Welcome to Blogmas Day Two. Since it is Sunday, I will be doing my regular Sunday Praise post. Since it is the first Sunday of Advent, we will be singing this great hymn in church this morning: Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus.
Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus is an Advent and Christmas hymn written in 1744. It is common in most Protestant hymnals and is considered an enduring classic.
The words were written by the great hymnwriter Charles Wesley. He was the youngest son and 18th child of Samuel and Susanna Wesley and was born at Epworth Rectory on December 18, 1707. In 1716 he went to Westminster School and was elected King's Scholar in 1721. He got his degree in 1729 and became a college tutor. In the early part of this same year his religious beliefs were strengthened and he became one of the first "Oxford Methodists."
In 1735 he became first a Deacon and then a Priest and went with his brother, John, to Georgia in the United States to serve as secretary to Governor Ogilthorpe. He came back to England the next year. There is so much more about Charles Wesley to be learned. I highly recommend you look him up and read about this wonderful man. But if I continue, this post will be way too long.
Charles Wesley was unique as a hymnwriter. He is said to have composed 6,500 hymns! He wrote this hymn in 1744 based on Haggai 2:7 and published it in his hymnal titled "Hymns for the Nativity of Our Lord." He wanted people to remember not only the Advent and Nativity of our Lord, but also His Second Coming. The lyrics focus on God sending His Son to be our Messiah.
This hymn has been set to a number of tunes. The one we are most familiar with here in the U.S. is a Welsh tune called "Hyfrydol" written by Roland Hugh Pritchard. It was written in 1830 when he was only 19 years old.
This beautiful hymn reminds us that though Christ is with us each minute of every day of our lives, we long for the day when we shall see Him face to face.
And now here's the hymn:
Have an awesome and wonderful First Sunday of Advent!
Kathy
I love that hymn.
ReplyDeleteLovely hymn. I enjoy reading the history behind the hymns. You have a wonderful evening, hugs, Edna B.
ReplyDeleteI love the hymn too...thanks for the info on Wesley. Have a blessed afternoon.
ReplyDeletebeautiful!
ReplyDeleteHappy first Sunday of Advent!
ReplyDeleteNice song! I've heard it and sung it before too! I'm glad we're getting Christmas hymns sung in church already! like it! We had an advent candle lighting in our adult class and church and they did week one and two of Advent. Interesting....think it ends on week of Christmas? Have a good week!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful song!
ReplyDeleteThough it shouldn't,it amazes me to hear the stories 'behind the scenes'. There is so much more to people than we see on the surface! A well known violinist whose concert tickets cost hundreds of dollars,decided to play in a subway train station. no one recognized him! Imagine such a free concert! Beautiful song!
ReplyDelete