Come, Thou Almighty King

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ITALIAN HYMN

I. Text: Origin

The classic Trinitarian hymn “Come, thou Almighty King” was first printed on a 4-page leaflet, together with the hymn “Jesu, let thy pitying eye.” An example of the leaflet is cataloged by the British Library under the first hymn’s title, “The Backslider.” The leaflet itself is undated, but it was appended to some editions of George Whitefield’s Collection of Hymns for Social Worship. Examples of this can be found in copies of the 6th (1757), 8th (1759) and 9th editions (1760) held by the British Library. In the 10th edition (1761), the hymn was incorporated into the volume. The leaflet is therefore thought to have been produced after the 9th edition had been sent to press.

Fig. 1. “The Backslider,” British Library copy (ca. 1760).

II. Text: Authorship

The first hymn, “Jesu, let thy pitying eye,” is certainly by Charles Wesley (1707–1788). It was included in Hymns and Sacred Poems, vol. 1 (1749), Select Hymns with Tunes Annext (1761), Hymns for the Use of the People Called Methodists (1780), and the revised Pocket Hymn Book (1787). The temptation would be to attribute “Come, thou Almighty King” to him also, given how they were printed together. Additionally, the latter hymn is an imitation or parody of the British song “God save great George our King,” which is consistent with Wesley’s habit of writing imitative hymns, such as “Love divine, all loves excelling” (based on “Fairest Isle, all isles excelling,” words by John Dryden). Nonetheless, Wesley’s authorship is uniformly rejected for two significant reasons. First, the hymn never appeared in any collection published by the Wesleys. Second, the hymn is also not found in any of Charles Wesley’s manuscripts. The true author of the hymn remains unknown.

III. Text: Analysis

In its structure and in some of its language, the hymn is an imitation of “God save great George our King,” which had been printed in Thesaurus Musicus (1744). It uses the same meter (6.6.4.6.6.6.4) and rhyme scheme (aabcccb). The imitation is clear in the first two stanzas, then diverges in the third. In the first stanza, the author borrowed the same triple rhymes (victorious, glorious, reign over us), and in the second stanza borrowed the first three lines nearly word-for-word. The author of the imitation expanded beyond the original three stanzas, yielding five stanzas built on the persons of the Trinity, with two stanzas devoted to the second person, plus a doxology as a conclusion.

Lutheran scholar John Fleischmann framed the hymn in terms of its historical context, saying, “Written in the age of rampant Rationalism and budding Unitarianism, the writer attempts to ground the singers doxologically in the catholic faith.”[1] Rationalism, which had developed out of the late 16th century and especially the 17th century, “privileged philosophical reason over religious experience for arriving at certainty in knowledge,”[2] and because the concept of the Trinity is difficult to parse logically, it was rejected by Rationalists. This manner of thinking was adopted by the followers of Faustus Socinus (1539–1604), whose belief system became “perhaps the most notorious heresy in early modern Europe.”[3] The Socinian rejection of the Trinity and insistence on a singular God led to the Unitarian moniker. One of the most significant advocates for Unitarianism when this hymn was written was Joseph Priestley (1733–1804), who “was keen to root out what he saw as irrational belief and superstition wherever he found it.”[4] “Come Thou Almighty King” could have been a direct response to Unitarianism, or at the very least it was an intentional effort to provide a Trinitarian hymn for the worship of Anglican Methodists such as Whitefield and the Wesleys.

The hymn as a whole is a prayer or petition for each person of the Trinity to assist or intercede in some fashion, while also conveying a series of names and titles for the divine persons. The first stanza addresses the Father, who is omnipotent (Almighty), asking for help to worship, and welcoming his sovereign rule. The name Ancient of Days comes from Micah 5:2.

The original second stanza, addressing Jesus, is often omitted in favor of the following stanza, which also addresses the second person. Reasons for the choice are not immediately clear, except perhaps for the false rhyme in the first two lines. J.R. Watson has been particularly critical of these lines, calling them “supererogatory,” “militant,” “crude and unnecessary.”[5] Nevertheless, they are scriptural, referring to Jesus as Lord (Rom. 10:9), asking him to scatter our enemies (Ps. 68:1), make them fall (Ps. 45:5), act in our defense (Ps. 46:1), and hear our petitions (1 Cor. 1:2, 1 Tim. 2:5–6).

The third stanza invokes Jesus as the Incarnate Word (John 1:14), which is like a sword (Heb. 4:12, Rev. 1:16). The plea to “give thy Word success” is reminiscent of Isaiah 55:11 (“my word . . . shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it”). It ends by asking for the Spirit of Holiness to descend. Jesus is the sender of the Spirit (John 14:26, 15:26; Acts 1:5,8).

The fourth stanza appeals directly to the Spirit, the comforter (John 14:16 in the KJV), and the sacred witness (1 John 5:7). The Spirit is powerful (Micah 3:8, Lk. 4:14, Rom. 15:19) and dwells in human hearts (Ezek. 11:19, 36:26). The author asks for the Spirit not to depart (Ps. 51:11).

The final stanza addresses the Trinity as a whole. H. Augustine Smith summarized it this way:

And in strict accord with the prevalent custom of the eighteenth-century hymn writers, the petitions of the last stanza are entirely concerned with the future life. The worshipper who has enjoyed the privilege of prayer and praise here looks forward to the joy of ceaseless praise hereafter.[6]

IV. Tune

This tune is by Italian composer Felice Giardini (1716–1796). Giardini had settled in England around 1750, mainly producing and conducting operas. He was also known for his skills on the violin. This tune first appeared in A Collection of Psalm and Hymn Tunes (1769 | Fig. 2), edited by Martin Madan, where it was set to “Come thou almighty King” and called HYMN TO THE TRINITY. The collection had been released in small sets (fascicles) over the course of several years, with this tune appearing in the first set, some time between 1760 and 1763. This pairing has been very successful and remains the most common tune setting for the hymn.

Selina Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon, is sometimes credited with commissioning or requesting the tune. Just as the text is an imitation of the British anthem, this tune also bears some similarities to its predecessor, starting in the fourth phrase. “Yet Giardini has created something with more grandeur than his model. The descending triads in measures in 1 and 7 (plus the editorial rising one in measure 13) add spaciousness and nobility,” asserted Carl Daw.[7] For a note-by-note comparison of the two tunes, see Robin Leaver (1994). Notice how in the original printing, the triadic rise at “come and reign” was sung by the bass part; this was later ported to the melody. The tune was first called ITALIAN HYMN in Bartholomew Brown’s Bridgewater Collection of Sacred Musick, 3rd ed. (1810). It is sometimes called MOSCOW after the place where Giardini died. Both the text and tune rose to prominence very quickly, being printed in 100 various collections over 60 years, by 1820.

by CHRIS FENNER
for Hymnology Archive
8 October 2021

Footnotes:

1. John G. Fleischmann, “Come, Thou Almighty King,” Lutheran Service Book Companion to the Hymns, vol. 1 (2019), p. 1440.

2. Brian Najapfour, A Treasury of Doctrinal, Practical, and Experimental Christianity: Theology and Spirituality in the Hymns of Joseph Hart (1712–1768), dissertation (Theological University of Apeldoorn, 2021), p. 90.

3. Sarah Mortimer, “Early Modern Socinianism and Unitarianism,” The Oxford Handbook of Early Modern Theology, 1600–1800, Oxford Handbooks Online (Sept. 2014): Oxford

4. Sarah Mortimer, “Early Modern Socinianism and Unitarianism,” The Oxford Handbook of Early Modern Theology, 1600–1800, Oxford Handbooks Online (Sept. 2014): Oxford

5. J.R. Watson, “Come, Thou Almighty King,” Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology: CDH

6. H. Augustine Smith, “Come, Thou Almighty King,” Lyric Religion: The Romance of Immortal Hymns (1931), p. 69.

7. Carl P. Daw Jr. “Come, Thou Almighty King,” Glory to God: A Companion (2016), p. 4.

Related Resources:

“A Loyal Song Sung at the Theatres Royal,” Thesaurus Musicus (1744): Archive.org

John Julian, “Come, Thou Almighty King,” A Dictionary of Hymnology (London: J. Murray, 1892), p. 251: HathiTrust

H. Augustine Smith, “Come, Thou Almighty King,” Lyric Religion: The Romance of Immortal Hymns (NY: Fleming H. Revell, 1931), pp. 68–71.

Carlton R. Young, “Come, Thou Almighty King,” Companion to the United Methodist Hymnal (Nashville: Abingdon, 1993), pp. 299–300.

Robin A. Leaver, “Come, Thou Almighty King,” The Hymnal 1982 Companion, vol. 3A (NY: Church Hymnal Corp., 1994), pp. 677–679.

Paul Westermeyer, “Come, Thou Almighty King,” Hymnal Companion to Evangelical Lutheran Worship (Minneapolis: Augsburg, 2010), pp. 226–227.

Robert Cottrill, “Come, Thou Almighty King,” Wordwise Hymns (9 January 2012): https://wordwisehymns.com/2012/01/09/come-thou-almighty-king/

Carl P. Daw Jr. “Come, Thou Almighty King,” Glory to God: A Companion (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2016), pp. 3–4.

John G. Fleischmann & Joe Herl, “Come, Thou Almighty King,” Lutheran Service Book Companion to the Hymns, vol. 1 (St. Louis: Concordia, 2019), pp. 1440–1442.

Leland Ryken, “Come, Thou Almighty King,” 40 Favorite Hymns on the Christian Life (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R, 2019), pp. 92–94: Amazon

J.R. Watson, “Come, Thou Almighty King,” Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology: CDH

Hymn Tune Index, ed. Nicholas Temperley: https://hymntune.library.uiuc.edu/default.asp