Hark! the Herald Angels Sing

This morning, one of our devotionals was based on the well-known Christmas hymn, "Hark! the Herald Angels".  As we read the words, I was amazed again at how rich the lyrics were, and how I almost absent-mindedly sing them, not really paying all that much attention to the meaning.

It was written by Charles Wesley, who apparently wrote more than 6,000 hymn texts, something like 2 every week.  This was one of his earliest, and one of his best known.  It is so full of powerful scriptural ideas;  one text says, "a month could be spent exploring these stanzas."  

"Hark" is not a word we commonly use in our English anymore.  The first line and the chorus say, in effect, "Listen!  The messenger angels are singing."  What are they singing?  "Glory to the newborn King."

Their message starts with "Peace on earth."  We know that in the natural, we are not seeing peace on the earth.  But God offers peace between Himself and us.  It has "God and sinners reconciled" or brought into  harmony.

Then there are 2 lines of joyous invitation for "all the nations" to rise, joyful, to "join the triumph of the skies" (which were filled with that heavenly host, probably with angels innumerable.  Can you imagine how stunning that would have been?  And what a chorus!  What a sound!)  "With the angelic hosts proclaim, 'Christ is born in Bethlehem!'"

"Christ by highest heaven adored, Christ the everlasting Lord" now, at the appointed time, "late in time", born to a virgin.  The Godhead, "veiled in flesh,...the incarnate Deity" was "pleased as (a) man with men to dwell."  I believe it's impossible for our little human minds to get wrapped around the idea of the "everlasting Lord' to be "pleased" to come live, in human form, with mankind on this planet, to be our "Emmanuel"; that is, "God, with us."

"Hail, the heaven-born Prince of Peace!  Hail, the Sun of Righteousness!"  Again, "to hail" is not commonly used in modern English, but it means "to express acclaim, and praise".  When Pilate turned Jesus over to the soldiers to be flogged, they made Him a crown of thorns, and mocked Him with "Hail, King of the Jews!"  but we can sincerely hail Him, our "heaven-born Prince of Peace".  And where does this "Sun of Righteousness" come from?  It's in Malachi 4:2..."the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in His wings."  He is both the Son, and the Sun, bringing life and light.  And what does healing in His wings mean? A few versions translate "wings" as "rays" emanating from this Sun. 

"Mild He lays His glory by..."  See Philippians 2 which describes how He did not need to hang onto His equality with God (verses 6-8).  He humbled Himself to come as a human for this threefold purpose:  "born that man no more may die (bringing us eternal life), born to raise the sons of earth (bringing us up to sit with Him in heavenly places - Ephesians 2:6), born to give them second birth (offering spiritual birth to those who were only naturally born in sin).

Hark! the herald angels sing, "Glory to the newborn King!"

As we ponder the reason for His coming, we too will hail Him and sing,  "Glory to God in the highest!"