Oh sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth! Sing to the Lord, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day. Psalm 96:1-2 ESV

I love the music of the church and have sung in a choir nearly all my now seventy-nine years. My earliest memories of singing praises to God were in the children’s choir at First Methodist Church in Marquette, Michigan. Dr. Allen Niemi from the college (now University) led us with his violin. In this season of Advent I am loving the great variety of Christmas Music available on the Internet and I can’t stop continually praising God for the awesome talent: from the great inspired lyricists, music composers and arrangers, talented musicians – instrumental and voice – and even the gifted and talented technicians with the beautiful backgrounds, videos, and more. Every morning following my morning Wake-Up Call from Seedbed (https://seedbed.com/wakeupcall/) I allow Youtube to just continue to lead me in a most worshipful time of watching and listening to the blessed music of the season. What an awesome, comforting, and worshipful experience is mine. I would pray the same for you.

Of course, the theme and purpose of all is Immanuel, God with us, who is Jesus, the Christ, our Messiah. As I reflect on the hymnody of the church Charles Wesley’s “Hark, the Herald Angels Sing” is front and center, reminding me immediately of the heavenly chorus of angels surrounding frightened shepherds on the hills outside the little town of Bethlehem, inspiring them as the first seekers to go in search of the promised birth of the Savior.  Wesley’s Carol is a favorite staple of the church, and beyond. Charles Schulz included this carol in “A Charlie Brown Christmas” (available via the Internet).

Wesley was always diligent to quote scripture and include theological interpretation in his hymn writing. Today’s hymn has undergone numerous changes from Wesley’s original composition, which was quite typical  He wrote this in 1739. The familiar melody, adapted by William H. Cummings, comes from a cantata by Felix Mendelssohn, though Wesley originally wrote it to a different tune. The hymn has, in fact, undergone a number of changes from Wesley’s original composition. C. Michael Hawn in his “History of Hymns” on the United Methodist Discipleship Ministries website (https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/history-of-hymns-hark-the-herald-angels-sing) wrote: “Changes in hymn texts are quite common. The average singer on Sunday morning would be amazed (or perhaps chagrined) to realize how few hymns before the twentieth century in our hymnals appear exactly in their original form.”

Stanza 1:

Hark! the herald angels sing,
“Glory to the new-born 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!”
Refrain: Hark! the herald angels sing,
“Glory to the new-born King!”

May I suggest going back and reading those lyrics aloud. Notice how they are true to scripture and tell the story of Christ’s birth. Wesley even put lines 2, 3, and 4 in quotes. And what is the universal response to Christ’s birth? “Joyful, all nations rise and join the triumph of the skies and with the angels proclaim, again in quotes, “Christ is born in Bethlehem!”. And then in the refrain we join the angels to sing “Glory to the new-born King!”

Verse 2:

Christ, by highest heaven adored,
Christ, the everlasting Lord,
late in time behold him come,
offspring of the Virgin’s womb:
veiled in flesh the Godhead see;
hail th’incarnate Deity,
pleased with us in flesh to dwell, Jesus, our Immanuel.

Again, take a moment to read those lyrics and discover there the wonderful truths of scripture and of theology. Christ: none other higher, he the everlasting Lord. He came to earth in the fullness of time via the womb of a virgin. Jesus is none other than God himself clothed in human flesh – incarnate. And Christ is not ashamed to be clothed in humanity but pleased to be one with us – our Immanuel, God with us.

Verse 3:

Hail the heaven-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Sun of Righteousness!
Light and life to all he brings,
risen with healing in his wings.
Mild he lays his glory by,
born that we no more may die,
born to raise us from the earth,
born to give us second birth. 

From heaven now to earth , Christ comes to bring peace to our troubled world. He is our Prince of Peace, our Sun of Righteousness. I love that play on words “sun of righteousness” for he is the light of the world come to reconcile with us and to receive us to himself, declaring not judgement but declaring us right with him, righteous. He offers himself to all, no exceptions. He lifts us, healed of our sins and failures with his mighty wings. His humility is real, claiming no glory to himself. He comes to us to bring salvation with his gift of the Holy Spirit as we are born anew, and all will be raised earth to heaven.

Such is the gift of the music of the church: from the teaching of the lyrics and to the inspiring melodies lifting our Spirits, bringing us peace, delivering solid hope and joy for tomorrow. Sing out, sing out world in praise of our Immanuel, God come to earth. Christ’s peace and joy be yours today, tomorrow, and forever. Amen.