DEVOTION
Hark!
The Herald Angels Sing
By
Kenneth W. Osbeck
Guest Writer
CBN.com
-- Christmas carols as we know them now were abolished by the English Puritan
parliament in 1627 because they were a part of a "worldly festival," which they
considered the celebration of Christmas to be. As a result, there was a scarcity
of Christmas hymns and carols in the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries.
"Hark! the Herald Angels Sing" by Charles Wesley was one of the few written during
this period. Wesley's fine text and the melody by master composer Felix Mendelssohn
have given this hymn its great popularity and its standing as a classic among
Christmas songs. Like many of Charles Wesley's
more than sixty-five hundred hymns, this text clearly presents biblical doctrine
in poetic language. The first stanza describes the song of the angels outside
Bethlehem with an invitation to join them in praise of Christ. The following stanzas
present the truths of the virgin birth, Christ's deity, the immortality of the
soul, the new birth, and a prayer for the transforming power of Christ in our
lives. For more than two hundred years, believers
have been enlightened and blessed by the picturesque manner in which Charles Wesley
has retold the truths of our Savior's birth. Hark!
the herald angels sing,
"Glory to the newborn 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 hosts proclaim,
"Christ is
born in Bethlehem."
Hark! the herald angels sing,
"Glory to the newborn
King!" Christ, by highest heav'n adored,
Christ,
the everlasting Lord:
Late in time behold Him come,
Offspring of a virgin's
womb.
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see;
Hail th' incarnate Deity!
Pleased
as man with men to dwell,
Jesus, our Emmanuel.
Hark! the herald angels
sing,
"Glory to the newborn King!" Hail the
heav'n-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Sun of Righteousness!
Light and
life to all He brings,
Ris'n with healing in His wings.
Mild He lays His
glory by,
Born that man no more may die;
Born to raise the sons of earth,
Born to give them second birth.
Hark! the herald angels sing,
"Glory
to the newborn King!"
Used
with permission.
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