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Monarchies have never been popular in America. Abe Lincoln speaking for the founding fathers said: "Government of the people, by the people and for the people"

But our hymn for today celebrates the Lord Jesus Christ as Master and Monarch: Its familiar words reinforce the Kingship of Christ:

Rejoice the Lord is King… Jesus the Savior reigns… He rules o’er earth and heav’n…

The hymnwriter, Charles Wesley, originally wrote this hymn as an E...

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Monarchies have never been popular in America. Abe Lincoln speaking for the founding fathers said: "Government of the people, by the people and for the people"

But our hymn for today celebrates the Lord Jesus Christ as Master and Monarch: Its familiar words reinforce the Kingship of Christ:

Rejoice the Lord is King…
Jesus the Savior reigns…
He rules o’er earth and heav’n…

The hymnwriter, Charles Wesley, originally wrote this hymn as an Easter Hymn celebrating Christ as ruler over "death and hell". He was inspired by 1 Corinthians 15:54, 55 where St. Paul declares "death is swallowed up in victory." The passage also contains those powerful and comforting words:

O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

Although many hymns commemorate Christ as Savior and Friend, Scripture is clear, Jesus Christ is also the King. Remember all creatures are ruled by someone or something. A fish is not free to be truly fish unless subjected to water. A bird cannot be a bird unless subject to the laws of aerodynamics. E. Stanley Jones said,

If you don’t surrender to Christ, you surrender to chaos.

Our hymn’s refrain quotes St. Paul:

Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again: Rejoice! (Phil. 4:4)

The Apostle Paul wrote these words while a prisoner in Rome, jailed for preaching Christ. Though chained in a dark and dismal Roman prison, yet He commanded his fellow believers to "rejoice in the Lord, always."

Today, the pursuit of happiness seems to be king. Sadly, its results are usually temporary, satisfied only when accompanied by good times. But our hymn teaches us that when Jesus is King of our lives, we will always be able to rejoice regardless of good or bad times. So sing our hymn today: Jesus is victor and we can rejoice!

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Early Methodists were persecuted and lived lives of hardship. Charles Wesley, who with his brother John started the Methodist movement, wanted to encourage his followers. He wanted them to be a singing, joyful people and not get discouraged and lose hope. Paul’s letter to the Philippians gave Wesley the text for "Rejoice, the Lord Is King." Although Paul was imprisoned when he wrote this letter, he wrote a message of joy and encouragement, stating "Rejoice in the Lord always, and again ...

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Early Methodists were persecuted and lived lives of hardship. Charles Wesley, who with his brother John started the Methodist movement, wanted to encourage his followers. He wanted them to be a singing, joyful people and not get discouraged and lose hope. Paul’s letter to the Philippians gave Wesley the text for "Rejoice, the Lord Is King." Although Paul was imprisoned when he wrote this letter, he wrote a message of joy and encouragement, stating "Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, rejoice."

"Rejoice, the Lord Is King" was first published with six stanzas in 1744 in John Wesley’s Moral and Sacred Poems. Two years later Charles Wesley included it in Hymns for Our Lord’s Resurrection. Most hymnals include four stanzas, omitting the fourth and fifth stanzas of the original hymn.

We sing "Rejoice, the Lord Is King" to the hymn tune Darwall’s 148^th. An alternate hymn tune, Gopsal, was composed by G. F. Handel for the hymn. According to Robert Guy McCutchan (Our Hymnody), Charles Wesley and Handel met at the home of Mr. Rich, whose wife had been converted through the preaching of Wesley. She requested that Handel compose hymn tunes for "Rejoice the Lord Is King" along with "Sinners, Obey the Gospel Word" and "O Love Divine, How Sweet Thou Art." Handel graciously agreed and composed Gopsal, Cannons and Fitzwilliam."

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