Charles Wesley wrote the lyrics for Hark the Herald Angels Sing in 1739. Charles was the younger brother of John Wesley, who founded the Methodist Church.

A serious-minded man, Charles preferred slow and solemn music for his hymns. Thus, Hark the Herald Angels Sing was originally set to a different tune. Later, in 1840, Felix Mendelssohn composed a cantata to commemorate the invention of the printing press. An English musician, William H. Cummings, adapted Mendelssohn's melody to fit Wesley's lyrics, producing the Christmas carol as we know it today.

Like Charles Wesley's other hymns (Christ the Lord Is Risen Today; And Can It Be That I Should Gain; Love Divine, All Loves Excelling; O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing; and many others), Hark the Herald Angels Sing is theologically "loaded," filled with numerous biblical truths designed to educate and inspire the Church.

An angel told the virgin Mary that her son would be the promised messianic king descended from David:

You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his Kingdom will never end. (Luke 1:31-33, NIV)

At Jesus' birth, a chorus of angels took the good news to shepherds of Bethlehem: "Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord" (Luke 2:11).

In his first stanza, Wesley calls for us to join the angels in announcing King Jesus' birth:

Hark! The herald angels sing,
"Glory to the newborn King:
Peace on earth, and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled!"
Joyful, all ye nations rise,
Join the triumph of the skies;
With th' angelic host proclaim,
"Christ is born in Bethlehem!"
Hark! The herald angels sing,
"Glory to the newborn King."

Over time, Jesus' followers came to a stunning realization: God had decided to come as His own Messiah! As Paul says, "In Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form" (Col 2:9; compare 1:19).

Wesley focuses on the divine nature of the infant King in his second stanza:

Christ, by highest heaven adored;
Christ, the Everlasting Lord!
Late in time behold Him come,
Offspring of the Virgin's womb:
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see;
Hail th' Incarnate Deity,
Pleased as man with men to dwell,
Jesus, our Emmanuel.
Hark! The herald angels sing,
"Glory to the newborn King."

What did God do when He came as Messiah? Paul recounts how He refused to hang onto His kingly glory and prerogatives. Instead, He sacrificed Himself in order to free us from sin and death:

Being in very nature God, [He] did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death -- even death on a cross! (Phil 2:6-8)

In his third stanza, Wesley likewise reflects on the Lord's self-humiliation. He became incarnate as a babe in a manger, so that He could later die to give eternal life:

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.
Hark! The herald angels sing,
"Glory to the newborn King."

In Romans 5 and 1 Corinthians 15, Paul describes Christ as a sort of "Second Adam." Through a single act of disobedience in eating the forbidden fruit, Adam brought sin into the world, death to his descendants, and a curse on Creation. In a similar fashion, through one act of obedience on the cross, Jesus "crushed the serpent's head," undid the "curse," and brought righteousness and life to many (as discussed in Bare Roots 16.5). Paul writes:

Just as through the disobedience of the one man [Adam] the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man [Christ] the many will be made righteous. (Rom 5:19)

Likewise, in his fourth stanza, Wesley reflects on the outcome of Christ's sacrifice:

Come, Desire of Nations, come,
Fix in us thy humble home;
Rise, the woman's conquering Seed,
Bruise in us the serpent's head.
Adam's likeness, Lord, efface;
Stamp thine image in its place.
Second Adam from above,
Reinstate us in thy love.
Hark! The herald angels sing,
"Glory to the newborn King!"

Amen! All glory to the newborn King!

Reflect...

1. In stanzas 2 and 3, the titles "Emmanuel" and "Prince of Peace" come from Isaiah 7:14 and 9:6. Read these texts in their context. What is Wesley telling us about Christ?
   
   
2. In stanza 3, the title "Sun of Righteousness" comes from Malachi 4:2. Read this text in its context. What is Wesley telling us about Christ?
   
   
3. In stanza 4, the title "Desire of Nations" comes from Haggai 2:7. Read this text in its context. What is Wesley telling us about Christ?

Christopher A. Davis, Ph.D.
Professor of New Testament
Hope International University
Fullerton, California

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