Scripture Verse

Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low. And the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. Isaiah 40:3–5

Introduction

portrait
Thomas Kelly (1769–1855)

Words: Tho­mas Kel­ly, Hymns on Va­ri­ous Pass­ag­es of Scrip­ture, third edi­tion, 1809.

Music: All Saints Old Darm­stadt Ge­sang­buch, 1698 (🔊 pdf nwc).

Alternate Tunes:

Lyrics

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 rais­èd,
Go, and make the crook­ed straight;
Let the mount­ains be abas­èd,
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 ver­dure soon be clad.

Where the thorn and brier 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.