Lo! He Comes with Clouds Descending is an Advent hymn by Charles Wesley, published in 1758 and partly based on an earlier hymn by John Cennick. It is a hymn about the second coming of Christ, sung in many churches on the first Sunday of Advent. It is built almost line by line on Revelation 1:7: Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him. The same Jesus who was once slain returns in glory with His saints, still bearing the scars of the cross, and the hymn ends with the prayer of the Bible's last chapter, O come quickly.
Advent is usually thought of as getting ready for Christmas, but in the old church calendar it looked two ways: back to the first coming of Christ in Bethlehem and forward to His second coming in glory. Lo! He Comes with Clouds Descending is the great hymn of that second look. Charles Wesley wrote it in 1758, borrowing the shape of a hymn by his friend John Cennick, and editors have mixed the two texts ever since. The version below is the four-verse text of Hymns Ancient and Modern (1861), the form most churches sing. After the words come 12 KJV passages on the return of Christ, the One who was pierced, and the kingdom He will claim.
Lo! He Comes with Clouds Descending: the words
Verse 1
Lo! He comes in clouds descending,
Once for favoured sinners slain;
Thousand thousand saints attending
Swell the triumph of His train:
Alleluia!
Christ appears on earth again.
Verse 2
Every eye shall now behold Him
Robed in dreadful majesty;
They who set at naught and sold Him,
Pierced and nailed Him to the tree,
Deeply wailing,
Shall the true Messiah see.
Verse 3
Those dear tokens of His Passion
Still His dazzling Body bears;
Cause of endless exultation
To His ransomed worshippers;
With what rapture
Gaze we on those glorious scars.
Verse 4
Yea, Amen, let all adore Thee,
High on Thine eternal throne;
Saviour, take the power and glory;
Claim the kingdom for Thine own:
O come quickly;
Alleluia! Amen.
Words: Charles Wesley (1707-1788), from his Hymns of Intercession for All Mankind (1758), drawing on an earlier hymn by John Cennick (1752). Text copied from Hymns Ancient and Modern (London, 1861), Advent section, printed under Behold He cometh with clouds, checked against Christ in Song (Philip Schaff, 1869), which prints Wesley's own wording, and The Christian Psalmist (1825), hymn 312 (Internet Archive scans). Other hymnals end verse 1 with God appears on earth to reign. Public domain.
Lo! He comes in clouds descending: the promise of His return
1. Revelation 1:7
"Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen."
This is the verse printed above the hymn in Hymns Ancient and Modern, and almost every line of Wesley's text grows out of it. John is opening his book of visions, and before any beast or trumpet appears he gives the end of the story: Jesus is coming back, and no one will miss it. Every eye shall see him. The return of Christ will not be a secret event that only a few hear about. It will be public, visible and final. The verse closes with Even so, Amen, the same words Wesley uses to open his last verse: Yea, Amen, let all adore Thee.
2. Acts 1:11
"Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven."
Forty days after the resurrection, the disciples watched Jesus taken up into heaven, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. Two men in white stood by them and said, this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. Notice the words this same Jesus. The One who returns is not a different figure but the Jesus who walked with them, ate with them and died for them. He left in a cloud; He will come with clouds. That is why the hymn can call Him Once for favoured sinners slain. See our Bible verses about the rapture.
3. Daniel 7:13
"I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him."
Centuries before Bethlehem, Daniel saw in a night vision one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven. He was brought before the Ancient of days and given a kingdom that would never pass away. Jesus took this title, the Son of man, as His favorite name for Himself, and at His trial He told the high priest that they would see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven (Mark 14:62). The clouds in Wesley's first line are not weather. In the Bible they are the sign of God's own presence and glory, as at Sinai and over the tabernacle.
4. Matthew 24:30
"And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory."
On the Mount of Olives, just days before the cross, Jesus told His disciples what His coming would look like: they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. He also said that all the tribes of the earth would mourn. Wesley picks up that mourning in his second verse with the words Deeply wailing. For those who rejected Him, the return of Christ will bring grief. For those who belong to Him, it is the day they have prayed for. The same event looks very different depending on where a person stands with Jesus.
Every eye shall now behold Him: the One who was pierced
5. Zechariah 12:10
"And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn."
The prophet Zechariah heard God say of His people, they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son. John quotes this verse twice, once at the cross (John 19:37) and once in Revelation 1:7. Wesley's second verse is a meditation on it: They who set at naught and sold Him, pierced and nailed Him to the tree, will see Him as the true Messiah. But notice what comes first in Zechariah: God pours out the spirit of grace and of supplications. The mourning He describes can lead to repentance, and repentance to mercy.
6. John 20:27
"Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing."
A week after Easter, Jesus showed Thomas His wounds: Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side. The risen body of Jesus still carried the marks of the nails and the spear. Wesley's third verse says the same will be true when He comes again: Those dear tokens of His Passion still His dazzling Body bears. The scars are not a flaw to be healed away. They are His glory, proof forever of what He did for His people. Thomas answered, My Lord and my God, and that is the right response still. See our Bible verses about the cross.
7. Revelation 5:6
"And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth."
When John looked toward the throne of heaven, expecting to see the Lion of the tribe of Judah, he saw instead a Lamb as it had been slain. That is the Jesus of heaven: not a conqueror who has forgotten the cross, but the Lamb who bears its marks at the very center of the throne. Wesley's line With what rapture gaze we on those glorious scars comes straight from this scene. The worship of heaven, recorded a few verses later, is the song of the redeemed to the Lamb who was slain and has redeemed them to God by His blood.
8. Isaiah 53:3
"He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not."
He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. Isaiah wrote these words about the suffering servant of the Lord seven hundred years before the cross. Wesley's second verse turns the picture around. The One who was despised and rejected, set at naught and sold for thirty pieces of silver, is the One every eye will see robed in dreadful majesty. The second coming does not erase the first. It shows who the man of sorrows always was. Advent holds both together: the Babe in the manger, the Man on the cross, and the King on the clouds.
Claim the kingdom for Thine own: O come quickly
9. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
"For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord."
Paul comforted the church at Thessalonica, which was grieving its dead, with this promise: the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, the dead in Christ will rise first, and those still alive will be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wesley's Thousand thousand saints attending pictures that meeting. The return of Christ is not only a day of judgment. For believers it is a reunion, with the Lord and with one another. Paul ends, Wherefore comfort one another with these words. See our Bible verses about heaven.
10. Jude 1:14
"And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,"
Jude quotes an old prophecy of Enoch: Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints. It is the oldest picture in Scripture of the Lord returning with a great company, and it lies behind the hymn's Thousand thousand saints attending swell the triumph of His train. A train here is a procession, the long line of followers who come behind a king. When Christ returns He will not come alone. Everyone who has belonged to Him through the ages will share in His triumph. Jude wrote to warn against false teachers, and he reminded his readers that the coming Lord will set every wrong right.
11. Revelation 11:15
"And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever."
When the seventh trumpet sounds in Revelation, great voices in heaven say, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. That is the prayer of Wesley's last verse: Saviour, take the power and glory; claim the kingdom for Thine own. The hymn does not pray for heaven as an escape from the world. It prays for the world to be given back to its rightful King. Handel set this verse in the Hallelujah Chorus, and it belongs to Advent as much as to Easter. See our Bible verses about Jesus as King.
12. Revelation 22:20
"He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus."
These are nearly the last words of the Bible. Jesus says, Surely I come quickly, and the church answers, Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. Wesley ends his hymn with the same answer: O come quickly; Alleluia! Amen. Quickly does not mean the date is known. Jesus said no one knows the day or the hour. It means His coming is certain and could be at any time, so believers live ready. Advent is the season for praying this prayer on purpose, while the shops are busy with Christmas, remembering that the King who came once is coming again.
A short prayer
Lord Jesus, You came once, born in Bethlehem and slain for sinners, and You have promised to come again with clouds. Keep me ready for that day. Thank You that You still bear the marks of the cross, the proof of Your love for me. Where I have set You at naught, give me grace to mourn and turn to You while there is time. Let me be among the saints who meet You with joy. Take the power and the glory and claim the kingdom for Your own. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. Amen.
Go deeper: a SOAP study prompt
Pick one verse above and write: - Scripture: copy the verse by hand. - Observation: what does it say? Who is speaking, to whom? - Application: what does it mean for you today? - Prayer: turn it into a two-line prayer.
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Frequently asked questions
Who wrote Lo! He Comes with Clouds Descending?
Charles Wesley (1707-1788) published it in 1758 in his Hymns of Intercession for All Mankind. He based its shape on a 1752 hymn by John Cennick, Lo, He cometh, countless trumpets, and in 1760 Martin Madan combined verses from both. Most hymnals print four verses mainly from Wesley, as we do above.
Is Lo! He Comes with Clouds Descending an Advent hymn?
Yes. In the Church of England and many other churches it is the traditional hymn for the first Sunday of Advent, which falls on November 29 in 2026. Advent prepares for Christmas and also for the second coming of Christ, and this hymn is about the second coming.
What Bible verse is Lo! He Comes with Clouds Descending based on?
The hymn is based mainly on Revelation 1:7 (Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him). It also echoes Zechariah 12:10, Jude 1:14 (ten thousands of his saints), Revelation 5:6 (a Lamb as it had been slain) and Revelation 22:20 (Surely I come quickly).
Why are there different versions of the words?
Because three early writers, Cennick, Wesley and Madan, all shaped the text, hymnals differ. Some end the first verse God appears on earth to reign, others Christ appears on earth again. Some keep Cennick's verse on every island, sea and mountain fleeing away. All of these early texts are in the public domain.
Sources: All Scripture quotations are from the King James Version (KJV), public domain in the United States. References were checked against the KJV text from bible-api.com.
Related: Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus · O Come, O Come, Emmanuel · Thou Didst Leave Thy Throne · Advent Candle Meaning · Crown Him with Many Crowns · Advent · Rapture · Jesus as King
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