Peeling Back the Tinsel

Hark! The herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King;
Peace on earth, and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled!”
Joyful, all ye nations rise,
Join the triumph of the skies;
With th’angelic host proclaim,
“Christ is born in Bethlehem!”

Hark! the herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King!”

Christ, by highest Heav’n adored;
Christ the everlasting Lord;
Late in time, behold Him come,
Offspring of a virgin’s womb.
Veiled in flesh the Godhead sees;
Hail th’incarnate Deity,
Pleased with us in flesh to dwell,
Jesus our Emmanuel.

Hark! the herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King!”

Hail the heav’nly Prince of Peace!
Hail the Son of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings,
Ris’n with healing in His wings.
Mild He lays His glory by,
Born that man no more may die.
Born to raise the sons of earth,
Born to give them second birth.

Hark! the herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King!”

Come, Desire of nations, come,
Fix in us Thy humble home;
Rise, the woman’s conqu’ring Seed,
Bruise in us the serpent’s head.
Now display Thy saving power,
Ruined nature now restore;
Now in mystic union join
Thine to ours, and ours to Thine.

Hark! the herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King!”

Adam’s likeness, Lord, efface,
Stamp Thine image in its place:
Second Adam from above,
Reinstate us in Thy love.
Let us Thee, though lost, regain,
Thee, the Life, the inner man:
O, to all Thyself impart,
Formed in each believing heart.

Hark! the herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King!”

“Hark the herald angels sing” Christmas Carol was written by Charles Wesley, brother of John Wesley founder of the Methodist church, in 1739. A somber man, he requested slow and solemn music for his lyrics and thus “Hark the herald angels sing” was sung to a different tune initially. Over a hundred years later Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) composed a cantata in 1840 to commemorate Johann Gutenberg's invention of the printing press. English musician William H. Cummings adapted Mendelssohn’s music to fit the lyrics of “Hark the herald angels sing” already written by Wesley. -carols.uk.or

Wordy, huh... Every year I have a favorite Christmas song, 2008 it was "Angels We Have Heard on High," last year it was "Do You Hear What I Hear?", and this year it is the recurring "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing".

I'm not sure why, but I have always been drawn to this song, there was something about the tune that caught my ear as a wee lad, but as a kid, words such as, hark, herald, incarnate, deity, and Godhead eluded my scope of understanding. It was just a fun carol to sing with a catchy tune.

Much like every other song, I sang it, but I did not grasp the meaning, whether for benefit or ill.

This carol is often lauded as being the most theologically accurate Christmas carol, so naturally it carries some weight with me as a Bible College student. I know it sounds pretentious, and this bias based on theological validity in every single facet has been something I've tried to combat over the past two and a half years.

But instead of just approving the song because it is correct; I decided this year to stop and see if I could understand it and actually stop using the song as a carol, but see it as worship and sing it as worship.

I had to say I was expecting a little bit weight, but naturally as the somber work of an Anglican hymnodist I shouldn't have been shocked. The language used is that a joyous reprise steeped in gratitude for the God who sent his son to die. If you have not read my blog on the weight of Christ go back to my first blog and read it, but this song itself was a condensed study of Christ to whom immense amount of glory is ascribed. From who originated the salvation of man and restoration of created to creator; of whom makes justified those who have faith in Christ. This song is in my mind a great portrait about what Christmas is about.

Adam’s likeness, Lord, efface,
Stamp Thine image in its place:
Second Adam from above,
Reinstate us in Thy love.
Let us Thee, though lost, regain,
Thee, the Life, the inner man:
O, to all Thyself impart,
Formed in each believing heart.

Christ, by highest Heav’n adored;
Christ the everlasting Lord;

But more so it is worship of the all powerful Creator of the Universe, who did not think that his equality as God was something to be grasped, but whom went from the highest throne to the lowest animal feed trough, endured a messy birth to come into the world as a little baby and endure a childhood far below him, and endure a people that would reject him and ignore him, and endure an intensely painful death. This song reminds me of the fact that Jesus did this not out of being forced, you can’t force God, he wasn’t begrudgingly doing it either, he wouldn’t be unjust in wiping us all out, he chose to come down out of love.

Peace on earth, and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled!”

This song reminds me of the fact that Jesus did this all out of love for the people who turned away from him, the people who could not even follow the Law and stay faithful to him. In his loving state he endured our sins and was mocked for doing so. He made us right with God. He also broke the bondage of Sin, not only did he save us but he came to heal us.

Hail the heav’nly Prince of Peace!
Hail the Son of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings,
Ris’n with healing in His wings.

As the Church around the holidays we like to say “Christ, he is the reason for the season,” we like to denounce the commercialism and promote remembering Jesus with our families and goodwill towards all men on Christmas. All of this is well and good, but this song reminds me of another important thing.

Christmas is a message about Christ and the roots from which Christianity sprouts, but it is not a message for the family nor the goodwill of man.

We like denouncing commercialism but we love to focus on family. I want to point out that, I’m not bashing family. I love being with my family on holidays, but the message of Christmas is a message that is meant for the marginalized. This song’s refrain is what reminds me of this:

Hark! The herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King;

This line is in reference to the appearance of the Angels of the Lord to the Shepherds in the field. Why is this significant; because it was they whom the Lord appeared to, and they who were given the Gospel firsthand? When we look at the nativity story we see that God appeared to Mary, Elizabeth, and the Shepherds. In the day these people were the marginalized.

Shepherds were outcasts that spent most of their lives alone, they smelled and were never wealthy. Few people liked them they came through with their sheep and blocked roads and killed crops.

Elizabeth was an upright woman but she was barren, she had no promise of posterity that would essentially bear the honor of Zachariah her husband and her. In Israel barren women were without much hope.

Mary was very poor; having been pregnant outside of wedlock she was also looked down upon in society.

Yet it was these three whom the Christmas message, God gave the greatest news ever told, first to the people who had little future and no hope, as the Angel of the Lord it is good news that will be for all the people.

This is where we like to throw out the goodwill towards men, we think Christmas is about being kind, but no, it is the promise of eternal life and gaining new hope in Christ.

If anything this line of Lyric is the most powerful reminder to me of what Christmas is about, but the renewed hope and of God keeping his promises to the world, a promise of reconciliation, healing and right standing. Not just getting close to your family or being kind (and especially not commercialism).  J

So if you take anything from this, I hope you now have a new appreciation for this song and what it represents. It has theological themes which paint a beautiful picture of which I am reminded of a correct perspective, but if for you, be reminded of Christ a an infant preparing to endure humility on our behalf and to remind to be encouraged and to encourage others and bring them to a knowledge of Christ.

Merry Christmas!

Joseph

"Where breath is at an impasse, the old self dies and the new self is raised"