ADVENT 2022: HEAV’N AND NATURE SING - Week 3 - Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

We’ve been focusing this year’s Advent Sundays on the songs of Christmas - Heav’n and Nature Sing! And more than just the tune and the harmony, we are focusing on the deep theology found in some of the most beloved Christmas songs we sing during this time of year.

We looked at the anticipation and hope for the coming Messiah as we lit the prophecy candle and studied O Come, o Come Emmanuel. Then last week we lit the Bethlehem candle, singing O Little Town of Bethlehem, and focusing on the character trait of humility, looking at how God infuses his power into the ordinary to bring about the extraordinary.

This morning, we come to my personal favorite Christmas hymn SOLELY for its incredible message found in a couple of its verses. It’s powerful, and always touches me deeply. The tune for this song was written by the composer Felix Mendelssohn in 1840, and the words were written by none other than the brother of the great churchman John Wesley, Charles. In his time, Charles Wesley wrote over 6500 hymns. This particular song, along with “Jesus, Lover of my Soul” are considered to be the finest hymn lyrics Wesley ever wrote.

The song we are looking at today is Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, which has sometimes been named the most popular hymn in the English language! nmnm

It’s based on Luke 2 where the angels visited the shepherds who were out in the fields by night keeping watch over their flocks. And indeed the first verse is all about that very first Christmas birth announcement…