{"id":4179,"date":"2025-12-07T22:41:25","date_gmt":"2025-12-07T22:41:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/allthecounselofgod.com\/?p=4179"},"modified":"2025-12-07T22:41:29","modified_gmt":"2025-12-07T22:41:29","slug":"the-hymn-story-of-come-thou-long-expected-jesus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/allthecounselofgod.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/07\/the-hymn-story-of-come-thou-long-expected-jesus\/","title":{"rendered":"THE HYMN STORY OF COME, THOU LONG-EXPECTED JESUS"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cAnd <\/strong>I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and <\/strong>I will <\/strong>fill this house with glory, saith the LORD<\/strong> of hosts\u201d <\/strong>(Haggai 2:7).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCome, Thou Long-Expected Jesus\u201d 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. <\/em>The tune was composed by a twenty year-old Welshman, Rowland H. Prichard, around 1830.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first verse focuses on the fact that the coming of Jesus Christ fulfilled Israel\u2019s 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 \u201d \u2026 God with us\u201d<\/strong>(Matthew 1:23); Isaiah 9:6, which told of a child whose name would \u201d \u2026 be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace \u2026\u201d ; <\/strong>and Micah 5:2, which said that from Bethlehem would come a ruler \u201d \u2026 whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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 \u201d \u2026 waiting for the consolation of Israel \u2026\u201d <\/strong>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 \u201cIsrael\u2019s Strength and Consolation\u201d in the song.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although He fulfilled Israel\u2019s prophecies, Jesus came to bring salvation to the entire world. This is what Wesley was referring to when he described Christ as the \u201cHope of all the earth\u201d and the \u201cDear Desire of every nation.\u201d More than that, He is the \u201cJoy of every longing heart.\u201d He alone is the one who can satisfy every soul.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The last verse then goes on to tell us why Jesus can meet our expectations: He was \u201cBorn a child and yet a King.\u201d As the One who is both God and man, Jesus was able to satisfy God\u2019s wrath completely by dying on the cross for our sins. When Wesley wrote about Jesus\u2019 \u201call sufficient merit,\u201d he was referring to Christ\u2019s ability to bring us to salvation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019s people that Jesus is not only the \u201cDesire of every nation,\u201d but is also the personal \u201cJoy of every longing heart.\u201d Jesus has the \u201cgovernment on his shoulders,\u201d but he was born to reign personally \u201cin us.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/body>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"