Words: From A Com­pil­a­tion of Gen­u­ine Church Mu­sic, by , fourth ed­i­tion, 1847.

Music: Fi­nal De­ci­sion, from A Com­pil­a­tion of Gen­u­ine Church Mu­sic, by , fourth ed­i­tion, 1847. Alternate tune:


That great, tremendous day’s approaching,
That awful scene is drawing nigh,
Which was foretold by ancient prophets,
Decreed from all eternity.
Prepare my soul, reflect and wonder,
That awful scene in drawing near,
When you shall see the great transaction,
When Christ in judgment shall appear.

See nature standing in amazement,
To hear the last loud trumpet sound;
Arise, ye dead, and come to judgment,
Ye nations of this world around:
The orbèd lamps all veiled in sackcloth,
No more their shining circuit run,
The wheel of time now stopped forever,
Eternal things are now begun.

Green graveyards, and the tombs of marble,
Give up their dead, both small and great;
And the whole world, both saint and sinner,
Are coming to the judgment seat;
See Jesus on the throne of justice,
In clouds descending from the sky,
With countless hosts of shining angels,
With hallelujahs shout for joy.