Hail To The Lord’s Anointed
Hail to the Lord’s Anointed
Hail to the Lord’s Anointed,
Great David’s greater Son!
Hail in the time appointed,
His reign on earth begun!
He comes to break oppression,
To set the captive free;
To take away transgression,
And rule in equity.
He comes with succor speedy
To those who suffer wrong;
To help the poor and needy,
And bid the weak be strong;
To give them songs for sighing,
Their darkness turn to light,
Whose souls, condemned and dying,
Are precious in His sight.
He shall come down like showers
Upon the fruitful earth;
Love, joy, and hope, like flowers,
Spring in His path to birth.
Before Him, on the mountains,
Shall peace, the herald, go,
And righteousness, in fountains,
From hill to valley flow.
To Him shall prayer unceasing
And daily vows ascend;
His kingdom still increasing,
A kingdom without end.
The tide of time shall never
His covenant remove;
His name shall stand forever;
That name to us is love.
IN APRIL 1822 James Montgomery was speaking in Liverpool at a Methodist missionary meeting. It was a time when the English were waking up to foreign missions, and numerous meetings like this one were presenting worldwide needs and commissioning new workers. Montgomery himself was a Moravian and already a noted hymnwriter. He loved to promote missionary zeal wherever he could.
As the hymnwriter spoke, the lights suddenly went out in the building. Then there was a loud crash as the back of a seat was broken in the darkness. For a moment it seemed that mass panic might ensue. But then the chairman of the meeting called out, “There is still light within,” and Montgomery resumed speaking. The crowd calmed down, listening in the darkness. Montgomery concluded his words by reciting this newly written hymn, “Hail to the Lord’s Anointed.”
Give your love of justice to the king, O God, and righteousness to the king’s son. Help him judge your people in the right way; let the poor always be treated fairly. May the mountains yield prosperity for all, and may the hills be fruitful.
Psalm 72:1-3
From the book
