Come Thou Long Expected Jesus (Rejoice)

Charles Wesley's Advent hymn gets a refrain-heavy retelling from We Are Messengers, with the old words kept nearly whole. The opening plea is for the one "born to set Thy people free / From our fears and sins release us," and the next verse calls Him "Israel's strength and consolation," the "hope of all the earth" and "dear desire of every nation."

Between verses, a single word keeps returning: "Rejoice," followed by "Oh, every longing heart," repeated until it becomes the real chorus. The later verses stay with the paradox at the center of Christmas. The Redeemer, Shepherd, and Friend is "born within a cattle stall," and still "Christ was born. The Lord of all." A final stanza prays for a "child and yet a King" to reign in believers forever and to rule "in all our hearts alone."

Luke 2:7 supplies the stall, Isaiah 9:6 the child who is also a ruler, and Haggai 2:7 the "desire of all nations" behind Wesley's phrase. Galatians 4:4-5 gives the same promise of being set free, in the fullness of time.