Odd things we sing 1 - Hark the Herald

Okay, so maybe you keep track of the meaning of what you say already, but I find it easy to get sucked into a song (particularly if I know the tune and words well) without really thinking, or indeed understanding, what it really means. Occasionally, I happily sing along with something and I’m like “What the heck did I just sing?! Would I have ever said that phrase in real life if it didn’t have a tune to go with it?” So here’s an attempt to pull apart some of the things we sing without thinking about it, and put some of those words into plain English.

First up, that Christmas classic, Hark the Herald Angels Sing. I like this song. I love belting it out with hundreds of people at Christmas time. But lyrically, it’s incredibly dense, and because it’s so old (Charles Wesley, 1739) has some turns of phrase which might not be readily deciphered at the speed at which we sing it...

(normal words here for comparison)

Listen! Messengers from Heaven are bringing amazing news:
A king has been born - one who deserves praise and honour!
He will reign on Earth with peace and mercy,
And provides the way by which God (set apart, perfect, will not tolerate the presence of sin, holy) and humans like me (broken and sinful, however hard we try) can be reunited.
All nations and people can share this joy, not just the Jews - we are now included in his chosen people!
Come and join in this triumphant celebration;
Sing along with the angels: “The Saviour of all mankind has been born as a human baby, and in a run-down slum in some dead-end town.”

This saviour is not some lowly messenger from the lowest ranks of the angels,
But is the ever-lasting God himself, loved by the whole of Heaven, and is himself above all things.
He comes into the world when it had just about given up all hope (there had been silence from God for 400 years before this),
And he comes in the unlikeliest of guises: a baby born to an unexceptional teenager - though in this case extraordinary - a pregnant virgin.
Come and see the full enormity of God: Father, Song and Holy Spirit, invading our world in a small bundle of weak and needy human flesh - Deity crammed into the earthly.
He comes to live with humans as a human himself. And he does so not grudgingly, but with pleasure - it was his choice all along.
Jesus is the light of the world.

Give honour to the Prince of Peace, who has come to us from Heaven.
Give praise to the one who is holy and perfect, who is the source of all light and life,
And who alone has the power and authority to heal our sinfulness and suffering.
Although he is all-powerful, he willingly lays down his power for a while, and gives up all his rights.
He is born so that people like you and me are no longer trapped by sin and death, but we have life again, and even after we die, will one day be raised to new life with him in Heaven.
Listen to the angels singing: “may the King of Earth and Heaven be given all the glory which is due to him!”

Christmas is pretty big, isn’t it?