Christmas Carols
Last year I chronicled December, the Christmas season, by posting onto my Facebook page my then four year-old's daily re-staging of our Nativity scene. Lots of times Baby Jesus ended up with the resin cat and her kittens.
This year I decided to be a tad more reverent of the season by posting the words to my favorite Christmas hymns. I love to read the words to hymns. I think you are able to truly know the meaning of the hymn when you read them. As a non-singer, my son recently told me, "Daddy sings really, really, really better than you.", I sometimes miss the meaning of the lyrics as I am worrying if anyone can hear me singing. No one needs to hear that.
Once in Royal David's City (Luke 2:12) is one of my favorites to hear. I love when the soloist at our church, often a father-son duo, sings this wonderful hymn. Jesus came into this world a baby. Just like we all did. He couldn't feed himself, he had to rely on his mother Mary. Except he could feed himself if he wanted to, he is the Bread of Heaven after all. He could have been the only self-sufficient baby ever born, but he chose to be helpless. And on the cross; he could have saved himself and annihilated his persecutors, but he didn't. So he, "who is God and Lord of all", to a "lowly cattle shed, and his shelter was a stable, and his cradle was a stall". He lived on earth "with the poor, and mean, and lowly". He lived here on this fallen earth with us and like us, but he lived with no sin! "Not in that poor lowly stable, with the oxen standing by, we shall see him, but in heaven, set at God's right hand on high". But how will we see him? How can we see him?
Hark! the Herald Angles Sing (Luke 2:13,14) tells us. As the angels announce his birth, "God and sinners reconciled", "light and life to all he brings, risen with healing in his wings". He heals all wounds, takes away all sin. He was "born that man no more may die, born to raise the sons of earth, born to give them second birth". That second birth is our sin washed clean by his death and resurrection. All we have to do is acknowledge Jesus the Son of God as our Savior. How easy is that? I especially love this little phrase in this hymn, "pleased as man with men to dwell"; he loved being here and living with us and has always loved us. Amazing.
What Child is This (Matthew 2:2) is so often sung by children's choirs or at a children's Christmas service and the first verse is so very sweet. But the second verse lays bear the truth of our Savior born on earth, "Why lies he in such mean estate, where ox and ass are feeding? Good Christian, fear; for sinners here the silent Word is pleading. Nails, spear, shall pierce him through; the cross be borne for me, for you: hail, hail the Word made flesh..." That is powerful. The Word is pleading. Pleading. The Savior is pleading for me, for you. Pleading while he is walking on earth as flesh. Pleading while he his crucified. Pleading while he is alive, raised from the dead, and sitting on the right hand of God. He loves us and wants us to love him too. We were made to love him and are only filled when we do. That is powerful.
God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen (Luke 2:10) I always think this hymn should be sung in a British accent by people wearing 1900's apparel. It seems to me a very proper hymn, you merry gentlemen. But it's not written to gentlemen, but to shepherds. And in Jesus' time, shepherds were the lowest of the low, the dirtiest of the dirty, the shadiest of the shady. Yet God chose these ragamuffins to announce, via angelic host, the birth of his Son. "To save us all from Satan's power when we were gone astray". Who but a rag-tag bunch of shepherds would immediately know that they had gone astray? God's plans do make sense; but sometimes not immediately.
Lift Up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates! (Psalm 24:7) This is not a hymn often sung by carollers. In fact, I bet the average person would not identify this hymn as a Christmas carol. The words are so beautiful...so here they are:
Lift up you heads, ye mighty gates! Behold, the King of glory waits; the King of kings is drawing near, the Savior of the world is here.
A helper just he comes to thee, his chariot is humility, his kingly crown is holiness, his scepter, pity in distress.
O blest the land, the city blest, where Christ the Ruler is confessed! O happy hearts and happy homes to whom this King in triumph comes!
Fling wide the portals of you heart; make it a temple, set apart from earthly use for heaven's employ, adorned with prayer and love and joy.
Redeemer, come! I open wide my heart to thee; here, Lord abide! Let me thy inner presence feel; thy grace and love in me reveal.
So come, my Sovereign, enter in! Let new and nobler life begin! The Holy Spirit, guide us on, until the glorious crown be won.
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| Don't Mary and Joseph looked surprised? I think in this photo Baby Jesus is with the cow because he couldn't fit on the roof. |
Once in Royal David's City (Luke 2:12) is one of my favorites to hear. I love when the soloist at our church, often a father-son duo, sings this wonderful hymn. Jesus came into this world a baby. Just like we all did. He couldn't feed himself, he had to rely on his mother Mary. Except he could feed himself if he wanted to, he is the Bread of Heaven after all. He could have been the only self-sufficient baby ever born, but he chose to be helpless. And on the cross; he could have saved himself and annihilated his persecutors, but he didn't. So he, "who is God and Lord of all", to a "lowly cattle shed, and his shelter was a stable, and his cradle was a stall". He lived on earth "with the poor, and mean, and lowly". He lived here on this fallen earth with us and like us, but he lived with no sin! "Not in that poor lowly stable, with the oxen standing by, we shall see him, but in heaven, set at God's right hand on high". But how will we see him? How can we see him?
Hark! the Herald Angles Sing (Luke 2:13,14) tells us. As the angels announce his birth, "God and sinners reconciled", "light and life to all he brings, risen with healing in his wings". He heals all wounds, takes away all sin. He was "born that man no more may die, born to raise the sons of earth, born to give them second birth". That second birth is our sin washed clean by his death and resurrection. All we have to do is acknowledge Jesus the Son of God as our Savior. How easy is that? I especially love this little phrase in this hymn, "pleased as man with men to dwell"; he loved being here and living with us and has always loved us. Amazing.
What Child is This (Matthew 2:2) is so often sung by children's choirs or at a children's Christmas service and the first verse is so very sweet. But the second verse lays bear the truth of our Savior born on earth, "Why lies he in such mean estate, where ox and ass are feeding? Good Christian, fear; for sinners here the silent Word is pleading. Nails, spear, shall pierce him through; the cross be borne for me, for you: hail, hail the Word made flesh..." That is powerful. The Word is pleading. Pleading. The Savior is pleading for me, for you. Pleading while he is walking on earth as flesh. Pleading while he his crucified. Pleading while he is alive, raised from the dead, and sitting on the right hand of God. He loves us and wants us to love him too. We were made to love him and are only filled when we do. That is powerful.
God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen (Luke 2:10) I always think this hymn should be sung in a British accent by people wearing 1900's apparel. It seems to me a very proper hymn, you merry gentlemen. But it's not written to gentlemen, but to shepherds. And in Jesus' time, shepherds were the lowest of the low, the dirtiest of the dirty, the shadiest of the shady. Yet God chose these ragamuffins to announce, via angelic host, the birth of his Son. "To save us all from Satan's power when we were gone astray". Who but a rag-tag bunch of shepherds would immediately know that they had gone astray? God's plans do make sense; but sometimes not immediately.
Lift Up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates! (Psalm 24:7) This is not a hymn often sung by carollers. In fact, I bet the average person would not identify this hymn as a Christmas carol. The words are so beautiful...so here they are:
Lift up you heads, ye mighty gates! Behold, the King of glory waits; the King of kings is drawing near, the Savior of the world is here.
A helper just he comes to thee, his chariot is humility, his kingly crown is holiness, his scepter, pity in distress.
O blest the land, the city blest, where Christ the Ruler is confessed! O happy hearts and happy homes to whom this King in triumph comes!
Fling wide the portals of you heart; make it a temple, set apart from earthly use for heaven's employ, adorned with prayer and love and joy.
Redeemer, come! I open wide my heart to thee; here, Lord abide! Let me thy inner presence feel; thy grace and love in me reveal.
So come, my Sovereign, enter in! Let new and nobler life begin! The Holy Spirit, guide us on, until the glorious crown be won.
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