In Matthew we read that “where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”1 In 1739 in London, England, one such small gathering occurred. Charles Wesley met with his fledgling flock in an old, deserted iron foundry to preach and sing praises to God. This first Wesleyan chapel became known as the Foundry Meeting House.2 It was run down, damp, and drafty, but those who gathered there felt the nearness of their Lord as they raised their voices to Him in song.
From those years at the old foundry, a book of hymns was published that captured the exuberance of Wesley’s faithful followers. One of the most joyful hymns included in the Foundry’s Collection was an Easter hymn Wesley wrote for his first service. We still sing it with great passion: “Christ the Lord is ris’n today, Alleluia!”3
Alleluia is a Hebrew expression of praise that was present in the early Christian church. In fact, St. Jerome, who translated the Bible into Latin in the late fourth century, said that in his day believers would gather in houses of worship to sing praises to God, causing the very ceilings to shake with their resonate hallelujahs.4
“Raise your joys and triumphs high . . . ! Sing, ye heav’ns, and earth reply.”5 Like the Christians of long ago, we should let our voices shake the rafters and our prayers of gratitude reach the heavens this Easter season, giving thanks for our Father in Heaven’s plan and praise to our resurrected Savior, for “Christ the Lord is ris’n today”!
Program #3895
1. Matthew 18:20.
2. See Kenneth W. Osbeck, 101 Hymn Stories (1982), 48.
3. “Christ the Lord Is Risen Today,” Hymns, no. 200.
4. See 101 Hymn Stories, 48.
5. Hymns, no. 200.