Hail to the King (Artful Devotion)

The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written, “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt!”

—John 12:12–15

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SONG: “King of Kings and Lord of Lords” | Music: Traditional Hebrew folk tune | Words: Sophie Conty and Naomi Batya (stage name: Nomi Yah), 1974 | Performed by Glenn Tompkins, 2011 | CCLI #23952

This Hebrew folk melody, with its gradually increasing tempo, is in the tradition of the Israeli hora, or round dance. In 1974 two Christian gal pals, Sophie Conty and Naomi Batya, put their own words to it when they were only thirteen. Since then the song has been published in at least sixteen hymnals. I learned about it two Palm Sundays ago when we sang it at my church. Tying it to that particular liturgical occasion was, I think, a really insightful choice on the part of the music leader. The beats are evocative of a clopping donkey, and the quickening pace builds tension, as when Christ approached the swell of praises in Jerusalem that preceded his doom.

It was hard to search for recordings of “King of Kings” because the title is such a common one. I’ve found that it is often performed by children’s choirs (replete with side steps and hand motions!), and the rock band Petra covered it in the late eighties. I chose to feature this solo accordion arrangement because it best captures the flavor of the song. Even without a vocalist, it’s easy to follow along:

King of Kings and Lord of Lords
Glory, hallelujah
King of Kings and Lord of Lords
Glory, hallelujah

Jesus, Prince of Peace
Glory, hallelujah
Jesus, Prince of Peace
Glory, hallelujah

This post belongs to the weekly series Artful Devotion. If you can’t view the music player in your email or RSS reader, try opening the post in your browser.

To view all the Revised Common Lectionary scripture readings for Palm Sunday, cycle B, click here.