Hymns for the Nativity: XVI

Hymn XVI of Charles Wesley's 'Hymns for the Nativity of Our Lord' (prepare yourself, not only is it hymn 16, it also has 16 stanzas; well really it has 15 stanzas because he skipped #8):

1. O Mercy Divine

How couldst Thou incline

My GOD to become such an Infant as mine!

2. What a Wonder of Grace!

The Ancient of Days

Is found in the Likeness of Adam's frail Race.

3. He comes from on high,

Who fashion'd the Sky,

And meekly vouchsafes in a Manger to lie.

4. Our GOD ever blest

With Oxen doth rest,

Is nursed by his Creature and hangs at the Breast.

5. So Heavenly-mild

His Innocence smil'd,

No wonder the Mother should worship the Child.

6. The Angels she knew

Had worshipp'd him too,

And still they confess Adoration his Due.

7. On JESUS's Face,

With eager Amaze,

And Pleasure extatic the Cherubim gaze.

(8. He skipped a verse so nothing here.)

9. Their newly-born King,

Transported they sing,

And Heav'n and Earth with the Triumph doth ring.

10. The Shepherds behold

Him promis'd of old,

By Angels attended, by Prophets foretold.

11. The wise Men adore,

And bring him their Store,

The Rich are permitted to follow the Poor.

12. To the Inn they repair,

To see the young Heir:

The Inn is a Palace; for JESUS is there!

13. Who now would be great,

And not rather wait

On JESUS their Lord in his humble Estate?

14. Like him would I be,

My Master I see

In a Stable; a Stable shall satisfy me.

15. With Him I reside:

The Manger shall hide

Mine Honour; the Manger shall bury my Pride.

16. And here will I lie,

Till rais'd up on high

With Him on the Cross I recover the Sky.

In this hymn, Charles appears to engage the characters of the Nativity stories more than anywhere else in the collection. The progression moves from the standpoint of Mary (1-6a), to the angels (6-9), to the shepherds (10), to the wise men (11-12), and ultimately to us and how we are to respond (13-16).

I take it that Charles this starts off from Mary's standpoint by his use of "mine" at the end of stanza 1. Though it certainly doesn't contain the beauty of the Magnificat, Mary's response to the news the angel brought to her is the lens through which this stanza (& perhaps the whole hymn since the rich & the poor as well as the notion of humility are key themes in both the Magnificat and this hymn) is best read. The concept of 'frailty' in stanza 2 communicates, as we have examine before, the fragility & brokenness of our fallen race. In order to bring reparation, Christ has to start at the beginning. Stanza 4 is yet another example of the paradox of the Nativity: it's difficult for me to imagine what it would be like to nurture the Source of my existence. Did Mary ponder this?

This hymn may very well be, as alluded to above, the most vivid picture in this collection of the importance of the 'poor' and of the necessity of our 'humble' response to the Nativity. How about the notion of stanza 11, "The Rich are permitted to follow the Poor." The immediate context points to the ordering of the story, that the first visitors to the Christ Child are of the poorest (shepherds) while the wise men (assumed to be rich given the monetary value of the gifts they brought) came afterward. Read these words from the Magnificat: "He has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent empty away." But these 'rich' wise men forsake their richness in giving their gifts away. In that sense the rich are 'permitted' to follow the poor. Because really until we "give all we can," to borrow a phrase from John Wesley, we will not be true followers of Him who became poor for our sake.

This naturally leads to the closing of the hymn, which marks humility and contentment as the path to "the Sky" because that is the path that Christ took his whole life! We should be content with a stable. If we're that easily satisfied then we'll find that our pride and honor-seeking will be 'buried' in the manger. That's a beautiful image! The manger, in this hymn, serves as a type of altar, where our pride is brought to death. I wrote a couple of days ago about great 'R' words associated with the Incarnation and salvation. I missed one: 'recovery,' which I realized when reading the final stanza in this hymn. What a great one it is, too. The path to 'recover the Sky'...the path to glorification goes through the Cross of Christ. And our participation in that involves our willingness to lie with Christ in the manger. "Blessed are the poor (in spirit and otherwise) for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."