Thy kingdom come, O God

Thy kingdom come, O God. Lewis Hensley* (1824-1905). This advent hymn was first published in Hensley’s Hymns for the Minor Sundays from Advent to Whitsuntide (1867) and was included in the Appendix (1868) to the First Edition of A&M, the Church Hymnary (1898), and EH (1906). It was only after 1933 that it became well known in Methodist, Congregational and Baptist churches in Britain. The hymn is a call for peace and justice in the world and for freedom from ‘the tyrannies of sin’ both internal and external, in obedience to Christ’s teaching in the Lord’s Prayer, and as such it has rung true for believers ever since its first appearance: Thy kingdom come, O God,  Thy rule, O Christ,...