MY FAVORITE CHRISTMAS SONG
Several years ago, when I was teaching in a Christian school, a student asked me which Christmas song was my favorite. My love of Christmas music, especially the hymns, was no secret at that time; but the question highlighted my lack of an official favorite Christmas song. Of course, I had to remedy this situation without delay!
I reviewed several Christmas hymns, paying special attention to the lyrics. The words of a song are poetry, which is often the fullest expression of an idea in the fewest possible words. I looked for a hymn that told what Christmas is about, Jesus Christ, and that told the most about Him in the few words the lyricist chose.
The review ultimately led me to one song. Is it good poetry? Yes! Is it set to good music? Yes! Do I truly enjoy both singing and hearing it? Yes! Does it tell who Jesus is, plainly and without compromise? Yes! Do I intend to name this song now, rather than later? In fact, I do. The Song is "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing," with text by Charles Wesley.
The text of this hymn, as it appears in The Baptist Hymnal (Nashville: Convention Press, 1991), follows. Each bracketed Scripture reference follows the relevant line or phrase. My comments appear at the end of the hymn text.
Hark! The herald angels sing,
In the first verse, note the words God and sinners reconciled. Jesus' mission at His First Coming was to do everything that could be done on God's part to enable us sinners to live in fellowship with God. By the time He ascended into Heaven, this was fully accomplished.
The name Christ occurs once in the first verse and twice in the second. Please do not take this name lightly. Christ is in Greek what Messiah is in Hebrew. Wesley's further descriptions of Jesus in Verse Two confirm that he sees Jesus as the Gospel writers saw Him: He is fully God, though He temporarily lived here as one of us. The words Jesus our Immanuel state plainly that Jesus is God with us. They also link Old Testament prophecy (Is. 7:14) with New Testament fulfillment (Matt. 1:23).
The third verse of this hymn relates Jesus' life and mission to us, the people for whom He came here. What did He come to bring us? Wesley says that Jesus came to give us peace, righteousness, light, life, and healing. He set aside His glory and volunteered to come here. The three born statements in this verse could be the points of a sermon outline. An altar call should certainly follow.
This is a hymn that I love to sing loudly. It is the gospel, with a theology textbook attached, condensed into three stanzas. I like to think that God asks both the saved and the unsaved, "Hey! Are you paying attention!?" whenever this hymn is sung or played. When I pay attention, I always end up joining the angels' song: GLORY TO THE NEWBORN KING!
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