Because Christmas is coming, I’ve decided to take a break from my daily review of modern worship songs and focus on Christmas hymns for a month. I’ve started with Advent.
Advent hymns emphasize waiting, longing, and preparation, while Christmas hymns celebrate fulfilment, joy, and Christ’s birth.
Today’s hymn is Hark! The Glad Sound.
This is one of three Hark hymn sung at Christmas, the other two being Hark! A Herald Voice is Calling and Hark the Herald Angels Sing. There are actually 20-30 hymns that begin with Hark. That’ll be a nice challenge – find and learn all the “Hark” hymns 😀. Hark means listen or pay close attention.
Hark, the Glad Sound is relatively modern compared to the other Advent hymns, written in 1735 by Philip Doddridge. And the lyrics are much clearer too.
1. Hark, the glad sound! The Saviour comes,
the Saviour promised long;
let every heart prepare a throne,
and every voice a song.
2. He comes, the prisoners to release,
in Satan’s bondage held;
the gates of brass before him burst,
the iron fetters yield.
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.
4. Our glad hosannas, Prince of peace,
thy welcome shall proclaim,
and Heaven’s eternal arches ring
with thy belovèd Name.
Advent emphasizes waiting for the promised Saviour. He came 2,000 years ago and he will come again in the future. But he also comes into people’s lives here and now. Verse 1 touches on that.
It reminds me of the 1970’s chorus, “Jesus, we enthrone you.” Jesus is already the King of Kings, but the hymn is about acknowledging that in our day-to-day lives.
In verse 2, what is meant by Satan’s bondage? The Bible speaks of humanity rebelling or declaring independence from God and coming under the power of Satan. Some are very obviously evil. Others are good is relative terms, but still fall short. We need to make up our minds whose side we’re on:
Matthew 12:30
“Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.
Through the incarnation and the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, they way is open to return to God.
Many hymns focus on being set free. Here’s a country song on that theme.
Verse 3 takes a different perspective. The focus is on our unmet needs rather than on our sin. And here and now, he brings comfort both personal and also through the influence of the gospel in the world.
Here’s a hymn on the theme of comfort.
Verse 4 reminds me of Jesus approaching Jerusalem and the people crying hosanna, which means “Save us, we pray”. It’s often pointed out that many of the people who welcomed Jesus shouted “crucify him” later that week. But some weeks later, perhaps many of the same people listened to the Apostle Peter on the day of Pentecost and repented and believed. Even in our own lives, we can show such inconsistency, which is why we need a Saviour.
Hosanna, is one of the few words that wasn’t translated, and it features in many hymns. In Christian worship, Hosanna came to mean not only “Save us” but also “Salvation has come!”—a joyful proclamation rather than just a plea.
Here are a couple of very modern Hosanna hymns:
Hibernia Gospel 