The Greatest Christmas Song II (index/resources)

Thanks for joining me in the exploration of Hark! The Herald Angels Sing! I hope you enjoyed it. Below is the index for the full series. I would also like to share some sources that you can check out for yourself.

• The Other Greatest Christmas Song (introduction)
• Hark how all the Welkin rings!
• Veiled in flesh the Godhead see
• Born to give them Second Birth
• Mystic Union
• to all Thyself impart
• Hark! The Herald Angels Sing (conclusion)

Sources/Further Reading

This song has had its changes through the years. Even the hymnbooks I have on hand used different words. So, for my base text, I used this version from the Cyber Hymnal.

Thanks to Chris Fenner for the amazing resource, Hymnology Archive. Here’s the entry on Hark how all the welkin rings. There is also information on Wikipedia – follow links from here. My Dad’s blog, Wordwise Hymns, also has some information on the carol – check Hark, the Herald Angels Sing (1) and Hark, the Herald Angels Sing (2).

I drew from a wide variety of resources for the background and dating of the lives of the Wesley brothers and Whitefield. This article by J.D. Walsh is helpful – Wesley Vs. Whitefield. The same source (Christian History Institute) has a Whitefield Timeline and John Wesley Timeline. And here’s a Charles Wesley Timeline from the Charles Wesley Society. For more reading, try the excellent George Whitefield: God’s Anointed Servant in the Great Revival of the Eighteenth Century by Arnold Dallimore.

I also enjoyed browsing Hymns and Sacred Poems from the Wesley brothers, where this carol was first published.

Thanks again for reading!