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"Jesus Shall Reign"

Isaac Watts is one of the best known hymn writers in the English language and he has left us with many a gem which we sing in our services today. Fewer remember that Watts was also a pastor, and he was deeply annoyed with the state of singing in his church, and he wrote boldly: “To see the dull indifference, the negligent and thoughtless air that sits upon the faces of a whole assembly, while the psalm is upon their lips, might even tempt a charitable observer to suspect the fervency of their inward religion." In plain modern English: “Even if you were going to be kind, you would doubt the reality of their faith if you saw how churchgoers sing the psalms without interest or thoughtfulness in worship!”

And so Watts set about to transform the hymnody of his day, and he applied all of his poetic and literary genius to it. For these efforts, we know Watts today as the “Father of Modern English Hymnody”.  His approach was to tailor the language of the Bible’s psalms for the modern audience, and situate them in Christian doctrines and experience so that they become memorable, understandable and singable.

One great example of this is the hymn “Jesus Shall Reign” in which he paraphrased Psalm 72. According to the ESV Study Bible, bulk of the psalm deals with the righteousness of David’s Son, the King, who rules and judges the people with fairness and equity (vs 1-4). Because of this, the people fear Him with reverence (vs 5-7) and all the kings of the earth pay Him tribute (vs 8-11). But He is not just high and lifted up, He is a compassionate King for the poor and needy (vs 12-14) and all the people are blessed because of Him (vs 15-17). Even so, His God, the God of Israel, is the one to be praised (vs 18-20), and Book 2 of the Psalms concludes with this royal end. 

Watts takes this celebration of the Royal Davidic King and attributes it directly to the rule and reign of King Jesus. He writes that the reign of Jesus is anywhere the sun is, from shore to shore, forever and ever till moons shall wax and wane no more. The people shall offer Him endless praise and prayer because He is both King and God, and His glory is like perfume which sweetens the air with God’s blessing. His kingdom is a place of blessing because the lame are healed, the prisoners set free, and the weary find rest in His rule, and provision and blessing are for all who are needy.

As you hear this hymn sung at our Reformation Concert 2018, consider the amazing rule of Christ the King, and why He taught us to say, “Thy kingdom come, Thy work be done on earth as it is in heaven.”