I often marvel at the depth of doctrine contained in our Christmas songs. It's really a shame that we don't sing many of these songs year round. Consider these verses from Charles Wesley, found in Hark! the Herald Angels Sing:
Hail the heav'n born Prince of Peace! Hail the Son of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings, Ris'n 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.
Come, Desire of Nations, come! Fix in us Thy humble home;
Rise, the woman's con-q'ring seed, Bruise in us the serpent's head.
Adam's likeness now efface, Stamp Thine image in its place:
Second Adam from above, Reinstate us in Thy love.
Or this verse from another of Wesley's works, the oft-overlooked Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus:
Born Thy people to deliver, Born a child and yet a King,
Born to reign in us forever-Now Thy gracious Kingdom bring.
By Thine own eternal Spirit, Rule in all our hearts alone;
By Thine all sufficient merit, Raise us to Thy glorious throne.
As you gather in your respective churches to celebrate Christmas this Sunday, don't put your mind on auto-pilot. Think about the words and phrases intentionally crafted to bring honor and glory to the King of Kings.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment