Hymn of the Week: December 4, 2023

Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus

Glory to God: 83

Text: Charles Wesley, 1744 
Tune: HYFRODOL, 1830
Arranged by: Ralph Vaughan Williams, 1906 

Come, thou long-expected Jesus, 
born to set thy people free; 
from our fears and sins release us; 
let us find our rest in thee. 
 
Israel’s strength and consolation, 
hope of all the earth thou art; 
dear desire of every nation, 
joy of every longing heart. 
 
Born thy people to deliver, 
born a child and yet a king, 
born to reign in us forever, 
now thy gracious kingdom bring. 
 
By thine own eternal Spirit 
rule in all our hearts alone; 
by thine all-sufficient merit 
raise us to thy glorious throne. 

Today’s Devotion:

Today’s devotion is paraphrased from the wonderful book entitled: Songs for the Waiting Devotions Inspired By the Hymns of Advent, 2016, Magrey R. deVega.  Published by Westminster John Knox Press. 

Scripture Read 1 Thessalonians 4:13-20 

Hope…

is one of Advent’s recurring themes. The biblical substance of hope is summarized beautifully in the second verse of “Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus.” It begins with the human condition, portraying humanity as needing deliverance. It speaks of the incarnation of Jesus, capturing both the humanity (child) and divinity (king) of Christ. It sweeps into the future, envisioning the rule and reign of Christ in the kingdom of “thy glorious throne.” 

There is a lot of hope in this hymn and the season of Advent. Hopefully, we can sing it. We can sing it hopefully. 

It has been noted that the word “Hopefully”, in the AP Stylebook agreed to change the usage of the word to take on a meaning that hopes to superimpose Hope onto whoever is being Hoped for.  “Hopefully, the team will make it to the playoffs.” “Hopefully the two sides can come together as one.” 

Hopefully (wink wink) you can see how this word has been manipulated into a third-person usage. 

For Advent pilgrims like us, the news of Christ’s upcoming birth reinforces what we should already know. It's more than just remembering the main characters of the Christmas pageant. Yes, we sense the hopeful anticipation of Mary’s heart and the hopeful obedience that marked Joseph’s spirit. We remember the hopeful words of the angels who broke through with amazing news to the shepherds and the hope that was born and wrapped in manger hay. 

But this is also the hope that we might find for ourselves. The second verse of today’s hymn names the hope deep within us for a God who would be born anew into the world: born to deliver us, born to be a king, born to reign forever, born to usher in a new kingdom. And it is a hope that this Jesus would fill the deepest parts of our existence, “in all our hearts alone, to cleanse us from our sin and heal us of our brokenness.” 

Advent Candles

When we light the Advent candles, when we gaze at the twinkling star lights on our Christmas trees, when we pause during our busy days and refocus our attention on the God who leads us on our journeys, then hopefully, hopefully, we become people of hope ourselves. 

This is not simply a time of fondly recollecting stories from long ago; it's also an invitation to allow these stories to sort through and soothe our conflicted lives so that the hope that God offers can become our own. For whatever reason you need hope today, may God’s richest promises and possibilities come to you and those you love. 

Let us then be full of hope. 

Today’s video inserts a middle verse between the two discussed today but I think you’ll love the arrangement. 

Philip