Cowper’s lines lift praise to Jesus as the eternal, almighty God. The speaker calls him “the great Supreme, the mighty God,” yet immediately grounds that majesty in intimacy: this is the same Lord who lay in a manger and who hears our complaints as a fellow human. The poem swings between cosmic scale and personal tenderness. There is sunlit confidence here. The speaker’s hope is not a cautious wish but a “well placed” certainty, making his heart glow with what he calls “heavenly zeal.” Because Christ is both the radiant ruler who once filled the morning stars with joy and the man who died for him, salvation feels not just possible but inevitably, warmly his. The mood is less formal reverence than a glad, assured delight — the kind of faith that sings because it knows it has nothing left to fear.
Jehovah Jesus — Summary
My song shall bless the Lord of all, My praise shall climb to His abode; Thee, Saviour, by that name I call, The great Supreme, the mighty God.
Without beginning or decline, Object of faith and not of sense; Eternal ages saw Him shine, He shines eternal ages hence.
As much when in the manger laid, Almighty Ruler of the sky, As when the six days' work He made, Fill'd all the morning stars with joy.
Of all the crowns Jehovah bears, Salvation is His dearest claim; That gracious sound well pleased He hears And owns Emmanuel for His name.
A cheerful confidence I feel, My well placed hopes with joy I see; My bosom glows with heavenly zeal, To worship Him who died for me.
As man He pities my complaint, His power and truth are all divine; He will not fail, He cannot faint; Salvation's sure, and must be mine.