Sunday Hymn: Rejoice, the Lord Is King

Rejoice, the Lord is king!
Your Lord and king adore;
Mortals give thanks and sing,
And tri­umph ev­er­more;
Lift up your heart, lift up your voice;
Rejoice, again I say, re­joice!

Jesus, the Sav­ior, reigns,
The God of truth and love;
When He had purged our stains
He took His seat above;
Lift up your heart, lift up your voice;
Rejoice, again I say, re­joice!

His king­dom can­not fail,
He rules o’er earth and Heav’n,
The keys of death and hell
Are to our Je­sus giv’n;
Lift up your heart, lift up your voice;
Rejoice, again I say, re­joice!

He sits at God’s right hand
Till all His foes sub­mit,
And bow to His com­mand,
And fall be­neath His feet:
Lift up your heart, lift up your voice;
Rejoice, again I say, re­joice!

He all His foes shall quell,
Shall all our sins de­stroy,
And ev­ery bos­om swell
With pure se­ra­phic joy;
Lift up your heart, lift up your voice,
Rejoice, again I say, re­joice!

Rejoice in glo­ri­ous hope!
Jesus the Judge shall come,
And take His ser­vants up
To their eter­nal home.
We soon shall hear th’arch­an­gel’s voice;
The trump of God shall sound, re­joice!

—Charles Wesley

Theological Term of the Week: Inclusio

inclusio

A phrase, line, or concept used to mark the beginning and ending of a literary unit of biblical text, and forming a frame or bracket around what lies between; also known as bookending or bracketing. 

• In scripture:

“Your glory, O Israel, is slain on your high places!

How the mighty have fallen!

Tell it not in Gath,

publish it not in the streets of Ashkelon,

lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice,

lest the daughters of the uncircumcised exult.

“You mountains of Gilboa,

let there be no dew or rain upon you,

nor fields of offerings!

For there the shield of the mighty was defiled,

the shield of Saul, not anointed with oil.

“From the blood of the slain,

from the fat of the mighty,

the bow of Jonathan turned not back,

and the sword of Saul returned not empty.

“Saul and Jonathan, beloved and lovely!

In life and in death they were not divided;

they were swifter than eagles;

they were stronger than lions.

“You daughters of Israel, weep over Saul,

who clothed you luxuriously in scarlet,

who put ornaments of gold on your apparel.

“How the mighty have fallen

in the midst of the battle!

“Jonathan lies slain on your high places.” (2 Samuel 1:19-25 ESV)

• From Inductive Bible Study by Richard Allen Fuhr, Jr. and Andreas Kostenberger, pages 162-163:

Inclusio provides the means of marking the beginning and the ending of a literary unit, often through parallel phraseology or subject matter. A classic example of this technique is seen in Ecclesiastes 1:2 and 12:28 with the proclamation, “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity” (NKJV; Heb hevel in the superlative). Between these two “bookend” statements, the idea of life lived in a hevel (“vain,” “absurd,” or “fleeting”) world is examined inside and out. …

The Prophets often use inclusio as a means of reinforcing the declaration of judgment or the proclamation of salvation. Compare Hosea 1:10-2:1 to 2:21-23 and notice the bracketing language and content that embraces the subject matter between these prophetic statements. 

Learn more:

1. Peter Krol: Know Your Literary Devices
2. Chris Brauns: The Gospel of Matthew’s Use of Inclusio or Bracketing

Related terms:

• biblical hermeunutics
• literary genres of the Bible

Filed under Scripture

Do you have a a theological term you’d like to see featured as a Theological Term of the Week? Email your suggestion using the contact button in the navigation bar above. 

Clicking on the Theological Terms button above the header will take you to an alphabetical list of all the theological terms.

Sunday Hymn: Come, Christians, Join to Sing

Come, Christians, join to sing
Alleluia! Amen!
Loud praise to Christ our king;
Alleluia! Amen!
Let all, with heart and voice,
Before His throne rejoice;
Praise is His gracious choice.
Alleluia! Amen!

Come, lift your hearts on high,
Alleluia! Amen!
Let praises fill the sky;
Alleluia! Amen!
He is our guide and friend;
To us He’ll condescend;
His love shall ne­ver end.
Alleluia! Amen!

Praise yet our Christ again,
Alleluia! Amen!
Life shall not end the strain;
Alleluia! Amen!
On heaven’s blissful shore,
His goodness we’ll adore,
Singing for­ev­er­more,
Al­le­lu­ia! Amen!

—Chris­tian H. Bate­man