Come, Thou Almighty King
Stories
Lectionary Tales For The Pulpit
Series IV, Cycle A
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you. (v. 13)
Around 1745, during the American Revolution, a detachment of British soldiers burst into a church in a Long Island congregation startling the unsuspecting worshipers. The commanding officer demanded that the frightened congregation sing the British national hymn, "God Save Our Gracious King." The congregation simultaneously sang the right tune - what we know as "America" or "My Country 'Tis of Thee." But instead of singing lyrics praising the King of England, they sang praises to the Trinitarian God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The lyrics they sang were the hymn "Come, Thou Almighty King":
Come, thou almighty King,
help us thy name to sing,
help us to praise!
Father all glorious,
o'er all victorious,
come and reign over us,
Ancient of Days!
That is one legend of the origin of the hymn. The hymn has also been attributed to Charles Wesley, but this is not known for sure since it was published anonymously. The theory goes that Wesley wrote the hymn as an imitation of the new British national anthem. It was his way of refocusing people on God's kingdom instead of an earthly kingdom. As the theory goes, Wesley intentionally did not lay claim to writing the lyrics since the new lyrics were a rebellion against words of the royal hymn. This theory is plausible since the hymn first appeared in George Whitefield's Collection of Hymns for Social Worship published in 1757. White--field was a good friend and prot g of Wesley.
Over the years, the song was sung to the "America" tune and also to the tune "Italian Hymn" with both tunes being used for the same time period. Eventually, the tune "America" became one of our national anthems and the "Italian Hymn" tune became permanently wedded with "Come, Thou Almighty King."
No matter what the origin, the song is inexplicably tied to Trinity Sunday because of the content of the lyrics - a triumphant praise to the triune God: Father and King, Incarnate Word, and Holy Comforter. As one verse says:
To thee, great One in Three,
eternal praises be,
hence evermore.
Thy sovereign majesty
may we in glory see,
and to eternity
love and adore.
Around 1745, during the American Revolution, a detachment of British soldiers burst into a church in a Long Island congregation startling the unsuspecting worshipers. The commanding officer demanded that the frightened congregation sing the British national hymn, "God Save Our Gracious King." The congregation simultaneously sang the right tune - what we know as "America" or "My Country 'Tis of Thee." But instead of singing lyrics praising the King of England, they sang praises to the Trinitarian God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The lyrics they sang were the hymn "Come, Thou Almighty King":
Come, thou almighty King,
help us thy name to sing,
help us to praise!
Father all glorious,
o'er all victorious,
come and reign over us,
Ancient of Days!
That is one legend of the origin of the hymn. The hymn has also been attributed to Charles Wesley, but this is not known for sure since it was published anonymously. The theory goes that Wesley wrote the hymn as an imitation of the new British national anthem. It was his way of refocusing people on God's kingdom instead of an earthly kingdom. As the theory goes, Wesley intentionally did not lay claim to writing the lyrics since the new lyrics were a rebellion against words of the royal hymn. This theory is plausible since the hymn first appeared in George Whitefield's Collection of Hymns for Social Worship published in 1757. White--field was a good friend and prot g of Wesley.
Over the years, the song was sung to the "America" tune and also to the tune "Italian Hymn" with both tunes being used for the same time period. Eventually, the tune "America" became one of our national anthems and the "Italian Hymn" tune became permanently wedded with "Come, Thou Almighty King."
No matter what the origin, the song is inexplicably tied to Trinity Sunday because of the content of the lyrics - a triumphant praise to the triune God: Father and King, Incarnate Word, and Holy Comforter. As one verse says:
To thee, great One in Three,
eternal praises be,
hence evermore.
Thy sovereign majesty
may we in glory see,
and to eternity
love and adore.
