November 30
Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus
TEXT: Charles Wesley
b. December 18, 1707, Epworth, England
d. March 29, 1788, London, England
Charles Wesley wrote this poem five years after he wrote “Hark! the Herald Angels Sing.” It was first published in 1744 in a small volume Wesley called Hymns for the Nativity of Our Lord, but out of a total of eighteen carols, these two are the only ones that we still sing today. But no hymn writer has more hymns known and sung today than Wesley, who is credited with 6,000 hymns. That amounts to one every day for fifty years! The eighteenth child of the son of a hymn writer and preacher, Wesley was homeschooled before attending Oxford University to receive a master’s degree in classical languages and literature. In 1735, he traveled as a missionary to America with his older brother John proclaiming the gospel even before he had accepted it for himself.
TUNE: Rowland Prichard
b. January 14, 1811, Graienyn, North Wales
d. January 25, 1887, Holywell, North Wales
Unfortunately, the original tune was poorly matched to this text and not often sung. But the song became loved and often sung after it was reset to the tune HYFRYDOL. Written in about 1830 by a twenty-year-old Welshman, Rowland Prichard, Hyfrydol is a Welsh name that means “cheerful”12 and certainly fits the message of this text. The same tune is used for “Jesus, What a Friend for Sinners,” which is also very “good news.”
As you sing this hymn … it will be helpful to remember just how long expected the Messiah was for Israel. Assyria conquered Israel in 722 BC and took its people from their land. Babylon did the same to Judah in 586 BC. After that, the Jews were passed from ruler to ruler (including Alexander the Great in 536 BC), and whether in exile or back home, they experienced only a few years of independence. Eventually, the Romans took over, a rule that lasted until Jesus’ birth. Imagine for a moment your nation being conquered by next-door nations, and then passed from one to another. You too would long for a Messiah, a Redeemer to set you free.
Then Jesus came. His name means savior, or “God is salvation.” Did Jesus save them from a conquering country? No. He saved them from the bondage of sin and death. He is not a long-expected army general. Or a long-expected conquering ruler. Charles Spurgeon wrote, “Jesus is the name which moves the harps of heaven to melody. Jesus! The life of all our joys, the sum of all our delights, a song in a word, an ocean for comprehension, a matchless oratorio in two syllables, a gathering up of the hallelujahs of eternity in five letters.”13 So we sing, “From our fears and sins release us … now Thy gracious Kingdom bring.”
Are you waiting for a Savior to free you from your slavery to fear and sin? There is no need to wait. He will enter your life today if you claim His forgiveness and invite Him to save you. Then you may join all Christians who wait for the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ when He comes to earth the second time. He will “raise us to His glorious throne.”