This hymn by Charles Wesley (1707-1788; see Biographies) was written in 1744 and first appeared in John Wesley’s Moral and Sacred Poems. It was republished by Charles in the Hymns for Our Lord’s Resurrection, with six stanzas. Each of these stanzas concluded with the exultant refrain of rejoicing, but Wesley concluded his last stanza with the stirring couplet:

 We soon shall hear the Archangel’s voice, the trump of God shall sound, rejoice. This is one of three Wesley hymns for which Handel wrote tunes. GOSPEL, which he composed for this text, is not included in SDAH. When Samuel Wesley discovered these tunes he said, “My dear Father’s poetry must have highly delighted Handel.”

At the Wesley Museum, Lake Junaluska, North Carolina, is a book titled Hymns on the Great Festivals and Other Occasions, London, 1746. It contains a number of Wesley’s hymns in poem form; the first stanzas are within the music, which was composed by John F. Lampe. Hymn No. 8, headed “On the Resurrection,” is “Rejoice, the Lord is King” (see reproduction on page 264). Lampe’s style was florid and difficult to sing (notice the grace notes reveres dotted rhythms. And a melodic leap of and octave and a third), but the Methodist of that day loved and sang them. DARLWELL’s 148^TH, named for the composer and the psalm for which he wrote it, “Ye Boundless Realms of Joy,” was first used in Aaron William’s New Universal Psalmist, 1770. The original, in two parts, melody and bass, was in the key of D and the beginning note of the melody was A. It seems to be the only tune from that psalter that has survived. The unusual meter, 6.6.6.6.8.8., was called the “Hallelujah Meter” in some early American hymnals because of its exuberance and joyfulness.

Erik Routley (see SDAH 571) says this is one of those rare cases where “discreet editorial assistance and liberate qualities slightly obscures in an original.” In this case the tonic was substituted for the fifth at the beginning, and a more contrapuntal bass was provided. That has made this tune, as Routley says, one of the best loved tunes. SDAH also uses this for No. 377, “Go Forth with Christ.” Note the arpeggio in the first line of the melody, the descent of the seven successive notes of the scale as line 1 merges with line 2, and then the ascending octave plus one note beyond in lines 5 and 6.

John Darwall was born in the village of Haughton, Staffordshire, England, in January 1731. As Oxford graduate, he served as curate, then 20 years as vicar, of St. Matthew’s Church, Walsall, where this tune was first sung on Whitsunday in 1713. He died there on December 18, 1789. As an amateur musician, he wrote two volumes of piano sonatas, hymn texts, and tunes and composed music for all 150 psalms in part-two harmony.

📖 Reference: Companion to the Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal by Wayne Hooper and Edward E. White. Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1988.