Joy of Every Longing Heart

843 Acres Advent post (by Bethany) : Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus

Requested by an email subscriber. Disclosure: This carol and the one coming tomorrow are my personal favorites. I saved “the best” for last. Merry Christmas! – Bethany

The Text

And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem. (Luke 2:36-38 ESV)

The Story

Many Hebrew prophets pointed to the Messiah’s coming. Isaiah, for example, spoke about “a sign” – “the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” [1]. Micah, too, prophesied about his origins: “Bethlehem Ephrathah … from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days” [2].

Although these prophecies were spoken to Israel, the Hebrew Bible has hints that the Lord had a plan for the world, not just Israel. For example, Isaiah prophesied, “In that day, there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and Assyria will come into Egypt, and Egypt into Assyria, and the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians. In that day, Israel will be the third with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, whom the Lord of hosts has blessed, saying, ‘Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my inheritance’” [3].

This is astonishing. The Lord was telling Israel, his chosen people, that their enemies would be called “my people” and “the work of my hands.” Up until this point, only Israel had been described using these tender, intimate words. What was God doing?

In the first verse of “Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus,” Charles Wesley celebrates the fulfillment of the Hebrew prophecies in the person of Jesus. Written in 1744, this carol is one of almost 9,000 hymns written by Wesley – that is, a hymn every day for almost 25 years. Wesley describes Jesus as the “long-expected” Messiah and “Israel’s strength and consolation,” which is a reference to Luke’s gospel, where Simeon is “waiting for the consolation of Israel” [4]. Yet Wesley, too, points beyond Israel, saying that Jesus is the “hope of all the earth” and the “dear desire of every nation” and the “joy of every longing heart.”

The second verse talks about the purpose of the Incarnation (“to deliver”), the dual nature of Christ (“a child and yet a King”), his ability to save us (“by Thine all sufficient merit”), and the future for which we long (“raise us to Thy glorious throne”).

The Lyrics

Come, Thou long expected Jesus
Born to set Thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us,
Let us find our rest in Thee.
Israel’s Strength and Consolation,
Hope of all the earth Thou art;
Dear Desire of every nation,
Joy of every longing heart.

Born Thy people to deliver,
Born a child and yet a King,
Born to reign in us forever,
Now Thy gracious kingdom bring.
By Thine own eternal Spirit
Rule in all our hearts alone;
By Thine all sufficient merit,
Raise us to Thy glorious throne.