Point of View December 25, 2024 – Hour 2 : Science and Faith in Harmony

[00:00:05] Live, this is Point of View, Kirby Anderson.

[00:00:46] I thought this would be something that you could benefit from.

[00:00:50] You could record it or take some of the notes and use that around the Christmas table to educate yourself, your children and grandchildren.

[00:01:00] So I thought we'd look at some of these Christmas carols.

[00:01:03] The first one I thought we would look at is the First Noel.

[00:01:06] Now it is one that has been criticized in part because it makes a few statements that some people have said are not historical.

[00:01:14] And I'm not going to try to defend all of it, but point out that at least what is in this particular Christmas carol is at least plausible.

[00:01:22] And the first thing is people oftentimes assume that it is French.

[00:01:25] This is actually an English song dating back to about the 16th century.

[00:01:31] Some people tend to think it was French because of the spelling of Noel.

[00:01:35] It was first published in 1833 when it appeared in a particular volume called Christmas Carols Ancient and Modern.

[00:01:44] And the first line suggests a December date for the birth of Christ.

[00:01:49] The first Noel, the angels did say, was to certain poor shepherds in the fields as they lay,

[00:01:56] in fields where they lay keeping their sheep on a cold winter's night that was so deep.

[00:02:02] Well, that's the first place where some people have had some questions because there are many people that have doubted whether or not Jesus was born in December.

[00:02:11] But let's at least be fair because there are some theologians that actually believe that a December date is possible.

[00:02:18] One that I might mention is Dr. Harold Hohner, who is a professor at Dallas Theological Seminary, wrote a book called The Chronological Aspects of the Life of Christ.

[00:02:28] It was really, in a sense, a summary of his second doctoral dissertation at Cambridge.

[00:02:35] And in that one, he suggests maybe a birth for Jesus in December of 5 BC or January of 4 BC.

[00:02:43] There are some reasons for that based upon when Herod died and in a variety of other things, which I won't go into.

[00:02:49] But whatever the date of the birth of Jesus, the song continues, born is the king of Israel.

[00:02:58] And it reminds us that a king was born that night.

[00:03:01] Very few understood the significance of the birth in Bethlehem.

[00:03:06] Even the wise men who came from the east probably did not completely understand the significance of his birth.

[00:03:14] But they were guided by a star.

[00:03:18] Because, again, this particular carol says,

[00:03:21] For all to see there was a star shining in the east beyond them far.

[00:03:26] And to the earth it gave great light.

[00:03:28] And so it continued both day and night.

[00:03:32] Then the song goes on to say that three wise men came from country afar.

[00:03:37] Okay, that's the other place where some people have a question.

[00:03:40] Because the Bible doesn't really tell us how many wise men there were.

[00:03:44] We know that there were three kinds of gifts.

[00:03:48] Gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

[00:03:50] But we really don't know how many wise men there were.

[00:03:53] If you look at church tradition, sometimes it doesn't help.

[00:03:56] We had some church fathers that said there were twelve wise men.

[00:03:59] Maybe twelve because of the twelve disciples or twelve tribes of Israel.

[00:04:03] Other traditions say no, there were three.

[00:04:06] Melchior, Caspar, and Balthasar.

[00:04:07] But, nevertheless, it is a reminder of the birth of Jesus.

[00:04:12] The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

[00:04:15] So that's first Noel.

[00:04:17] Let's take the next one.

[00:04:19] And that is O Holy Night.

[00:04:21] This was originally composed in French as Conte de Noel.

[00:04:25] It was translated into English by John Sullivan Dwight.

[00:04:30] It was first performed in 1847.

[00:04:34] And you're familiar with some of it.

[00:04:36] O Holy Night, the stars are shining brightly in the night of the dear Savior's birth.

[00:04:41] Long lay the world in sin and error pining till he appeared and the soul felt its worth.

[00:04:48] And I think the argument there and the implication here is the coming of Christ makes us feel valuable.

[00:04:56] Makes us feel loved.

[00:04:57] And perhaps the most quoted verse in the Bible is John 3, 16.

[00:05:01] For God so loved the world.

[00:05:03] And so again, because he came, our souls would find their worth to God.

[00:05:09] You know, in 1 Peter 1, it reminds us that God actually purchased us out of the slavery of sin.

[00:05:15] Because in a minute, we're going to talk about slavery in one of the stanzas of O Holy Night.

[00:05:20] But here, again, you can go back to 1 Peter again, reminding us that this purchase was not done with something perishable like gold and silver.

[00:05:31] Isn't that interesting?

[00:05:32] From a light of eternity, gold and silver are seen as what?

[00:05:35] Perishable?

[00:05:36] If there's anything almost imperishable in this world, it's gold and silver.

[00:05:41] But again, not something perishable like gold and silver.

[00:05:44] But instead, by the precious blood of Jesus Christ.

[00:05:47] Which we see in 1 Peter 1, verses 18 and 19.

[00:05:51] Then, of course, we read,

[00:05:52] The king of kings lay thus in lowly manger in all our trials, born to be our friend.

[00:05:57] He knows our need, to our weakness is no stranger.

[00:06:01] Behold your king before him lowly bend.

[00:06:04] And here we have the king of kings, born as a human infant, placed in a manger.

[00:06:11] Born basically in a stable of sorts, living a life of poverty.

[00:06:17] He also experienced, as we know, temptation and persecution.

[00:06:22] We read in Hebrews about the fact that we don't have some great high priest that is unacquainted of what we are dealing with.

[00:06:31] He not only faced temptation and persecution, died a horrible death on the cross, abandoned by his friends.

[00:06:39] And then, of course, it says,

[00:06:41] Truly he taught us to love one another.

[00:06:44] His law is love and his gospel is peace.

[00:06:48] Chains shall he break, for the slave is our brother.

[00:06:51] And in his name all oppression shall cease.

[00:06:55] And again, first performed back in the 19th century when you still probably had slavery in some parts of the world.

[00:07:03] We still have slavery in some parts of the world today, if I want to be honest.

[00:07:07] But we no longer have slavery in this country.

[00:07:09] But we do have many people that are enslaved to various forms of sin.

[00:07:15] And they need Jesus as their savior.

[00:07:17] So, again, what we see here is, again, this idea of humility.

[00:07:24] We see that in Philippians 2 where it talks about Jesus emptied himself.

[00:07:29] We use that as the kenosis patches.

[00:07:32] That's the Greek word for kenosis or empty himself.

[00:07:34] And so, again, we see how Jesus demonstrated his love for us and his humility in stepping out of eternity into time, giving up his rights as God, and ultimately provided a model of humility in which we should walk, as we see in Philippians 2.

[00:07:56] Still fully God and fully man.

[00:07:57] We're going to get into that in some of the other Christmas carols.

[00:08:00] But today I just wanted to spend some time looking at some of these Christmas carols, giving you a little bit of the history.

[00:08:06] Maybe a little bit of it's a theology.

[00:08:09] Because so many of these really do teach good biblical principles.

[00:08:14] And that is certainly one thing we're dedicated to at Point of View.

[00:08:18] So we've looked at First Noel and O Holy Night.

[00:08:22] We come back from the break.

[00:08:24] Let's talk about angels.

[00:08:26] A couple of good examples there.

[00:08:28] Also, I Heard the Bells, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, some really important Christmas carols that we need to know about.

[00:08:35] And we'll continue our conversation about the history and theology of Christmas carols right after this.

[00:08:57] This is Viewpoints with Kirby Anderson.

[00:09:02] On this Christmas Day, I think it would be good to reflect for just a moment on the incarnation.

[00:09:07] God became man and took on human flesh.

[00:09:10] This is a great theological wonder and mystery.

[00:09:14] Malcolm Muggeridge wrote this to describe the importance of the birth of Christ.

[00:09:18] He said,

[00:09:18] Thanks to the great mercy and marvel of the incarnation, the cosmic scene is resolved into a human drama.

[00:09:25] A human drama in which God reached down to relate Himself to man and man reaches up to relate himself to God.

[00:09:32] Time looks into eternity and eternity into time, making now always and always now.

[00:09:37] Everything is transformed by this sublime drama of the incarnation, God's special parable for a man in a fallen world.

[00:09:46] God reached down to us by sending the second person of the Trinity to earth to become part of the human drama and human dilemma.

[00:09:53] God stepped out of eternity into time to become part of that human community.

[00:09:57] What an incredible act of love and mercy.

[00:10:00] God did not just come to dwell among us and comfort us.

[00:10:03] He came that He might raise us through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

[00:10:08] Although we celebrate the birth of Christ today, we also look to the death and resurrection of Christ that we celebrate at Easter.

[00:10:15] Romans 5.8 proclaims,

[00:10:17] God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

[00:10:22] 1 Peter 2.24 says that Christ bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness, by whose stripes you were healed.

[00:10:31] On this Christmas Day, we should pause to reflect on why Christ came to earth and what He did for us on the cross.

[00:10:38] I'm Kirby Anderson, and that's my point of view.

[00:10:46] For a free booklet on biblical reliability, go to viewpoints.info slash biblicalreliability.

[00:10:53] Viewpoints.info slash biblicalreliability.

[00:10:58] You're listening to Point of View, your listener-supported source for truth.

[00:11:04] Talking about Christmas carols, and I thought we would focus now on one that has kind of a darker meaning,

[00:11:10] but certainly an idea of finding hope even in the midst of despair, and that is I Heard the Bells.

[00:11:17] Now, if you've listened to Point of View, about a year ago we had a chance to talk with Katie Miller, which is with Sight and Sound,

[00:11:25] which is a ministry which you can go to in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Branson, Missouri.

[00:11:30] But in addition to the fact that they have actually produced some wonderful stage productions,

[00:11:37] also produced a film which is entitled I Heard the Bells, and it is the story, the true story,

[00:11:44] of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, who actually wrote this particular Christmas carol.

[00:11:50] It came at the end of some incredible tragedy that struck.

[00:11:56] In 1861, actually two years before writing this poem, his life was completely shaken when his wife was fatally burned in the fire,

[00:12:05] and they did represent that in the movie.

[00:12:07] Her dress caught on fire.

[00:12:09] He tried to extinguish the flames as best he could, first with a rug and then with his body.

[00:12:13] She died the next morning, and as a result his facial burns were so severe that he couldn't even attend her funeral.

[00:12:23] And he grew a beard to cover his burns and was so despondent that he was fearful that he might be committed to an asylum due to the extent of his grief.

[00:12:36] Well then, he had an oldest son who joined the Union Army without his father's blessing.

[00:12:42] Again, I think the movie accurately described that.

[00:12:46] And after the Battle of Chancellorsville, his son Charles fell ill with typhoid fever and was sent home to recover.

[00:12:55] Because of that, he missed the fighting at the Battle of Gettysburg, but he was able to rejoin his unit.

[00:13:02] And then, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow received a telegram that his son had been severely wounded in the Battle of New Hope Church in Virginia and was nearly paralyzed.

[00:13:15] Well, think this through.

[00:13:16] Here you have an individual who is a widowed father of six children, his oldest nearly paralyzed.

[00:13:24] And now he's reflecting not only just on his own grief, but on a country that is fighting a war against itself, the Civil War.

[00:13:32] And he wrote this poem to really kind of capture the dissonance in his own heart and the world around him as he heard the Christmas bells.

[00:13:43] And so again, maybe a theme of hope even in the midst of bleak despair.

[00:13:48] But I thought I would include it because not all of these Christmas carols are always upbeat.

[00:13:54] And that one is certainly an incredible tragedy.

[00:13:57] And I think accurately portrayed in the movie if you'd like to see it.

[00:14:01] Well, you'll probably notice I quote quite a bit from Charles Wesley.

[00:14:07] Hark the Herald Angels Sing.

[00:14:09] Charles Wesley wrote over 6,500 hymns and really brings just a very rich theology to so many of them.

[00:14:19] Over the years, this particular hymn has been slightly edited, but the meaning and the theology remains pretty much the same, even more than two centuries.

[00:14:29] It first of all begins with a proclamation of the birth of Jesus.

[00:14:32] Hark the Herald Angels Sing.

[00:14:35] Glory to the newborn king.

[00:14:37] Peace on earth and mercy mild.

[00:14:40] God and sinners reconciled.

[00:14:43] First of all, the hymn reminds us why Christ came to earth.

[00:14:46] Jesus came to the world to bring peace.

[00:14:49] Although many people sing this to talk about peace on earth, it's really the idea of peace between us and God.

[00:14:57] And his hymn reminds us that his birth was so that God and sinners would be what?

[00:15:03] Well, they would be reconciled.

[00:15:05] And again, that brings us to Romans 3.23.

[00:15:09] That there are sinners described in this hymn because all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

[00:15:16] Or if you want to use the Old Testament passage, Isaiah 53, for example,

[00:15:21] All we like sheep have gone astray.

[00:15:25] Each one has turned to his own way.

[00:15:27] And here we have broken God's commandments and we need to be reconciled with God.

[00:15:34] And this was done.

[00:15:35] We are reconciled when Christ died for our sins.

[00:15:39] First Corinthians 15.

[00:15:40] And the hymn then goes to describe who Jesus Christ is.

[00:15:44] Christ by highest heaven adored, Christ the everlasting Lord.

[00:15:49] Late in time behold him come, offspring of the virgin's womb.

[00:15:54] Veiled in flesh the Godhead see, hail the incarnate deity.

[00:16:00] Pleased by man with men to dwell, Jesus our Emmanuel.

[00:16:06] The word descriptions of Charles is unbelievable.

[00:16:11] Charles Wesley brings a lot to the table there.

[00:16:14] But first of all, that of course is the incarnation.

[00:16:17] Jesus, the second person of the Trinity, became the offspring of the virgin's womb.

[00:16:23] God became man, was veiled in flesh, even though he was what?

[00:16:28] Incarnate deity.

[00:16:30] Jesus was both fully God and fully man.

[00:16:34] Jesus also is what?

[00:16:36] Our Emmanuel.

[00:16:37] The word Emmanuel means God with us.

[00:16:40] We'll talk about that again as we get to another Christmas Carol in just a minute.

[00:16:44] Even though Jesus became man, he did not lose his deity.

[00:16:49] And this is what Jesus did for us.

[00:16:51] Mild he lays his glory by, born that man no more may die.

[00:16:57] Born to raise the sons of earth, born to give them second birth.

[00:17:03] Here he laid aside his own rights and came to earth to die for our sins.

[00:17:10] And so again, just an incredible opportunity to learn some great theology from, of course, the individual who wrote so many of these hymns, Charles Wesley.

[00:17:23] Just before we take a break, since we're talking about Hark the Herald Angels Sing, let's talk about Angels We Have Heard on High.

[00:17:30] This is an 18th century traditional French carol.

[00:17:33] It was originally had the title Hark all what holy singing.

[00:17:37] It is based primarily on Luke 2 verses 14 in which the angels say, glory to the God in highest and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.

[00:17:50] The hymn also has the refrain, glory in excelsis Deo, which means glory to God in the highest.

[00:17:58] And you had this vast number of angels descending toward earth.

[00:18:03] And they were directed to, of all people, the humble shepherds by God.

[00:18:09] Of all the class, you couldn't get much lower in terms of the class structure than the shepherds.

[00:18:16] And who did the angels appear to?

[00:18:18] To the shepherds.

[00:18:19] It is a gospel for all individuals.

[00:18:22] And again, an 18th century French carol.

[00:18:26] Let's talk about this a little bit.

[00:18:28] Angels We Have Heard on High, sweetly singing over the plains.

[00:18:33] And the mountains in reply, echoing their joyous strains.

[00:18:38] Glory in excelsis Deo.

[00:18:41] Now again, I have oftentimes used as a trick question in our Christmas quiz that we make available here at Point of View.

[00:18:49] What did the angels sing according to the Bible?

[00:18:53] Well, the Bible doesn't tell us that they sang.

[00:18:56] It tells us what they said.

[00:18:58] I just said that a minute ago.

[00:18:59] Glory to God in the highest on earth.

[00:19:02] Peace to men on whom his favor rests.

[00:19:05] But there's some indication that indeed they sang.

[00:19:09] And so we have that in this particular Christmas carol.

[00:19:13] It goes on to say, shepherds, why this jubilee?

[00:19:16] Why your joyous strains proclaim or prolong, excuse me, what the gladsome tidings be which inspire your heavenly songs?

[00:19:25] So again, the question from the shepherds is, what is causing this to happen?

[00:19:32] Imagine just hanging out with a sheep.

[00:19:34] If it's indeed December or maybe it's March, all sorts of debates about when this was.

[00:19:40] But here they are with a sheep.

[00:19:41] And all of a sudden, the sky just explodes with these angels.

[00:19:48] Why us and why this?

[00:19:51] And again, then the answer is, come to Bethlehem and see him whose birth the angels sing.

[00:19:58] Come adore on bended knee Christ the Lord, our newborn king.

[00:20:03] Then it goes on to even say, see him in a manger laid whom the choirs of angels praise.

[00:20:11] Mary, Joseph, lend your aid while our heart in love we raise.

[00:20:16] And of course, each one of those stanzas end with Gloria in Excelsis Deo.

[00:20:21] So it reports, of course, that the Bible says that the shepherds were terrified.

[00:20:25] Each one covered their face.

[00:20:27] Anybody that thinks that if the angels show up, you're going to come and shake their hand.

[00:20:32] I don't think so.

[00:20:33] Every time an angel shows up, people are on their faces.

[00:20:37] They are terrified.

[00:20:38] And yet as they listen with awe to the angel in this blinding light.

[00:20:44] Do not be afraid for I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people.

[00:20:49] Today in the town of David, a savior has been born to you, Christ the Lord.

[00:20:54] So again, just one more Christmas carol that tells the story of scripture.

[00:20:59] But when we come back from the break, we're going to get into a few more of these stories and opportunities to maybe think a little more deeply about some of these words in these Christmas carols written long ago with good theology that help us maybe understand the significance of the incarnation.

[00:21:20] Let's take a break.

[00:21:21] We'll continue our conversation right after this.

[00:21:30] Let's take a break.

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[00:21:45] But as this political and cultural realignment takes place, another realignment is desperately needed.

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[00:23:09] And now, here again, is Kirby Anderson.

[00:23:13] Once again, talking about Christmas carols.

[00:23:15] And already we've talked about the first Noel and O Holy Night and I Heard the Bells, Hark the Herald Angels Sing and Angels We Have Heard on High.

[00:23:25] Okay, I'll do our best to try to cover some of these others.

[00:23:28] But again, one of the other ones that maybe we can cover in a shorter amount of time is,

[00:23:33] Oh, Come All Ye Faithful.

[00:23:35] This is an 18th century Latin hymn that was written by John Francis Wade that was then translated by Frederick Oakley.

[00:23:44] It was first used, interestingly enough, in many of the Catholic churches.

[00:23:48] And then later on was then developed and used in a lot of the Protestant churches.

[00:23:54] It has, if nothing else, the claim of being one of the most translated carols.

[00:24:01] I think Silent Night may be the world's record on that.

[00:24:05] But again, it gets us back to the whole issue of angels.

[00:24:09] The first stanza pictures the exalted song of an angelic choir heard by the shepherds.

[00:24:16] Oh, come all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant.

[00:24:20] And again, if you're looking for kind of scriptural merit for some of these things,

[00:24:26] you can go to, of course, the second chapter of Luke, verses 15 and 20,

[00:24:31] that tells us that the shepherds, after hearing this announcement from the angels,

[00:24:37] immediately came to see the baby Jesus in Bethlehem.

[00:24:40] The final verse offers a praise and adoration for the word, which is the Lord,

[00:24:46] which was with the Father from the beginning.

[00:24:49] Yea, Lord, we greet thee, born this happy morning, Jesus to be all glory given,

[00:24:56] word of the Father now in flesh appearing.

[00:25:00] Even something that isn't necessarily tied to all the biblical statements

[00:25:05] still has some very significant theology in it as well.

[00:25:10] Which then brings me to O Little Town of Bethlehem,

[00:25:14] which actually was one of the reasons why I decided to do this,

[00:25:17] because as I was listening to my commentary on that,

[00:25:20] I was realizing that I'd had to take a fair amount out of it

[00:25:24] in order to meet the time constraints of my commentary.

[00:25:29] The Old Little Town of Bethlehem was actually written by an Episcopal pastor from Philadelphia,

[00:25:37] Philip Brooks.

[00:25:38] And he wrote this Old Little Town of Bethlehem in 1867.

[00:25:43] Now to understand that, you have to go back years before in which he went to the Holy Land.

[00:25:49] Now, first of all, let me explain that to go to the Holy Land in the 19th century was quite an ordeal.

[00:25:57] Because there's no plane flights.

[00:26:00] You are taking a ship over to probably Europe.

[00:26:05] You're taking a train or something eventually gets you to the Holy Land,

[00:26:11] gets you to Israel, which at that time was not Israel.

[00:26:15] It was just part of the Ottoman Empire.

[00:26:17] And it wasn't anything like it is today.

[00:26:20] And so when he was there being in the Holy Land,

[00:26:24] he decided after being in Jerusalem to actually ride by horseback from Jerusalem

[00:26:31] down off of the top of Jerusalem into Bethlehem

[00:26:36] and arrived at the Church of the Nativity.

[00:26:39] And I've been to the Church of the Nativity.

[00:26:41] And he was there to attend a five-hour Christmas Eve service at the Church of the Nativity.

[00:26:48] I suspect some of you will maybe go to a candlelight service, a Christmas Eve service.

[00:26:54] And I'm willing to guess that none of you will be part of a five-hour Christmas Eve service.

[00:27:00] But that's what he attended.

[00:27:02] And again, had such a great significance being at the place supposedly where Jesus was born.

[00:27:08] The Church of the Nativity built over a cave, which oftentimes has been identified there.

[00:27:13] Anyway, let's bring him back to Philadelphia now.

[00:27:16] Because while he was at the Holy Trinity Church there in Philadelphia,

[00:27:20] he decided to compose an original Christmas hymn for the children to sing during their annual program.

[00:27:27] So that's when he asked his organist, Louis Rednor, to write the music for this particular poem.

[00:27:34] And then he wrote about what it must have been like in Bethlehem on the night of Christ's birth.

[00:27:41] O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie.

[00:27:45] Above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by.

[00:27:50] Yet in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting light.

[00:27:54] The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.

[00:27:58] You know, think about this.

[00:28:00] The streets will probably be quiet on Christmas Day in this town, in your town, all around the world most likely.

[00:28:09] But for the people in Bethlehem it was just like another day, the census being taken.

[00:28:14] And yet as evening came maybe the town grew more quiet.

[00:28:19] And that's when something rather remarkable took place, which we've just been singing about or talking about.

[00:28:26] Because the hymn says, while mortals sleep, the angels keep their watch of wondering love.

[00:28:32] And this is in some respects just like our world today.

[00:28:36] Our world goes about its business, usually oblivious to the spiritual realities around it.

[00:28:43] And then goes on to say, how silently, how silently the wondrous gift is given.

[00:28:49] So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of his heaven.

[00:28:54] No ear may hear his coming, but in this world of sin where meek souls will reach him still, the dear Christ enters in.

[00:29:07] And so it's very interesting.

[00:29:10] When Christ came into the world, he came into the world quietly.

[00:29:13] The angelic announcement really was the only public announcement of his birth.

[00:29:19] And he was born in a stable, laid in a feeding trough.

[00:29:22] O holy child of Bethlehem, descend to us, we pray.

[00:29:26] Cast out our sin and enter in, be born in us today.

[00:29:30] We hear the Christmas angels, the great glad tidings tell, O come to us, abide with us, our Lord Emmanuel.

[00:29:40] Christ came to cast out our sins so that we can abide with him, our Emmanuel.

[00:29:47] Well, again, that has to do with Bethlehem and a silent night, which brings us, of course, to perhaps one of the most famous of all Christmas carols.

[00:29:56] And that is Silent Night.

[00:29:58] This hymn was written by two church leaders for their own mountain village parishioners.

[00:30:04] Joseph Moore wrote it, and Franz Gruber set it to music through the church organ.

[00:30:11] But interestingly enough, for a while it would not function.

[00:30:14] That's another footnote to the story, which is kind of interesting.

[00:30:18] But again, we're very familiar with this.

[00:30:20] Silent night, holy night, all is calm, all is bright.

[00:30:24] Round yon virgin mother and child.

[00:30:28] Holy infant, so tender and mild.

[00:30:31] Sleep in heavenly peace.

[00:30:34] It was a quiet night, except for the announcement by the angels.

[00:30:38] It was also a holy night that changed history.

[00:30:40] And then Silent night, holy night.

[00:30:43] Shepherds quake at thy sight.

[00:30:45] Glories stream from heaven afar.

[00:30:47] Heavenly hosts sing, Alleluia!

[00:30:50] Christ the Savior is born.

[00:30:52] While the shepherds were afraid, as we talked about, they were also hearing the good news that a Savior for the world was born that day.

[00:31:02] One last before we take a break, and that is another Charles Wesley hymn,

[00:31:06] Come Thou Long Expected Jesus, which is a hymn based upon Haggai 2.7.

[00:31:12] Not exactly the verse you would have normally picked for a Christmas carol.

[00:31:16] But he published originally a prayer based on this.

[00:31:20] Born your people to deliver.

[00:31:22] Born a child and yet a king.

[00:31:25] Born to reign in us forever.

[00:31:27] Now your gracious kingdom bring.

[00:31:29] By your own eternal spirit, rule in all our hearts alone.

[00:31:35] By your all-sufficient merit, raise us to your glorious throne.

[00:31:42] And this was a prayer that then he adapted into a hymn in 1744.

[00:31:48] Published it in what was called the Hymns for the Nativity of our Lord hymnal.

[00:31:53] And he wrote this Come Thou Long Expected Jesus with the intent for people to remember the advent and Christmas as commemorating the nativity of Jesus.

[00:32:05] And now preparing for the second coming, which we'll talk about after the break.

[00:32:10] And the hymn became very popular, especially in England.

[00:32:15] Primarily due, interestingly enough, to this Baptist preacher Charles Spurgeon.

[00:32:20] Spurgeon made a Christmas sermon in London in 1855 when he was 21.

[00:32:26] And included the sections of this particular hymn, Come Thou Long Expected Jesus in it.

[00:32:33] And did this to illustrate the point that very few of us are born king.

[00:32:38] And that Jesus was the only one who had been born king without being a prince.

[00:32:44] And so again, you have the Come Thou Long Expected Jesus born to set Thy people free.

[00:32:49] From our fears and sins, lead us, find our rest in Thee.

[00:32:54] Israel's strength and consolation, hope of all the earth Thou art.

[00:32:59] Dear desire of every nation, joy of every longing heart.

[00:33:03] Born Thy people to deliver, born a child and yet a king.

[00:33:08] Born to reign in us forever, now Thy gracious kingdom bring.

[00:33:13] By Thine own eternal spirit rule in all our hearts alone.

[00:33:17] By thine all sufficient merit, raise us to Thy glorious throne.

[00:33:24] Just an incredible opportunity once again to look at some of the great hymns of Charles Wesley.

[00:33:31] And when we come back, we'll have to at least have one hymn from Isaac Watts.

[00:33:36] And of course, one that we sang at Christmas.

[00:33:39] We'll take a break and come back with more right after this.

[00:33:55] You're listening to Point of View, your listener-supported source for truth.

[00:34:01] And we're finishing off our hour of Christmas carols.

[00:34:04] We've looked at the First Noel and O Holy Night.

[00:34:07] And I heard the bells and hark the herald angels sing.

[00:34:11] Angels, we have heard on high.

[00:34:14] O come, all ye faithful, O little town of Bethlehem.

[00:34:17] Silent night and come thou long expected Jesus.

[00:34:21] And we'll see if we can maybe fit in two more.

[00:34:24] And one of those is joy to the world.

[00:34:27] Now, the first thing you would notice about joy to the world is that it doesn't seem,

[00:34:32] if you really listen to it and look at the words, to even relate necessarily to Christ's first coming.

[00:34:40] And that's because it's not about Christ's first coming.

[00:34:43] It's about Christ's second coming.

[00:34:45] It is written by Isaac Watts, known as the father of English hymnology.

[00:34:51] And he wrote Joy to the World in 1719.

[00:34:55] It was originally titled The Messiah's Coming and Kingdom.

[00:34:59] Now, if you understand that, you can understand more.

[00:35:02] Because you're saying it doesn't almost seem like a Christmas carol because it has no reference to angels or shepherds or wise men.

[00:35:11] And that's because it's not about Christ's first coming, his incarnation.

[00:35:15] It's about Christ's second coming.

[00:35:17] Now, of course, we can sing it at Christmas time because it certainly is appropriate.

[00:35:22] But it is based primarily on a paraphrase of Psalm 98, which says,

[00:35:29] Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth.

[00:35:33] Break forth into joyous song and sing praise.

[00:35:37] It then answers why.

[00:35:39] For he, the Lord, comes to judge the earth.

[00:35:42] He will judge the world with righteousness and the people with equity.

[00:35:48] And so the psalm, if you're really understanding it, was originally a song of rejoicing for the Lord's protection of his chosen people.

[00:35:58] But it also was looking for a time in which the Lord would judge the world.

[00:36:03] Well, that did not come in his first coming.

[00:36:05] It will certainly come in his second coming.

[00:36:08] And so that is the case.

[00:36:10] And so this is why Isaac Watts used as an expression of praise.

[00:36:15] And if you think about it, you can maybe connect it, obviously, to what the angels said to the shepherds.

[00:36:22] Fear not, for behold, I bring you great news of great joy.

[00:36:27] So obviously we can sing about joy to the world.

[00:36:30] But again, as we begin to sing this, or we look at the words, we see that here that earth should receive her king and every heart should prepare him room.

[00:36:42] Well, that's not happened yet.

[00:36:44] But there will be a time, as the hymn says, when what?

[00:36:48] The Savior reigns.

[00:36:50] For example, no more let sins and sorrows grow, nor thorns infest the ground.

[00:36:57] He comes to make his blessings flow, far as the curse is found.

[00:37:03] And we read in Genesis 3, verse 18, that God says thorns and thistles will spring forth from the ground.

[00:37:12] That's because we live in a fallen world.

[00:37:15] That is the curse.

[00:37:16] But in the new heavens and the new earth, which we read about in the book of Revelation, curse will be gone.

[00:37:25] It also tells us in that book of Revelation that there will be a time when Christ will come as judge and ruler.

[00:37:33] And that's what the hymn proclaims.

[00:37:35] He rules the world with truth and grace and makes the nations prove the glories of his righteousness and the wonders of his love.

[00:37:45] Christ rules the world and we can celebrate that he is coming again.

[00:37:51] Our last one would be one that I have actually done a commentary on, but it's worth mentioning.

[00:37:58] O come, O come, Emmanuel.

[00:38:01] It is an English translation of a Latin hymn that was sung during Advent and Christmas.

[00:38:09] As far as we can tell, the text goes back to at least the 18th century, perhaps earlier.

[00:38:15] The music puts it all the way back to the 15th century.

[00:38:19] But again, think of the words.

[00:38:21] O come, O come, Emmanuel.

[00:38:24] Ransom, captive Israel that mourns and lonely exile here until the Son of God appear.

[00:38:32] Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel.

[00:38:35] So come to thee, O Israel.

[00:38:38] Emmanuel, of course, means God with us.

[00:38:40] Even before the coming of Christ, we see passages in the Old Testament that remind us that God is with Israel.

[00:38:47] So, first Kings eight, we read praise the Lord who has given rest to his people Israel, just as he promised.

[00:38:53] Not one word has failed of all the wonderful promises he gave to his servant Moses.

[00:38:59] May the Lord our God be with us as he was with our ancestors.

[00:39:04] May he never leave us and abandon us.

[00:39:07] And of course, you can think of probably a more famous Psalm, Psalm 46.

[00:39:11] The Lord of hosts is with us.

[00:39:13] The God of Jacob is what?

[00:39:15] Our stronghold.

[00:39:17] Again, one of the most visible reminders of God's presence during the Exodus was what?

[00:39:23] Well, that was when God was with the Israelites by a pillar of fire in the day and a pillar of smoke at night.

[00:39:30] His presence was with them in the tabernacle and later the tab temple in the Holy of Holies.

[00:39:36] But perhaps the most important aspect of Emmanuel is found in the New Testament.

[00:39:41] John tells us in the Gospel,

[00:39:44] The word became flesh and dwelt among us.

[00:39:47] And this, of course, is the miracle of the incarnation.

[00:39:51] God put on human flesh, came to Israel that he might give his life for all.

[00:39:56] And Paul tells Timothy,

[00:39:58] Here is the great mystery of our religion.

[00:40:01] Christ came as a human, 1 Timothy 3.16.

[00:40:05] And we celebrate that at Christmas.

[00:40:09] Well, I hope you appreciated this look of Christmas carols.

[00:40:12] I may not have covered the one you wanted to cover, but we're simply running out of time.

[00:40:16] But it is, I think, a reminder of the fact that, first of all, there is very good biblical theology in many of these Christmas carols.

[00:40:25] It's worth singing them at Christmas time.

[00:40:28] But it's also worth reflecting upon these words that we sing oftentimes in a church service or we hear on radio or in our CDs that we might play.

[00:40:39] And so, again, I wanted to cover some of these Christmas carols just so that the next time you sing them, you might think about their history.

[00:40:48] You might think about their theology and, most importantly, apply them to your life.

[00:40:53] And if you would want to take some of these particular Christmas carols and talk about them around the Christmas table,

[00:41:00] that would be, I think, a great way to teach them great theology and to tie it to the Christmas season.

[00:41:06] So I hope you've appreciated that conversation that we've had here today.

[00:41:09] And if you want to comment about it, we always would welcome your phone calls.

[00:41:14] We would certainly welcome your emails if you wanted to express your appreciation or whatever it might be about this particular hour.

[00:41:23] Looking at the history and theology of Christmas carols, you can, of course, write to pointofview.net.

[00:41:29] Or, of course, you can give us a call at 800-347-5151.

[00:41:33] And as we wind down, if you appreciate these kinds of programs, I certainly would not only encourage you to make a positive comment about them,

[00:41:42] but also perhaps you could make a gift to help Point of View continue bringing these kinds of programs to you.

[00:41:49] We, of course, have a banner on our website at pointofview.net, a place where you can give to this ministry.

[00:41:55] And, of course, if you would want to join with us on a regular basis, I hope you might want to do so.

[00:42:00] We, of course, send out our Outlook magazine each month.

[00:42:03] We also send out a booklet that I write.

[00:42:05] And these are resources that we want to put in your hands so that we can equip you to make a very significant difference

[00:42:12] and to really have a very significant ministry in your sphere of influence as well.

[00:42:17] So all of it is available, as you have already heard us say, on the website, which is pointofview.net.

[00:42:24] If you'd like to talk to someone off air, that number is 800-347-5151.

[00:42:29] And the next time you hear, maybe the First Noel or O Holy Night or maybe Angels We Have Heard on High

[00:42:38] or maybe Hark the Herald Angels Sing or even some of these that aren't sung quite so often like O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.

[00:42:46] You might think back to this hour that we spent looking at the history and the theology of Christmas carols

[00:42:53] and all the information that you might want to obtain available at our website at pointofview.net.

[00:42:59] I want to thank everybody who's been a part of this program today.

[00:43:02] You've been listening to Point of View.

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[00:43:19] His story is a perfect illustration.

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[00:43:27] and I appreciate the fact that truth and love are discussed equally and that God's Word never changes.

[00:43:33] We have four generations in my family who have been taught these things,

[00:43:38] these truths, and the fifth generation we've just been blessed with,

[00:43:41] who I'm sure will be blessed by this ministry also.

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[00:44:23] Point of View will continue after this.