Brethren, the end is near

Verse 1
Brethren, the end is near,
Our Lord shall soon appear:
These the days of vengeance be,
Rumour’d ills the land distress;
Wars on wars ye hear and see,
Ushering in the Prince of Peace.

Verse 2
His judgments are abroad,
Forerunners of our God;
Nation against nation fights,
Kingdoms against kingdoms rise;
Signs above, and fearful sights
Speak the anger of the skies.

Verse 3
The powers of heaven he shakes;
Earth to her centre quakes;
Famine shews her meagre face;
Pestilence stalks close behind;
Woes surround the sinful race;
Wrath abides on all mankind.

Verse 4
The nations are distress’d,
The wicked cannot rest:
No, in sin they sleep no more,
Tost with sad perplexity;
Swell the waves, and work, and roar,
Men are like the troubled sea.

Verse 5
Terror their heart assails,
Their heart thro’ terror fails;
Fails, o’erwhelm’d with huge dismay,
Looking for the plagues to come,
Shrinking from their evil day,
Fainting at their instant doom.

Verse 6
But ye that fear the Lord,
Fear neither plague nor sword;
Jesus bids your care depart,
Ye in Jesus’ love are blest;
Sprinkled is your peaceful heart:
Now expect the perfect rest.

Verse 7
These threatning clouds look thro’,
Good they portend to you:
Lift your heads, with joy look up,
Find your full redemption near;
See your soul’s desire and hope,
See your glorious Lord appear.

Verse 8
His near approach ye know,
Treated like him below;
This the word that Jesus said,
Now your Master’s lot ye find,
Mock’d, rejected, and betray’d,
Hated now by all mankind.

Verse 9
In calm and quiet peace
Your patient souls possess;
God hath kept your innocence,
God shall still his own defend:
Rest in him, your sure defence,
Suffer on, and wait the end.

Verse 10
His mercy’s wings are spread,
To guard your naked head;
None can hurt you now, or grieve,
Hated tho’ ye be by all:
No, without your Saviour’s leave,
Not one sacred hair shall fall.

Hymnal/Album: Introduced in Hymns for Times of Trouble and Persecution, published by John and Charles Wesley (London, 1744). Published in The Poetical Works of John and Charles Wesley, Collected and Arranged by G. Osborn, Vol. 4 (London: Wesleyan-Methodist Conference Office, 1869), page 17.
Publishing: Public Domain