Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

Hark the Herald Angels Sing
A Doctrinal Dissection

Luke 2: 13 “And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,” 14 ‘Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.’”

We often are exposed to a criticism of “Hark the Herald Angels Sing,” because one translation  specifically says “Hark the Herald Angels SAY.” So do we need to recast the words? “Hey, listen up dude, them flyboys are fixing to vocalize about some kingy guy.” No, the other may be a little better. Let’s check that out.

 And if that word choice is the deepest level of understanding that we bring to this and other carols, then I would SAY that we are missing a lot. Read the text of the carol:
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!”
(Refrain) Hark! the herald angels sing, “Glory to the newborn King!”

Now if we just take the first phrase, “Glory to the newborn king..,” it is not much encouragement for the average shepherd or any resident of Bethlehem or of the nation of Israel. If this “newborn” king is just another Herod or Caesar, it is just more of the same old stuff. (SOS) He will be either more cruel or a little less, but they are all the same.

But then the angels, and our song, go farther. “Peace on earth.” Here is a cosmic shift. The newborn one is not another of the same kind. Peace is the farthest thing from the mind or ability of any earthly king, and the angels’ audience knew it from hard, bitter experience. And, “mercy?”

“Mercy me,” is a common phrase, but is most often not used in an understanding manner. Comparing the translations of Psalm 23 gives us a hint. “Surely goodness and MERCY will follow me....” (KJV) NASB uses “loving kindness,” and Holman uses “faithful love.” The mercy of this newborn King must involve love. Something that was and is foreign to any contemporary rulers.

The explanation and fuller understanding comes from the rest of the sentence. “...God and sinners reconciled.” Man, meaning you and I, has been at war with God since the Garden of Eden.  (Genesis 3:15; Romans 5:10) The separation has been healed. We sinners are reconciled to the Holy God. Mercy is extended, through the Baby, to undeserving sinners.

The rest of the first verse is praise for the “medium” of the reconciliation and the source of peace. All nations and the heavens join in the rejoicing over the Christ, the Messiah, coming to earth. He is the triumphal Substitute alluded to in Genesis 3:15. Hark the herald angels sing, “Glory to the newborn King!”

The next verse describes this One Who has come.
Christ, by highest Heav’n adored; Christ the everlasting Lord;
        Late in time, behold Him come, Offspring of a virgin’s womb.
        Veiled in flesh the Godhead see; Hail th’incarnate Deity,
        Pleased with us in flesh to dwell, Jesus our Emmanuel.

Heaven loves Him. He is the eternal Lord. (See previous posts on Isaiah.) “Late in time,” does not necessarily mean at the last second, but “in the last days.” (Isaiah 2:2; Jeremiah 23:20, 49:39; Ezekiel 38:16; Hosea 3:5;  Amos 4:2; and Micah 4:1) The hymn is looking forward to the second coming as described by Jesus as the end times. (Matthew 28:20 and others)

Then the carol goes into His unique identity: virgin born, the image of God in flesh, incarnate God, Emmanuel–God with us, and most astounding of all, this Visitor from Heaven lives in a body like ours. He is “pleased” to have such an existence. He is not here grudgingly nor under duress. He chose it. Makes you want to shout with the angels: “Glory to the newborn King!”

There is more. (The version I learned was “heaven born” instead of heav’nly, but it is the same.)
Hail the heav’nly Prince of Peace! Hail the Sun of Righteousness!
        Light and life to all He brings, Ris’n 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.

If we were to look up all the Old Testament references, we would be here a long time. Grab a good concordance or go to BibleGateway and check them out. Prince of Peace. How does He bring peace? The Sun of Righteousness brings reconciliation between our sin and God’s righteousness. Light of the world is He and he brings life and healing (spiritual and physical) in His wings. (Gotta reference this: Matthew 23:37)

He meekly laid aside the glory of heaven, except for a “peek” on the mountain of transfiguration and once in Gethsemane. (Matthew 17, Mark 9 and Luke 9; and John 18) The glory flashed out for a second and they had a glimpse of what He had “laid aside.”

He was “born that man might no longer die. (John 3:16) We were dead in trespasses and sins. We had to be raised from spiritual death. (Ephesians 2:1) And He provided a second birth. (John 3:3) Hark the herald angels sing, “Glory to the newborn King.”

There is a pretty complete lesson on theology there. (And there are two other verses in some hymnals.) And all this from a “poor word choice.” Not to mention the skill and beauty of the words themselves. The writer was a true craftsman and wordsmith. “Veiled in flesh, the Godhead see...incarnate Deity. Pleased...in flesh to dwell.”

Also notice the rhyming pattern and the beats per line. No cramming in a bunch of extra 1/8th or 16th notes to complete a phrase. Or no whole notes to let the music catch up with the words. It rhymes, it flows, it communicates. Flawlessly. Hark! The herald angels sing, “Glory to the newborn King!”

And we can sing (or say) with them.


Here are some links to hear a rendition. I could not choose, so you can. 1) The first is an adult choir with audience.

2) The text with Chris Tomlin and adult choir are here.

3) Text and kids choir sing for us here it is pretty good.

4) Gaither Men’s trio–no explanation required.

Added two verses.
Come, Desire of nations, come, Fix in us Thy humble home;
Rise, the woman’s conqu’ring Seed, Bruise in us the serpent’s head.
Now display Thy saving power, Ruined nature now restore;
Now in mystic union join Thine to ours, and ours to Thine.

Refrain

Adam’s likeness, Lord, efface, Stamp Thine image in its place:
Second Adam from above, Reinstate us in Thy love.
Let us Thee, though lost, regain, Thee, the Life, the inner man:
O, to all Thyself impart, Formed in each believing heart.

Refrain