The advent hymn that sets the standard for all advent hymns comes, not surprisingly, from the Methodist stable. The Rev James King (no relative as far as I know) labelled it in 1885 after a wide-ranging survey as one of the four great Anglican hymns. The hymn in question ‘Lo, he comes with clouds descending’ is a hymn by Charles Wesley that takes no prisoners, makes no concessions to sceptics, has an energy hardly equalled and gives the Advent season a prime place in the calendar and a worthy task for any choir to tackle.
Our Methodist friends will doubtless be slightly disconcerted to be reminded that Charles Wesley did not originate this hymn without some help. John Cennick (1718-1755) had opened Pandora’s box and allowed a hymn that was to prove of some consequence to take to the air. Wesley captured it and transformed it. The tune Helmsley that usually accompanies it came from a Methodist by the name of Thomas Olivers. He may have heard its forbear in a popular context. As William Booth (or somebody like him) was to say, why should the devil have all the best tunes? Queen Victoria would have no other tune in its place. Other tunes that are happy to join it include Regent Square.
The hymn is based, it is said, on Revelation 1.7. The words of 1 Thessalonians 4.15-18 may also be considered relevant. I said the hymn makes no concession to sceptics and its apocalyptic aspect sets a question mark against bland Christianity. What could be more disturbing than:
Every eye shall now behold him/Robed in dreadful majesty
And the words of the rest of the hymn are just as pungent.
If revealed truth were to be decided on the basis of musical merit at a congregational level, I should be a Methodist straight away.
6,500 HYMNS
Charles Wesley wrote six and a half thousand hymns. Nobody could write at that rate and maintain a lofty standard throughout. The wonder is that Charles wrote so many first-class hymns. He was one of the leaders of the Methodist movement, experienced the prejudice that came the way of such people and died at the age of 80. Ordained in the Church of England in 1735, he was, if anything, more of a Church of England man than his brother and deplored the split that brought about the Methodist Church that we know today.
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