The Chariot

1THE chariot! The chariot! Its wheels roll in fire,
As the Lord cometh down in the pomp of his ire:
Lo, self-moving it drives on its pathway of cloud,
And the heavens with the burden of Godhead are bow'd.

2The glory, the glory around him are pour'd,
Mighty hosts of the angels that wait on the Lord;
And the glorified saints and the martyrs are there,
And there ill who the palm-wreaths of victory wear,

3The trumpet! The trumpet! The dead have all heard;
Lo, the depths of the stone-cover'd charnel are stirr'd;
From the sea, from the earth, from the south, from the north,
All the vast generations of men are come forth.

4The judgment! The judgment! The thrones are all set,
Where the Lamb and the white vested elders are met;
There all flesh is at once in the sight of the Lord,
And the doom of eternity hangs on his word.

5O mercy! O mercy! Look down from above,
Great Creator, on us, thy sad children with love;
When beneath to their darkness the wicked are driven,
May the justified saints find a ransom in heaven.