O Quickly Come, Great Judge Of All

O quickly come, great Judge of all;

For glorious will your advent be,

All shadows from the truth will fall,

O come and heal that we may see!

O quickly come, for doubt and fear

Like clouds dissolve when you are near.

O quickly come, great King of all;

Reign all around us and within;

Let sin no more our souls enthrall,

Let pain and sorrow die with sin:

O quickly come, for you alone

Can make your scattered people one.

O quickly come, true Life of all,

For death is mighty all around;

On ev’ry home its shadows fall,

On ev’ry heart its mark is found:

O quickly come, for grief and pain

Cannot obscure your glorious reign.

O quickly come, sure Light of all,

For gloomy night broods o’er our way;

And weakened souls begin to fall

With weary watching for the day:

O quickly come, for round your throne

No eye is blind, no night is known.

Tune: Das Neugeborne Kindelein (Jena) or Melita (Dykes) 88.88.88.88

Music: Melchior Vulpius, c. 1560-1616 (Jena) John Bacchus Dykes 1823-1876 (Dykes)

Text: Lawrence Tuttiette, 1825-1897, Hymns for Churchmen, 1854, alt