by Charles Wesley (mostly)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nCharles\nWesley was the hymnist of the English Revival. He was born\nthe\neighteenth\nchild and youngest son in\na\nfamily of nineteen in the home of Samuel and Susannah Wesley. Father\nSamuel was\nrector of the poor and not too cultured town of Epworth. Charles\nstudied\nat St. Peter’s College, Westminster, London; and in 1726 began\nhis\nstudies\nat Christ Church, Oxford. While there\nhe\nhelped form the Holy Club, of which George Whitefield and his brother\nJohn later became members. In 1735\nCharles was\nordained\nbefore he and John accepted the urgent invitation of General\nOglethorpe to go with him as chaplain and teacher to his colony in\nGeorgia\nin the New World.\nWhile in Georgia both Charles and John Wesley were witnessed to by\nthe Moravian leader August Spangenberg who taught them that they\nneeded a personal faith in Jesus Christ.\nDissatisfied and ill in health, Charles returned to England the next\nyear. We often hear about John Wesley’s salvation\nexperience at Aldersgate on May 24, 1738. Charles had a similar\nexperience,\non May 21st, 1738,\nonly three days prior to John’s experience. Charles’\ngreatest\ncontribution to the Christian church was over six thousand hymns,\nfour thousand of which were published. What\nJohn Wesley preached, Charles Wesley sang.\nSome of his greatest hymns are “Hark,\nthe Herald Angels Sing,” “Jesus Lover of My Soul,”\n“Love Divine, All Love Excelling,” “O,\nFor a Thousand Tongues,” and “Christ the Lord is Risen\nToday.” For a while Charles traveled with John in his preaching\ntours. After 1756 he traveled\nlittle, not having the iron constitution of his brother and having a\nfamily of eight to provide for. From 1756 to 1771\nCharles\npreached at Bristol,\nEngland,\nand from 1771 until his death\nin 1788,\nCharles preached\nin London.\n[Copied\nand emended from The\nWycliffe Biographical Dictionary of the Church<\/em>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Hark!\nThe Herald Angels Sing” is a Christmas carol that first\nappeared in 1739 in the collection Hymns and Sacred Poems<\/em>. Its\nlyrics were substantially been written by Charles Wesley. Wesley had\nrequested and received slow and solemn music for his lyrics, not the\njoyful tune we sing today. Moreover, Wesley’s original opening\ncouplet is “Hark! how all the welkin rings \/ Glory to the King\nof Kings”. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nThe popular version is the result of alterations by various hands,\nnotably by Wesley’s co-worker George Whitefield who changed the\nopening couplet to the familiar one, and by Felix Mendelssohn, whose\nmelody was used for the lyrics. In 1840\u2014a hundred years after the\npublication of Hymns and Sacred Poems<\/em>\u2014Mendelssohn composed a\ncantata to commemorate Johann Gutenberg’s invention of movable type\nprinting, and it is music from this cantata, adapted by the English\nmusician William H. Cummings to fit the lyrics of \u201cHark! The Herald\nAngels Sing\u201d, that we sing as the carol known today. [Copied\nfrom: https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Hark!_The_Herald_Angels_Sing]<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hark,\nThe Herald Angels Sing<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Hark!\nthe herald angels sing, Christ,\nby highest heaven adored, Hail\nthe heaven-born Prince of Peace! \n“What\nJohn Wesley preached, Charles Wesley sang.”\nCharles composed this song, originally titled “Hymn for\nChristmas Day,” to express the identity and purpose of the\nIncarnation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nIn\nits first verse, Wesley\nwrote that the angels sang of the glory of the newborn child. While\nthe sacred\ntext states that the angels spoke, not sang, we fully understand the\nurge to place song in the mouths of the angelic host. Singing praise\ncomes so naturally to mankind it is easy to suppose it does to the\nangelic host as well.\nAnd Wesley began with the need to “Hark!” Pay attention.\nWhat the angels tell mankind is a very important message that needs\nto be listened to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nWhat\nwas it that the angelic host proclaimed? Wesley\ncollapsed several mighty themes into three short lines:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n“Glory\nto the newborn King: \nWhat\nglory did this newborn king possess? It\nwas not a glory that was apparent to human eyes. But it was an\neternal radiant glory. In John\n17:5,\nin Jesus\u2019 high priestly prayer the night before He was crucified,\nJesus said to His Heavenly Father: \u201cNow,\nFather, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had\nwith You before the world was.\u201d\nThis was a glory with which the angels were very familiar. After all,\nfrom the beginning the angels had been proclaiming \u201cHoly!\nHoly! Holy! Is the Lord of Hosts,\u201d\nand\nall along they had been including this person Who had entered human\nsight that night in Bethlehem.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nWhat\nabout the concept of King? Looking back upon the completed text of\nthe Bible, we know that Jesus is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. To\nhonor His place as the newborn King, over a couple of months, God led\nMagi from Babylon to Jerusalem and then to Bethlehem to kneel before\nthis infant child. The Magi were the ruling party of the Parthian\nKingdom and they chose who was to be the kingdom\u2019s next king. They\nwere, quite literally, king makers. And in the hundred years before\nJesus\u2019 birth, the Parthian Kingdom had twice dealt the Roman army\nits worse defeats of their history, totally annihilating more than\none Roman Legion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nThese\nare those who knelt before the infant child to worship because that\nchild was truly \u2018the newborn king.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nAnd\never\nsince the Fall, peace has been missing from this earth and from the\nlives of its inhabitants. We have been at war with God, with others,\nand with ourselves. Yet the angels brought the message of peace from\nGod the Father in that simple declaration of:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\u201cOn\nearth peace among men with whom He is pleased.\u201d\nThis peace is suddenly available because, as the angels said, \u201cDo\nnot be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which\nwill be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has\nbeen born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nIt\nis only in the saving ministry of the Lord that we can find peace.\nPeace with God, peace with others, and peace within ourselves. It\ncomes because of God\u2019s great mercy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nCharles\nWesley was most likely thinking of 1Peter 1:3 when Peter wrote:\n\u201cBlessed\nbe the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His\ngreat mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through\nthe resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.\u201d\nGod\u2019s\ngreat mercy had\narrived on this earth in the person of a tiny newborn baby. A newborn\nbaby destined\nto bring reconciliation between God and man. In fact, later on Jesus\nwas Himself described as the mercy seat, the place where God and man\nmeet together for peace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nIn\nHebrews\n9:5\nit states about the Ark of the Covenant, \u201cand\nabove it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat; but\nof these things we cannot now speak in detail.\u201d\nWhat is significant is that the word translated \u201cmercy seat\u201d in\nHebrews\n9:5\nis the same word translated \u201cpropitiation\u201d in Romans\n3:25.\nListen to the words of Romans\n3:24-25:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\u201cBeing\njustified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in\nChrist Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through\nfaith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of\nsins that are past, through the forbearance of God;\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nDo\nyou see it? The Mercy Seat, the place where the blood of the\nsacrifice was sprinkled in the Old Testament when the High Priest\nentered once a year to make atonement for the sins of Israel, is now\nJesus, the place where man\u2019s sins are provided for to bring peace\nwith God. God\nhas\nreconciled mankind to Himself through the sacrifice of His Son Jesus.\nListen to Paul in Colossians\n1:20-22,\nwriting about what the Father has done in Jesus:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\u201cand\nthrough Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace\nthrough the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on\nearth or things in heaven. And although you were formerly alienated\nand hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet He has now reconciled\nyou in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before\nHim holy and blameless and beyond reproach.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nWhat\na lot of truth in three short lines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n“Glory\nto the newborn King: \nWhich\nis why Wesley thought it fitting to call upon all the nations of the\nearth to rejoice and joyfully proclaim:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nJoyful,\nall ye nations, rise, \nBut\nWesley\u2019s message, as\nfull as it already was, was not over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nWesley\nreturned to the theme of the baby\u2019s position as he began his second\nverse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nChrist,\nby highest heaven adored, \nFirst,\nJesus\u2019 office of Messiah, Christ, Anointed, is mentioned as Wesley\nthat Jesus was adored in the highest Heaven, the abode of the Throne\nof God. We love, because we are loved. The Apostle John wrote the \u201cWe\nlove Him, because He first loved us.\u201d\nLove is inherent within the nature of God. John wrote that \u201cGod\nis love.\n[1John\n4:8]\u201d\nThat love has been, is, and will be, eternally expressed between the\nthree Persons of the Trinity. Jesus told the Disciples, in John\n15:9:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\u201cJust\nas the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love.\u201d\nJesus,\npraying to the Father in John\n17:26,\nsaid: \u201cand\nI have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that\nthe love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.\u201d\nJesus was adored by those that dwell in the highest Heaven.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nBut,\nnot only is He adored, but He is the \u2018Everlasting Lord.\u2019 Surely\nWesley had Isaiah\n9:6\nin mind as he wrote that line. \u201cFor\na child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the\ngovernment will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called\nWonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.\u201d\nThe everlasting Lord. Father of Eternity. Mighty God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nThough\nthousands of years passed before God gave the Redeemer, even though\nin Israel\u2019s eyes the Messiah was long in coming, yet, it was in\n\u201cthe\nfullness of the time\u201d\nthat\n\u201cGod\nsent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nAs\nWesley wrote:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nlate\nin time behold him come, \nSurely\nreferring to Galatians 4:4. That long-looked-for seed of the woman\nhad finally come. The offspring of a virgin\u2019s womb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nBut\nthat was absolutely necessary because the Redeemer, the Savior, could\nnever come of a human male. We are steeped in our sin. A Redeemer\ncould have no sin. So God gave His own Son,<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nveiled\nin flesh the Godhead see; \nAnd\nwe hear John\u2019s statement:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\u201cAnd\nthe Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory,\nglory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and\ntruth.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nWhich\nis why He is called \u201cImmanuel,\nGod with us.\u201d\nAnd we hear God\u2019s ancient cry from Isaiah\n59:15-16:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\u201cNow\nthe LORD saw, And it was displeasing in His sight that there was no\njustice. And He saw that there was no man, And was astonished that\nthere was no one to intercede; Then His own arm brought salvation to\nHim, And His righteousness upheld Him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nGod\nprovided the Lamb, His\nown Son, to come to earth and take on humanity to provide the eternal\nsacrifice for sins. As it says in Hebrews\n7:26-27:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\u201cFor\nit was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy,\ninnocent, undefiled,\nseparated from sinners and exalted above the heavens; who does not\nneed daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first\nfor His own sins and then for the sins of the people, because this He\ndid once for all when He offered up Himself.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nBecause\nonly God is without sin. Therefore, only God could provide a perfect\nsacrifice for sins, Jesus the Righteous Son of God. Truly God in the\nflesh. Immanuel, the Incarnate Deity. God in the Flesh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nAnd\nbecause He could be our only hope, as Wesley wrote, Jesus was<\/p>\n\n\n\n \npleased\nas\nman with men\nto dwell, \nJesus\ncame willingly. He was not forced to do this. He came because He\nloved us and it pleased Him to come as our sacrifice. As Jesus\nHimself said in John 10:17-18:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\u201cI\nlay down My life so that I may take it again. No one has taken it\naway from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative.\u201d\nHe was truly pleased to come and dwell with us and then freely offer\nHimself to God as our substitute. Jesus, our Immanuel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nAnd\nso, with Wesley, we also say<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nHail the heaven-born Prince of\nPeace! \nWe\nhonor and praise this Prince of Peace. We honor and praise this our\nSun of Righteousness. The only One Who can take us out of the kingdom\nof darkness and into the Kingdom of God\u2019s beloved Son. The only One\nWho can give us of His righteousness while taking on our sin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nAnd\nwith the knowledge that we have been transferred to the Kingdom of\nGod\u2019s beloved Son, we declare to the world:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nLight\nand life to all he brings, \nJesus,\nand Jesus alone, came to bring us light and to give us Life. Jesus\ntold Thomas, \u201cI\nam the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father but\nby Me.\u201d\nJesus came to bring healing from all of life\u2019s ills. He is the only\nsolution to the Problem of Evil we all struggle with. He heals us of\nall our diseases, both physical and spiritual. Only Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nWesley\nfinished his great message in poetry with:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nMild\nhe lays his glory by, \nHe\ndid not come as a conqueror. That is for later. He came as a wee\nbabe, tender, vulnerable, gentle, meek, mild. He came to woo us to\nthe Father. He laid aside His Glory before which no one can stand,\nveiled it in human flesh, and came and lived as one of us in order to\ngive us these three things:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nVictory\nover Death!<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nA\nresurrection to Glory!<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nA\nnew birth to make us new creations in Christ!<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nWhat\nwonderful and mighty deeds to thrill each person\u2019s heart. We no\nlonger have to fear death. He has conquered it for us through His\ndeath.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nWe\nno longer have to fear eternity. We have been guaranteed resurrection\nto glory because of His resurrection. Because He lives, we live also.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nWe\nno longer have to stay in chains to Satan. We have been born into the\nfamily of God. We are new creations in Christ Jesus. We can have\nvictory over sin, over Satan, over Death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nWhich\nis why, as a company of the Redeemed, we say with our dear departed\nbrother,<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nHark!\nthe herald angels sing, by Charles Wesley (mostly) Charles Wesley was the hymnist of the English Revival. He was born the eighteenth child and youngest son in a family of nineteen in the home of Samuel and Susannah Wesley. Father Samuel was rector of the poor and not too cultured town of Epworth. Charles studied at St. Peter’s College, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-442","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pastorsblog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unionchapel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/442","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unionchapel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unionchapel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unionchapel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unionchapel.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=442"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/unionchapel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/442\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":443,"href":"https:\/\/unionchapel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/442\/revisions\/443"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unionchapel.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=442"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unionchapel.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=442"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unionchapel.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=442"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n“Glory to the newborn King:
\npeace\non earth, and mercy mild,
\nGod and sinners reconciled!”
\nJoyful,\nall ye nations, rise,
\njoin the triumph of the skies;
\nwith\nth’angelic hosts proclaim,
\n“Christ is born in Bethlehem!”\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nChrist, the everlasting Lord,
\nlate\nin time behold him come,
\noffspring of the Virgin’s womb:
\nveiled\nin flesh the Godhead see;
\nhail th’incarnate Deity,
\npleased\nas man with men to dwell,
\nJesus, our Immanuel. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nHail the Sun of\nRighteousness!
\nLight and life to all he brings,
\nrisen with\nhealing in his wings.
\nMild he lays his glory by,
\nborn that\nman no more may die,
\nborn to raise the sons of earth,
\nborn\nto give them second birth. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\npeace on earth, and mercy mild,
\nGod\nand sinners reconciled!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\npeace on earth, and mercy mild,
\nGod\nand sinners reconciled!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\njoin the triumph of the skies;
\nwith\nth’angelic hosts proclaim,
\n“Christ is born in Bethlehem!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nChrist, the everlasting Lord,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\noffspring of the Virgin’s womb:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nhail th’incarnate Deity,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nJesus, our Immanuel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nHail the Sun of Righteousness!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nrisen with healing in his wings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nborn that man\nno more may die,
\nborn to raise the\nsons of\nearth,
\nborn to give them\nsecond birth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n“Glory to the newborn King:\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"