Great music is timeless.  Some songs are as powerful and contemporary today as they were when they were written hundreds of years ago.  Great music transports us to a place beyond time, where lyrics and melodies can speak to many generations at once.  This is one of the great things about music.  However, because of music’s timeless quality, sometimes we forget that songs are written inside of time.  The setting and context into which a hymn is written often times gives us great insight into the song’s meaning.  Today we are going to look at a Christmas hymn whose message was prompted by the setting out of which it was written.

“It Came Upon a Midnight Clear” was written in 1849 by a pastor from Massachusetts, Edmund Sears.  As Sears wrote this song, he was reflecting on the tensions that were rising around him.  The United States was just 12 years from the Civil War, and trouble was already brewing.  Out of this context, Sears drew comfort from the words that the Angels spoke to the shepherds on the night of Jesus birth declaring “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests (Luke 2:14).”  In the dark of night, a new light shone that would provide peace for the people on the earth.  This song begins 2,000 years ago with the angels, “bending near the earth to touch their harps of gold.”  It continues to talk about the contemporary experience of mankind who are “beneath life’s crushing load, whose forms are bending low.”  The song climaxes with a look at the future where “the whole world sends back the song which now the angels sing.”  In other words, the promise of the angels of peace on earth will ultimately be fulfilled when Christ returns.

Think of all the wars that have been fought all over the world since the time of Christ’s birth in Bethlehem.  Sears saw the Civil War, but billions more have seen many others.  The earth has hardly been a peaceful place for the last two millenia.  However, the promise of the angels will ultimately be fulfilled.  Peace will fill the earth for those who trust in Christ upon His second coming.  We look forward to that day . . . and we sing.  May the latest U.S. conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq not obscure the reality that the Prince of Peace will one day reign, and earthly armies will forever enter parade rest. Sing “It Came Upon A Midnight Clear” as a cry for peace this year.

It Came Upon a Midnight Clear

It came upon the midnight clear,

That glorious song of old,

From angels bending near the earth,

To touch their harps of gold;

“Peace on the earth, good will to men,

From Heav’n’s all-gracious King.”

The world in solemn stillness lay, To hear the angels sing.

Still through the cloven skies they come

With peaceful wings unfurled,

And still their heav’nly music floats

O’er all the weary world;

Above its sad and lowly plains,

They bend on hov’ring wing,

And ever o’er its Babel sounds The blessed angels sing.

Yet with the woes of sin and strife

The world has suffered long;

Beneath the angel strain have rolled

Two thousand years of wrong;

And man, at war with man, hears not

The love-song which they bring;

Oh, hush the noise, ye men of strife And hear the angels sing.

And ye, beneath life’s crushing load,

Whose forms are bending low,

Who toil along the climbing way

With painful steps and slow,

Look now! for glad and golden hours

Come swiftly on the wing.

Oh, rest beside the weary road, And hear the angels sing!

For lo! the days are hast’ning on,

By prophet seen of old,

When with the ever-circling years

Shall come the time foretold

When Christ shall come and all shall own

The Prince of Peace, their King,

And the whole world send back the song which now the angels sing

 

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Journalist James Montgomery wrote a poem that ran on Christmas Eve 1816 in his London paper.  This poem (“Angels from the Realms of Glory”) would later be set to music by a blind organist, and the song has been sung for over 200 years now in churches all over the world.  

Given that the music was written by a blind man, I love (in particular) the third verse of this song that says, “Sages, leave your contemplations; brighter visions beam afar; Seek the Great Desire of Nations; Ye have seen His natal star.”  Of course the direct reference of the lyric points to the Magi (the sage foreigners) who saw the brighter vision of the Christmas star and went to check it out (see Matthew 2:1-12).  However, this brighter vision need not be confined to only the first century.

A very common miracle that Jesus worked was giving sight to the blind.  This is both a physical miracle, but also a picture of what He would do for you and me — giving us spiritual eyes so we can see who He really is (Matthew 13:10-17).

2,000 years after the birth of Jesus, Jesus wants us to see Him for who He really is . . . the Son of God, and the Savior of the World.  May the eyes of our hearts be enlightened so that we may know Him (and the blessing He gives to us) more this year (Ephesians 1:18).  

Take a moment today and sing Montgomery’s song, and pray for a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ this Christmas season.

Angels From the Realms of Glory

Angels from the realms of glory,

Wing your flight o’er all the earth;

Ye who sang creation’s story

Now proclaim Messiah’s birth.

Come and worship, come and worship,

Worship Christ, the newborn King.

Shepherds, in the field abiding,

Watching o’er your flocks by night,

God with us is now residing;

Yonder shines the infant light:

Sages, leave your contemplations,

Brighter visions beam afar;

Seek the great Desire of nations;

Ye have seen His natal star.

Saints, before the altar bending,

Watching long in hope and fear;

Suddenly the Lord, descending,

In His temple shall appear.

Sinners, wrung with true repentance,

Doomed for guilt to endless pains,

Justice now revokes the sentence,

Mercy calls you; break your chains.

Though an Infant now we view Him,

He shall fill His Father’s throne,

Gather all the nations to Him;

Every knee shall then bow down:

All creation, join in praising

God, the Father, Spirit, Son,

Evermore your voices raising

To th’ eternal Three in One.

 

To access all 31 days of the “Christmas Light” Devotional, click here.

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I remember when my son was an infant, spending time on a recliner with my boy resting on my chest.  As I held his tiny body, I remember spending time praying for him:  his life, his health, his future impact on the world, his future spouse, etc.  Most parents can relate to these moments.  Infants seem simultaneously fragile and invincible; fragile in their physical condition yet invincible in their seemingly unlimited potential.  Because of this reality we pray for their today, while hoping for their tomorrow.

In today’s song, Mercy Me’s “Joseph’s Lullaby,” they poetically wonder how Joseph might have felt as he reclined with Jesus on his chest in those infant years.  Certainly Joseph knew Jesus was a “special child” — conversations with angels and immaculate conceptions tend to fill in those blanks for you (see Matthew 1:18-25).  However, Joseph did not understand everything.  After all, Jesus did not have a halo for a hat.  He did not glow with glory.  As the prophet Isaiah 53:2-3 predicted, “He had no form or majesty that we should look at Him, and no beauty that we should desire Him.  He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.”

And so, as Jesus cried that first night from experiencing the cold of this real world, or the hunger pains of an empty stomach, Joseph probably prayed for his son like so many of us have prayed for our children:  praying for protection around their fragile bodies, and praying for the power of their future potential.  

We don’t know for sure what Joseph prayed for his son . . . but the words of this song don’t seem far-fetched to me: simply the thoughts of a loving earthly father talking to our loving Heavenly Father about their child.  

Inspired by this picture, take some time today to pray for someone you love.  Pray that God would protect them physically and (through them) bless others spiritually in this life.

Joseph’s Lullaby

Go to sleep my Son

This manger for your bed

You have a long road before You

Rest Your little head

Can You feel the weight of Your glory?

Do You understand the price?

Or does the Father guard Your heart for now

So You can sleep tonight?

Go to sleep my Son

Go and chase Your dreams

This world can wait for one more moment

Go and sleep in peace

I believe the glory of Heaven

Is lying in my arms tonight

But Lord, I ask that He for just this moment

Simply be my child

Go to sleep my Son

Baby, close Your eyes

Soon enough You’ll save the day

But for now, dear Child of mine

Oh my Jesus, Sleep tight

 

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A “manger” is an animal’s feeding trough.  After Jesus’ birth, Mary and Joseph placed Him in one such trough.  This reality is sung about in the song “Away in a Manger.”  This fact is so commonplace to us since the Christmas story is so familiar.  However, have you ever stopped to wonder exactly WHY God had Jesus placed in manger that first Christmas day?

While certainly the repurposed manger helped symbolize the humility of Jesus, Luke 2:12 gives us the specific reason for the trough. “And this will be a sign for you, you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloth and lying in the manger.” These words (spoken by the Angels to the shepherds, inviting them to visit Jesus after His birth) indicate that the manger crib was the sign to let the shepherds know which baby Jesus was.  In others words, there were other babies in Bethlehem that night, but only one was wrapped in cloth and lying in an animal’s feeding trough.  That One was Jesus.

Since every Jewish mom would wrap their child in cloths, it was the manger that highlighted Jesus’ identity as the Son of God.  The Angels basically used the manger as a spotlight.  The shepherds would go house to house until they found the baby in the feeding trough.  When they found THAT child, they would worship Him.

I think it is important to reflect on the BED Jesus lay in being the distinguishing factor as to His identity.  This lets us know that He otherwise LOOKED like a normal child.  He was not glowing in holiness . . . He looked normal.  He was not talking in perfect language . . . He sounded like a normal baby (meaning He probably was crying, despite  what the lyrics of the Christmas Carol might suggest).  Everything about Jesus looked normal, so the Angels could not identify Jesus to the shepherds through His physical appearance.  So they described the bed He lay in.

Friends, this simple point helps remind us that the Son of God really did become the Son of Man.  Jesus really did become fully human, identifying down to all the sights and sounds of “normal.”  This reminds us that, “For we do not have a High Priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:15-16)” Jesus knows what it means to live a normal human life.  He lived a “normal” human life in every way . . . except that He did not sin.  Therefore, He can help us and forgive us as we deal with the sin in our own life as well!  

As you sing “Away in a Manger” this Christmas season, be reminded that Jesus’ bed (not His body) revealed His uniqueness that first Christmas night.  He knows normal, and so He can help normal people – like you and me.

Away in a Manger

Away in a manger

No crib for a bed 

The little Lord Jesus 

Laid down His sweet head

The stars in the sky 

Looked down where He lay 

The little Lord Jesus 

Asleep on the hay

The cattle are lowing 

The Baby awakes 

The little Lord Jesus 

No crying He makes

I love Thee, Lord Jesus 

Look down from the sky 

And stay by my cradle 

Till morning is nigh

Be near me, Lord Jesus

I ask Thee to stay 

Close by me forever 

And love me I pray

Bless all the dear children 

In Thy tender care 

And fate us for heaven 

To live with Thee there

 

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At the age of 29 William Dix was living in Glasgow, Scotland working as an insurance salesman.  He contracted a serious illness that left him in bed, and also (eventually) depressed.  For the promising young hymn writer, it looked like his illness would limit his ministry.  But, the Lord is not restricted by our limitations.  In our weakness, the strength of the Lord is often most clearly seen. 

It was from this bed of despair that William Dix wrote the hymn “What Child is This?”  The song is a simple Q&A style, where the verses ask questions that the chorus answers.  

• Question:  “What child is this that lay to rest in Mary’s lap sleeping?”  
• Answer:  “This, this is Christ the King!”  

In Matthew 16:13-20 Jesus asks His disciples who they thought He was.  Dix’s song points Jesus’ words forward to us.  During the Christmas season we see depictions of Baby Jesus everywhere.  As we see these depictions of Jesus, may we ask ourselves the question of the song, “What child is this who laid to rest on Mary’s lap is sleeping?”  Some may say that Jesus is a prophet or a religious leader.  But who do you say that Jesus is?  Is He just those things, or something more?

May we come to know (as Peter did in Matthew 16) that Jesus is the Christ (Savior), the Son of the Living God.  And because He is a living God, He offers us a living hope, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!  According to His great mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (1 Peter 1:3).”

From a place of personal frailty, Dix reminded us of the power of God in Christ.  The Child that lay sleeping on Mary’s lap offers hope and life to all who come to know His true identity and trust in Him.  Who do you say this child is?

What Child Is This?

What Child is this Who, 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 lamb 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 a song on high

The virgin sings her lullaby

Joy, joy for Christ is born

The Babe, the Son of Mary

 

 

 

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Real life is messy, isn’t it?  Things don’t always go as planned.  Failures in our performance cause us to doubt ourselves.  When things don’t work out as we would like, we doubt God.  Our years are filled with some highs, many lows, and lots of “average.”

Into this real, messy world . . . Jesus came.

All too often, our picture of the night when Jesus was born is not real enough.  Because we are so familiar with the story, and because this story is often depicted for us with pristine porcelain figurines, we incorrectly assume Jesus was born without any “mess.”  Because of the song Mary sings in Luke 1, we imagine her as magnificent . . . fearless and understanding all things.  But the reality was probably much messier than that.  Yes, Mary was visited by an angel to inform her that she would bear a child, and yes, that child was conceived in an immaculate way (the highs); but after that conception (at first) her fiancé wanted to leave her and she left her hometown to “lay low” at her cousin Elizabeth’s house – most likely to escape the whispers of ridicule in her own backyard (the lows).  Additionally, though, she endured 9 months of pregnancy . . . 9 months of wondering, “did I hear that angel correctly?” . . . 9 months of “average.” 

In Matthew 1, Joseph is called “noble.”  Because of that, we may think Joseph was a rock for Mary throughout the process . . . but we know the reality was messier than that.  That “rock” wanted to “roll” out of their betrothal initially not knowing what was going on.  How could Joseph have fully grasped that the One who was in his fiancé’s womb was the maker of the moon?

We live in a messy life.  A life with doubt, disease, and dispair.  Jesus willingly and joyfully entered into it.  Not a cleaned up “porcelain doll” type life, but REAL LIFE . . . messy life.  

Today’s Christmas song reminds us of the “straw around the stable.” Andrew Peterson’s “Labor of Love” artistically articulates a picture of that first Christmas night that has not been airbrushed.  As you listen to its words, connect the dots to your reality.  

Mary was afraid . . . at times so are we.  

Joseph did not understand . . . at times neither do we.  

Yet, into Bethlehem (and into our backyard) Jesus has come to clean up our mess, dissuade our doubts, and free us from our fears.  Knowing who He is and what He came to do, let us (like Mary) labor to really love Him while we live in this real world.

 

Labor of Love

It was not a silent night

There was blood on the ground

You could hear a woman cry

In the alleyways that night

On the streets of David’s town

And the stable was not clean

And the cobblestones were cold

And little Mary full of grace

With the tears upon her face

Had no mother’s hand to hold

It was a labor of pain

It was a cold sky above

But for the girl on the ground in the dark

With every beat of her beautiful heart

It was a labor of love

Noble Joseph at her side

Callused hands and weary eyes

There were no midwives to be found

On the streets of David’s town

In the middle of the night

So he held her and he prayed

Shafts of moonlight on his face

For the baby in her womb

He was the maker of the moon

He was the author of the faith

That could make the mountains move

It was a labor of pain

It was a cold sky above

But for the girl on the ground in the dark

With every beat of her beautiful heart

It was a labor of love

For little Mary full of grace

With the tears upon her face

It was a labor of love

It was not a silent night

On the streets of David’s town

 

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In 1868, Episcopalian Pastor Phillip Brooks needed a song for the kids to sing at a Christmas service at his church.  Not satisfied with any other songs he had heard, Brooks decided to write a song himself.  Inspired by a Christmas Eve service Brooks had attended in Bethlehem during a Holy Land trip three years prior, Brooks sat down and wrote the song, “O Little Town of Bethlehem.”  Not only did the children in his church sing this song in their Christmas program, but millions more continue to sing the song today, some 150 years later.  Think about that for a moment.  This Philadelphia Pastor has a top hit that has lasted 15 decades!  Knowing that best sellers in the iTunes music store top the charts for only about 15 days and even the best of our contemporary praise and worship songs might only persist for about 15 years, Brooks song is amazingly durable.  What is it about this song that has allowed it to endure?

I think the message of this hymn is very powerful.  I have always been struck by the phrase at the end of the first verse, “the hopes and fears of all the years are met in Thee tonight.”  The idea that Jesus Christ comforts our deepest fears and provides for us our greatest hope is an amazingly powerful message!  As I ponder the significance of this phrase, I am reminded of 1 Peter 1:8-9, “Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”  Our deepest fear is death.  Our greatest hope is eternal life in fellowship with our Creator, the salvation of our souls.  Truly, in Christ the hopes and fears of all the years are met.

As you sing this hymn this year may you be reminded of the comfort and hope Jesus Christ provides to you and me.

O Little Town of Bethlehem

O little town of Bethlehem

How still we see thee lie

Above thy deep and dreamless sleep

The silent stars go by

Yet in thy dark streets shineth

The everlasting Light

The hopes and fears of all the years

Are met in thee tonight

For Christ is born of Mary

And gathered all above

While mortals sleep, the angels keep

Their watch of wondering love

O morning stars together

Proclaim the holy birth

And praises sing to God the King

And Peace to men on earth

How silently, how silently

The wondrous gift is given!

So God imparts to human hearts

The blessings of His heaven.

No ear may his His coming,

But in this world of sin,

Where meek souls will receive him still,

The dear Christ enters in.

O holy Child of Bethlehem

Descend to us, we pray

Cast out our sin and enter in

Be born to us today

We hear the Christmas angels

The great glad tidings tell

O come to us, abide with us

Our Lord Emmanuel

 

To access all 31 days of the “Christmas Light” Devotional, click here.

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