Hail to the Lord's Anointed!
Great David's greater Son;
Hail in the time appointed,
His reign on earth begun!
He comes to break oppression,
To set the captive free;
To take away transgression,
And rule in equity.

He comes with succour speedy,
To those who suffer wrong;
To help the poor and needy,
And bid the weak be strong;
To give them songs for sighing,
Their darkness turn to light;
Whose souls, condemn'd and dying,
Were precious in His sight.

By such shall He be feared,
While sun and moon endure,
Beloved, obey'd, revered;
For He shall judge the poor,
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Through changing generations,
With justice, mercy, truth,
While stars maintain their stations
Or moons renew their youth.

He shall come down like showers,
Upon the fruitful earth,
And love, joy, hope, like flowers,
Spring in His path to birth:
Before Him, on the mountains,
Shall Peace, the herald, go;
And Righteousness, in fountains,
From hill to valley flow.

Arabia's desert-ranger
To Him shall bow the knee,
The Ethiopian stranger
His glory come to see:
With offerings of devotion,
Ships from the Isles shall meet,
To pour the wealth of ocean
In tribute at His feet.

Kings shall fall down before Him,
And gold and incense bring,
All nations shall adore Him,
His praise all people sing:
For He shall have dominion
O'er river, sea, and shore,
Far as the eagle's pinion
Or dove's light wing can soar.

For Him shall prayer unceasing,
And daily vows ascend;
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His kingdom still increasing,
A kingdom without end:
The mountain-dews shall nourish
A seed in weakness sown,
Whose fruit shall spread and flourish,
And shake like Lebanon.

O'er every foe victorious,
He on His throne shall rest,
From age to age more glorious,
All-blessing and all-blest;
The tide of time shall never
His covenant remove;
His Name shall stand for ever,
That Name to us is--Love.

Sacred Poems and Hymns

For an author who wrote over 400 hymns and is thought to rival Watts and Wesley in skill, James Montgomery (1771-1854) led a very colorful life. His parents became missionaries to the West Indies when he was six years old, leaving him to be educated by the Brethren of Fulneck. When he flunked out of this Moravian school at the age of fourteen he left for London. After a short stint as a clerk in a book shop he went to Sheffield to work at the Sheffield Register. When the editor of the paper had to flee England because of his political views, Montgomery stepped in as editor, and held that position for 31 years. Like his predecessor, Montgomery's social and political activities got him into trouble, though his time spent in jail was put to good use writing poetry and hymns.

After some years of "church-hopping" (on any given Sunday he could be found at the Baptist, Methodist, or even the banned Catholic church) he finally returned to the Brethren. In fact, "Hail to the Lord's Anointed" was first sung on Christmas day, 1821 back at the Fulneck Settlement. It gained notoriety when Dr. Adam Clarke heard Montgomery quote it at a missionary conference and liked it so much that he included it in his "Commentary on the Bible."

The hymn is a loose paraphrase of Psalm 72, a so-called "Messianic" psalm because it describes a king of such noble character that it can only point to the Messiah. The Psalm bears the heading "Of Solomon" which has been translated to mean written by, written about, or dedicated to Solomon. The King James translation which was used by Montgomery assumes not only that it was written about Solomon, but that his father David wrote it. This davidic lineage is the focus of the hymn, reminding us that though the reign of David would be surpassed by his son Solomon, a greater Son of David would one day eclipse them both.

Note: It is interesting to compare Montgomery's treatment of Psalm 72 to that of Isaac Watt's "Jesus Shall Reign Where'er the Sun." --Greg Scheer, 1996