When I think of Christmas carols, there are a few that almost always come to mind. Not so much my favorites, but just which ones are the essentials. “Joy to the world”, “Silent night”, “O little town of Bethlehem”, “Angels we have heard on high”–they would all be included. For sure, though, I would also include in my top five the song “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” (Hark). I don’t know how anyone could do a Christmas Eve or Christmas morning service and not include that song.
While “Hark” would be at the top of the list for many, most of us fail to remember that it was Charles Wesley who wrote it. Charles was known as a great revivalist preacher in England. One of his primary motivations for writing songs was to instill in the hearts and minds Biblical truth. He was passionate about truth. Good theology (truth about God) was essential to him. This song is rich with the story of the birth of Jesus.
Since the beginning of the world, there has been a spiritual battle that has been waging all around us. When Adam and Eve sinned in the garden, it wasn’t just a human choice. It was inspired by evil. Ever since then, man has found himself trapped in a cosmic battle. So thousands of years after the world began, God, by His miraculous power sends His Son into the world. Jesus Christ was born into this world by a miraculous virgin birth, but also into a royal line. Jesus’ very name, means ‘the Lord saves’. These facts give rise to the words in the first verse. There you will find talk of peace, of God and sinners being reconciled, of the joy of the angelic beings at this great triumph. Jesus birth wasn’t just any birth. It ushered in a whole new era in world history. The forces of good, the angelic beings, knew the implications of Jesus birth, and so they burst out in song, proclaiming His birth.
The song Hark goes on to delve into some great theological mysteries. It speaks of Jesus being adored in heaven, and yet how Jesus was willing to humble himself and join with men in this messy world. It makes reference to how Jesus came in the fullness of time. Man had longed for the Messiah for centuries, and in Jesus, He had finally arrived. There in Jesus Christ, we as human beings beheld the glory of God. The incarnation is one of the greatest joys and yet also a mystery that no human will ever fully grasp.
The third verse is rich with truth about salvation from sin. It’s focus is on how Jesus ushers in salvation that is available to all of mankind. Jesus is the Prince of Peace. He is righteous, and He brings light into this world and offers eternal life to all who will follow Him. His birth was for the purpose of salvation. Jesus offers hope to the hopeless. He is the giver of second chances. In the last verse, as we would expect, there is a call out to each of us. Read the first three verses; think about it, then respond. Wesley challenges us: ‘will we invite Jesus into our hearts and lives?’. Will we allow Jesus to ‘bruise in us the serpents head’ or to ‘rid our lives of Adam’s likeness’? Both of these last questions are a reference to Jesus being able to rid our lives of sin.
Wesley’s song “Hark” was not just a fun song driven by some romantic notion of Christmas. He wrote it to instill in us the truth of who Jesus is and to challenge us to no longer continue on the path of destruction that most of us have chosen, but instead to embrace the salvation that comes only from a deliberate choice to embrace Jesus Christ as Lord of our life. My prayer would be that this Christmas, we would spend more time thinking about the songs we sing, and realize the incredible stories they tell. It may just transform your life.