In December 2017 I had the tune of 'The Church's One Foundation' running over and over on my mind for a week or two. One Sunday morning as I was getting ready to go to church I woke with my favourite Advent verse strongly in my thoughts; Isaiah 9:6, the part that says 'and the government shall be upon his shoulders'. It was just a few days after Donald Trump had made the decision to move the US embassy to Jerusalem, which I saw as a sign of Jesus's soon return. I immediately had tears in my eyes as an emotional word ‘I know my Lord is coming soon’ flashed into my mind and I started to mentally write some lines. Although I barely had time to get ready to go to our Carol Service I grabbed the first scrap of paper off the kitchen table and began to write and did, perhaps 3 verses, before inspiration was overruled by urgency to go to church. I was sure there would be more and trusted I would return to it later in the morning. With my wife, Christine we just made it to the service and the first Bible reading was – Isaiah 9:6!

I left promptly and sat down at my desk to write the rest of the song, which came relatively easily. It was only then that I realised every line was to the meter of the old hymn, TCOF as above! 

It was nearly two years before I found a publisher to bring, by then, five new inspirational scriptural songs to life and commission me to write up to twelve original lyrics. As I don’t sing or play any instrument I have been indebted to Andy Baker and the team’s close collaboration to bring my songs to fruition, now around 20. 

Since June 2019 the intricate, initially so mysterious to me, step by step processes and priorities towards releases unintentionally pushed ‘I Know My Lord is Coming Soon’ to the back of the queue. A tune from Nick Law 10 months ago never reached me until I was stirred up by a sense of great urgency to bring the song forward in August 2020.

This is the culmination of what I firmly believe is a series of God-incidences as the song is so much more topical for the ‘unprecedented’ circumstances of our world in these past eight months since Lockdown and the chaos that is reigning worldwide. So many Matthew 24 and Luke 21 signs of Jesus soon coming are being sensed by believing Watchmen looking for the blessed hope, Jesus’s Rapture of faithful believers. Only one change has been necessary to bring the lyrics up to date. My original 3rd and 4th lines in verse 4 were ‘Volcanoes, floods and earthquakes Cause all the earth to fear’ which I knew now needed to be brought right up to date when they easily became ‘Chaos, plagues and Lockdown Cause all the earth to fear’.

We are releasing a short and longer (the original length) rendition here by Jonathan Middleton whose patience during these last few weeks I am so grateful for. Listen to short and long and look out for ‘our blessed hope’ (Titus 2:13) for a maxed-up experience and surely we need all to be praying as never before in these critical times foreshadowed from Daniel through to Revelation…Jesus is coming soon - Maranatha!

Rob Tromans

Lyricist