Rejoice, the Lord Is King

Rejoice the Lord is King Your Lord and King adore
Rejoice give thanks and sing and triumph evermore
Lift up your heart lift up your voice
Rejoice again I say rejoice

The Lord our Savior reigns the God of truth and love
When He had purged our stains He took His seat above
Lift up your heart lift up your voice
Rejoice again I say rejoice

His kingdom cannot fail He rules o’er earth and heaven
The keys of death and hell are to our Jesus given
Lift up your heart lift up your voice
Rejoice again I say rejoice

Rejoice in glorious hope Our Lord the Judge shall come
And take His servants up to their eternal home
Lift up your heart lift up your voice
Rejoice again I say rejoice

Charles Wesley
John Darwall

A Call to Joyful Praise

In this triumphant hymn, Charles Wesley invites us to rejoice in the eternal kingship of Jesus Christ. As one of history’s most prolific hymnwriters and a key leader of the Methodist revival, Wesley had a passion for proclaiming the Lordship of Christ in singable verse. “Rejoice the Lord is King” is a prime example of his gift for uniting sound doctrine with soaring praise.

The opening stanza sets the tone, calling us to “rejoice, give thanks and sing, and triumph evermore.” Why? Because our Lord and King is worthy of adoration! Wesley knew that true joy flows from recognizing Christ’s supremacy and responding with wholehearted worship.

In the second verse, Wesley points to the basis of our rejoicing: the finished work of Christ. He highlights Jesus’ sacrifice in purging our sins and His exaltation in taking His rightful seat on heaven’s throne. This Gospel truth is cause for lifting our hearts and voices in praise!

Wesley goes on to celebrate the unshakeable nature of Christ’s kingdom. Neither earth nor hell can thwart His sovereign rule. Keys of death and life rest secure in His nail-pierced hands. No matter how bleak circumstances may appear, we can rejoice in our undefeated King!

The final stanza directs our hope to Christ’s coming return as Judge. One day, He will gather His servants to their eternal home. What a glorious hope we have! Knowing this future joy only amplifies our present rejoicing.

Woven throughout the hymn is a repeated refrain: “Lift up your heart, lift up your voice: rejoice, again I say, rejoice!” Wesley wanted this call to sink deep into our souls. Rejoicing is not just an emotion, but an intentional act of the will, a defiant “again I say” in the face of trials.

May we heed Wesley’s timeless invitation and make the joyful adoration of King Jesus our daily delight!

Call to Worship

Brief but meaningful reflections to help your congregation engage with the story, emotions, and spiritual truths behind beloved hymns before lifting their voices in worship together. Feel free to read as is or put into your own words!

Church, as we gather today, let’s heed the call of Charles Wesley, that great hymnwriter and church leader over 200 years ago, to “Rejoice, the Lord is King!”

In a world filled with uncertainty and strife, we have a sure hope – the eternal kingship of Jesus Christ. He is the God of truth and love, the Sovereign over earth and heaven. And through His sacrifice on the cross, He has purged our sins and made us His own.

So let us lift up our hearts and voices in joyful adoration! Let’s give thanks and sing, triumphing in the unshakeable reality of Christ’s reign. No matter what trials we face, we can rejoice again and again in our undefeated King.

As we look forward to that glorious day when He will return and gather us to our eternal home, let our present praise be a foretaste of that future joy.

Let’s join with the generations who have gone before us and those yet to come, raising the timeless song that Wesley penned. Rejoice, the Lord is King!