When He Cometh, or "Jewels"
Old-Time Gospel Music

When He Cometh is an old-time gospel hymn.  Very sweet, and very simple, this is one your piano students can learn from!

This older hymn extrapolates from the words of Malachi 3:17 in the Bible, which say, King James Version: “And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.”

The "jewels" are those beloved by God

The hymn writer speaks of God gathering gems for His kingdom, and in verse 3, turns to children and tells them that those who love their Redeemer (Jesus) are the precious jewels that God loves. A beautiful and touching song.

Alison Krauss and the Cox Family singing "Jewels," the other name of this song:

Piano & voice arrangement

Please scroll down the page for the download links.

Like "Farther On," When He Cometh is another old-time gospel hymn I first heard from the Zahasky family of the Alaska String Band.  

Their rendition, a combination of voices and stringed instruments, is sweet, heart-felt, warm, and very polished - my favorite. Scroll farther down the page to hear them.

This is my adaptation of their version.

Optional chords

A word about the piano arrangement: The arrangement above is - basically - HOW I PLAY "When He Cometh" when I accompany a singer (or myself, singing for fun).  

If you are baffled by the G chord with C in the bass in measures 4 and 8, and you find you don't like it, just use a G broken chord instead.  

I like using a "pedal point" (the unchanging bass note under changing chords) sometimes, because it either builds excitement or musical tension, or makes the change to regular bass notes, when it finally comes, feel so RIGHT - like a fulfillment.

Guitar tabs for Jewels

Please scroll down the page for the download links.

Simple for guitar...

Very simple chords - I, IV, & V - make this an easy song for beginning guitarists.  

Either "baby" chords using 3 strings in the key of C (to avoid the difficult and painful F chord), or if your students already play big chords, choose the key of D.

and pianists...

Playing both melody and chords together will require some careful RH (right hand) fingering.  

With my piano students, I have used this lovely hymn to encourage chord accompanying (the lead sheet approach) and then when that is pretty well in hand in the key of C, transpose it up to the key of D.  

and singers...

For vocalists, an easy harmony is possible.  This would be primarily a 3rd apart, which sounds particularly sweet when singers are in unison until the chorus, breaking into harmony at that point.

An effective recital song

If you have a group of singers, I suggest thinking about using this sweet song in your recital - it will touch many hearts.

One additional video, this time from The Alaska String Band from Juneau, Alaska:

A different version

Another version of Jewels can be found over at MusicFolkPlayHymns.com, where a verse from the Old Testament of the Bible is transcribed onto the sheet music:

And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; -- Malachi 3:17

Here is the background to the lyrics of When He Cometh, from the website ScriptureAndMusic.com:

William Orcutt Cushing conceived the idea for his “Jewel Song” text from the promise in Malachi 3:17: “And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of Hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels.” Pastor Cushing wrote the text for the children in his own Sunday school in 1856.

Several years later, William Cushing suffered a period of deep despair in his life. After the death of his wife, he developed a paralysis and the loss of his speech at the age of forty-seven. He was forced to retire from the ministry after twenty-seven years as a pastor in the Disciples of Christ churches.

When he pleaded, “Lord, give me something to do for Thee,” God answered, giving him the gift of writing appealing hymn texts. He worked with such musicians as Ira Sankey and George Root to produce more than 300 gospel hymns during his remaining years.

The links for the piano and voice arrangements:

Download When He Cometh gospel hymn arrangement for piano in the key of C

Download free old-time gospel hymn for piano in key of D

The links for the guitar tabs sheets:

Download guitar tablature and lead sheet in key of C

Download free hymn sheet music guitar lead sheet in D

Dianna:
Your website is a light in the darkness. THANK YOU for all you do in helping to spread the love of music. It matters!

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About the Author

Dana Thynes

Hi, I'm Dana!  (Say that like "Anna".)  I'm the owner of Music-for-Music-Teachers.com, and a newer site, SingTheBibleStory.com.

Like some of you, I've been playing the piano since early childhood, and have added a few other instruments along the way, plus an interest in arranging and composing music.

You can find out more about me and the reason for this website at my About Me page.