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“Hark how all the Welkin rings!” (Greatest Christmas Song II)

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They had a volatile relationship, those three men. Charles and John Wesley, two brothers, and George Whitefield – all three, evangelists. The story of their relationship covered their lifetimes, and was no simple matter. Historians still argue about exactly what went wrong, what went right, and who was to blame.

They began early on as fast friends. And although their relationships had their serious issues, when Whitefield passed away Charles wrote a moving poem as a eulogy, and John preached at the funeral.

The (other) greatest Christmas song, like the story of Whitefield and the Wesleys, ended up mirroring the strange story of conflict and triumph. And it all begins with the first line.

It was first published in 1739, titled “Hymn for Christmas-Day”. At the time, both Whitefield and the Wesleys were involved in a growing revival. Whitefield had been preaching in the open air, after he found that few churches would allow him to preach in their pulpits. The Wesleys were just starting to follow his example. Whitefield then left England for the American colonies, leaving the new believers he had ministered to in the care of the Wesley brothers.

It was a busy time. The Wesleys were busy publishing a new hymnal, “Hymns and Sacred Poems”. Hymn for Christmas-Day was part of the collection, the words written by Charles Wesley. Wesley apparently used the same tune for this song as for “Christ the Lord is Risen Today”.

The first two stanzas (today sung as one) were as follows:

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!

Hymn for Christmas-Day - HARK how all the Welkin rings
The 1739 publication of “Hymn for Christmas-Day”

You might recognize the song, but my, how it has changed! And what is a “Welkin”? Welkin, a word that is perfectly proper today and still used in modern English (though rarely) means heaven – in other words, the heavens are ringing with the message of the angels.

George Whitefield took the song and changed a few words for his new hymnbook A Collection of Hymns for Social Worship – and here comes the controversy! It was 14 years later. Here are the new words:

Hark! the Herald Angels sing
Glory to the new-born King!
Peace on Earth, and Mercy mild,
God and Sinners reconcil’d.
Joyful all ye Nations rise,
Join the Triumphs of the Skies;
Nature rise and worship him,
Who is born at Bethlehem.

Well, we can see that this version is going to catch on a little better (although it’s still in for some changes). But there’s a problem. In the Bible record, the welkin certainly does ring with angel’s voices. But nowhere does the Bible tell us that the angels sang.

Now for poetry and song, I have no problem with a loose artistic use of the word “sing”. What the angels said certainly was poetic and proclaimed, so to translate that as “singing” needn’t be a theological stumbling block. As long as we realize that they may not have technically “sung”.

However, Charles Wesley was not a fan of people changing the words of his hymns, which it seems that Whitefield did without permission (although we’re not sure).

Today. you may be familiar with the modern version, very similar to Whitefield’s version:

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!”

Whichever version you prefer, this stanza is an introduction to our worship of Christ. The angels take the lead, and the nations rise to join in the praise. Peace on earth, and mercy mild! What does it all mean? That will be explained in the stanzas to come.

As the Sons of Korah wrote:

I will cause your name to be remembered in all generations;
therefore nations will praise you forever and ever!

Psalm 45:17

Grief, Uncertainty, and Peace

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Of course we all know that the preacher should preach to himself first and foremost. Although that might take the form of conviction – recognizing your own sin and need for forgiveness and change – it can take other forms as well.

The shepherd and his sheep

The past few weeks have been times of grief and uncertainty in many respects. We’ve prayed with friends who are caring for family members with cancer. And twice, in just the past few days, friends of ours here have lost a parent. In fact, today I’ll probably being going to speak at a funeral.

In our own little world there has been uncertainty as well. For example, our landlord is anxious to sell our house, so people have been coming to see it. It may not happen – or we may be packing over Christmas. Also, dealing with health issues. Uncertainty.

But God has ways of bringing encouragement in the middle of all this. And although I hope that last week’s Sunday service was an encouragement to others, it was the preparation of it that spoke to me.

The passage we were studying was the last part of Hebrews, a very personal section that includes this beautiful blessing:

Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Hebrews 13:20-21

Great themes here, themes which we have immersed ourselves in over the past year as we’ve studied Hebrews. The peace that we have with God through His Son. And although this peace is a promise of forgiveness to everyone who “draws near” to Christ, there is also a peace that we experience in our lives. That peace comes through many things – circumstances, the prayers of others, the help and support of others, God’s Word.

But in the end, there is something about that peace, I think, that you can never explain to an unbeliever. Because it is a peace you simply have to experience for yourself.

We need that good shepherd, and we have Him. We have an eternal covenant, through His blood. And we have the promise of interior and exterior change in our lives through Jesus Christ.

Even the songs we sang on Sunday spoke to these promises. The Shepherd of Psalm 23. The example of Jesus’ own suffering, and the promise of His return to end all suffering. He will sustain me and hold me fast in all this, because He loves me.

These themes were not planned because we knew that many of us would be going through challenging times. But God can bring peace through his providential arrangements, and I pray that He did that this past Sunday.

May this blessing be yours today!

The Other Greatest Christmas Song

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As some of you may remember, last year I did a series on what I considered to be the greatest Christmas song of all time, a bit of a reaction to some of the ridiculous lists of “greatest Christmas songs” that I was hearing about. You can read the whole series here: The Greatest Christmas Song: Index/Resources

Used with permission and adapted from photo by Delwin Steven Campbell

The song I chose was Adeste Fideles, known in English as O Come, All Ye Faithful. But in the end, I was actually waffling between two different songs that could easily have been number one. So, this year, I’m going to take the next few weeks to talk about the other greatest Christmas song!

Like Adeste Fideles, this other song has made its way into popular culture. Well known in the recording industry, it has been recorded many times by many famous artists, and made it to #14 on the billboards in the USA a few years ago when it was sung by Carrie Underwood. It has found its way into the movies also, and has been translated into many languages including Sinhala and Spanish.

In spite of its popularity, many people don’t know its rather controversial history, and neither do they know most of the words. But we’re going to do a deep dive into this one over the next few weeks, so brace yourself.

And for those music nerds who need one more hint, let’s just say – get ready to hear the welkin ring!

Reformation Day: Patrick Hamilton

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Happy Reformation Day! For those who don’t know, Reformation Day is a holiday that has been celebrated in October since the mid 1500s, to various degrees in various places, to remember the revival that took place during the Protestant Reformation.

Initials of Patrick Hamilton
Initials of Patrick Hamilton at the location of his martyrdom. Photo thanks to Remi Mathis

Anyway, recently I was reading about Patrick Hamilton. My favourite Patrick is the one who was a missionary to Ireland, but this Patrick is pretty amazing too – and he was Scottish. Patrick Hamilton is believed to be the first martyr in Scotland during the Reformation. He was burned at the stake in St. Andrews, Scotland, in 1528.

I thought this quote from Hamilton was quite interesting. He’s talking about the error that some people make, thinking that the Old Testament is all “Law” while the New Testament is all “Gospel”. Check it out:

Many there be, who, reading the book of the New Testament, do take and understand whatsoever they see contained in the said book to be only and merely the voice of the gospel: and contrariwise, whatsoever is contained in the compass of the Old Testament (that is, within the law, histories, psalms, and prophets),to be only and merely the word and voice of the law. Wherein many are deceived; for the preaching of the law, and the preaching of the gospel, are mixed together in both the Testaments, as well the Old as the New; neither is the order of these two doctrines to be distinguished by books and leaves, but by the diversity of God’s spirit speaking unto us.

For sometimes in the Old Testament God doth comfort, as he comforted Adam, with the voice of the gospel. Sometimes also in the New Testament he doth threaten and terrify, as when Christ threatened the Pharisees. In some places again, Moses and the prophets play the Evangelists; insomuch that Jerome doubteth whether he should call Isaiah a prophet or an evangelist. In some places likewise Christ and the apostles supply the part of Moses; as Christ himself, until his death, was under the law (which law he came not to break, but to fulfil), so his sermons made to the Jews, run all for the most part, upon the perfect doctrine and works of the law, showing and teaching what we ought to do by the right law of justice, and what danger ensued in not performing the same: all which places, though they be contained in the book of the New Testament, yet are they to be referred to the doctrine of the law, ever having them included a privy exception of repentance and faith in Christ Jesus. …

Many publicans and sinners were unkind, unmerciful, and hard hearted to their fellow servants; and yet many of them repented, and by faith were saved, etc. The grace of Christ Jesus work in us earnest repentance, and faith in him unfeigned. Amen!

Patrick Hamilton

Enjoying the Old Testament

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The other day I was listening to part of an apologetics panel from a conference that took place in May (I didn’t listen to the whole thing, but it’s here). One of the participants said something that caught my attention.

Michael Licona at the Panel Discussion

The question basically was, how do you react or respond when someone asks you a question that stumps you? In other words, what goes through your mind, or how do you deal with it when someone asks you a question about Christianity that you can’t answer.

One of the members of the panel was Michael Licona. Now I don’t know much about Licona . . . I know I’ve heard the name before. But apparently he is a professor at a Baptist university, and a well known apologist.

So anyway, Licona began to answer, pointing out that he had a lot of unanswered questions (don’t we all!). Then he said basically that since he’s convinced that Jesus rose from the dead, some of the less important details don’t matter so much.

Ok, I agree to a point. In other words, if you have a mountain of evidence that God’s Word is true, just because there’s one question you can’t answer at the moment doesn’t mean you should instantly throw out everything. That’s not the way knowledge works in any field.

Of course, there could be a bit of a problem here, as we’ll see in a moment.

Here’s what he said next:

So yes I have a lot of unanswered questions. Yes, there are some things in the Bible that trouble me, honestly. I don’t like to read the Old Testament. But I’ve learned to put things into perspective. If Jesus rose from the dead, Christianity is true. Period. That helps me keep the main thing the main thing. So I don’t worry about a lot of those things anymore. They don’t really bother me nearly as much because it’s all in perspective. Now, I’ve studied the historical evidence for the resurrection of Jesus, and I’m thoroughly convinced that it happened. So these other things just don’t bother me.

Michael Licona [source]

Wait a second here. “I don’t worry about a lot of those things…” “These other things just don’t bother me.” What “other things” is he talking about? Really – the only thing that matters is that Jesus rose from the dead?

So – how do we know He rose? How do we know what that means? Well, it’s the Word of God – the Bible – of course. So if Jesus rose from the dead, and all the rest of the Bible is in doubt – can’t I just say,“Wow, weird things happen!” Why does the resurrection have any meaning at all?

In fact, he also said,“Christianity is true even if it were to be the case that some things in the Bible aren’t.” Really? Which things? And how do I decide which things are true? What if the things about the Hittites are true, but the statements about justification are not?

Of course, he didn’t say that some things weren’t true. But it makes you wonder – if God did not communicate some things properly, how do we know which things we should believe?

But that’s not what caught my attention – it was this phrase – “I don’t like to read the Old Testament.”

This is a Bible scholar, teacher, and apologist. Any warning lights going off here for anyone?

I understand that there are challenging things in the Old Testament – and have you read the New Testament? If you think the OT is challenging, maybe you should really start thinking about what the NT is saying! But that being said, to say that you don’t like reading it, in general, is a huge problem.

Jesus said,“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27) The sheep recognize the voice of the Shepherd. That’s why David said things like “Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day” (Psalm 119:197).

The whole Bible is God’s Word to us, and it is incredible. If someone has questions, fine, let’s talk about them. But if a Christian is saying that they don’t like to read the Old Testament, I would recommend that they cut down on their activities for a while and spend some serious time in repentance and prayer.

I don’t know why Michael Licona said this. It could be that he’s throwing a bone to those who criticize Christianity based on their understanding of the OT – “See, I agree with you – but I’m still a Christian!” I don’t know. But all of God’s Word is breathed out by His Spirit. It’s all true, and it’s all – oh well, let’s just quote the verse we’re all thinking about…

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

2 Timothy 3:16-17

I’ve spent a lot of time in the Old Testament this year. Do I have questions still? Of course! Anything given by God is liable to raise some questions in our puny minds. But I have also seen how beautiful and life-changing the Word of God is, in every one of the 66 books.

Yes, sometimes you will need to find tools to help you understand things – studying the Bible can take some work. But it’s worth it. It’s the voice of God, calling to his sheep. Don’t miss out on the treasure of God’s Word – all of it.

I hope that there’s a turn around in Licona’s life, and that he’s given the time to let God do the work. And may God give us all grace that we may be transformed to love His Word – all of His Word – more and more every day.

Making the World More Dangerous

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Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about Paul’s words in Romans 1:18.

Suppressing the truth....

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.

Romans 1:18

Suppressing the truth. We’re really getting good at it here on earth, and it’s making the world a more dangerous place.

“Suppress” is an interesting word. As I understand it, it has the idea of holding something – so it could be possess, or hold back or restrain. The context makes it obvious. The wicked are not holding the truth like a treasure, they are holding it back – trying to ignore it. They have exchanged the truth about God (that He is the Creator of all things) for the lie (that the creation itself – or a part of it – is god).

On the one hand, in this world the truth can be hard to hold on it. It costs us something to get it. “Buy truth, and do not sell it” says Proverbs 23:23.

But the reason why the truth may often seem so hidden to us is because the world has worked so hard to suppress it. To keep it out of our minds. To ignore it.

If you look around, you can see how this is done so expertly. For example, movies often try to imagine a world without God. They can’t do it entirely successfully, because there could be no world without God. But, with a little slight-of-hand, they sometimes make it look like there could be.

In non-Christian meditation practices, so very popular these days, the suppression goes to another level. In Christian meditation, of course, we are meditating literally on the truth – God’s Word. But in non-Christian meditation, we are constantly warned to “not pass judgement”. Of course there’s sometimes the aim to think about nothing. But other times we are told to observe the world, or our own thoughts, but to accept only, never judge.

Jesus wise words to the crowds in Jerusalem are completely ignored – “judge with right judgment” (John 7:24).

So we are to listen to the voices around us that are trying to create an imaginary world without God, and an imbalanced morality with no foundation. And while we’re listening, we are to judge nothing. How convenient for those who wish to suppress the truth and promote the lie!

Of course this makes the world a much more dangerous place. Filled with people who never judge (at least not about important moral or spiritual issues – they can choose a diet or productivity plan, of course), and at the same time with more and more easily consumed messages that aren’t true at all.

Every once in a while you look around and think – it’s almost like there’s a Mind at work behind all of this! And, of course, there is (John 8:44; Ephesians 2:1-3). But, how much have we really needed his help? We’re pretty good at suppressing the truth completely on our own.

May God make us those who are “truly” disciples of Christ. As Jesus himself said,

If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.

John 8:31-32
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