JESUS CHRIST >> SECOND ADVENT
SDAH 217
The church has waited long
Her absent Lord to see;
And still in loneliness she waits,
A friendless stranger she.
Text
1
The church has waited long
Her absent Lord to see;
And still in loneliness she waits,
A friendless stranger she.
2
How long, O Lord our God,
Holy and true and good,
Wilt Thou not judge Thy suffering church,
Her sighs and tears and blood?
3
We long to hear Thy voice,
To see Thee face to face,
To share Thy crown and glory then,
As now we share Thy grace.
4
Come, Lord, and wipe away
The curse, the sin, the stain,
And make this blighted world of ours
Thine own fair world again.
Hymn Info
Biblical Reference
(b) Rev 6:10 (d) 1 Thess 4:13 (e) Rev 22:4 (f) Rev 21:4
Author
Horatius Bonar (1808-1889)
Hymn Tune
GARDEN CITY
Metrical Number
S.M.
Composer
Horatio W. Parker (1863-1919)
Tune Source
1890
Theme
SECOND ADVENT
In a recent statement describing Horatius Bonar, this sums up the significance of his literary endeavors — “clearly one of the most valued evangelical writers of the 19th century and he has to be bracketed with J.C. Ryle and C.H. Spurgeon in his understanding of the power of the press and inputting it to extensive use.”
Who is Horatius Bonar and do we know any hymns he has written?
Notes
Get to know the hymns a little deeper with the SDA Hymnal Companion. Use our song leader’s notes to engage your congregation in singing with understanding. Even better, involve kids in learning this hymn with our homeschooling materials.
These words were written by Horatius Bonar (1808-1889; see SDAH 79) and published in his Bible Hymn Book, 1845. There were five stanzas of eight lines each, followed by a short refrain – “Come then, Lord Jesus, come,” which is the exact sentiment of Revelation 22:20: “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” As is to be expected in such a hymn, the Scripture allusions are all from the book of Revelation.
Bonar also wrote SDAH 79, “O Love of God, How Strong and True!”; SDAH 298, “I Lay My Sins on Jesus”; and SDAH 465, “I Heard the Voice of Jesus.”
Horatio William Parker was born in Auburndale, Massachusetts, on September 15, 1863. After a regular private school education, he became, at age 16, organist of a small church at Dedham, Massachusetts, and later at St. John’s in Roxbury. At 19 he traveled to Munich and studied music under Rheinberger and Abel. Back home in 1885, he served as a teacher at Long Island and at the National Conservatory in New York. After organ posts at several churches, he received the M.A. degree from Yale, remaining there be professor of music, and in 1904 dean of the school of music. He was conductor of choral groups in New York and Philadelphia, and of the New Heaven Symphony Orchestra. The musical editor of Episcopal Hymnal, 1892, he was also on the Joint Commission for their Hymnal, 1916. He died in Cedarhurst, New York, December 18,1919. His compositions included the oratorio Hora Novaissima, two operas, and works for orchestra, chorus, and organ. He is recognized as one of America’s distinguished composers. GARDEN CITY was composed in 1890 especially for dedication, of a new church building in Garden City, Long Island. Later Parker grew to dislike the tune immensely, and would have recalled it if that had been possible! Some have conjectured the reason might have been that the first musical phrase is repeated immediately, almost like a false start, bringing us half way through the hymn without really arriving anywhere.
-from Companion to the Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal by Wayne Hooper and Edward E. White
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