O Holy Night

INTRO

‘O Holy Night’ had its origins in the mid-1800s in France. But the song stirred a lot of controversy in the church, to the point where it was banned. When asked to pen a poem for his parish’s Mass that Christmas, composer Placide Cappeau thought about the birth of Jesus, as cataloged in the Gospel of Luke, as he wrote the lyrics. LK. 2:1-20.

He enlisted the help of his Jewish friend Adolphe Charles Adams to aid in the composition of the music. The song was initially titled, “Cantique de Noel.” Although the church in France initially accepted the carol, Cappeau was later swayed by socialist propaganda and walked away from his faith. The church in France condemned the work due to this.

Nevertheless, the lyrics and music made its ways to America through abolitionist John Sullivan Dwight.  He changed some of the lyrics slightly. Dwight particularly identified with the third verse which spoke about breaking the chains of slavery and seeing every man as our brother. Thanks to Dwight and the covert efforts of the lyrics being sung during Christmas in Europe, the song’s notoriety spread worldwide, rumored to have been even sung on Christmas Eve during the Franco-Prussian War. This morning I want us to focus on three small section of the song

PRAISE GOD FOR SALVATION

“Long lay the world, in sin and error pining/ Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth/ A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices/ For yonder breaks, a new and glorious morn.”

These lines are from the carol’s first two stanzas, and they are packed with truth: All of humanity is trapped in its inherently sinful nature and groans for a savior. There was nothing we could do, we were trapped in sin and needed a Savior to get us out and that is what the angels proclaimed to the wisemen Lk. 2:10-11 “But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”

We all sin

1 Ki. 8:46 ““When they sin against You (for there is no man who does not sin) and You are angry with them and deliver them to an enemy, so that they take them away captive to the land of the enemy, far off or near;”

Eccl. 7:20 “Indeed, there is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins.”

Rom. 3:9 “What then? Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin;”

Rom. 3:10 “as it is written, “There is none righteous, not even one;”

Rom. 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

And because we all sin, we all deserve punishment Rom. 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Jesus is this savior, Matt. 1:21 ““She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.””

Because Jesus came in the flesh was born and lay in that manger, lived a life free from sin, died on the cross for our sins, & was resurrected

We have a thrill of hope & we can live a new and glorious morn. His sacrifice gives us new value as the redeemed children of God; Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection was “a new and glorious morn” because it offered us the hope of redemption, allowing us to be made new.

That’s a whole lot of theology!

“O Holy Night” not only informs us about our redemption through Jesus’ sacrifice, but also tells us how we ought to live with one another in light of this redemption.

LOVE YOUR FELLOW MAN

“Truly He taught us to love one another/ His law is love and His gospel is peace/ Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother/ And in His name, all oppression shall cease.”

These lines are made even more potent by the current state of America. Our country is severely divided. No matter what your personal views on the presidential election are, it’s impossible to ignore the cries of the people around us. Everybody in America is hurting for one reason or another, and nobody really knows what to do. Because of Jesus we can have two aspects of peace. peace with men

Lk. 2:14 ““Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.””

Ephesians 2:11–18 NASB95

Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called “Uncircumcision” by the so-called “Circumcision,” which is performed in the flesh by human hands— remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity. And He came and preached peace to you who were far away, and peace to those who were near; for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father.

He brought peace though the one man Jesus Christ; all can be one in Christ

he also taught us to love one another

Jn. 13:34 ““A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.”

Lk. 6:35 ““But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.”

At the triumphant entry the people are shouting another important truth concerning Jesus bringing peace

Lk. 19:38 “shouting: “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord; Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”” Peace with God

Since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). Peace with God means that our great sin debt has been paid and God sees us as righteous (Colossians 2:14; Romans 3:22). We are no longer enemies but beloved children (1 John 3:2). His holy nature can have fellowship with us because He sees us “in Christ.”

This carol, which was written by two Frenchmen in 1847, holds wisdom that is applicable to the twenty-first century American.

In the face of our fractured country and humanity’s deep cries for peace, the only thing to do is look to Jesus. As the carol says, Jesus is the one that will end oppression, that will break chains, that will bring peace.

This carol doesn’t only speak of redemption and relationships. The final stanza of this carol, as well as the chorus, command us to praise God.

PROCLAIM GOD”S POWER & GLORY

“Christ is the Lord, O praise His name forever/ His power and glory evermore proclaim/ Fall on your knees, oh hear the angel voices/ Oh night divine, when Christ was born/ oh night divine.”

We ought to sing about his power and glory every where we go, we ought to tell of his power and glory everywhere we go, and we ought to live in such a way that our actions proclaim his power and glory.

the angels praised Jesus at his birth, the magi, the shepherds, and we should as well. Praise him for being your Savior freeing you from the bondage of sin and death. Praise Him for breaking down the dividing wall bringing peace with God and peace between our fellow man.

It turns out that “O Holy Night” is a much more powerful song than I had originally realized.

This holiday season I encourage you to take the truths proclaimed in “O Holy Night” to heart. Praise God for his great salvation, love your fellow man, and proclaim God’s power and glory.