There ought only to be one choice of carol for the ending of any self-respecting Carol or Christmas service (or indeed any contemporary Christmas film classic[1]) – and that is Charles Wesley’s resplendent hymn, ‘Hark! the herald angels sing’! I am (half-)joking, of course, but it is most definitely my personal favourite of all the great Christmas carols.
Wesley’s classic carol was first published in 1739, but not as we know it today. Firstly, Wesley never intended this hymn to be accompanied with the type of rollicking, romping music – composed by Felix Mendelsshon in 1840 – that it is now synonymous with.[2] Perhaps its only fair, then, that for his part, Mendelsshon was quoted as never wanting his composition to be accompanied with anything religious![3]
In similar fashion to his idea for the music, Wesley requested that his words not be altered in any kind of way, yet it is partly thanks to alterations that his hymn has become as famous and enduring as it has. The original opening line of Wesley’s hymn was, “Hark, how all the welkin rings” (‘Welkin’ is an antiquated word for ‘sky’). It was his (mostly) friend, George Whitefield, that changed it to, “Hark! the herald angels sing” – along with some other slight alterations throughout the verses. The hymn would then be further altered in 1782 in Tate and Bradley’s ‘New Version of the Psalms of David’. Along with one or two word-changes, this was when the hymn’s opening couplet also became its chorus. Thankfully, it's important to be noted, these alterations didn’t change any of Wesley’s original meanings.
‘Hark! The Herald Angels Sing’ is quite simply a theological masterpiece. The opening verse recalls the story of the angels who appeared to the shepherds in Luke 2:8-20, mostly focusing on the angels’ God-glorifying message of the newly born King. The second verse then moves on to consider Christ as revealed throughout the whole of His Incarnation, and while the third verse continues this theme, it also moves on to consider some of the implications of Christ’s birth. The fourth verse, sadly missing from many modern-day versions, is a passionate plea for Christ to continue His display of saving power, that He would be always glorified through it. Originally, there was also a fifth verse, now largely neglected, that added the further plea for Christ’s continued sanctifying work on the individual believer.
Incredibly, Wesley wrote this hymn just about a year after his conversion. On the one hand, he had previously gained a master’s degree at Christ Church, Oxford and was now serving as a curate (parish priest) within the Anglican church. On the other hand, Wesley had only begun to understand the gospel properly at the time of his conversion, having understood nothing at all of the “second birth” which he writes about in the third verse. (It seems that even the theological lecturers and Doctors of Divinity at Christ Church, Oxford knew nothing of this ‘second birth’ either!)[4]
The depth of theology in Wesley’s hymn is quite staggering, especially considering his recent conversion, yet the freshness of his joy at being saved certainly adds to the jubilant, passion-infused praise. There is a sermon’s worth of theological truth in almost every line, yet there is also a great clarity that makes the hymn eminently accessible to the singer of it. A suitable summary of the hymn is found anonymously at hymnary.org which concludes, “Simply by describing Christ, Wesley tells us the entire Gospel story.”[5] What ended up resulting from Wesley's description of Christ in His Incarnation is a passionately-told Gospel story that has been passionately sung by Christians the world over for nearly 300 years. The hymn itself has also served as an on-going testament to Christ's "saving power" that would have surely surpassed even Wesley's greatest dreams.
Below is the four-verse version as found in Christian Hymns (EMW, 2004)[6]:
Hark! the herald angels sing
Glory to the new-born King,
Peace on earth, and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled.
Joyful, all ye nations, rise,
Join the triumph of the skies;
With the angelic host proclaim,
‘Christ is born in Bethlehem.’
Hark! the herald angels sing
Glory to the new-born King
Christ, by highest heaven adored,
Christ, the everlasting Lord,
Late in time behold Him come,
Offspring of a virgin’s womb.
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see!
Hail, the incarnate Deity!
Pleased as Man with men to dwell,
Jesus, our Immanuel.
Hail, the heaven-born Prince of Peace!
Hail, the Sun 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.
Come, Desire of nations, come,
Fix in us Thy humble home;
Rise, the woman’s conquering Seed,
Bruise in us the serpent’s head.
Now display Thy saving power,
Ruined nature now restore;
Now in mystic union join
Thine to ours, and ours to Thine!
[1] A gentle nod to the Frank Capra classic, ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ (1946). [2][2] Wikipedia, Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, n.d. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing - Wikipedia (accessed Dec 07, 2021). [3] Hymnary.org, Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, n.d. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing | Hymnary.org (accessed Dec 07, 2021). [4] John Pollock, George Whitefield: The Evangelist, (Fearn: Christian Focus, 2009) p.20. [5] Hymnary.org, Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, n.d. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing | Hymnary.org (accessed Dec 07, 2021). [6] Christian Hymns, (Bridgend: EMW, 2010).