Come Thou Almighty King -Martin Madan

This majestic hymn was attributed to Charles Wesley in most hymnals before the early 20th century. The text was first published in a leaflet that was bound with George Whitefield’s 1757 edition of “Collection of Hymns for Social Worship” and was titled "An Hymn to the Trinity.” Since the leaflet also included a Wesley hymn, “Jesus, Let Thy Pitying Eye,” it was wrongly assumed that Wesley had also written “Come Thou Almighty King. Scholars now agree that Wesley was probably not the author since the hymn isn’t found in any of the hymnals he’d produced, and the unusual poetic meter isn’t typical of any of Wesley’s hymns.

It was common for hymn texts to be published anonymously in those days, and Whitefield often omitted the author’s names in his publications. Some believe that the hymn was written as an act of rebellion; the words could have easily been substituted for the words of England’s national hymn, “God Save the King.” That could have been the reason the author wished to remain anonymous. Both hymns were sung to the tune that’s used for “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee.” An interesting story is told that during the American Revolution, some British soldiers interrupted a Sunday morning service on Long Island and ordered the congregation to sing “God Save the King.” They responded enthusiastically by singing the correct tune, but the words were “Come Thou Almighty King.”

Of course, neither hymn could be sung to the same tune in England. In 1769, a new tune was written, especially “Come Thou Almighty King,” to be used in the “Collection of Psalm and Hymn Tunes” by Martin Madan. A cousin of William Cowper’s, Martin Madan (1726-1790) was an English lawyer who came to Christ under the preaching of John Wesley. He became a Methodist preacher and a chaplain at the Lock Hospital, which the sales of his new hymnal supported. One of the hospital’s patrons, the Countess of Huntingdon, was an influential evangelical who had used her wealth to support the 18th-century revivals in England and Wales. She commissioned Felice Giardini, an Italian composer living in London, to write a new tune called “Italian Hymn.” Madan included the text and tune in his collection. It quickly became popular and was printed in 100 different hymnals by 1820.

Madan’s new collection added even more speculation about the authorship of “Come Thou Almighty King.” He included hymns from various sources and usually didn’t include the author’s name. Still a mystery, some hymnologists have attributed the hymn to Martin Madan since he was editor of the hymnal and there was a newly-composed tune. 

“Come Thou Almighty King” is considered one the most powerful Trinitarian hymns ever written. The original five stanzas use many Biblical images for the Persons of the Trinity found in the King James Version. As a congregation of believers gathers to worship, they can expect the Lord’s blessing as they call upon Him to “Come Thou Almighty King.” The second stanza, which is usually omitted, asks the Lord to be a defense in times of trouble. As was the custom of the eighteenth-century hymn writers, the last stanza is concerned with the future, looking forward to praising God in eternity with love and adoration. For the Lord is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods (Psalm 96:4).

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