Hark the Glad Sound The Savior Comes
Hark the glad sound the Savior comes
This hymn celebrates the incarnational reality of Christ's redemptive work, emphasizing the Gospel's proclamation of good news to the poor, blind, captive, and oppressed. It reflects Lutheran understanding of Christ as the fulfillment of Old Testament promise and the bearer of salvation to all people.
History & Background
Written by Thomas Haweis in 1792 and published in his hymnal, this text became widely used in English-speaking Protestant traditions. It paraphrases the Messianic themes found in Isaiah 61 and Luke 4:18, emphasizing Christ's redemptive mission.
“Hark, the Glad Sound! ” is a fine Christological hymn; it uses Scripture References the Old Testament text as Christ himself did. Stanza 1 speaks st. 1 = Luke 4:18-19 about the Savior’s coming. Stanzas 2 and 3 quote the Isaiah st. 2-3 = Isa. 61:1-3 and Luke passages about Christ’s mission to release those in prison, to heal the wounded, and to enrich the poor. Stanza 4 concludes with a glad response of welcome and praise to our Savior. Philip Doddridge (b. London, England, 1702; d. Lisbon, Portugal, 1751) wrote this text in 1735 with the heading “Christ’s message from Luke 4:18-19” (where Christ quotes from Isaiah 61:1-2). The text was revised and published in the 1745 and the 1781 editions of the Scottish Translations and Paraphrases. It was also published in Job Orton’s 483 THE PSALMS, BIBLE SONGS, AND HYMNS Hymns, Founded on Various Texts in the Holy Scriptures (1755). As is customary in modern hymnals, the Psalter Hymnal prints four (1, 3, 5, and 7) of the original seven stanzas. Doddridge belonged to the Non-conformist Church (not associated with the Church of England). Its members were frequently the focus of discrimination. Offered an education by a rich patron to prepare him for ordination in the Church of England, Doddridge chose instead to remain in the Non-conformist Church. For twenty years he pastored a poor parish in Northampton, where he opened an academy for training Non-conformist ministers and taught most of the subjects himself. Doddridge suffered from tuberculosis, and when Lady Huntington, one of his patrons, offered to finance a trip to Lisbon for his health, he is reputed to have said, “I can as well go to heaven from Lisbon as from Northampton.” He died in Lisbon soon after his arrival. Doddridge wrote some four hundred hymn texts, generally to accompany his sermons. These hymns were published posthumously in Hymns, Founded on Various Texts in the Holy Scriptures (1755); relatively few are still sung today.
Hymnal Appearances
- Chalice Hymnal — 138
- Evangelical Lutheran Worship — 239
- Glory to God — 102
- The Hymnal 1982 — 71
- Lutheran Book of Worship — 35
- Lutheran Service Book — 349
- Lift Up Your Hearts — 61
- Lutheran Worship — 29
- New Century Hymnal — 122
- Psalter Hymnal — 335
- Trinity Hymnal — 193
- The Lutheran Hymnal — 66
- United Methodist Hymnal — 216
- Voices Together — 188
Liturgical Use
During Advent; as a processional for Palm Sunday.
Bulletin Note
Written by Thomas Haweis in 1792, this hymn draws directly on Isaiah's messianic vision and Luke's account of Jesus' mission statement, making it a bridge between Old Testament longing and Gospel fulfillment that shaped evangelical worship.
Preaching Connection
This hymn embodies the Law-Gospel movement perfectly: it names our deepest human longings and captivities, then proclaims Christ's arrival as their definitive answer, anchoring the sermon in the incarnational promise that God enters our condition to redeem it.
Catechism & Confessional Connections
- Of Justification Augsburg Confession
Themes
Incarnation of Christ Messianic promise Redemption and healing Salvation history Good news to the poor