Hymns With A Message: SOON AND VERY SOON

Sunday, July 11, 2021

SOON AND VERY SOON

I just watched a classic Billy Graham video on "The Second Coming of Christ". It was impressive and stirring. It should be viewed today more often because it clearly outlined what is ahead for this crazy mixed up world. It is our hope!

For centuries, since Bible times, people have looked for the return of Christ. He clearly said that He would come again but He never said when. He did give us some signs of His return, but only God the Father knows when that will be. And so we watch and wait.

Over the years many hymn writers have written of this return in different words and styles. "Are You Ready For The Bridegroom", "Jesus May Come Today", "Some Day The Silver Cord Will Break", "Jesus Is Coming Again", "When The Trumpet Of The Lord Shall Sound", "Christ Returneth", "What If It Were Today?", "He Is Coming Again", just to name a few. Unfortunately, at least in my estimation, few hymns are sung on this topic today.

In 1978 Andrea Crouch (1942–2015) penned the words of the upbeat song "Soon And Very Soon". It is based on Revelation 21:3-4: "And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Look! God's dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.'" (KJV)

While it does not appear in many hymnals, a bridge between the stanzas reveals that though the hymn text is pointed toward heaven, the composer acknowledged our earthly struggles: there are "rivers we must cross" and "mountains we must climb", but "God will supply the strength we need . . . till we reach the other side." What a powerful truth!

Born in San Francisco on July 1, 1942, and raised in Los Angeles, Andrae Edward Crouch was the son of bivocational-pastor parents Benjamin and Catherine Crouch. He has recounted that he received the gift of music as a child, when his father was called as a guest preacher and pastoral candidate to a small rural church that had no musicians. He began playing for them at the age of 11. He wrote his first gospel song at 14, and formed his first band, the COGICS, in 1960. He wrote his first well-known song, "The Blood Will Never Lose Its Power", at the age of 15. In 1965 he formed The Disciples, which lasted until 1979, and as a protege of Audrey Mieir, Ralph Carmichael, and other leading Contemporary Christian Music artists of the time, went on to win a total of nine Grammies, and numerous other awards. In 2014, Crouch was hospitalized for treatment of pneumonia and congestive heart failure. In 2015, he was readmitted to the hospital following a heart attack and he died there five days later, at the age of 72. No more waiting for him, he has already seen the King!

We don't know when we will be taken home or when the King will come again. But we do know it will happen ... soon and very soon. We need to live each day in a godly manner for it could be today. Hallelujah, hallelujah, we're going to see the King!

1 Soon and very soon we are goin' to see the King,

Soon and very soon we are goin' to see the King,

Hallelujah, Hallelujah,

we're goin' to see the King!

2 No more cryin' there we are goin' to see the King,

No more cryin' there we are goin' to see the King,

Hallelujah, Hallelujah,

we're goin' to see the King!

3 No more dying there we are goin' to see the King,

No more dying there we are goin' to see the King,

Hallelujah, Hallelujah,

we're goin' to see the King!