That Day of Wrath That Dreadful Day

That Day of Wrath That Dreadful Day is a hymn text by Walter Brute (1520) in L.M. meter. Found in tlh 612. Sung to DIES IRAE.

This hymn presents a sobering Lutheran eschatology emphasizing both divine judgment and the hope of resurrection through Christ. The text balances the terrifying prospect of God's wrath with confidence in Christ's intercession, reflecting Lutheran emphasis on justification by faith alone before the judge.

History & Background

This hymn is a paraphrase of the Latin Dies Irae sequence, originally composed in medieval times and traditionally attributed to Thomas of Celano (13th century). Walter Brute's English translation/adaptation dates to the early 16th century and became influential in English Protestant hymnody.

Hymnal Appearances

• The Lutheran Hymnal — 612

Bulletin Note

Written by Walter Brute in 1520, this hymn draws on medieval dies irae tradition but reshapes it with Lutheran confidence in Christ's advocacy and justification by faith alone, not works.

Preaching Connection

This hymn powerfully illustrates the movement from Law to Gospel: it strips away false comfort with the reality of judgment, then pivots entirely to Christ's intercession as the sole ground of salvation—a model for faithful proclamation.

Catechism & Confessional Connections

• Of Justification Augsburg Confession

Stanza Arc

The narrative or theological arc traced by this tune's stanzas: Law dominates: cosmic judgment, human terror, resurrection of all, accountability before God. Gospel implicit in final stanzas (resurrection as divine act, not annihilation).

Overview

Sir Walter Scott's short paraphrase of the Dies irae, from The Lay of the Last Minstrel. That day of wrath, when heaven and earth pass away: what power will hold the sinner up (st. 1)? When the heavens roll up like a scorched scroll and the trumpet wakes the dead (st. 2), 'Be Thou the trembling sinner's Stay' (st. 3).

Central theme: Christ himself as the trembling sinner's only stay on the day of wrath

Structure

Three long-meter quatrains in rhymed couplets. The question (1); cosmic dissolution and the trumpet (2, continuing into 3); the answer, 'Be Thou the… Stay' (3).

Law & Gospel Shape

Law: 'day of wrath'; 'heav'n and earth shall pass away'; 'flaming heav'ns' (1-2). Gospel: 'Be Thou the trembling sinner's Stay' (3).

Confessional Connections

2 Pet 3:10 (TLH's text): 'The heavens will pass away with a roar… and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.' St. 1 asks the question every conscience must face before God's judgment, 'What pow'r shall be the sinner's stay?', and st. 3 answers with no power but Christ himself (AC IV; AC XX: faith 'takes hold of' Christ). The image of a scroll rolled up comes from Isa 34:4 and Rev 6:14. The poem is a literary paraphrase of the Dies irae, not a full translation (see TLH 607).

Liturgical Use (Study Notes)

Last Sundays of the Church Year; Advent 2.

Historical Notes

Scott (1771-1832) wrote these lines in canto VI of The Lay of the Last Minstrel (1805), sung in the poem by monks at a funeral.

About the Tune

WINDHAM (Daniel Read, 1785).

Scripture References

2 Pet 3:10 Zeph 1:15 Matt 24:35 Isa 34:4 Rev 6:14 1 Cor 15:52 Dan 12:2 Ps 18:18 Isa 26:3-4 Heb 6:19

Stanza by Stanza

Themes

Last Judgment Divine wrath and mercy Eschatology Repentance Grace

Look Further

• Search Hymnary.org for "That Day of Wrath That Dreadful Day" ↗
• Search IMSLP for public-domain scores of "DIES IRAE" ↗