“And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts” (Haggai 2:7).
“Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus” was another of more than 6,500 hymns written by Charles Wesley. It was first published in 1744 in a small collection of eighteen poems titled Hymns for the Nativity of Our Lord. The tune was composed by a twenty year-old Welshman, Rowland H. Prichard, around 1830.
The first verse focuses on the fact that the coming of Jesus Christ fulfilled Israel’s longing for the Messiah. A few of the prophecies that Jesus fulfilled are: Isaiah 7:14, which spoke of a virgin giving birth to a child whose name would mean ” … God with us”(Matthew 1:23); Isaiah 9:6, which told of a child whose name would ” … be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace …” ; and Micah 5:2, which said that from Bethlehem would come a ruler ” … whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.”
These and many similar prophecies looked forward to the coming of the Messiah, and many devout Jews prayed earnestly for the day when He would arrive. Luke 2:25 tells of Simeon, a man of faith who was ” … waiting for the consolation of Israel …” When he saw Jesus as an infant, Simeon knew that this Child was the fulfillment of his messianic hope. Charles Wesley was borrowing from this passage when he described Jesus as “Israel’s Strength and Consolation” in the song.
Although He fulfilled Israel’s prophecies, Jesus came to bring salvation to the entire world. This is what Wesley was referring to when he described Christ as the “Hope of all the earth” and the “Dear Desire of every nation.” More than that, He is the “Joy of every longing heart.” He alone is the one who can satisfy every soul.
The last verse then goes on to tell us why Jesus can meet our expectations: He was “Born a child and yet a King.” As the One who is both God and man, Jesus was able to satisfy God’s wrath completely by dying on the cross for our sins. When Wesley wrote about Jesus’ “all sufficient merit,” he was referring to Christ’s ability to bring us to salvation.
Wesley did not want to just paint a picture of Jesus in the manger; he wanted the entire Christmas story to have a personal application. Wesley wanted to impress upon God’s people that Jesus is not only the “Desire of every nation,” but is also the personal “Joy of every longing heart.” Jesus has the “government on his shoulders,” but he was born to reign personally “in us.”