Watchman, Blow the Gospel Trumpet Lyrics
1 Watchman, blow the gospel trumpet,
Ev’ry soul a warning give;
Whosoever hears the message
May repent, and turn, and live.
Chorus:
Blow the trumpet, trusty watchman,
Blow it loud o’er land and sea;
God commissions, sound the message!
Ev’ry captive may be free.
2 Sound it loud o’er ev’ry hilltop,
Gloomy shade, and sunny plain;
Ocean depths repeat the message,
Full salvation’s glad refrain. [Chorus]
3 Sound it in the hedge and highway,
Earth’s dark spots where exiles roam;
Let it tell all things are ready,
Father waits to welcome home. [Chorus]
4 Sound it for the heavy laden,
Weary, longing to be free.
Sound a Saviour’s invitation,
Sweetly saying, “Come to me.” [Chorus]
Watchman, Blow the Gospel Trumpet Hymn Story
“Watchman, blow the gospel trumpet” is a Christian hymn that was written by Irish American, Henry Lake Gilmour.
This hymn is a call for all Christians to heed the call of Jesus to spread the gospel to all around them. It calls on us to spread the gospel everywhere, on land and sea. And borrowing on the words of Christ it calls us to sound it “in the hedge and highway”.
Henry Lake Gilmour was born in 1836 in Londonderry, Ireland. He later emigrated to Ireland where he did work as painter and later became a dentist. Within this period, he became heavily involved in the work of the Methodist Church where he served as Sunday School superintendent and also directed the choir at Pitman Grove Camp meeting for decades.
He later edited and published a few hymn books. Some of the famous musicians he worked with included John Sweney, J Lincoln Hall, John J Hood, Howard Entwistle, Joshua Gill, E L Hyde, Milton S Rees, and William J Kirkpatrick.
Some of the hymns he worked on include,
Haven of Rest
Jesus, I’ll Go Through with Thee
Like a Mighty Sea
Saved from the Wreck
When Israel Out of Bondage Came
