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HE Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, 19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. (Luke 4:18-19)
The quaint accents of Shakespearean English pervade many of the old and classic hymns of the Church to the dismay of the modern society that disdains all things formal and classical. Even though the old hymns may seem quaint to some, it should also be observed that the religion which they reflect is likewise quaint and old fashioned. The religion of Jesus Christ is quaint and foreign to those who regard the opinions of man above those truths expounded by the Lord – His is the truly Old Time religion that the world rejects.
This hymn was composed by Philip Doddridge (1702 – 1751) in 1735. He was a Scottish Non-Conformist minister and prolific hymn writer, who died of tuberculosis in Lisbon. The hymn is sung to the tune of Bristol in the 1940 Hymnal as Hymn 7. It deals more, than any other Advent hymn, with the mission of the coming Lord.
Hark, The Glad Sound!
Hark the glad sound! The Savior comes,
the Savior promised long;
let ev'ry heart prepare a throne
and ev'ry voice a song.
He comes the prisoners to release,
in Satan’s bondage held;
the gates of brass before him burst,
the iron fetters yield.
He comes the broken heart to bind,
the bleeding soul to cure,
and with the treasures of his grace,
to enrich the humble poor.
Our glad hosannas, Prince of Peace,
your welcome shall proclaim,
and heav'n’s eternal arches ring,
with your beloved name.
1 Hark the glad sound! The Savior comes, the Savior promised long; let ev'ry heart prepare a throne and ev'ry voice a song. This first stanza calls our immediate attention to the resounding voice of the ancient prophets of God who foretold in minute detail the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior and Redeemer. Though the world was bathed in smothering darkness for centuries past the last utterance of God in Malachi, the promises of God are sure and certain. He does not thing before its time, and Christ came in the fulness of time which may not conform to OUR desired schedule, but satisfies that of God perfectly in His plan of salvation. For those whose hearts have been ‘quickened’ by the Holy Ghost, the heart has been made an altar in the Temple of their Savior and Lord.
2 He comes the prisoners to release, in Satan’s bondage held; the gates of brass before him burst, the iron fetters yield. The will of man has forever been in bondage to the sovereign to whom they bear allegiance – whether to God, or the world and to its Dark Prince. Man’s will is depraved and wicked regardless the fine tones in which his inner desires are articulated. His will can only be free when it has conformed to the Mind of Christ. The parapets of deceit of the Dark Prince fall, and his ramparts of defense, come tumbling down, before the awesome power of the Maker of this world and all things created. Though our Lord conquers in Love, His judgment is sure and uncompromising.
3 He comes the broken heart to bind, the bleeding soul to cure, and with the treasures of his grace, to enrich the humble poor. Before the heart of man can be made into the Temple of God, it must be broken and remade in the image of its Lord. That old self-will must vanquished and the new man refined with the with the kind and gentle Will of Christ whose atoning death was its in purchase. He came to set we, the prisoners of sin, free as proclaimed in Isaiah 61:1-3 and repeated by our Lord in Luke 4:16-21. The Lord placed His seal upon the prophets in His concluding line on the subject, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.
4 Our glad hosannas, Prince of Peace, your welcome shall proclaim, and heav'n’s eternal arches ring, with your beloved name. Our ‘hosannas’ shall be proclaimed with far greater fervor on His return than those outside the gates of Jerusalem on His final visit there before His passion on the cross. He came that final week to Jerusalem lowly and riding on an ass, but His Second Coming will be at the head of the Armies of Heaven to judge the world and to receive His elect. There is no greater name under Heaven than the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ – a Name above all other names. There will be no ‘exceptions’ of acknowledging the Lordship and sovereignty of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords at His coming. 11 For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. (Romans 14:10b – 11 and see also Isaiah 45:23)
Even so, come, Lord Jesus! (Revelations 22:20)
