Reconciled!
December 11, 2024
I took this photo on December 27, 2012. My siblings and a few family members had traveled to visit my aunt who lived in a nursing home. We had a really good day with her as we gave her gifts, shared some sweet treats and sang Christmas carols and hymns.
Today, I took a few moments to look at the first few lines of the hymn, Hark! the Herald Angels Sing.
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Hark! the herald angels sing, “Glory to the newborn King;
Peace on earth, and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled!”
The hymn was written by Charles Wesley and published in 1739. Wesley wrote this hymn within one year of his conversion. And I believe one of the things that make the hymn so powerful all these years is the fact that he, like many other hymn writers, took their inspiration directly from the Bible.[1]
We can see the lyrics of the first two lines are directly based on two sections of Scripture.
“Hark! The herald angels sing, “Glory to the newborn King; Peace on earth” is taken from the book of Luke.
“And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly army of angels praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among people with whom He is pleased.’” (Luke 2:13-14, NASB)
Then, right on the heels of announcing the birth of the Savior, we read, “God and sinners reconciled.” from the book of 2 Corinthians.
“that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.” (2 Corinthians 5:19)
The Christmas season explained and celebrated in two quick lines.
God, in the form of a newborn baby, arrived on earth, to live among men for a time. That time set perfectly by God, so that, exactly as He planned and exactly as we needed, Jesus would suffer, die, and be resurrected, so that we (sinners) might be reconciled with God.
Jesus’ death and resurrection paid the ultimate price for our sins, so that we might not experience eternal death and separation from God. He did this so that we might be reconciled with Him. This reconciliation is our restored relationship with God, broken oh so many years ago by the sins of Adam and Eve.
If you ever have the desire to use a devotional that daily reminds us of God’s grace, I recommend “New Morning Mercies: A Daily Gospel Devotional,” by David Paul Tripp. Here’s a sample of the truth you’ll read every day.
“The Bible isn’t a series of stories. It isn’t a catalog of interesting characters. It isn’t a manual of theology. It isn’t a book of interesting wisdom principles. One story, with one hero, forms the cord that holds the whole Bible together. The Bible is essentially the story of redemption. This grand redemptive story, with God’s essential explanatory notes, is the main content of the Word of God.”[2]
Tripp reminds us that the entirety of the Bible centers on restoring our relationship with God, through Jesus Christ.
This Christmas season, as we sing the first few lines of Hark! the Herald Angels Sing, may we be reminded of the God’s redemptive story.
[1] https://hymnary.org/text/hark_the_herald_angels_sing_glory_to
[2] Paul David Tripp, New Morning Mercies: A Daily Gospel Devotional (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2014), 354.
This post was so interesting— to see how scripture was used to form the words of the song which summed up so quickly all the hope the season of Christmas supplies to us. Great Post!!!
I appreciate that, Jane. I also love the song.
Thank you, Tim. The post is great. I’m so grateful Jesus sacrificed so we could have an eternal relationship with Him.
Thank you, Joni.