Hark! A Thrilling Voice Is Sounding (Evangelical Lutheran Worship 246)
1 Hark! a thrilling voice is sounding!
“Christ is near,” we hear it say.
“Cast away the works of darkness
all you children of the day!”
2 Wakened by the solemn warning,
from earth’s bondage let us rise;
Christ, our sun, all sloth dispelling,
shines upon the morning skies.
3 See the Lamb, so long expected,
comes with pardon down from heav’n.
Let us haste, with tears of sorrow,
one and all, to be forgiv’n;
4 So, when next he comes in glory
and the world is wrapped in fear,
he will shield us with his mercy
and with words of love draw near.
5 Honor, glory, might, and blessing
to the Father and the Son
with the everliving Spirit
while unending ages run!
Text: Latin hymn, 1632; Music: William H. Monk; Public Domain
Devotion
“See the Lamb, so long expected … ” This verse of “Hark! A Thrilling Voice Is Sounding” begins with a resplendent sight come “down from heav’n,” but ends with “tears of sorrow, one and all.” It’s an image of repentance, deeply rooted in the liturgical lexicon of the Advent season. The Lamb coming down from heaven, met by the tearful haste of one and all to be forgiven.
In Martin Luther’s 1522 sermon for the first Sunday in Advent, he said, “He comes, comes unto you. Yea, verily, you go not to Him, neither do you fetch Him. He is too high for you, and too far away.” The coming of Advent is both harrowing and heartening. Advent’s tears are both sorrowful and joyful.
Luther continues, “Therefore learn here from the Gospel what happens when God begins to build us into the likeness of Him, and what is the beginning of saintliness. There is no other beginning than that your king comes unto you, and begins the work in you.”
Prayer
Holy One, who began your work in us, continue to work in us and through us the new beginnings that you are bringing into the world. Amen.