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Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming

Words: Es ist ein Ros entsprungen (A rose has sprung up), author unknown; the English version comes from various translators, including Theodore Baker (b. June 3, 1851; d. Oct. 13, 1934) and Harriet Reynolds Krauth Spaeth (b. Sept. 21, 1845; d. May 5, 1925)
Music: Es Ist Ein Ros, from Alte Catholische Geistliche Kirchengesäng, 1599; harmonization in 1609, by Michael Praetorius (b. Feb. 15, 1571; d. Feb. 15, 1621)

Note: The earliest source of this early and unusual Christmas carol, with its tune that resembles a Renaissance madrigal, is a manuscript dating between 1582 and 1588. Some believe it is much older than that. The song had nearly two dozen verses originally. The original German version begins:

Es ist ein Ros’ entsprungen, aus einer Wurzel zart,
Wie uns die Alten sungen, von Jesse kam die Art,
Und hat ein Blümlein bracht mitten im kalten Winter
Wohl zu der halben Nacht.

(Stanza numbers in brackets below refer to the stanza number in The Cyber Hymnal. Find the link at the bottom of the article.)

The carol uses the blooming of a rose to represent the coming of Christ. In the Song of Solomon 2:1, the king’s bride refers to herself as “the rose of Sharon.” Only there, and in Isaiah 35:7 is the flower spoken of. Neither is a reference to Christ, but the imagery is sometimes applied to Him. For centuries before the song appeared, the rose had been used as a symbol for Christ (and sometimes for Mary).

Though this hymn is of Roman Catholic origin, there is little in it to which Protestants will object. The possible exception is the third line of (2), “To show God’s love aright, she bore to men a Saviour.” The initiative for the incarnation was, of course, not Mary’s but God’s (Matt. 1:20; Lk. 1:35; cf. Jn. 3:16). Mary’s most direct motivation was willing obedience to God (Lk. 1:38). Better to say, “God showed His love aright, when Mary bore the Saviour.”

The first line of (5), “O Saviour, Child of Mary,” is not meant to glorify her so much as it is to emphasize the humanity of Christ, contrasting His deity in line two, with “O Saviour, King of glory” (cf. (4), “True Man, yet Very God;” and see Ps. 24:9-10).

For the most part, the song is rooted in Scripture, and the Christmas story in Luke 2:1-20. Through His human birth, Christ is connected to the family of King David, “a Rod from the stem of Jesse,” David’s father (Isa. 11:1; cf. Matt. 1:1).

(1) Lo, how a Rose e’er blooming from tender stem hath sprung!
Of Jesse’s lineage coming, as men of old have sung.
It came, a floweret bright, amid the cold of winter,
When half spent was the night.

(2) Isaiah ’twas foretold it, the Rose I have in mind;
With Mary we behold it, the virgin mother kind.
To show God’s love aright, she bore to men a Saviour,
When half spent was the night.

The hymn then reflects upon the joy of the shepherds on the hills of Bethlehem, as they heard the angelic message that first Christmas night. “They came with haste” (Lk. 2:16) to see for themselves what the angels had announced.

(3) The shepherds heard the story proclaimed by angels bright,
How Christ, the Lord of glory was born on earth this night.
To Bethlehem they sped and in the manger found Him,
As angel heralds said.

There are a couple of things about roses that we all enjoy. First is the incredible beauty of the flower, and second the lovely fragrance they give off. The rose, therefore, is a fitting picture of the beauty of character revealed in our Saviour. And of the latter, the Bible says, “Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma” (Eph. 5:2)

(4) This Flower, whose fragrance tender with sweetness fills the air,
Dispels with glorious splendour the darkness everywhere;
True Man, yet very God, from sin and death He saves us,
And lightens every load.

Christ is declared to be the one (and only) Mediator we need (I Tim. 2:5). In that He is God the Son, He can perfectly represent God and His purposes. In that He is also perfect Man, He fully understands the weakness of His creatures and our struggles (cf. Heb. 4:15-15), and by His saving work He can bring us safely to heaven in the end.

(5) O Saviour, Child of Mary, who felt our human woe,
O Saviour, King of glory, who dost our weakness know;
Bring us at length we pray, to the bright courts of heaven,
And to the endless day!

Questions:

  1. What are some things about our Saviour to which this song calls our attention?
  2. Is this a carol you would use in your church? (Why? Or why not?)

Links:

Love Came Down at Christmas

Words: Christina Georgina Rossetti (b. Dec. 5, 1830; d. Dec. 29, 1894)
Music: Gartan, a traditional Irish melody

Note: The carol began as a Christmas poem–one of many poems by Miss Rossetti exploring that theme. This one was published in 1885 in a book entitled Time Flies: A Reading Diary. In the book it was simply called “Christmastide.” The tune was named after Lough Gartan, a small lake in County Donegal, Ireland.

(Stanza numbers in brackets below refer to the stanza number in The Cyber Hymnal. Find the link at the bottom of the article.)

This is one of those hymns by a master poet that says more in a few simple words that many with lesser gifts can say with hymns two or three times as long.

Love. It’s a much abused and misused term in our world today. Unfortunately, when books, movies, and secular songs speak of “love,” they are often describing lust. Love sacrificially gives; lust selfishly takes. (In a sense the opposite of love is lust.) For others, love is warm and sentimental feelings, which often have more to do with daydreams, built on proximity and hormones, than with the will.

And love is an act of the will. It may be accompanied by a warmth of feeling, or it may not. But first of all it is a choice–the decision to give sacrificially for the good and blessing of another person. And the greatest thing a loving person can give is himself. “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends” (Jn. 15:13). That is true at the human level. We love our friends–perhaps even to that extent. But what about our enemies? God’s love encompasses them too.

In the Bible, we are told that “When we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son” (Rom. 5:10). “God so loved that He gave” (Jn. 3:16)–gave His beloved Son to suffer and die on a cross to pay our debt of sin. His love was not a response to our love. Just the opposite. “We [believers] love Him because He first loved us” (I Jn. 4:19). “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8).

Some form of the word “love” is found hundreds of times in the Bible. The very first reference concerns Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his own son on an altar, at God’s command (Gen. 22:1-14). Of course, God did not actually want the death of Isaac, but wanted to see Abraham’s willingness to give up the son whom he loved dearly. It was a test of faith. And in this incident we have what is called a type, an Old Testament foreshadowing of New Testament truth. God’s offering up of His Son to die (Jn. 3:16) is the antitype.

And Christ was not an unwilling participant in this pivotal event. Though, in His human frailty, he shrank from the pain of the cross, He submitted to the Father’s will (Matt. 26:39). He came to do His Father’s will, and determined to do it to the end (cf. Mk. 10:45). “The Son of God…loved me and gave Himself for me” (Gal. 2:20)–”Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood” (Rev. 1:5).

Love is such a dominant and outstanding characteristic of God, such an intrinsic part of His nature, that the Bible says, “God is love” (I Jn. 4:8, 16). It is the context of these verses (vs. 7-11) that was the inspiration for Christina Rossetti’s beautiful song. She personifies Love, and tells us that, in the incarnation, “Love came down.”

(1) Love came down at Christmas,
Love all lovely, love divine;
Love was born at Christmas,
Star and angels gave the sign.

“Star and angels gave the sign.” How simple the telling of what we read in Luke chapter 2. Among other things, the manger for example, the Christmas star (Matt. 2:2, 9), and the angelic visitation were signs that something extraordinary was happening. In John’s words, “Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (Jn. 1:14).

Rossetti’s second stanza is one of personal worship, as she recognizes the deity of Christ. But if He is in the truest sense “our Jesus,” our Lord and Saviour, by what sign will this be evident?

(2) Worship we the Godhead,
Love incarnate, love divine;
Worship we our Jesus:
But wherewith for sacred sign?

The author’s answer is that the very Love that came from heaven’s glory in the person of the Lord Jesus will radiate from our own lives. Her original last line read, “Love the universal sign.” But she revised this herself to what we have now. Love is our plea–what we seek (I Jn. 4:11); Love our gift to God and others (Jn. 13:34); and love our sign that we belong to Him (Jn. 13:35).

(3) Love shall be our token,
Love shall be yours and love be mine,
Love to God and to all men,
Love for plea and gift and sign.

Questions:

  1. Can you recall, in your recent experience, an example of true Christ-like love?
  2. What are some hymns you know and use about the love of God?

Links:

O Thou Joyful, O Thou Wonderful

Words: Johannes Daniel Falk (b. Oct. 28, 1768; d. Feb. 14, 1826)
Music: Sicilian Mariners Hymn, composer unknown

Note: Falk wrote the first stanza (O du fröhliche, o du selige) in 1816, to go with two others of his own. But for the present English hymn, only his first stanza is used, and two anonymous ones have been added. The tune, also called O Sanctissima (O most holy) is of unknown origin. German poet Johann Herder heard it on a trip to Italy, 1788-89, linked to a Catholic hymn in praise of Mary. Its first use with an English hymn followed, several years later.

Falk gives us an example of one who turned early hardship into a ministry as an adult. His family was exceedingly poor. At the age of ten he left school to work with his father who was a wig maker. But Falk was a keen student, and he continued studying on his own. He was eventually awarded a scholarship to university, and distinguished himself as a author.

During the Napoleonic Wars, he worked in army field hospitals. He later turned his attention to various philanthropic efforts, particularly among poor and destitute children. Before his death at the age of fifty-eight, he founded the Society of Friends in Need, and a centre to care for poor children. He is known in English hymnody for this one hymn.

(Stanza numbers in brackets below refer to the stanza number in The Cyber Hymnal. Find the link at the bottom of the article.)

The lovely carol celebrates Christmas as the time when God’s grace, love, and peace were revealed, or were extended to man, through the coming of Christ. Once, in the Bible, all three qualities are mentioned in a single verse.

Grace, mercy, and peace will be with you from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.

II Jn. 1:3

Consider, first, the grace of God.

The Word [Christ] became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth….And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

Jn. 1:14-17

Grace, God’s unearned and unmerited favour, was poured out abundantly in and through Christ. For vs. 16, the Amplified Bible has, “Out of His fullness (abundance) we have all received one grace after another and spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing and even favour upon favour and gift upon gift.”

(1) O thou joyful, O thou wonderful
Grace revealing Christmastide!
Jesus came to win us
From all sin within us;
Glorify, glorify the Holy Child!

Then, we have God’s great expression of love through Christ, a giving, infinitely self-sacrificing love.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (Jn. 3:16). “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). Indeed, “the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (Rom. 5:5). “In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him” (I Jn. 4:9).

(2) O thou joyful, O thou wonderful
Love revealing Christmastide!
Loud hosannas singing,
And all praises bringing,
May Thy love, may Thy love with us abide.

Finally, there is the subject of peace to consider. In our sin-darkened world, there is very little peace. No settled peace between nations, nor a reigning tranquility and serenity in many human hearts. However, God has promised two kinds of peace through Christ that can be ours now, plus a final peace throughout the world, when Christ returns to reign (cf. Isa. 9:6-7).

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Rom. 5:1-2

“Peace with God,” a reconciliation where once there was enmity (vs. 10) is ours when we trust in Christ as Saviour. A peace He purchased through the blood of His cross (Col. 1:20).

Then, we can have inner peace, even in the face of troubles and trials, as we commit such things to the Lord in prayer, trusting Him to work out what is best. That is “the peace of God.”

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Phil. 4:6-7

(3) O thou joyful, O thou wonderful
Peace revealing Christmastide!
Darkness disappeareth,
God’s own light now neareth,
Peace and joy, peace and joy to all betide.

Questions:

  1. How are these three key qualities linked to one another?
  2. What can you do at the Christmas season to help others see what God has done for them in Christ?

Links:

Of the Father’s Love Begotten

Words: Aurelius Clemens Prudentius (b. _____, 348; d. circa _____, 413); English translation, John Mason Neale (b. Jan. 24, 1818; d. Aug. 6, 1886), and Henry Williams Baker (b. May 27, 1821; d. Feb. 12, 1877)
Music: Divinum Mysterium, a plainsong melody from the twelfth century; called a “Santus trope,” a musical interjection in the medieval liturgy.

Note: Prudentius, a Spaniard from a prominent family, studied law and eventually became a judge. But at the age of 57 he turned from worldly pursuits, spending the rest of his life in meditation and prayer. In Latin, the first line of the hymn is “Corde natus ex parentis ante mundi exordium.” Baker’s work produced nine stanzas, Neale’s six, but most hymnals seem to use only (1), (6), and (9).

(1) Of the Father’s love begotten, ere the worlds began to be,
He is Alpha and Omega, He the source, the ending He,
Of the things that are, that have been,
And that future years shall see, evermore and evermore!

(Stanza numbers in brackets below refer to the stanza number in The Cyber Hymnal. Find the link at the bottom of the article.)

Here is a hymn, some sixteen centuries old, that calls on us to praise the Lord Jesus Christ, and, indeed, the triune Godhead. Its great age reminds us that the body of Christ is something really, really big, stretching, as it does, through two thousand years of time, and to many countries around the globe.

The opening line of the hymn deserves comment. We use words such as begetting and begotten to refer to human birth. They indicate a point in time at which a new, independent life on earth began. But that does not fit what the Bible says about the Son of God, “whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting” (Mic. 5:2). The relationship between God the Father and God the Son did not have a point of beginning as human progeny does. Christ had no beginning and He has no ending.

There are certainly things about the Godhead that are beyond our ability to understand, such as the Trinity (cf. Matt. 11:27). We worship one God eternally existing in three Persons. Christ is distinct in His Person from the Father and the Holy Spirit, yet fully equal in His attributes to the other two. For that reason, it is more accurate to speak of Christ’s eternal generation, as the only Son, eternally brought forth from the Father.

When the Bible speaks of the Lord Jesus as “the only begotten of the Father,” or “His only begotten Son” (Jn. 1:14; 3:16), the expressions do not describe His beginning, but rather His uniqueness. They identify Him as the one and only Son of God in a special sense. Christians are called sons of God too (Gal. 3:26), as are angels in the book of Job. All are brought into being by an act of God. But as the term is used of Christ in relation to His heavenly Father, there is no other like Him.

We can see this uniqueness applied at the human level too. Isaac is described in Hebrews as Abraham’s “only begotten son” (Heb. 11:17). But we know from Genesis that Abraham’s son Ishmael was born before that (Gen. 16:1-4, 11). Isaac was not the “only begotten” the way we might use that term. However, he was the only son of the covenant, the only one through whom “all the nations of the earth shall be blessed” (Gen. 26:3-4). He was the unique son of Abraham, a son like no other.

As noted above, the term “sons of God” is used of angels in the book of Job (Job 38:4-7). Angels are powerful spirit beings, yet they reject worship, reminding John that only deity is worthy of worship (Rev. 22:8-9). The summons is given for all in the spirit realm to praise the Lord. In a number of places in the Word of God the angels are called to worship Him (Ps. 103:20-21; Ps. 148:2; Heb. 1:5-6; Rev. 5:11-13). Once again it points to the uniqueness of the Son of God.

(6) O ye heights of heaven adore Him; angel hosts, His praises sing;
Powers, dominions, bow before Him, and extol our God and King!
Let no tongue on earth be silent,
Every voice in concert sing, evermore and evermore!

Appropriate, then that the hymn concludes with a call to people everywhere, men, women and children, to worship the Lord, in fact the triune Godhead.

8. Thee let old men, thee let young men, thee let boys in chorus sing;
Matrons, virgins, little maidens, with glad voices answering:
Let their guileless songs re-echo,
And the heart its music bring, evermore and evermore!

9. Christ, to Thee with God the Father, and, O Holy Ghost, to Thee,
Hymn and chant with high thanksgiving, and unwearied praises be:
Honour, glory, and dominion,
And eternal victory, evermore and evermore!

Questions:

  1. What do you think the holy angels felt as they learned about the incarnation of the Son of God?
  2. What, in your understanding of God’s Word, did the Lord Jesus set aside or temporarily surrender, when He came to earth the first time?

Links:

Sleep, Holy Babe

Words: Edward Caswall (b. July 15, 1814; d. Jan. 2, 1878)
Music: John Bacchus Dykes (b. March 10, 1823; d. Jan. 22, 1876)

Note: This gentle carol, a kind of lullaby, sometimes called Sleep, Jesus, Sleep, was published by Caswall in 1850. Though he wrote some texts of his own, he is best known for his translation of hymns from other languages. (When Morning Guilds the Skies, and Jesus, the Very Thought of Thee are two examples of his translation work.) His carol, Sleep, Holy Babe, was an original poem from his pen.

I’ve been unable to find a specific name for Dykes’s tune (other than “Sleep Holy Babe”) which is unusual. If you spot one, please let me know.

(1) Sleep! Holy Babe! upon Thy mother’s breast;
Great Lord of earth and sea and sky,
How sweet it is to see Thee lie
In such a place of rest, in such a place of rest.

(2) Sleep! Holy Babe! Thine angels watch around,
All bending low with folded wings,
Before th’incarnate King of kings,
In reverent awe profound, in reverent awe profound.

(Stanza numbers in brackets below refer to the stanza number in The Cyber Hymnal. Find the link at the bottom of the article.)

Great oaks from little acorns grow, they say. That’s been a proverbial expression for at least six centuries, describing how great things can come from relatively small beginnings.

Since the discoveries that have been made in genetics, we can offer even more dramatic comparisons. Microscopic DNA molecules store all the necessary information to reproduce a particular plant or animal, or a human being. When an acorn is produced, or a baby is conceived, each contains the recipe for what it will one day become. They are bundles of potentiality yet to be realized.

One wonders what potential was imagined in the baby Jesus by those who first saw Him. Some, of course, were aided in their understanding by supernatural revelations. Both Mary (Lk. 1:34-35) and Joseph (Matt. 1:20) learned in that way that the conception of Christ would be the result of a unique miracle. To the shepherds keeping watch near Bethlehem, it was revealed that the Babe was born to be both the Saviour and the Christ–meaning Messiah (Lk. 2:11). And both Mary and the wise men also learned that He was born to be King of the Jews (Lk. 1:31-33; Matt. 2:1-2, 11).

Yet, in spite of this information being given, it was only gradually that most, even people of faith, came to realize who Christ was and is–that He is God the Son incarnate, not only fully Man, but fully God. When the Lord calmed the stormy Sea of Galilee with a word, the disciples responded, “Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?” (Matt. 8:27). The Pharisees, rightly understanding that it was God’s prerogative to forgive sins, accused Christ of blasphemy when He did so (Lk. 5:20-21). People wondered at the unique authority with which He spoke (Matt. 7:29; Jn. 7:46).

Only after His resurrection from the dead did Thomas bow before the Saviour addressing Him as “My Lord and my God!” (Jn. 20:28). About thirty years later, the Apostle Paul wrote that “in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily” (Col. 2:9). And further on, when John wrote his Gospel, He declared that Christ (whom he calls “the Word) “was with God, and the Word was God,” and He lived among us, revealing the Father’s glory (Jn. 1:1:14). The unidentified author of Hebrews quotes God the Father saying, “Let all the angels of God worship Him,” and “to the Son He says, ‘Your throne, O God, is forever and ever’” (Heb. 1:6, 8).

In 1850, Edward Caswell published this Christmas carol that describes something of the dramatic contrast between the sleeping Infant and who He is. It captures in a few words the identity of the slumbering Baby. Notice, “Thine angels” (2). The hosts of heaven are His to command. We are told that at the second coming, “the Son of Man [Christ] will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend” (Matt. 13:41). Truly He is Lord of all in heaven and earth. In the Babe of Bethlehem resided a bundle of infinite potential that will continue being revealed to the saints throughout eternity.

(3) Sleep! Holy Babe! while I with Mary gaze
In joy upon that face awhile,
Upon the loving infant smile
Which there divinely plays, which there divinely plays.

(4) Sleep! Holy Babe! ah! take Thy brief repose;
Too quickly will Thy slumbers break,
And Thou to lengthened pains awake
That death alone shall close, that death alone shall close.

Questions:

  1. For what reason(s) did the “Lord of earth and sea and sky” come to this earth?
  2. In Your opinion, what carols most clearly tell who He is, and why He came?

Links:

The Birthday of a King

Words: William Harold Neidlinger (b. July 20, 1863; d. Dec. 5, 1924)
Music: William Harold Neidlinger

Note: The Wordwise link at the bottom has a short (but interesting) biographical note on Neidlinger. He wrote both the words and music of the carol, and it was published in 1890.

(Stanza numbers in brackets below refer to the stanza number in The Cyber Hymnal. Find the link at the bottom of the article.)

Often our appreciation of something, can be enhanced when it is contrasted with other things. That applies to the Christmas story. Think of the contrast between Jerusalem and little Bethlehem. One would think that the King would be born in Jerusalem, the bustling capital. That’s what the wise men must have concluded (Matt. 2:1-2). But though Bethlehem was a relatively obscure village, God had long ago chosen it as the place of His Son’s birth (Mic. 5:2).

Think of the contrast between a warm bed in the inn, where Joseph and Mary hoped to cradle the newborn Child, and the manger of hay where He was laid, when there was “no room for them in the inn” (Lk. 2:7). Think of Christ being lauded by angels and hated by deceitful Herod (Lk. 2:11, 14; Matt. 2:13). Think of homage being paid to Him not by kings and princes, but by shepherds and wise men (Lk. 2:16, 20; Matt. 2:11). (The wise men were magi, or astrologers, not “kings,” as the carol We Three Kings suggests.)

Finally, think of the Son of God stooping in profound humility to become Man, and the One born to be King of kings being rejected and crucified. And think of One born in relative obscurity whose gospel of salvation is now proclaimed to the ends of the earth (Matt. 28:18-20; Acts 1:8). The Bible sums up the gospel this way: “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich” (II Cor. 8:9).

In old-time photography, a picture produced by a chemical reaction on sensitive film begins as a negative that had to go through a further step to become a positive image. In a negative, all the parts of the picture that will eventually become dark appear to be light, and all the parts of the picture that will ultimately be light appear to be dark. So it is with the first coming of Christ. The darkness of evil in the hearts of His enemies led them to call for His crucifixion. But the head that once was crowned with thorns will one day wear a diadem of honour, shining in the glory light of heaven.

Concerning His kingly reign, Christ is now, in a sense, the King in waiting. In that character He resembles His human ancestor, David. It was several years after young David was anointed by Samuel (I Sam. 16:1, 13), before he ascended the throne of Israel. Christ’s messianic reign over the kingdoms of earth has been prophesied, but He was rejected at His first coming. He is now seated at the right hand of God the Father, awaiting the day when He returns in triumph to reign (cf. Acts 2:32-36).

Consider what the Bible says about Christ the King:

  • Matthew begins his Gospel by proclaiming “Jesus Christ [as] the Son [descendant] of David,” Israel’s greatest king (Matt. 1:1).
  • Mary was told about His coming reign, even before His miraculous conception (Lk. 1:31-33).
  • Some time after His birth, the wise men came to pay homage to Him as “King of the Jews,” whom they desired to worship (Matt. 2:2, 11).
  • Nathanael addressed Him as “the King of Israel” (Jn. 1:49).
  • The people proclaimed Him “King of the Jews” at His triumphal entry, which was itself a fulfilment of prophecy about the King (Jn. 12:13; cf. Zech. 9:9).
  • Jesus Himself acknowledged that He was indeed the King of the Jews (Matt. 27:11).
  • Even when He was crowned with thorns and crucified, Pilate stubbornly insisted that the inscription above His cross read, “the King of the Jews” Jn. 19:19-22).
  • After His ascension, the apostles identified Him as King, and anticipated His future reign (I Tim. 6:14-15; Heb. 10:12-13; cf. Rev. 19:11-16).

Meanwhile, individual believers can recognize Him as Lord of their lives, and look forward to the great day of triumph yet to come. And it is certainly true that Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem was the birth of a King.

(1) In the little village of Bethlehem,
There lay a child one day;
And the sky was bright with a holy light
O’er the place where Jesus lay.

Alleluia! O how the angels sang.
Alleluia! How it rang!
And the sky was bright with a holy light
’Twas the birthday of a King.

(2) ’Twas a humble birthplace, but O how much
God gave to us that day,
From the manger bed what a path has led,
What a perfect, holy way.

Questions:

  1. If the Lord Jesus is truly recognized as Lord and King of our lives, what difference will that make in how we live?
  2. What hymns do you know that proclaim the kingship of the Lord Jesus Christ?

Links:

From Heaven Above to Earth

Words: Martin Luther (b. Nov. 10, 1483; d. Feb. 18, 1546); English translation, Catherine Winkworth (b. Sept. 13, 1827; d. July 1, 1878)
Music: Von Himmel Hoch from Geistliche Lieder, by Valentin Schumann; harmony by Johann Sebastian Bach (b. March 21, 1685; d. July 28, 1750)

Note: This Christmas carol was written in 1531. The Cyber Hymnal includes fifteen stanzas, but most hymnals use only six to eight of them (e.g. (1), (2), (3), (5), (6), (8), (13), (15)). The full version originally formed a framework for Luther’s family to put on a kind of Christmas pageant in their home. It should be noted here that this is Luther’s carol, not Away in a Manger, a nineteenth century American carol which has been incorrectly been ascribed to him.

(Stanza numbers in brackets below refer to the stanza number in The Cyber Hymnal. Find the link at the bottom of the article.)

The incarnation was a pivotal event. It has been said the hinge of history is on the door of a Bethlehem stable. “The Word [God the Son] became flesh and dwelt among us” (Jn. 1:14). How did it happen? And more importantly for us, why did it happen? Christ came because of a plan made long ago–even before the creation of the world. God in His omniscience knew that fallen sinners would one day need a Saviour, and His Son was “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Rev. 13:8).

Mary and Joseph learned a little about this in the beginning, but many things awakened wonder in them as events unfolded. “Joseph and His mother marveled at those things which were spoken of Him” (Lk. 2:33). And “Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart” (Lk. 2:19). It is quite possible that Luke, a careful historian, got much of the information found in the opening chapters of his Gospel from Mary. And just as she pondered these events over the years, so should we, refreshing our minds as to the details, and their eternal significance.

One way to do that is through the Christmas programs we share year by year. Such presentations are not new. In fact some credit Francis of Assisi with producing the first nativity scene–complete with live animals–about eight hundred years ago. Community people brought candles and torches to illumine the scene, and hymns of praise were sung. He did it, he said, “To set before our bodily eyes…how He lay in a manger.”

Martin Luther (1483-1546) did something similar, in his home, with his wife and children. Let’s get a rough idea of it, using a few of the stanzas. To begin the program, a man dressed as an angel would enter and sing:

(1) From heaven above to earth I come,
To bear good news to every home;
Glad tidings of great joy I bring,
Whereof I now will say and sing.

(2) To you, this night, is born a Child
Of Mary, chosen mother mild;
This little Child, of lowly birth,
Shall be the joy of all your earth.

(3) ’Tis Christ our God, who far on high
Had heard your sad and bitter cry;
Himself will your salvation be,
Himself from sin will make you free.

(5) These are the tokens ye shall mark,
The swaddling clothes and manger dark;
There shall ye find the young Child laid,
By whom the heavens and earth were made.

Then the family would go with the shepherds to the manger, as the children sang:

(6) Now let us all, with gladsome cheer
Follow the shepherds, and draw near
To see this wondrous gift of God,
Who hath His only Son bestowed.

(8) Welcome to earth, Thou noble Guest,
Through whom e’en wicked men are blest!
Thou com’st to share our misery,
What can we render, Lord, to Thee!

Finally, there was the spiritual application and worship, as all rejoiced in Christ’s coming. And notice the reference to the “New Year.” I read somewhere that, in Medieval times, Christmas Day marked (very appropriately, I think) the beginning of the new year.

(13) Ah, dearest Jesus, holy Child,
Make Thee a bed, soft, undefiled,
Within my heart, that it may be
A quiet chamber kept for Thee.

(15) Glory to God in highest heaven,
Who unto man His Son hath given!
While angels sing, with pious mirth,
A glad New Year to all the earth.

Questions:

  1. Do you traditionally read the Christmas story with your family, Christmas Eve or Christmas Day? (If you don’t have that tradition, how about starting it?)
  2. Would it be possible to put on some kind of Christmas pageant with the family, as the Luther family did–perhaps using some of the song he wrote?

Links:

Break Forth, O Beauteous Heavenly Light

Words: Johann Rist (b. March 8, 1607; d. Aug. 31, 1667); translated by John Troutbeck (b. Nov. 12, 1832; d. Oct. 11:1899)
Music: Ermuntre Dich, by Johann Schop (b. circa 1590; d. _____, 1664); harmony by Johann Sebastian Bach (b. March 21, 1685; d. July 28, 1750)

Note: Rist wrote a nine-stanza hymn in German which he called (in English translation) “Bestir Thyself, My Feeble Soul.” The first of these nine was translated by Troutbeck around 1885. A second was added by Arthur Tozer Russell (1806-1874). English pastor, Fred Pratt Green (1903-2000), wrote an entirely new version for the United Methodist Hymnal. The version used here is the two stanzas of Troutbeck and Russell.

Bach arranged Schop’s tune and used it in his choral setting of the hymn in the second part of his Christmas Oratorio (1737).

Isaiah declares, “Arise, shine; for your light has come! And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you” (Isa. 60:1). The hymn is based on–or inspired by–another text from Isaiah.

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined…..For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

Isa. 9:2, 6-7

(Stanza numbers in brackets below refer to the stanza number in The Cyber Hymnal. Find the link at the bottom of the article.)

The Bible often speaks of the glory of God. Frequently that “glory” was a visible light that represented both the presence of God, and His majesty and splendour. When Jehovah God appeared on Mount Sinai to give the Law to Moses, we read, “The sight of the glory of the Lord was like a consuming fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel” (Exod. 24:17). A “consuming,” devouring fire that filled the people with fear. When the glory filled the tabernacle of worship, and later the temple in Jerusalem, we read that no one dared to enter for fear of it.

The brilliance of it also seemed to have a dangerous aura almost like atomic radiation. The brightness of that light blinded Paul when he met the glorified Christ on the road to Damascus (Acts 22:10-11). Yet it is a glory shared by the angels of heaven, and a glory that will one day be revealed in the saints. And it is important to note that the visible display is only representative of something far richer. It stands for all God is, in the majesty of His Person, and for the beauty of His holy character–that is also to be reflected in us (Col. 1:27; 3:4).

The glory light of God was seen by the shepherds of Bethlehem. When an angel appeared to announce the birth of Christ, we read, “The glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid” (Lk. 2:9). An understandable reaction! Yet they were encouraged by the angel that his presence was wholly benevolent, that he came with “good tidings of great joy” (vs. 10). God’s Deliverer had come, the Saviour who would, in the words of Genesis, crush the serpent’s (Satan’s) head (Gen. 3:15).

In 1641 the present carol was published describing this angelic encounter and its meaning. The author, Johann Rist, was the son of a pastor, who became a teacher and hymn writer. He was highly honoured by the German government. In 1653 the emperor Ferdinand II made him a member of the nobility. His hymn–one of many he wrote–speaks of the heavenly light described above that appeared to the shepherds.

Though the context is different, the author hymn seems to echo the promise of God to Israel that if they would turn back to Him and repent a new and glorious day would dawn for them (Isa. 58:8). Rist made it analogous to the new day dawning for needy sinners

(1) Break forth, O beauteous heavenly light,
And usher in the morning;
O shepherds, shrink not with afright,
But hear the angel’s warning.
This Child, now weak in infancy,
Our confidence and joy shall be,
The power of Satan breaking,
Our peace eternal making.

2. Break forth, O beauteous heavenly light,
To herald our salvation;
He stoops to earth–the God of might,
Our hope and expectation.
He comes in human flesh to dwell,
Our God with us, Immanuel;
The night of darkness ending,
Our fallen race befriending.

Questions:

  1. What is it about the character of the Lord that is particularly “glorious” to you?
  2. What, to you, are the most meaningful and inspiring Christmas hymns?

Links:

The Coventry Carol

Words: (unknown)
Music: (unknown)

Note: The author of this very old Christmas carol is unknown. The oldest known text was written down by Robert Croo in 1534.

(Stanza numbers in brackets below refer to the stanza number in The Cyber Hymnal. Find the link at the bottom of the article.)

Forty years before the birth of Christ, the brutal assassination of Julius Caesar took place on the steps of the Roman forum. He was stabbed 23 times in the wild melee. The conspirators were hoping to end a dictatorship centred in one man, and return power to the senate.

Mark Antony had tried to warn Caesar of the plot against his life, but he failed. Two years later, Mark Antony was instrumental in having Herod (later known as Herod the Great) appointed governor of Galilee. Herod claimed to be an adherent of the Jewish religion, but he was actually an Idumaean, descended from the Edomites, the frequent enemies of Israel in the Old Testament. In 40 BC, the Roman senate proclaimed Herod to be “king of the Jews.”

Herod is known for his massive building projects, including the construction of a magnificent new temple for the Jews in Jerusalem. However, his was not a happy or popular reign. Constantly troubled with depression and paranoia, he fretted that someone might take away his crown. In the process of time he killed his wife and two of his sons, to maintain his hold on the throne.

This is the man who enters biblical history in Matthew chapter 2. We can well understand his reaction to the unsettling news he got from some visiting Persian wise men that they had come seeking the One who was “born King of the Jews” (vs. 2). The Bible says he was “troubled” (anxious, agitated) at hearing this. He immediately summoned the Jewish leaders to find out where “the Christ [Israel’s Messiah] was to be born.” They informed him that Bethlehem, five miles south, was prophesied to be His birthplace (vs. 4-6; cf. Mic. 5:2).

Feigning a desire to worship Christ, Herod told the wise men to report back after they had found Him (vs. 8). He was determined to murder this potential Rival, but God thwarted his scheme by warning the wise men not to return to Herod, and by telling Joseph to take Mary and the Baby down into Egypt for a time (vs. 12-13).

In rage and fear, not knowing the family had escaped, Herod ordered the destruction of all the baby boys two years of age and under, in the environs of Bethlehem (vs. 16). It is estimated that perhaps a dozen infants were killed, and there was “lamentation, weeping, and great mourning” in the community (vs. 18).

In the city of Coventry, England, in the 15th century, the tailors and “shearmen” (likely sheep shearers) put on an annual pageant depicting this terrible tragedy. Part of the presentation included what is now known as The Coventry Carol. In the play, just before the slaughter, the mothers weep for their children, and in fear for the baby Jesus (though it’s not likely, at the time, they knew His identity). They sang:

Lully, lullay, Thou little tiny Child,
By, by, lully, lullay.

O sisters too, how may we do,
For to preserve this day
This poor Youngling for whom we do sing
By, by, lully, lullay?

Herod the king, in his raging,
Chargèd he hath this day
His men of might, in his own sight,
All young children to slay.

That woe is me, poor Child for Thee!
And ever morn and day
For Thy parting neither say nor sing,
By, by, lully, lullay.

Lully, lullay, Thou little tiny Child,
By, by, lully, lullay.

An incident outside of Scripture, involving Herod, is most revealing. In his latter years, he ordered that a number of prominent citizens were to be executed on the day of his death, so the populace would have some reason to mourn at the time of his passing!

Modern scholarship suggests that Christ was likely born in 5 BC. Not long afterward (in 4 BC), Herod the Great died in excruciating pain, it’s believed from kidney disease and gangrene. His kingdom was divided between three of his sons. The crown he tried so desperately to cling to had fallen from him. But the crown God the Father will give to His Son, as King of kings and Lord of lords, will be His forever (Rev. 11:15).

Questions:

  1. What does God’s protection of His Son in this terrible time mean to you, personally?
  2. What is your favourite Christmas carol?

Links:

Love Was When; Love Has Come

Words: Love What When: John Flipse Walvoord (b. May 1, 1910; d. December 20, 2002); Love
Has Come: Ken Bible (b. _____, 1950)
Music: Love Was When: Donald John Wyrtzen (b. Aug. 16, 1942); Love Has Come: French carol melody from the 16th century (Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella)

Note: Something a little different for today. I’ve selected two lesser known Christmas songs that I think say important things about what we celebrate at Christmas.

(Stanza numbers in brackets below refer to the stanza number in The Cyber Hymnal. Find the link at the bottom of the article.)

On Valentine’s Day we think about our love for one another. But at Christmas we need to consider a love far greater and grander, the love of God for each one of us. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (Jn. 3:16). And, “thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!” (II Cor. 9:15).

Many of our Christmas hymns and carols tell the Christmas story, which is fine. We need to be reminded of it. And many call us to worship the One who came to earth that day–which is certainly appropriate. But relatively few of these songs call our attention specifically to the divine love that led to Christ’s coming in the first place. That is the theme I want to address briefly. To deal with the subject I’ll refer to two newer, and lesser-known Christmas songs. But before we hear what they have to say, consider the subject as it’s addressed in the Word of God.

In the beginning, God created human beings, fashioning us “in His own image” (Gen. 1:26-27). Whatever the full significance of that is, it certainly means that we’re rational beings capable of loving God and accepting His love in return. But because He is omniscient, knowing all things, the Lord realized from the start that the sinful fall of man was coming. He knew that if that loving relationship was to be restored and preserved, we were going to need saving–that God Himself would have to rescue us. This is what the Word of God has to say about it.

In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation [the full satisfaction of His holy justice] for our sins.

I Jn. 4:9-10

There were two amazing journeys involved in that, one relatively short, one infinitely long. The shorter of the two is the five mile distance from Bethlehem to Calvary. The One laid in Bethlehem’s manger, long ago, later gave His life for our sins on the cross, not far from the place of His birth.

But far greater is the depth of condescension of the Son of God that brought Him from the heights of heaven’s glory to this sin-cursed earth to die.

He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.

Phil. 4:8

In 1970 a Christian musical was created called What’s It All About, Anyhow? In it is a solo number, written by one of the twentieth century’s great theologians, John F. Walvoord. The song, called Love Was When, says:

Love was when God became a Man.
Locked in time and space
Without rank or place.

There is the incarnation, that great humbling of the Infinite. Then Walvoord goes on to say:

Love was God nailed to bleed and die
To reach and love one such as I.

“Love was God dying for my sin,” says the author. Deity dying, but later rising in triumph over the grave (Matt. 28:6; Heb. 7:25). It is a wonder and a mystery beyond our comprehension. But we believe it because God says it’s so.

The second song was published in 1996. It was written Ken Bible, an author (of 15 books) and a Christian songwriter, who has over 400 songs to his credit. The present song, called Love Has Come! gives a whole other dimension to the love of Christmas. Not only was the infinite love of God for us expressed then by what He did for us. It gets more personal than that.

Scripture tells us that love is such a significant characteristic of His nature that it is possible to say “God is love” (I Jn. 4:8, 16). In a sense, in the person of Christ, Love itself, Love personified, actually came down at Christmas, more than two thousand years ago. In the words of Ken Bible’s song:

Love is born! Come share in the wonder;
Love is God now asleep in the hay.

He Himself is the Love of Christmas. In the words of Mr. Bible, “Love is the gift of Christmas.”

Questions:

  1. What, to you, is the most wonderful thing about Christmas?
  2. What is your favourite Christmas hymn or carol?

Links:

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