Lo He Comes with Clouds Descending - Traditional

Lo! He comes with clouds descending,
Once for favored sinners slain;
Thousand thousand saints attending
Swell the triumph of His train:
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
God appears on earth to reign.

Every eye shall now behold Him
Robed in dreadful majesty;
Those who set at naught and sold Him,
Pierced and nailed Him to the tree,
Deeply wailing, deeply wailing, deeply wailing,
Shall the true Messiah see.

Those dear tokens of His passion
Still His dazzling body bears,
Cause of endless exultation
To His ransomed worshipers;
With what rapture, with what rapture, with what rapture
Gaze we on those glorious scars!

Yea, Amen! let all adore Thee,
High on Thine eternal throne;
Savior, take the power and glory,
Claim the kingdom for Thine own:
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Thou shalt reign, and Thou alone.

Lo He Comes with Clouds Descending lyrics were refined by Charles Wesley and are usually sung to the stirring tune Helmsley. The song describes the final judgment and the universal recognition of the Savior who was once pierced for humanity. It creates a sense of awe and preparation for the 'Day of the Lord.' By singing these lyrics the faithful look beyond the manger to the ultimate victory of God's kingdom and the restoration of all things.