Christmas Hymns: Joy to the World

A little Christmas music.

Hymns: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, is a haunting, beautiful song. With or without lyrics the music evokes a sense of longing. It is uncertain when it was written, but it was translated from Latin into English in the mid-1800s by John Mason Neale and Henry Sloane Coffin. I have included a couple of videos after the lyrics. I hope you enjoy.

O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here,
Until the Son of God appear.

(Chorus)
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel

O Come, Thou Day-spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
and death's dark shadows put to flight.

O come, Thou Wisdom from on high,
And order all things, far and nigh;
To us the path of knowledge show,
And cause us in her ways to go.

O come, Desire of nations, bind
All peoples in one heart and mind.
Bid envy, strife, and quarrels cease;
Fill the whole world with heaven's peace.

Spiritual Songs: "Welcome to Our World"

This song, "Welcome to Our World," has long been a favorite of mine. Chris Rice is great song writer. His songs provide food for thought. As we move toward the celebration of Christ's birth, this is an excellent song to meditate on.  I hope you enjoy it (it ends abruptly, but it was the best I could find).

Christmas Hymn: Angels We Have Heard on High

I love the Christmas hymn, "Angels We Have Heard on High."  As we meditate on the truth of God's Anointed (Christ) coming into the world, we have plenty of reasons to sing the highest praise to God.  As the song reminds us, Jesus, the Lord of heaven and earth, came into our world to rescue us from sin and death.  The song, which so long ago, alerted the shepherds of Christ's arrival, is reflected in this hymn.  We are reminded--a Savior has been born, and he is worthy of infinite adoration.  As the song says, "Come, adore on bended knee Christ the Lord, the new born King." And this Christmas let us sing glory to God in the highest (gloria in excelsis Deo).

This version is by Third Day:

Hymns: I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day

Following the loss of his beloved wife, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow found the holidays to be unbearably sad.  The tension and brutality caused by the Civil War only added to his grief.  As Christmas approached, a darkness descended.  The final straw came when his son, Charles, was injured during the war in 1863.  Longfellow waved the flag of surrender and abandoned any hope of God bringing peace on earth.  However, something awakened within him on Christmas Day in 1864.  He penned the words of his poem, "Christmas Bells," which was eventually shortened to 5 stanzas, and transformed into a carol.  For more information you can read more here.

In this song, we are reminded that God is in control, even in when we can't see him working because we surrounded by darkness.  God is not dead, nor does he sleep.  So we can trust him, even in times when we do not know what he is doing. I think it was C. H. Spurgeon who said, "When you can't trace God's hand, trust his heart."  Longfellow says the same thing, but in slightly different words.

Here are the lyrics:

I heard the bells on Christmas day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

I though how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along th'unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And in despair I bowed my head:
"There is no peace on earth" I said
"For hate is strong, and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men."

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep,
"God is not dead, nor doth He sleep,
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,
With peace on earth, good will to men."

Till, ringing, singing, on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime, a chant sublime,
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

Here is a video of, "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day," arranged by Mark Hall, performed by Casting Crowns.

Mary Did You Know?

The song, "Mary Did You Know?," is another great Christmas song. There are so many important truths about Jesus that this song highlights. The song seems to ask the questions so many of us wish we could ask Mary. How much of Jesus' life and ministry was she able to comprehend? All we know for sure is what the Scriptures record for us. She knew that her son was the Son of God. She knew he would save God's people. She knew that many would turn to him, and many would turn against him. Beyond this we can only speculate. It leaves us to marvel at the young girl's faith and he willingness to honor her God through humble obedience. Here is a video of "Mary Did You Know?" as sung by Clay Aiken. Although I not a huge fan of his, he does a good job on this song. The video is also well done. I hope you enjoy.

O Holy Night

Another one of my favorite Christmas songs is "O Holy Night." This video combines Mercy Me's version with images from the movie The Nativity Story. I found this video, like the last two, on YouTube. I hope you enjoy it.

Beautiful Star of Bethlehem

Monticello's choir did an awesome job of singing "Beautiful Star of Bethlehem," during the our Christmas cantata.  Unfortunately, we had a technical glitch and were unable to record it.  It  is another one of my favorite Christmas songs (especially when it's sung with a country accent).  Since I don't have Monticello's version to share with you, I thought the Judds would be fair substitute.  Enjoy.

Joy to the World! The Lord Is Come

The Christmas hymn, "Joy to the World! The Lord Is Come," is good reminder of why Christmas is such a joyous time.  In this hymn, Isaac Watts celebrates the birth of Christ and Christ's reign over all creation.  He writes,

Joy to the World! The Lord is come;
Let earth receive her King;
Let ev'ry heart prepare him room,
And heav'n and nature sing,
And heav'n and nature sing,
And heav'n and heav'n and nature sing.

Joy to the earth! The Saviour reigns;
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat, Repeat the sounding joy.

 

No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make his blessing flow
Far as the curse is found,
Far as the curse is found,
Far as, Far as the curse is found.

He rules the wold with truth and grace,
And makes the nation prove
the glories of his righteousness
And wonders of his love
And wonders of his love
And wonders, and wonders of his love.

The celebration of Christ's birth is the celebration of the birth of a king, but not just any king.  He is the King of kings and Lord of lords.  He is the Sovereign of the universe.  There is no end to his majestic glory.  His splendor knows no equal.  As believers in Christ, we have great reason to rejoice, not only at Christmas, but always.  I pray that this Christmas Christ will bring you a joy that will put your tongue to work singing his praises.