“Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” is a classic Christmas song that everyone knows, but how much do you really know it? The song was originally written in 1739, by Charles Wesley, an English Methodist preacher and hymn-writer. He is also responsible for popular hymns such as “And Can it Be,” “Christ the Lord has Risen Today,” “O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing,” and, of course, the topic of our article today, “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.” Well, he would be responsible for “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” except for the fact that, “Hark, the Herald Angels Sing” isn’t the original title of the song, if we were to refer to the song by its original title we would have to call it a “Hymn for Christmas-Day.” Of course, if the title was the only thing that changed there wouldn’t be any reason for me to write an article. Quite a bit has been changed or left out since it’s original release in 1739, in fact, the original song didn’t even have the same tune as we use today and instead was sung to the tune of “Christ the Lord has Risen Today!” but, without further ado, let’s take a look at the original lyrics and see what Mr. Charles Wesley was trying to teach us through his original “Hymn for Christmas-Day.”
1739 Original
HARK how all the Welkin rings
“Glory to the Kings of Kings,
“Peace on Earth, and Mercy mild,
“GOD and Sinners reconcil’d!
Joyful all ye Nations rise,
Join the Triumph of the Skies,
Universal Nature say
“CHRIST the LORD is born to Day!
1961 Revision
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 new-born king”
The next change is the replacement of the line “Universal Nature say” with “With angelic host proclaim.” If you haven’t figured it out yet, the original hymn isn’t about angels at all, rather it’s about how nature bring glory to God. Charles Wesley’s purpose in this song was to state that the heavens and earth declare that Christ is Lord, which is echoed in the final line of the first verse which says, “CHRIST the LORD is born to Day.” It is important to note that this is a direct claim to the deity of Christ as it uses LORD in all caps which is the traditional English form of YHWH, the divine name of God. In this statement, Westley states that Jesus is Yahweh God. It is a shame this line was later changed to merely say that “Christ is born in Bethlehem.” The original lyrics had a much stronger statement to make. The last change in the first verse is the addition of a refrain which repeats the first two lines of the song.
1739 Original
CHRIST, by highest Heav’n ador’d,
CHRIST, the Everlasting Lord,
Late in Time behold him come,
Offspring of a Virgin’s Womb.
Veil’d in Flesh, the Godhead see,
Hail th’ Incarnate Deity!
Pleas’d as Man with Men t’ appear
JESUS, our Immanuel here!
1961 Revision
Christ, by highest heaven adored
Christ, the everlasting Lord,
Late in time behold Him come
Offspring of a Virgin’s womb:
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see,
Hail the incarnate Deity
Pleased as man with man to dwell
Jesus, our Emmanuel
Hark! The herald-angels sing
“Glory to the newborn King”
1739 Original
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.
1961 Revision
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 new-born king”
Next up we have verses four and five which have been completely removed from most hymnals. I find these verses very interesting as they are very rich in theology and have to do with the restorative power of salvation in Christ. Let’s take a look at them.
1739 Original
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 Pow’r,
Ruin’d Nature now restore,
Now in Mystic Union join
Thine to Ours, and Ours to Thine.
1961 Revision
– Removed –
Wesley continues by asking for Christ to show the healing power of His saving work by restoring the “ruined nature,” that is, by taking away mankind’s fallen nature and replacing it with the nature of Christ. Wesley refers to this process as the “Mystic Union,” explained in the Scriptures as the indwelling Spirit and the process of us being conformed to the image of Christ. (John 14:19-20, Romans 8:29) This verse has so much beautiful doctrine in it, it’s a shame it hasn’t survived to be a part of our modern version of the song.
1739 Original
Adam’s Likeness, LORD, efface,
Stamp thy Image in its Place,
Second Adam from above,
Reinstate us in thy Love.
Let us Thee, tho’ lost, regain,
Thee, the Life, the Inner Man:
O! to All Thyself impart,
Form’d in each Believing Heart.
1961 Revision
– Removed –
The second half of the verse calls for Christ to restore others. Wesley asks for him and those around him to gain Christ in their life, so that they may have true life. Wesley then refers to Christ as the “Inner Man,” this comes from 2 Corinthians 4:14-16 in which Paul states that although we are to die to the flesh daily, our “inner man,” or spirit is renewed each day. Wesley connects this with Christ because Scripture tells us we are supposed to become like Christ, so naturally, that means one’s spirit should become like Christ’s Spirit and, as a result, Christ then would be the ultimate form of the “Inner Man.” Finally, Wesley closes by asking God to call others to salvation so that they can believe in Him and take part in becoming more like Him. This last verse is neat because It is extremely rare for someone to write a song that includes concepts such as the Second Adam, the image of God, or the inner man. They are just so obscure to the realm of spiritual music that it’s kind of refreshing to see it. It’s a shame we haven’t found a way to incorporate these lyrics into our newer version of the song,
After looking into the original version of “Hark the Herald Angels Sing,” I feel like we’re really missing some of the spiritual richness that Charles Wesley gave us in this song. It’s a shame we haven’t reimplemented some of his original wording and lost verses into the newer version of the song. Even though some of the topics that the original lyrics present may be a bit advanced for the general audiences, they do contain spiritual truth that is important for every believer and presents us with the beauty of what Christ has done for us on the Cross. It emphasizes the saving, restorative power of our God, something that needs to be proclaimed now, more than ever before. While the new version may make an easy to sing Christmas carol about angels singing about Christ to shepherds in a field, the original presents Christ as Yahweh God, the Desire of Mankind, the One who crushes the power of Satan in our lives, the One who has offered to join with us in a spiritual union, and the One who promised to regenerate our lives and make us whole again.
So now when you hear the song “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” at Christmas, remember what Charles Wesley was trying to remind you. Remember what the God of all Nature has done for you and wants to do for others. Remember Christ’s work on the Cross and the work He wants to do in your life because that’s the reminder we all need and it makes the perfect “Hymn for Christmas-Day.”
Thanks for reading, and have a very merry Christmas!