Hark! A Thrilling Voice is Sounding: Advent Song 3

In Luke’s telling of the Christ child’s coming there is music running throughout. These songs are both substantially important, but also there is something to gain in recognizing that the joy of Advent is best expressed in song. So I sat around googleing Advent hymns until I found one that I thought had the, ‘oh buddy let’s do a holy spirit boogie’ attitude. I ended up settling on ‘Hark! A Thrilling Voice is Sounding’ because it weaves the newness that came with the coming of Christ to the continued call and potential of us to be Children of the light and live a life inspired by the Christ child.

Hark! a thrilling voice is sounding.
‘Christ is nigh,’ it seems to say;
‘Cast away the works of darkness,
O ye children of the day.’

Wakened by the solemn warning,
let the earth-bound soul arise;
Christ, her Sun, all sloth dispelling,
shines upon the morning skies.

Lo! the Lamb, so long expected,
comes with pardon down from heaven;
let us all, with tears of sorrow,
pray that we may be forgiven;

that when next he comes with glory,
and the world is wrapped in fear,
with his mercy he may shield us,
and with words of love draw near.

Honor, glory, love, and blessing
to the Father and the Son,
with the everlasting Spirit,
while eternal ages run.