Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus
| Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus | |
|---|---|
| Christian hymn | |
 |
|
| Occasion | Advent |
| Text | Charles Wesley |
| Melody |
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| Published | 1744 |
"Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus" is a 1744 Advent and Christmas carol common in Protestant hymnals. The text was written by Charles Wesley. It is performed to one of several tunes, including "Stuttgart" (attr. to Christian Friedrich Witt) and "Hyfrydol" (by Rowland Prichard). It is hymn number 66 in the Episcopal Church hymnal (set to "Stuttgart"); hymn number 196 in the United Methodist Hymnal (to "Hyfrydol"); hymns 1 (to "Stuttgart") and 2 (to "Hyfrydol") in the 1990 Presbyterian Hymnal; and hymn 254 in Evangelical Lutheran Worship, among others. The hymn is considered an enduring classic in Christian hymnology.
In 1744, Charles Wesley considered Haggai 2:7 and looked at the situation of orphans in the areas around him. He also looked at the class divide in Great Britain. Through this train of thought, he wrote "Come, Thou long expected Jesus" based upon Haggai 2:7 and a published prayer at the time which had the words:
"Born Your people to deliver, born a child and yet a King, born to reign in us forever, now Your gracious kingdom bring. By Your own eternal Spirit, rule in all our hearts alone; by Your all sufficient merit, raise us to Your glorious throne. Amen."
Wesley adapted this prayer into a hymn in 1744 and published it in his "Hymns for the Nativity of our Lord" hymnal. Wesley wrote "Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus" with the intent for people to remember Advent and Christmas as commemorating the Nativity of Jesus and preparing for the Second Coming.
"Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus" was the first of a number of Wesley's hymns that became known as the "Festival hymns". These "Festival hymns" were published outside of Methodism by German, John Frederick Lampe in 1746. The hymn came into popular knowledge across Christian denominations in England via popular Baptist preacher, Charles Spurgeon. Spurgeon made a Christmas sermon in London in 1855 when he was 21 and included sections of "Come thou long expected Jesus" in it. He did this to illustrate his point that very few are "born king" and that Jesus was the only one who had been born king without being a prince. As a result of the hymn's growing popularity, including in the Church of England and American hymnals, the hymn was first published in the Methodist Wesleyan Hymn Book in 1875 after having previously been excluded. The reason why the hymn had originally been excluded from the hymn book was that there had been no officially suitable music intended for it before then. In recent times, "Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus" has not been as well known as a Christmas Carol as others written around the same time. "Joy to the World" being one such example but "Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus" is still used to focus on the hope of the Second Coming of Jesus.
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