Hosanna

Hosanna… Hosanna
Hosanna… Hosanna
God of gods you are, Hosanna
King of kings you are, Hosanna

Blessed be the King who comes in the name of God
living Son, to you be all praise
You who gave life back to Lazarus, Lord Jesus,
you are the living King, Jesus my Lord
Like the golden casket God gave us,
you are the Son of the merciful King, Jesus the King
Like a stream that pours water to the helpless,
such a stream you are, Jesus, Hosanna to you
Son of God, who comes to us

Hosanna… Hosanna
God of gods you are, Hosanna
King of kings you are, Hosanna

Shaking the earth with a shout of victory,
from the vaults of the sky a rain of blessing-flowers falls
Bringing the supreme word that God gave,
you were born to be our Saviour
Shaking the great thrones of the unjust rulers,
King Jesus, it is you who wears the human crown
Son of God, who comes to us

Hosanna… Hosanna
God of gods you are, Hosanna
King of kings you are, Hosanna

This is a hymn of triumphant praise, and its very title, “Hosanna,” carries us straight into Palm Sunday, the day the crowds welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem crying “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” The song takes up that cry and repeats it like a wave of acclamation, hailing Jesus as “God of gods” and “King of kings,” and echoing the very words of the crowd, “blessed be the King who comes in the name of God.”

The middle verses heap up titles and images to say who this King is. He is the one “who gave life back to Lazarus,” recalling the raising of his friend from the tomb, proof that he is “the living King” with power over death itself. He is compared to precious things, “the golden casket God gave us,” and to life-giving mercy, “a stream that pours water to the helpless.” Each image draws another “Hosanna.”

The final verse fills the sky and shakes the earth with his coming, “shaking the earth with a shout of victory,” while “a rain of blessing-flowers falls” from heaven. And it names the paradox of his kingship: he “shakes the great thrones of the unjust rulers,” yet “wears the human crown,” a King who overturns worldly power while himself becoming one of us to save us. What the listener is left with is pure, ringing celebration, the joy of Palm Sunday made present, welcoming Jesus as God of gods and King of kings, the Son of God who conquers death and injustice, and greeting him with the crowd’s ancient, jubilant shout: Hosanna!