What Child Is This?

Do you like Christmas music?  I like a lot of the Christmas hymns, but I'm not a big fan of rest of the holiday classics (like "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer").  Every year I dread the weekend after Thanksgiving, because the airwaves become polluted with "Holiday" music.  There is some good music in the mix, but I just not that into it.

Some of the most popular Christmas hymns have rich meaning that is often lost or confussed when they are played in a lineup with "Jingle Bells" or "Blue Christmas" (although the Porky Pig version is quite funny).  The blending of sacred and secular concepts tends to halt reflection and meditation.  It's hard to contemplate on the meaning of the words, "Christ, by highest heav'n adored, Christ, the everlasting Lord; Late in time, behold him come, offspring of a virgin's womb.  Veiled in flesh the God-head see, Hail th'incarnate Deity!
Pleased as man with men to dwell, Jesus our Immanuel," (Hark! The Herald Angels Sing) when they are followed by "Grandma got ran over by a reindeer."

Over the next couple of weeks leading up to Christmas, I thought I would share some of my favorite hymns.  Tonight I want to share "What Child Is This?".  William C. Dix penned these words:

What child is this, laid to rest on Mary's lap, is sleeping?
Whom angels greet with anthems sweet, while shepherds watch are keeping?
This, this is Christ the King; whom shepherds guard and angels sing:
Haste, haste to bring Him laud, the Babe, the Son of Mary!

Why lies he in such mean estate, where ox and ass are feeding?
Good Christian, fear; for sinners here the silent Word is pleading:
Nails, spear, shall pierce Him through, the Cross be borne, for me, for you
Hail, hail, the Word made flesh, the Babe, the Son of Mary!

So bring Him incense, gold, and myrrh, Come peasant, king to own Him.
The King of Kings, salvation brings, Let loving hearts enthrone Him.
Raise, raise the song on high, the Virgin sings her lullably;
Joy, joy, for Christ is born, The Babe, the Son of Mary!

The second verse grips my heart in ways I cannot fully communicate. The opening question, "Why lies he in such mean (average/low) estate, where ox and ass are feeding?," points to the fact that Christ, the Lord of Glory, willingly laid aside his glory and wealth in order to rescue us from sin.  The author would have us to approach this manger with reverence, because this Child has brought our redemption.  He goes on to connect the Christmas story with the Easter story, because the goal of Christ's birth was to become the sacrifice that put away the wrath of God by dying as our substitute on the cross.  So I say with this song, "Hail, Hail, the Word made flesh, The Babe, The Son of Mary!"

Image from http://picturesofjesus4you.com/storeindexbaby.html.

More About Hymns

I have posted hymns on here lately for two reasons: first, they are a wealth of theological and devotional truths that are packaged in memorable ways, and second, it helps to examine them in different contexts. Often, when we sing songs week after week, month after month, year after year, we tend to sing them on "auto-pilot." Our brains know the words, we push air over our vocal chords, our lips move in the proper way to pronounce the words, but somewhere in the process our heart has dropped out. Over-familiarity breeds contempt, or at least complacency.

Yet, singing during worship should be more than the vocalization of theological and devotional truth. It should exude passion and praise. Our songs should flow from our inner being with intensity and emotion. Most of us have had the experience of being move deeply by a song. Whether the song made us laugh from our belly or cry from our soul, they affect us in ways we cannot always fully understand. Immediately, we file them away in our memory banks for later use.

If a song about something in this fading world can touch us so powerfully, shouldn't songs about the great and eternally glorified King of kings and Lord of lords move us? And sometimes they do. When was the last time you were moved when you sang, "Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow?"

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow; Praise him all creatures here below;
Praise him above, ye heav'nly host; Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

The thought of blessings flowing into our lives from God should cause us to break out in singing, just as the song suggests. Let us praise him. Take time to meditate on the hymns that we sing, and even the ones we don't. It helps make their meaning sink into our hearts, and flow freely in our singing.

Hymns

I wanted to let you all know about a hymn project called Page CXVI. If you like uplifting music with solid theological content, you will probably enjoy these hymns. They are older hymns that are set to more modern music. Best of all they are free. Why not check it out?