"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 angelic host proclaim, "Christ is born in Bethlehem!"
"Hark!" the herald angels sing, "glory to the newborn King."
Christ, by highest heaven adored, Christ the everlasting Lord.
Late in time behold him come offspring of a virgin's womb.
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see, hail incarnate Deity.
Pleased as man with man to dwell, Jesus our Emmanuel.
"Hark!" the herald angels sing, "glory to the newborn King!"
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!"
Come, Desire of nations, come, fix in us thy humble home.
Rise, the woman's conquering Seed, bruise in us the serpent's head.
Adam's likeness, Lord, efface.
Stamp thine image in its place.
Second Adam from above, reinstate us in thy love.
"Hark!" the herald angels sing, "glory to the newborn King!"
"Hark the Herald Angels Sing" may be my favorite song sung during Christmas - I wish we'd sing it more often. It's so rich in meaning and doctrine. It states the reason of Christmas with one concise phrase: "born that man no more may die." Jesus is Christmas. His purpose for being born, becoming a man, was to bridge the great gulf between God and man. From the beginning he had redemption on his mind. And for those of us who have been redeemed with his precious, perfect blood, our desire and prayer should be that he erase any resemblance from Adam and replace it with his image.
I can't stand all the trivial things that have shoved Jesus aside during this holiday. Celebrations are fun. Gifts are great to give. The festivities should continue for as long as possible, in my opinion.😄 But in all this, we need to reflect on why we even have this celebration in the first place. We are NOT celebrating Santa Claus (and I wonder why some Christians even continue to acknowledge him or give him a spot in their celebrations when this is ONLY reserved for Jesus.😕)
We are celebrating the most important person to ever walk Earth. We are celebrating the person who gave up everything - he literally gave up his life for sinners so we could have an opportunity to be reconciled to God, aka, no longer his enemy. What a great cause for rejoicing and abundant happiness. Amazing love! How can it be, that Thou, my God, shouldst die for me!
I hope you have a very Merry Christmas celebration, no matter where you are in the world. :)
