered the “face” of the historic Methodist tradition, but Charles’ contribution is equally significant and has had an arguably wider impact on the Christian world. A prolific author of hymns, Charles is known for such gems as “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” “Jesus, Lover of My Soul,” “And Can it Be,” “Christ, Whose Glory Fills the Skies,” “Christ the Lord Is Risen Today,” and “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling.”
The season of Advent, the roughly four weeks that precede Christmas, calls to mind the arrival of Jesus Christ in our world, past, present, and future. Even as we look back to Christ’s first Advent, we are also called to look forward to his second Advent, when he, in the words of the Apostles’ Creed, “will come again to judge the living and the dead.” Charles Wesley’s great hymn “Lo! He Comes with Clouds Descending” assists us in that task. Sung often to the majestic tune "Helmsley," these words call to mind the promise of Jesus to return “with the clouds” and bring this present age to a close.
How do we receive the second Advent of our Lord Jesus Christ? An uncomfortable thought for most of us, the second verse of Wesley’s hymn speaks of those who “set at naught” the work of Jesus, disregarding him. There were those long ago who did so when they “pierced and nailed him to the tree.” But even now there are those who hold him in contempt. Upon the coming of Christ, Wesley describes their reaction as “deeply wailing.”
Yet the third verse provides us with the good news that even though we, by our sin, have contributed to Jesus’ wounds as he was “pierced and nailed to the tree,” we can by faith see those still visible scars as good news for our salvation. His “dazzling body” still bears those scars as a testimony to his suffering on our behalf, and we are called, by faith, to look with gratitude upon them. Jesus endured shame, scorn, abandonment, and forsakenness for us. When he comes again, by faith we can receive him and “gaze upon those glorious scars” with joy at the great battle he fought for us.
At the link below, you can find a video of an Anglican congregation singing Wesley’s hymn during Advent of 2012:
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=lo+he+comes+with+clouds+descending+youtube&iax=videos&ia=videos&iai=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DRPmO75cXXcM
*Part of this reflection was inspired by Gracia Grindal's article "What Makes a Hymn Lutheran?" found on pages 479-481 of "ReClaim: Lutheran Hymnal for Church and Home."