Gospel Centered Songs: Come Thou Long Expected Jesus

This advent season, my husband and I are reading through the She Reads Truth and He Reads Truth advent study books. The song they drew inspiration from for these devotionals is Come Thy Long Expected Jesus. Throughout the readings for every day, we see a focus on not only this song but also its theme of it. Advent means “the coming,” and much like during the advent season, we, too, are waiting for Jesus to come.

This is a beautiful song and so gospel-centered. Without going into a rant, I think lyrics are very important. I say this because many songs are perceived as gospel songs, but if you hear the lyrics, they can apply to almost any circumstance. This is why, when I began to attend my current church, I was glad that they sang songs that all focused on the gospel (the gospel of Jesus, not the gospel of “me”). This is one song that will take you away from the “me” mentality and help you focus on Christ. It’s only a two-verse song, but both are filled with much meaning. You can find the lyrics below.

Come, thou long expected Jesus, 
Born to set thy people free;
From our  fears and sins release us,
Let us find our rest in thee.
Israel’s strength and consolation, 
Hope of all the earth thou art;
Dear desire of every nation,
Joy of every longing heart.

Born thy people to deliver,
Born a child and yet a king,
Born to reign in us forever,
Now thy gracious kingdom bring.
By thine own eternal spirit
Rule in all our heart alone;
By thine all sufficient merit,
Raise us to thy glorious throne.

SDG – “Soli Deo Gloria”