The Sunday after Pentecost is celebrated in the church year as Trinity Sunday, an opportunity to draw special attention to and offer praise to the three persons of the Holy Trinity. For some this may seem like such a basic concept of Christian truth that it is merely assumed as we pass along to other subjects. But it is one of the most glorious, and mysterious, and meaningful, and wonderful dimensions of our faith. This study examines one of our great hymns as a resource to celebrate the Trinity. “Come, Thou Almighty King” is found in the section of our hymnals devoted to the Trinity, along with others such as “Holy, Holy, Holy,” “All Glory Be to Thee, Most High,” and “Holy God, We Praise Thy Name.”
The doctrine of the Trinity is one of the foundational truths of Christianity that marks it as totally unique among the religions of the world. Religions in the ancient world were all polytheistic, worshipping a vast pantheon of deities, such as in the religion of Rome and Greece. There are religions today that worship one god (Judaism, Islam) and religions that worship many gods (Hinduism, Shinto). But never in human history has there been a religion that worshipped one God in three persons, as in Christianity. This is one of the indications that this is not man-made but rather divinely-revealed religion, for no human mind would ever have invented something as incomprehensible as the Trinity!
The doctrine of the Trinity includes several wonderful ideas that stir us to devotional wonder and worshipful praise. The first is the relationship between the three persons, as they have existed forever in joyful fellowship with one another. What were they doing before the creation of the universe and the making of Adam and Eve? They were loving and enjoying one another in perfect, eternal companionship. And the second is the matter of the roles each person plays in our salvation, as we find it in Ephesians 1:3-14. It was the Father who predestined us for adoption (vs. 5), it was the Son who redeemed us through His blood (vs. 7), and it was the Spirit who caused us to be born again, sealing us as His own (vs. 13).
Many regard this as the most glorious trinitarian hymn ever written, and it has been published in hymnals consistently ever since it was written in 1757. The hymn enjoyed great popularity immediately, and for 25 years after its writing, no hymnal was published without it. For some time the hymn was wrongly believed to have been written by Charles Wesley. The hymn was first published as “An Hymn to the Trinity” in a 1757 leaflet by Wesley, and that same year, it was included in George Whitefield’s “Collection of Hymns for Social Worship.” From there it was propelled into popularity both in America and Europe, and it has retained its place as one of the great hymns of the church.
The unusual poetic meter of this hymn (664.666.4), however, was not one used by Charles Wesley in any of his hymns. This is the same meter used for the famous British national hymn, “God Save the King,” sung on this side of the Atlantic to the tune named AMERICA (“My Country, ’Tis of Thee”). Though widely considered the oldest text in this unusual meter, for obvious reasons it could not be sung in England to the same tune as the British national hymn. Martin Madan (1726-1790), an English lawyer turned preacher, in his 1769 Collection of Psalm-Tunes never published before, paired “Come, Thou Almighty King” to the tune ITALIAN HYMN, written for the text by Felice de Giardini.
There’s an interesting story connected with this music. During the American Revolution, while British troops were occupying New York City and appeared to be winning the war, a group of English soldiers went to church one Sunday morning in Long Island. The setting was tense. The occupiers demanded the congregation sing, “God Save The King” in honor of King George III. Here’s the text :
God save great George, our king,
Long live our noble king, God save the king.
Send him victorious, happy and glorious,
Long to reign over us, God save the king.
The organist was forced to begin playing the tune. but instead of singing “God Save the King,” the congregation broke out in “Come, Thou Almighty King,” the same music but a text addressing a greater King! We have no report of the outcome, but we can imagine the soldiers being quite perplexed about what to do next. Perhaps that’s why the person who wrote this hymn may have intended to remain anonymous to avoid prosecution for subversion!
The fact that we don’t know who wrote this hymn text may actually be a blessing in disguise. Our attention is not drawn away to an author, but rather remains focused on the subject: our Triune God. “Come, Thou Almighty King” is a classic Trinitarian hymn full of biblical metaphors for deity, starting in the first stanza: “King,” “Father” and “Ancient of Days” (Daniel 7:9, 13, 22). In stanza two the second person of the Trinity is represented by the “Incarnate Word” (John 1:1; I John 5:7). The third person of the Trinity has several names: “Spirit of Holiness” (Romans 1:4), “Holy Comforter,” (John 14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7) and “Spirit of Power.” The Trinity itself is symbolized by “the great One in Three.”
In stanza 1 we address the first person of the Holy Trinity, God the Father. He is the almighty King of the universe (Psalm 10:16), the eternal Father (Matthew 6:9), and the Ancient of Days (Daniel 7:9-14, 22). The description of God as King is one of the central themes of the Bible. He possesses absolute authority and power over all creation. He sits enthroned in regal majesty above all that exists. And His character is infinitely pure and perfect, unlike earthly kings who are often cruel and tyrannical.
Come, thou Almighty King, help us Thy name to sing, help us to praise.
Father, all glorious, o’er all victorious, come and reign over us,
Ancient of Days.
There is another stanza at this point in the original, almost universally omitted today. It echoes the themes of “God Save the King.”
Jesus, our Lord, arise, Scatter our enemies, And make them fall!
Let Thine almighty aid Our sure defense be made: Our souls on Thee be stayed.
Lord, hear our call.
In stanza 2 we address the second person of the Holy Trinity, God the Son. He is the Incarnate Word who became flesh (John 1:1, 14), bearing a mighty sword, leading the armies of heaven to vanquish the Devil (Revelation 19:15, 21), and responding to our prayers as the one and only Mediator between God and man (1 Timothy 2:5). As the incarnate Savior, He has conquered by shedding His blood, not only redeeming His elect, but also defeating Satan and insuring the ultimately victory of the kingdom of God.
Come, thou Incarnate Word, gird on Thy mighty sword, our prayer attend.
Come and Thy people bless, and give Thy Word success, Spirit of holiness,
On us descend.
In stanza 3 we address the third person of the Holy Trinity, God the Spirit. He is the other Comforter Jesus promised to send (John 14:26, 15:26, 16:7-13), He bears witness through the word written by the inspired apostles and prophets (Ephesians 3:3-5), and He dwells permanently within our hearts (Romans 8:8-11). We remember that the Spirit is as much a person as the Father and the Son; He is not an abstract power. He is the one who witnesses with our spirit that the Scriptures are true. He is the one who causes the elect to be born again, and as the other Comforter stays with us, causing us to grow in holiness.
Come, Holy Comforter, Thy sacred witness bear in this glad hour.
Thou who almighty art, now rule in ev’ry heart, and ne’er from us depart,
Spirit of power.
In stanza 4 we address the three persons together: Father, Son, and Spirit. Our God is the great One in Three to whom we offer eternal praises and before whom we live in obedience (Matthew 18:19), the one whose majesty will be our delight throughout eternity. We reject the Unitarianism that crept into New England and that resides within a cult like Jehovah[s Witnesses, and that is at the heart of Modalism (that the one God wears different “masks,” sometimes as Father, sometimes as Son, and sometimes as Spirit). The doctrine of the Trinity is one of the “root” doctrines of the tree of Christian doctrine. It is essential to the faith.
To the great One in Three eternal praises be, hence evermore.
His sov’reign majesty may we in glory see, and to eternity
love and adore.
The tune we use for the hymn, known as ITALIAN HYMN, was apparently written specifically for this text by the once-popular Italian composer and conductor, Felice di Giardini (1716-1796). He was the leading violinist of his day and accepted the invitation of Frederick, Prince of Wales, to become the Royal Director of Music. He was in great demand as a teacher and performer. After years of success in London, he attempted to return to the English operatic scene but was poorly received by critics and the public alike. Some years later he left his company for Russia. He arrived in St. Petersburg at the beginning of 1796, and shortly after died in Moscow in terrible poverty.
Watch and sing along with the hymn: