View the present through the promise
View the present through the promise. Thomas Troeger* (1945-2022).
This is from Troeger’s New Hymns for the Life of the Church: to make our prayer and music one (New York and Oxford, 1992), reprinted in Borrowed Light (1994). It was written in 1986 in response to a hymn search for new Advent hymns by the Hymn Society of America. It is based on Matthew 24: 42-44, with its command to be ready for the Second Coming. Verse 3 (of three) demonstrates the insistent promise:
Match the present to the promise
Christ will come again.
Make this hope your guiding premise
Christ will come again.
Pattern all your calculating
And the world you are creating
To the advent you are waiting
Christ will...
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MLA style (see MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing, 3rd Ed.)
. "View the present through the promise."
The Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology. Canterbury Press. Web. 24 Jan. 2026.<
http://www.hymnology.co.uk/v/view-the-present-through-the-promise>.
Chicago style (see The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th Ed.)
. "View the present through the promise."
The Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology. Canterbury Press, accessed January 24, 2026,
http://www.hymnology.co.uk/v/view-the-present-through-the-promise.