The Lord be with you
This coming Sunday we will be singing the seven verse hymn, “The Day Is Surely Drawing Near” (LSB 508). Verses one through three will be our opening hymn and verses four through seven will be our sermon hymn. Our hymn review committee marked this hymn as “known,” but not “well-known.” Therefore, I expect about half of the congregation to know the hymn while to the other half it will be new. So I’ve decided to do this hymn-study to help us. It is the recommended “office hymn” of the day, so I expect many of our sister congregations will also be using it.
The text for “The Day Is Surely Drawing Near” was composed by Bartholomäus Ringwaldt (1532-99). The melody in our hymnal is the original one. The setting is the one used in The Lutheran Hymnal, which explains how some of our members have come to know the hymn. Ringwaldt was one of the most prolific hymn writers of his generation. In addition to this hymn, the hymn “O Holy Spirit, Grant Us Grace” (LSB 693) in our hymnal was written by him.
Like most all early hymns, the title of the hymn is simply the first line of the hymn. The text follows.
The day is surely drawing near
When Jesus, God’s anointed,
In all His power shall appear
As judge whom God appointed.
Then fright shall banish idle mirth,
And flames on flames shall ravage earth
As Scripture long has warned us.
The final trumpet then shall sound
And all the earth be shaken,
And all who rest beneath the ground
Shall from their sleep awaken.
But all who live will in that hour,
By God’s almighty, boundless pow’r,
Be changed at His commanding.
The books are opened then to all,
A record truly telling
What each has done, both great and small,
When he on earth was dwelling,
And ev’ry heart be clearly seen,
And all be known as they have been
In thoughts and words and actions.
Then woe to those who scorned the Lord
And sought but carnal pleasures,
Who here despised His precious Word
And loved their earthly treasures!
With shame and trembling they will stand
And at the judge’s stern command
To Satan be delivered.
My Savior paid the debt I owe
And for my sin was smitten;
Within the Book of Life I know
My name has now been written.
I will not doubt, for I am free,
And Satan cannot threaten me;
There is no condemnation!
May Christ our intercessor be
And through His blood and merit
Read from His book that we are free
With all who life inherit.
Then we shall see Him face to face,
With all His saints in that blest place
Which He has purchased for us.
O Jesus Christ, do not delay,
But hasten our salvation;
We often tremble on our way
In fear and tribulation.
O hear and grant our fervent plea:
Come, mighty judge, and set us free
From death and ev’ry evil.
This hymn expresses many of the key thoughts in the assigned readings for this coming Sunday. You can find those readings, my initial thoughts concerning them, and other information about our worship this coming Sunday, by going to the “Sunday Thoughts” post on our blog.
This hymn is obviously about the Second Coming of Jesus. Our Lord speaks of that great day in Luke 21:25-36.
25 “And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, 26people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
29 And he told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. 30As soon as they come out in leaf, you see for yourselves and know that the summer is already near. 31So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. 32Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all has taken place. 33Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
34 “But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap. 35For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
One of the elements that signal the return of Jesus’ is great cataclysmic events in nature. This is seen especially in verse one of our hymn: “And flames on flames shall ravage earth” and verse two: “And all the earth be shaken”. There is nothing in the words of Jesus which makes us assume all of these disasters in nature are the result of direct divine intervention. We may safely assume that humanity is also a cause as we abuse God’s gifts in nature. If those people who believe in global warming, caused by humanity, are correct, and if this indeed is causing weather changes which explains the rise of natural disasters, then we can see such things as partial fulfillment of Jesus’ words.
In Luke 21:27 we read that Jesus will return “in a cloud with power and great glory.” While the cloud spoken of by Jesus is not found in the hymn, it is found elsewhere in scripture (Matthew 24:30; Mark 14:62; Acts 1:9-11; etc.). Also mentioned is “power and great glory,” and that is found in the hymn. So, in verse one, we sing Jesus, “In all His power shall appear”. Though the words “power” and “glory” are not used much, the very images Ringwaldt uses underscore this thought.
In Matthew 25:31-46 we again find Jesus speaking about his return.
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ 45Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
Here Jesus is focusing on the Final Judgment. All humanity is before him. To those who believed in him, the lambs, Jesus says, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” The works that Jesus sights next are evidence of their faith, not the reason they enter heaven. This is brought out by our Lord’s words when he tells them it is their inheritance which was prepared for them from the foundation of the world. Not only is an inheritance a gift given after the death of the giver, but this inheritance was prepared “from the foundation of the world,” long before any good work by these people might be done. These thoughts, then, accent the grace note of entrance into eternal bliss. Those who go “into eternal fire” have no evidence of faith in Jesus because they do not have faith.
Christ is called “judge” in the first, fourth and seven verses of our hymn. In verse two we sing about the universal nature of this judgment, not only of those alive when Christ returns, but also those who have died. All the dead are raised to stand in this great court. The idea that our works are also remembered, as evidence of our faith or lack thereof, is found in verse three. The ones to whom Jesus says, “Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels” are sung about in verse four.
Jesus, of course, is not the only person in the New Testament who speaks and teaches about the Second Coming. In 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18, St. Paul wrote:
13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18Therefore encourage one another with these words.
Here, St. Paul speaks about the general resurrection of the dead which we heard Jesus speaking of in Matthew. Paul connects our resurrection to the resurrection of Jesus. This connection is especially brought out in verses five and six in our hymn. At the Second Coming it will make no difference if we are currently living or dead (asleep). All will be raised. In verse two we sing, “And all who rest beneath the ground Shall from their sleep awaken.”
In verse two we sing that, at the resurrection, we will “be changed at His commanding.” This is written about in 1 Corinthians 15:51–57.
51 Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. 54When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:
“Death is swallowed up in victory.”
55 “O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul gives special attention to the fact that we will be changed when Christ returns. Believers will be raised imperishable and immortal. Such bodies are perfect. This happens in a “twinkling of an eye” when the “last trumpet” sounds. This final trumpet is referred to in the opening words of verse two. The final words of the verse refer to the change, even though it doesn’t describe it, just states that we will be changed.
Paul also taught the Thessalonians (4:13-18) about the return of Christ. He wrote:
13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18Therefore encourage one another with these words.
Of course, as the topic is the same as that of previous Bible verses sighted, many of the same ideas we have touched on are present in this reading. Paul says that it doesn’t make any difference whether we are alive or dead when Jesus returns. The dead are raised and then the living joins them. We are changed into those perfect bodies. Those who are raised to eternal life “will always be with the Lord.” In verse six we sing about “all who life inherit.” That is the eternal life in the presence of the Lord Paul wrote about. That we are with Jesus is sung about in that same verse for “then we shall see Him face to face.”
Our reading from Paul ends with the words, “Therefore encourage one another with these words.” That is exactly what we are doing when we sing a hymn like “The Day Is Surely Drawing Near.” Through all of our trials in life, Christians can encourage brothers and sisters in the faith by reminding one another of our glorious future. We can do so, not only by knowing scripture passages like the ones used in this study, but also with the words of hymns like this one.
This hymn could lead us to many other passages in the Bible but I need to bring this study to an end. It is already a bit long. Still, I hope it will aid in singing “The Day Is Surely Drawing Near” with some gusto this coming Sunday.
Blessings in Christ,
Pastor Rickert