1. Hark! the Herald Angels Sing,
"Glory to the New-born King,
Peace on Earth and Mercy mild,
GOD and Sinners reconcil'd";
Joyful, all ye Nations rise,
Join the Triumph of the Skies,
With Angelic Host proclaim,
"Christ is Born in Bethlehem!"
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,
"Glory to the New-born King!"
2. 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 see,
Hail the Incarnate Deity,
Pleased as Man with men to dwell,
JESUS, our Immanuel;
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,
"Glory to the New-born King!"
3. Hail the Heav'n-born 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 men no more may die;
Born to raise the sons of earth,
Born to give us second birth.
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,
"Glory to the New-born King!"
Is it an accident that one of the great Christmas-time films, "A Charlie Brown Christmas" features this as the tune in the background at the end and the lyrics sung by all the children after screaming, "MERRY CHRISTMAS, CHARLIE BROWN!!" Three Charles' take center stage there: Charles Wesley, Charles Shulz, and Charles Brown!
This is my wife's favorite Christmas song, which makes it have an even dearer place in my heart! Carrie (my wife) also loves Charlie Brown. I'm not sure if these two affinities are related.
I can't help but notice that each of the three stanzas repeat the first two lines. I thought about that this morning in church, and then pondered on the meaning of the phrase "New-born King!" Prince of Peace seems appropriate enough, but to call a new-born a King?!?! Did that push Herod over the edge, that he was Born King of the Jews? Incidentally this phrase "King of the Jews" was also was inscripted on the sign above Jesus' head on the cross.
Jonathan Powers quoted this hymn on twitter several days ago: "Pleased as Man with men to dwell, Jesus, our Immanuel!" What a great line! Sometimes I get the feeling that we've been told this notion that Jesus came down grumpy and grouchy because he had to bail us out of hell because of our own stupidity. Let's face it, the last part of that is largely true, but let's not get the wrong idea on Jesus' intent. Somehow he takes delight in becoming human. Does that humble you? me? He loves you, me...us! Imagine you have an older brother who comes to bail you out of jail...before he does, he's more than likely going to give you a lecture about your stupidity and may even make you spend the night in prison before he comes to post your bail. Jesus joins us in the prison cell...and has taken delight in becoming one of us so that he can lead us out of prison. "Pleased..." let that sink in this Christmas!
Finally, with all the "Jesus Christ, Born to DIE!" talk that I hear a lot, it's refreshing to see that Charles puts some other "mission statements" to the birth of Jesus: "...that men no more may die, ...to raise the sons of earth, ...to give us second birth." It's the part that happens after his death (and ours) that Jesus is really after! We are a people of the resurrection. Resurrection implies death, to be sure, and that death is awe-fully important, but the Jesus story does not stop at Calvary, nor even at Easter, but it's Easter that serves as the true promise of our deliverance, now in the "second birth" and in the general resurrection where the "sons of earth" will be raised, "no more to die!" Let's take hold of that promise!
There is too much to say about this hymn and this post. Really, really great stuff. I don't have nearly enough time to write everything I'm thinking right now, but here are a few comments (actually, I'll limit it to one comment per verse):
ReplyDelete1) I love the way Charles Wesley can blend teaching, solid scriptural content, and affectionate language. Check out these lines in particular: "Joyful, all ye Nations rise, Join the Triumph of the Skies..." There is something bold and victorious in those lines that calls me (even me!) to join the song of the angelic choir from so long ago - to be part of something so much larger than my simple life here and now. Bravo Charles.
2) Prior to the great line "Pleased as man with men to dwell" Charles says, "Veiled in flesh the Godhead see, Hail the incarnate Deity!" This was one of his favorite images to play upon - an incarnate God. That God would become man is a mystery never became old to Charles. Much of his theology centered upon the incarnation of Christ, and thus most of his doxology stemmed from this same event. This is one of his most brilliant ways of blending the mystery and doxology.
3) And what would a Charles Wesley hymn be without a little bit of a sermon thrown in? I love how Charles allows our singing to be both praise and proclamation. These lines really exemplify this: "Born that men no more may die; Born to raise the sons of earth, Born to give us second birth." He sums up pretty nicely the Gospel story in these few lines, and also places them within the context of one event. He writes it in a poetic way where it is able to be sung, and thus, we proclaim the Gospel story. (Even Charlie Brown.)
So much great stuff and I could go on forever. Unfortunately I have a meeting in about an hour and I still need to get ready. Thanks for all these great posts Jeff.
- Jonathan
And thank you for these insightful comments, Jonathan!
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