REJOICE, THE LORD IS KING
THE HYMN STORY
The early part of the eighteenth century bore many similarities to the world we live in today. The secularizing force of Enlightenment ideas was gaining traction in European society. Interest in God was out of fashion and church attendance was in decline. The industrial revolution was breaking old economic patterns, bringing in astonishingly new ways of production along with the human misery of oppressive workplaces and cities with the poor crowded into squalid conditions. Scientific breakthroughs brought astounding new technologies one after the other while the human condition drifted from its traditional moral pinning of belief in God and a consistent moral order in the universe.
Charles Wesley was born into the beginnings of this age. He and his 17 older siblings were nurtured in a devout Anglican household. As a college tutor at Oxford, after receiving his degree there in 1729, his religious sensibilities were deepening and he became one of the first band of ‘Oxford Methodists’. The term ‘Methodist’ began as a derogatory reference to the tendency of the Wesley group to emphasize spiritual disciplines in a methodical way.
Charles was ordained a minister in the Church of England in 1735 but found spiritual conditions in the church deplorable. He and his brother John set out to do missionary work in the British colony of Georgia. That turned out to be a difficult experience for them, and it is safe to say they must have been in a low place spiritually. On the return voyage, the Wesleys encountered a group of Moravians, whose spiritual demeanor and peace in the face of a fearsome Atlantic storm deeply impressed them. This ultimately led to both John and Charles having a personal conversion experience in 1738. Although remaining as ministers in the Church of England, their spiritual fervor led to preaching in revival meetings that often met outdoors. These meetings became instrumental in England’s mid-eighteenth century’s spiritual movement which became known as the ‘Great Awakening’.
Charles wrote more 6500 hymns during his lifetime, many of which are well-known today, including “Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus”, “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing”, “Christ the Lord is Risen Today”, “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling”, and “Jesus, Lover of My Soul.” This hymn, “Rejoice the Lord is King”, is a call to believe in the risen Christ. Written by Charles as a Resurrection Sunday hymn, its inspiration was found in Philippians 4:4, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.”
The hymn may well have first been a positive and attractive proclamation which caught the attention of people on the street. “Since the early Methodists were calling people toward Christ, it is possible that this text is not so much for congregants in attendance but for people who do not yet know the majesty of Christ. The text itself sums up in simple terms much of who we believe Christ was and still is: Christ is our Savior, King, and Judge.” (umcdiscipleship)
COMPOSER: The son of a pastor, John Darwall (1731-1789) attended Manchester Grammar School and Brasenose College, Oxford, England (1752-1756). He became the curate and later the vicar of St. Matthew's Parish Church in Walsall, where he remained until his death. Darwall was a poet and amateur musician. This tune was first written as one of a series Darwall wrote for the Psalms, this one being attached to Psalm 148, hence its title, “DARWALL’S 148th.” This is Darwall’s only tune still in common use.
HYMN LYRICS
Rejoice, the Lord is king! Your Lord and king adore;
Mortals give thanks and sing, and triumph evermore;
Lift up your heart, lift up your voice;
Rejoice, again I say, rejoice!
Jesus, the Savior, reigns, the God of truth and love;
When He had purged our stains He took His seat above;
Lift up your heart, lift up your voice;
Rejoice, again I say, rejoice!
His kingdom cannot fail, He rules o’er earth and Heav’n,
The keys of death and hell are to our Jesus giv’n;
Lift up your heart, lift up your voice;
Rejoice, again I say, rejoice!
Rejoice in glorious hope! Jesus the Judge shall come,
And take His servants up to their eternal home.
Lift up your heart, lift up your voice;
Rejoice, again I say, rejoice!
SOURCES:
https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/history-of-hymns-rejoice-the-lord-is-king
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevin-deyoung/hymns-we-should-sing-more-often-rejoice-the-lord-is-king-2/
https://sermonwriter.com/hymn-stories/rejoice-the-lord-is-king/
https://hymnary.org/person/Wesley_Charles
http://hymnswelove.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-story-behind-rejoice-lord-is-king.html
https://www.cslewisinstitute.org/webfm_send/573
https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/issues/issue-2/revival-and-revolution.html
https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/people/poets/charles-wesley.html
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The early part of the eighteenth century bore many similarities to the world we live in today. The secularizing force of Enlightenment ideas was gaining traction in European society. Interest in God was out of fashion and church attendance was in decline. The industrial revolution was breaking old economic patterns, bringing in astonishingly new ways of production along with the human misery of oppressive workplaces and cities with the poor crowded into squalid conditions. Scientific breakthroughs brought astounding new technologies one after the other while the human condition drifted from its traditional moral pinning of belief in God and a consistent moral order in the universe.
Charles Wesley was born into the beginnings of this age. He and his 17 older siblings were nurtured in a devout Anglican household. As a college tutor at Oxford, after receiving his degree there in 1729, his religious sensibilities were deepening and he became one of the first band of ‘Oxford Methodists’. The term ‘Methodist’ began as a derogatory reference to the tendency of the Wesley group to emphasize spiritual disciplines in a methodical way.
Charles was ordained a minister in the Church of England in 1735 but found spiritual conditions in the church deplorable. He and his brother John set out to do missionary work in the British colony of Georgia. That turned out to be a difficult experience for them, and it is safe to say they must have been in a low place spiritually. On the return voyage, the Wesleys encountered a group of Moravians, whose spiritual demeanor and peace in the face of a fearsome Atlantic storm deeply impressed them. This ultimately led to both John and Charles having a personal conversion experience in 1738. Although remaining as ministers in the Church of England, their spiritual fervor led to preaching in revival meetings that often met outdoors. These meetings became instrumental in England’s mid-eighteenth century’s spiritual movement which became known as the ‘Great Awakening’.
Charles wrote more 6500 hymns during his lifetime, many of which are well-known today, including “Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus”, “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing”, “Christ the Lord is Risen Today”, “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling”, and “Jesus, Lover of My Soul.” This hymn, “Rejoice the Lord is King”, is a call to believe in the risen Christ. Written by Charles as a Resurrection Sunday hymn, its inspiration was found in Philippians 4:4, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.”
The hymn may well have first been a positive and attractive proclamation which caught the attention of people on the street. “Since the early Methodists were calling people toward Christ, it is possible that this text is not so much for congregants in attendance but for people who do not yet know the majesty of Christ. The text itself sums up in simple terms much of who we believe Christ was and still is: Christ is our Savior, King, and Judge.” (umcdiscipleship)
COMPOSER: The son of a pastor, John Darwall (1731-1789) attended Manchester Grammar School and Brasenose College, Oxford, England (1752-1756). He became the curate and later the vicar of St. Matthew's Parish Church in Walsall, where he remained until his death. Darwall was a poet and amateur musician. This tune was first written as one of a series Darwall wrote for the Psalms, this one being attached to Psalm 148, hence its title, “DARWALL’S 148th.” This is Darwall’s only tune still in common use.
HYMN LYRICS
Rejoice, the Lord is king! Your Lord and king adore;
Mortals give thanks and sing, and triumph evermore;
Lift up your heart, lift up your voice;
Rejoice, again I say, rejoice!
Jesus, the Savior, reigns, the God of truth and love;
When He had purged our stains He took His seat above;
Lift up your heart, lift up your voice;
Rejoice, again I say, rejoice!
His kingdom cannot fail, He rules o’er earth and Heav’n,
The keys of death and hell are to our Jesus giv’n;
Lift up your heart, lift up your voice;
Rejoice, again I say, rejoice!
Rejoice in glorious hope! Jesus the Judge shall come,
And take His servants up to their eternal home.
Lift up your heart, lift up your voice;
Rejoice, again I say, rejoice!
SOURCES:
https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/history-of-hymns-rejoice-the-lord-is-king
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevin-deyoung/hymns-we-should-sing-more-often-rejoice-the-lord-is-king-2/
https://sermonwriter.com/hymn-stories/rejoice-the-lord-is-king/
https://hymnary.org/person/Wesley_Charles
http://hymnswelove.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-story-behind-rejoice-lord-is-king.html
https://www.cslewisinstitute.org/webfm_send/573
https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/issues/issue-2/revival-and-revolution.html
https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/people/poets/charles-wesley.html
HOME