The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
2 Peter 3:10
Words: John Needham, Hymns Devotional and Moral on Various Subjects (Bristol, England: S. Farley, 1768), number 236.
Music: Spires from Geistliche Lieder, by Joseph Klug, 1543. Harmony by Johann S. Bach (🔊 pdf nwc).
If you know where to get a good picture of Needham (head & shoulders, at least 200×300 pixels),
The day, the solemn day shall come,
The long delayéd day of doom;
The hour when God shall awful rise,
And fears a guilty world surprise.
Heaven’s greatest light, the glorious sun,
No more his wonted course shall run;
No more divide the varied year,
Obliged to quit his lofty sphere.
The moon, and stars extinguished quite,
No more shall rule the silent night;
Nor silver planets longer run
In dance harmonious round the sun.
No sooner shall th’Almighty call
But flames shall seize this earthly ball;
And heav’n’s high frame without delay
With hideous crash shall pass away.
Their seats the frighted mountains quit,
The shrinking seas their shores forget;
In rapid streams of mingled fire
The shifting elements expire.
These awful scenes my soul bring near,
For this tremendous day prepare;
How just, how holy must thou be
If thou with joy this day wouldst see?