Lo! He Comes! Let All Adore Him
Words: Thomas Kelly
Lo! He comes! let all adore Him!
‘Tis the God of grace and truth!
Go! prepare the way before Him,
Make the rugged places smooth!
Lo! he comes, the mighty Lord!
Great His work, and His reward.
Let the valleys all be raised;
Go, make the crooked straight;
Let the mountains be abased;
Let all nature change its state;
Through the desert mark a road,
Make a highway for our God.
Through the desert God is going,
Through the desert waste and wild,
Where no goodly plant is growing,
Where no verdure ever smiled;
But the desert shall be glad,
And with venture soon be clad.
Where the thorn and brief flourished,
Trees shall there be seen to grow,
Planted by the Lord and nourished,
Stately, fair, and fruitful too;
They shall rise on every side,
They shall spread their branches wide.
From the hills and lofty mountains
Rivers shall be seen to flow,
There the Lord will open fountains,
Thence supply the plains below;
As He passes, every land
Shall confess His powerful hand.
I had never heard this hymn before sitting down to write this post. I debated on breaking down the definition of adore and lo, trying to change the way we read them in hymns. I searched the lines for something deep and revolutionary, trying to find something that would be brand new information. I can’t be faulted for missing an opportunity to try and reinvent the wheel – but as Jesus often does, what struck me about this hymn was not new information.
The second stanza says:
“Let the valleys all be raised; Go, make the crooked straight; Let the mountains be abased; Let all nature change its state;”
Go, make the crooked straight…let all nature change its state. What struck me most about this hymn is the reminder, yet again, that Jesus changes everything. The crooked, bent and broken parts of us are made new. All of nature is changed, because the Lord comes.
Nothing remains unaffected. Not even the driest, most barren of places can stay the way that it was when Jesus passes through.
“Through the desert God is going, through the desert waste and wild, where no goodly plant is growing, where no verdure ever smiled; but the desert shall be glad, and with venture soon be clad.”
We have hope because He came.
Death is not the end because He came.
We have victory because He came.
Our circumstances do not have the final say, because He came.
We are adopted into the kingdom of God because He came.
We can persevere because He came.
We are beautiful, worthy and have a purpose and value that cannot be refuted because He came.
Nothing remains hopeless, nothing remains unaffected, because He came.
Let these last few weeks of advent be refreshing, blessed and healing as you sit in the truth that Jesus changes everything.
Credit: Photo by Sarah Simon // Instagram: @themintgardener
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