Lo, All the Welkin Rings!

So, I'm wondering, do you know which Christmas carol originally began, Hark, lo, all the welkin rings, glory to the king of kings. Welkin, W-E-L-K-I-N, that word actually means vault of heavens. So, if you translated that sentence into 21st century English, this verse would sound like this. Hark, how all the vault of heaven rings, glory to the king of kings. Alright, so there's a question in front of us, but before I answer that, let me say that this is Dave Scherrerrer of 100 Fold Ministries and of Kingdom Offerings, this podcast environment. This particular contribution to our studies is being released on Christmas Day, December 25th, 2023. And it was Charles Wesley, who was the author of more than 6,000 hymns, who wrote those words about the welkin in 1739. And he did this while he was meditating on the birth of Christ. It was just a little bit more than a year after his famous Aldersgate street conversion. So, Wesley, in his diaries, insisted that the tune would be sung to a low, somber, and boring religious tune. He envisioned the hymn would be sung to the popular tune of his Easter hymn, Christ the Lord is Risen Today, but that didn't happen. And it didn't happen because 15 years later, in 1754, George Whitefield, a former student of Wesley's and a pretty good evangelist in his own right, he changed the opening to become the more familiar, now listen, Hark the Herald Angels Sing. And it's this text where we most likely gather the image of the angels singing. You see, the proclaiming angels in Luke's account, it doesn't say that the angels sing, but rather than they are praising God. We're not told whether or not they sing or don't sing. So, that's left to figure out. And interestingly, Whitefield also cut the final verses of the hymn. He didn't like them. These verses have been largely forgotten today. One of them, not included by Whitefield, goes like this. This is Wesley's writing. Now display thy saving power, ruined nature, now restore. I like this verse right here. Now in mystic union join, thine to ours and ours to thine. Wesley wrote with some deep theology in mind. And it turns out, on a more human note, that Wesley was really mad. He was incensed that George Whitefield changed the words, even more so because he changed them without any of Wesley's permission. Wesley was incensed whenever the words of any of his hymns were changed. In fact, he refused to sing the altered versions of his hymns. The tune to the words came from a Christian Jew named Felix Mendelssohn. And the tune had originally been composed in 1840, weirdly, to celebrate the anniversary of the printing press. And then 100 years later, the tune and Wesley's poem, adapted by Whitefield, were linked together to form the great carol that we know today, Hark the Herald Angels Sing. Here's something else that's interesting. This is one of the few Christian hymns written in the late 17th and early 18th centuries after the English Puritans abolished Christmas carols for being part of a worldly festival. All right, with all that history, to our point this Christmas morning in 2023, Hark the Herald Angels Sing so very richly retells the birth of Jesus in a picturesque manner. So, since it's just you and me, let's sing along this Christmas morning to a few verses of the hymn that's filled with this amazing incarnational theology. Hark the Herald Angels Sing 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 angelic host proclaim Christ is born in Bethlehem Hark the herald angels sing Glory to the newborn King Christ my highest heaven adored Christ the everlasting Lord Late in time behold him come Offspring of a virgin's womb Hail in flesh the Godhead see Hail in form and deity Pleased as man with us to dwell Jesus Lord Emmanuel Hark the herald angels sing Glory to the newborn King Hark the herald angels sing Glory to the newborn King So in singing we are reminded through this song that Jesus is the Prince of Peace, the Everlasting Lord, he is Emmanuel, an incarnate deity. But I think the most important phrase that is in this song is that we are to give glory to the newborn King. At 100 Fold Ministries, we're quick to acknowledge the kingdom principles that are proclaimed through the life and teaching of Christ. We're all about the gospel of the kingdom, but look at this. It turns out that these themes of kingdom were embedded in his very birth before we see them manifest in his life and teachings. The central core of his teachings was found in the cradle. The Magi, the We Three Kings, come from afar to worship the newborn King whose star they saw in the West. In another Christmas hymn, we're reminded of the royalty of Christ when we are bid come with all the faithful singing that Christ is born the King of Angels. In another hymn, we find ourselves trying to imagine what child is this? And we learned that this is Christ the King whom shepherds guard and angels sing. Christ in his kingdom is present in his birth. Jesus is Lord at thy birth. So no wonder the gospel of the kingdom is a central theme of Jesus. He was King even before his birth. So Merry Christmas. This is Kingdom Offerings and I'm Dave Scherrer. Sing, sing, sing yourself into the new year, the wonderful Christmas hymns.