Enjoying The Sunshine On Christmas

HARK! THE HERALD ANGELS SING

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 host proclaim, “Christ is born in Bethlehem!”

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 as man with men to dwell, Jesus, our Emmanuel.

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 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.”

CHARLES WESLEY

Psalm Link

Psalm 103:20-21

20Praise the LORD, you angels of his,

you mighty creatures who carry out his plans,

listening for each of his commands.

21Yes, praise the LORD, you armies of angels

who serve him and do his will!

Charles Wesley, the seventeenth of nineteen children born to Samuel and Susanna Wesley, wrote about sixty-five hundred hymns. Most of them are now forgotten—but not “Hark! the Herald Angels Sing.”

He began writing hymns shortly after he committed his heart to Christ in 1738. Within a year he had written several of his greatest hymns. Among his earliest are “Jesus Lover of My Soul,” “And Can It Be,” “Christ the Lord Is Risen Today,” and “Hark! the Herald Angels Sing.”

Sometimes he is overshadowed by his brother John, the founder of the Methodist movement. But Charles was quite an evangelist himself, preaching despite violent opposition and threats of violence. He did his best preaching, though, through his hymns, packing them with rich scriptural teaching.

In the third stanza of “Hark! the Herald Angels Sing,” for instance, Charles writes of Jesus as the Sun of Righteousness, “risen with healing in his wings.” Where did he get that idea? From the prophet Malachi, who prophesied, “But for you who fear my name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in his wings. And you will go free, leaping with joy like calves let out to pasture” (Malachi 4:2). So Jesus is not only the Son but also the Sun. The Sun of Righteousness brings not only light but life.

Today, as we celebrate his birth, bask in the rays of the Sun of Righteousness.

Bible Networking

The second stanza of this hymn speaks of Jesus as the Godhead “veiled in flesh” and as “th’ incarnate Deity.” Paul spoke of Jesus in a similar way. See Colossians 1:15-20.