George Weissel (1590-1635), who was a pastor at Konigsberg from 1623 until his death, and one of Prussia’s important hymn writers, wrote five eight-line stanzas of this hymn, which was published in 1642. It was entitled “Macht Hoch die Tur, das Tor machete weit” (Lift Up the Door, Fling Wide the Gate). It was intended for the first Sunday in Advent. It is based on the psalm that describes the return to heaven of the ascended Christ: “Lift up your hands, O ye gates . . .  and the King of glory shall come in” (Ps. 24:7). The hymn was translated from the German by Catherin Winkworth (1829-1878; se biographies) in her Lyra Germanica, First Series, 1855. The original meter was 8.8.8.8.8.8.6.8. and was faithfully translated in this meter of each stanza have been omitted, making the hymn a normal Long meter one.

Her heading “Fourth Sunday in Advent. Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say unto you, Rejoice. . .  The Lord is at hand” (an exact quotation from Philippians 4:4). After opening the lines from Psalm 24, the hymn goes on to draw the spiritual lesson of Christ entering the heart of the believer and uses many Scripture references. WAREHAM was composed in 1738 for Psalm 36:5-10 by William Knapp (1698-1768; see SDAH 174) and named in honor of his birthplace in Wareham, Dorset, England. The same tune, in the lower key of A, is used for SDAH 174, “ Star of Our Hope.” Notice that the melody, with the one exception in line 1 and one other in line 4, proceeds successive notes of the scale.

-from Companion to the Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal by Wayne Hooper and Edward E. White