Lyrics
God’s saints of old
Through history told
Of the One who was to come:
A son, a king,
A Lamb to be slain
For the sins of all the world.
He’s the Promise of the Ages,
Lifted up to save us,
Jesus Christ, our sacrifice.
He’s the Fount of living water,
King and Friend forever,
Bow before
The Promise of the Ages.
In flesh he came,
Yet chose to remain
With the outcast and the poor.
He bled, he died,
Was raised, glorified,
Now he lives forever more!
Lift your hands and sing ‘hallelujah’
To the King of all the earth
Raise your voice and sing ‘hallelujah’
To the King of all the earth.
How long until
The earth will be filled
With the knowledge of the Lord;
When he shall come,
When nations and tongues
Will be joined in glorious song?
A song of celebration, reminding us that God keeps His promises
This song was always intended as a lively, fun celebration song, especially useful as an opener in a sung time of worship. But it does have an important thematic progression.
To simply marvel at the life of Christ without understanding the historical context is to miss out on the glory of the overall story, and its significance for us today. Jesus didn’t simply ‘appear’: His coming was prophesied in virtually every page of the New Testament, and that fact that He was rejected and shunned by His own doesn’t change the glorious truth that God is fulfilling His promise to save the world.
And that means He is going to complete this work of salvation, that one day the whole earth will be filled with His glory, and every eye shall see Him. That should be a source of great encouragement and hope to us, especially when we feel disheartened by the state of the world in which we live.
