This hymn first appeared anonymously around 1757–60, bound with editions of George Whitefield’s Collection of Hymns for Social Worship. Its original second stanza was a nearly word-for-word parody of the British national anthem—“JESUS our LORD arise, / Scatter our Enemies, / And make them fall”—and in some places the hymn was actually sung to the tune of “God Save the King.” Once that militaristic stanza fell from use, the remaining four stanzas formed a perfect Trinitarian structure: the first three address the Father, the incarnate Son, and the Holy Spirit in turn, while the fourth gathers all three into eternal praise of the blessed Unity. This was no accident—the text was written deliberately during an era of rampant Rationalism and budding Unitarianism to ground singers firmly in orthodox Trinitarian faith. The authorship remains unidentified; though it was long suspected to be Charles Wesley’s, the editors of the Wesley poetry have never accepted it. The tune ITALIAN HYMN was composed by Felice Giardini of Turin, published around 1762.
Sung at Our Saviour
2026