1. Sing, ye ransom'd Nations, sing
Praises to our new-born King,
Son of Man our Maker is,
Lord of Hosts and Prince of Peace!
2. Lo! He lays his Glory by,
Emptied of his Majesty!
See the GOD who all Things made,
Humbly in a Manger laid.
3. Cast we off our needless Fear,
Boldly to the Church draw near,
JESUS is our Flesh and Bone,
GOD-with-us is all our own.
4. Let us then with Angels gaze
On our new-born Monarch's face,
With the Choir Celestial join'd,
Shout the Saviour of Mankind.
5. Son of Man, will he despise
Man's well-meaning Sacrifice?
No; with condescending Grace
He accepts his Creature's Praise.
6. Will his Majesty disdain
The poor Shepherd's simple Strain?
No; for Israel's Shepherd He
Loves their artless Melody.
7. He will not refuse the Song
Of the stammering Infant's Tongue,
Babes He hears humanely mild,
Once Himself a little Child.
8. Let us then our Prince proclaim,
Humbly chant Immanuel's Name,
Publish at his wondrous Birth
Praise in Heaven and Peace on Earth.
9. Triumph in our Saviour's Love,
Till He takes us up above,
All his Majesty displays,
Shews us all his Glorious Face.
Textual note: in stanza 3, the 1st ed. (1745) read "Boldly to his Cratch draw near." I had to look up 'cratch' and it turns out it is another word for manger. The change from that to "church" is interesting. I'm not sure why Wesley made this move, but it could be that there is something here about the identity and mission of the Church. What if we understood the manger/cratch to be a symbol of what the Church is to be...where Christ, the Prince of Peace, can be found! Christ's humility in the Incarnation is the theme of this section of the hymn, and that may draw our attention to another hymn, a more ancient one, which also happens to focus on the Incarnation: Philippians 2:5-11. And there we find St. Paul exhorting the Church to have "this same mind" that was in Christ Jesus; namely, the mind of humility. Put differently, I'll ask the question, "What depiction of Jesus do people see when they 'draw near' to the church? Is it the Christ who humbly entered the earth via a stable or someone else?" What can be more humble than the Son of God being born in human likeness among cattle, sheep, and so on, in a feed trough? Jesus is in our humble midst, let us cast off "our needless fear."
Moving on...I love the question/answer format of stanzas 5 & 6. To ask these questions about someone of such high worth and to receive the answer is counter to the pomp & circumstance of someone who likes to tout their title and privilege. Would such a high king despise worship that comes from dirty, lowly, off-key shepherds? An "earthly" king might, but this King is no ordinary King. He is also the Shepherd of Israel. He "loves their artless melody." Sometimes I get annoyed with the guy behind me who can't carry a tune in a bucket. It's probably a good thing for our worship leaders to sing on-key and I'd bet the angels that night did, but God wants everyone to "make a joyful noise" knowing that in this life there are going to be some missed notes. I need to get past my annoyance and praise the Lord who gives voice to even those who can't sing that well.
Similarly, for those who have issues with stuttering and stammering while speaking: remember that Christ once had an infant tongue that stammered and made baby noises. He can resonate. He won't refuse our speech or song that in its heart praises him! Hallelujah!
Similarly, for those who have issues with stuttering and stammering while speaking: remember that Christ once had an infant tongue that stammered and made baby noises. He can resonate. He won't refuse our speech or song that in its heart praises him! Hallelujah!
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