Two Christmas Carols

My two most favorite Christmas carols have a few things in common:

1. They have been around for a a century or more.

2. I've been singing them since I was a child, yet only well into my adulthood did I recognize the profound message in the lyrics.

3. They focus on the significance of why we celebrate Christmas

God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen

God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen,
Let nothing you dismay;
Remember Christ, our Savior,
Was born on Christmas day,
To save us all from Satan's power
When we were gone astray.
O tidings of comfort and joy,
comfort and joy,
O tidings of comfort and joy.

This is one of the only songs I tried to learn on the piano when I was a kid. I have known the first half of the first chorus by heart for as long as I could remember. When I became a parent and was teaching my children this song the message of the lyrics hit home. Christ came as a man to give himself as the price to free us from the curse of Adam. The rest we have, the comfort and joy are in the knowledge of our freedom from judgment.

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
Charles Wesley (1707-1788), 1739

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 the favored one.
Veiled in flesh, the Godhead see;
hail the incarnate Deity
Pleased as man with men to dwell,
Jesus, our Emmanuel
Hark! the herald angels sing,
"Glory to the newborn King"

Hail! the heaven-born Prince of Peace!
Hail! the Son 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"

This is definitely y favorite. The realization of the profundity of the lyrics struck me while watching "A Charlie Brown Christmas" on the tube with my kids. "Peace on Earth and mercy mild, God and sinner reconciled."

I've sang this song a hundred times and not heard that message. Each verse expounds on the theme of God, born as man to bring mankind back into fellowship with Him. I now pay attention to the words in each carol I sing or hear. There are many more with a message of the meaning of Christmas, but these two are the crown jewels.

Christian Carnival #101 at The Bible Archive

Christmas Carnival at Adam's Blog