Love (Angels we have heard on High)
Notes
Transcript
Introduction: The following information comes from an on-line source called hymnary.org.
It’s a simply beautiful image: the shepherds in a great field, staring up in wonder at a sky full of the heavenly hosts, singing out their praise and joy, the echoes of their song reverberating off the mountains add to the cacophony. It isn’t hard to imagine the shepherds’ response.
Here’s some information about the Text:
This text originates from a French carol, believed to date back to the eighteenth century, and first published in eight stanzas in a French manual of melodies in 1842. The English version we use today comes from a translation of the French by James Chadwick, and adapted for use by Henri Hemy in Crown of Jesus Music in 1862. Most modern hymnals include three verses: “Angels we have heard on high,” “Shepherds, why this jubilee,” “Come to Bethlehem, and see.” There are a number of differences in the text between hymnals, so make sure you've got the words you want when printing or projecting them for a congregation.
And the Tune:
The tune GLORIA, with its beautiful cascading “Glorias,” was first published with the French text mentioned above. The structure of the hymn seems to imply that a small choir or soloist is to sing the verses, with the congregation joining on the refrains. However, most congregations will want to sing the entire song. If this is the case, vary the accompaniment with lighter instrumentation on the verses and a fuller sound on the “Glorias.”
Now let’s sing The Carol together: Congregation will sing.
Angels we have heard on high
Sweetly singing o’er the plains
And the mountains in reply
Echo back their joyous strains
Gloria, in excelsis Deo!
Gloria, in excelsis Deo!
Shepherds, why this jubilee?
Why your joyous strains prolong?
Say what may the tidings be
Which inspire your heavenly song?
Gloria, in excelsis Deo!
Gloria, in excelsis Deo!
Come to Bethlehem and see
Him whose birth the angels sing;
Come, adore on bended knee,
Christ the Lord, the newborn King.
Gloria, in excelsis Deo!
Gloria, in excelsis Deo!
See within a manger laid
Jesus Lord of heaven and earth;
Mary, Joseph, lend your aid,
With us sing our Savior’s birth.
Gloria, in excelsis Deo!
Gloria, in excelsis Deo!
Transitional Sentence: So what theology is hidden in this hymn?
The Refrain:
Gloria, in excelsis Deo!
Gloria, in excelsis Deo!
In Latin Gloria, in excelsis Deo means - Glory to God in the Highest! This is part of the message the angels presented to the shepherds in Luke 2:14
14 “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”
Each and every time this carol is sung the singers are giving glory, honor and praise to God. Every time a believer sings Gloria, in excelsis Deo it is a witness to others about their faith. But what about non-believers? Would they knowingly sing these words if they knew what they were singing? Would they willing bear witness to God’s glory? At some point in the future everyone will bear witness to God’s glory.
Verse 1:
Angels we have heard on high
Sweetly singing o’er the plains
And the mountains in reply
Echo back their joyous strains
Line 1 says: Angels we have heard on high
The Shepherds heard the Angels message. It was delivered from on High. The angels stepped down from heaven to glorify God by delivering this message. Even after all these years we still hear the message from on high. We hear the message every time we read the biblical account in the gospel of Luke 2:8-20. Luke 2:8
8 In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night.
The account begins simply with the shepherds in the field watching over their flock and it ends with those same shepherds glorifying and praising God for all they had seen.
Line 2 says: Sweetly singing o’er the plains
What other kind of singing would the heavenly host perform? A hard rock version, or maybe blue grass or country? Whatever style it would still be sweet as they hovered over the plains where the shepherds watched their flocks that night. The question I have always thought about is: Are the heavenly host still in heaven as they tear this opening between heaven and earth or are they just hanging in the sky completely in the earthly realm?
Line 3 and 4 says: And the mountains in reply, Echo back their joyous strains
Have you ever stood in a valley surrounded by mountains? What did you hear when you called out to the open terrain? You would have heard your own voice, but did you hear the echo of your voice come back to you? The angels are singing, their voices are rolling over the open plains. But before to long the mountains repeat what they are singing. What the angels are singing over the plains is being echoed back. What the angels are singing is their joyous strains.
Their Joyous strains are - Happy, joyful sounds or melodies, often associated with singing, particularly in a celebratory or religious context. This is both celebratory and religious in context. The angels are celebrating, it’s a party, the long awaited Messiah has been born.
Verse 2:
Shepherds, why this jubilee?
Why your joyous strains prolong?
Say what may the tidings be
Which inspire your heavenly song?
Line 1 says: Shepherds, why this jubilee?
Here’s a good question for the shepherds… why this jubilee? Do you know what a jubilee is?
A Jubilee is - a special anniversary of an event, especially one celebrating twenty-five or fifty years of a reign or activity. The jubilee is a special celebration. For the Jews it’s a Sabbath event. A whole year of rest. Every fifty years there is supposed to be no planting and no harvesting. Just eat what happens to come up. The people are also supposed to return to their homes, their inheritance and their families.
Here’s some of the Old testament jubilee rules? Leviticus 25:10-12
10 ‘You shall thus consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim a release through the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you, and each of you shall return to his own property, and each of you shall return to his family.
11 ‘You shall have the fiftieth year as a jubilee; you shall not sow, nor reap its aftergrowth, nor gather in from its untrimmed vines.
12 ‘For it is a jubilee; it shall be holy to you. You shall eat its crops out of the field.
But why this jubilee? Why this celebration? Why are they partying? The joyous news! The Messiah has been born. Sounds like a reason to party to me - which of course is what we do every year. We have a birthday party for the Messiah. We celebrate His advent, His arrival. It’s a glorious reason for a jubilee!
Line 2 says: Why your joyous strains prolong?
The angels began the celebration with their joyous strains as the hovered over the plains. But then the shepherds pick up their joyous strains, they begin singing and rejoicing, they carry on the party as the heavenly host returns to heaven. The shepherds are repeating it, over and over again. They won’t stop singing, they can’t stop singing, everyone must know. Everyone must come and see.
Line 3 and 4 says: Say what may the tidings be, Which inspire your heavenly song?
What are the tidings? What’s the message? What’s all the fuss? What’s inspiring the shepherds? It’s the heavenly song. It’s the tidings of great joy?
14 “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”
It’s the same message we repeat every year. Every time we sing this carol. Keep singing, never stop singing the glad tidings.
Verse 3:
Come to Bethlehem and see
Him whose birth the angels sing;
Come, adore on bended knee,
Christ the Lord, the newborn King.
Line 1 says: Come to Bethlehem and see
Why go to Bethlehem? Well, there is a Prophecy.
2 “But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity.”
But the shepherds may not have known that bit of information. So the angels tell them about it.
Line 2 says: Him whose birth the angels sing;
This is the main reason the shepherds were heading to Bethlehem. The angels song. The angels told them to go. Can you imagine this group of shepherds looking at each other wide-eyed, and then running as fast as they can to get to the village? They were excited and out of breath as they found the place where He lay. What did they do next? Did they burst into the room and crowd around the manger, or did they stop at the door, suddenly shy and overwhelmed, to peek in at the child. Did they fully understand what they were witnessing? Do we fully understand what they were witnessing?
But there is another reason why the shepherds had to go and see the Son of God that night. (Read the mystery from the book)
According to this the shepherds had to witness the birth of Jesus to fulfill the requirements of the law. They had to witness the birth of the sacrifice, the lamb of God, that would take away the sins of the world.
The next line tells the rest of the story for the shepherds and for us.
Line 3 says: Come, adore on bended knee,
Come and see! Adore Him on bended knee. It’s an invitation to worship.
To adore means to love and respect someone or something deeply, often with admiration, devotion, or even worship. This idea comes from the Latin word “adorare” (to worship). This is what the Magi chose. They came, they saw, they worshipped Him. They adored Him on bended knees and gave Him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. But did they give Him their hearts. What have you given Him? Have you given Him all that you are and your heart?
Come, adore on bended knee is an invitation to make the choice of worshipping Him. So come and see, come and adore Him. Give Him all that you have and all that you are.
Line 4 says: Christ the Lord, the newborn King
There are three very important words in this one line; Christ, Lord and King. Let’s take a quick look at each of them.
Easton’s Bible Dictionary says this about the word Christ:
Easton’s Bible Dictionary Christ
CHRIST the anointed, the Greek translation of the Hebrew word rendered “Messiah”, the official title of our Lord, occurring five hundred and fourteen times in the New Testament. It denotes that he was anointed or consecrated to his great redemptive work as Prophet, Priest, and King of his people. He is Jesus the Christ, the Anointed One. He is thus spoken of by Isaiah (61:1), and by Daniel (9:24–26), who styles him “Messiah the Prince.”
The Messiah is the same person as “the seed of the woman” (Gen. 3:15), “the seed of Abraham” (Gen. 22:18), the “Prophet like unto Moses” (Deut. 18:15), “the priest after the order of Melchizedek” (Ps. 110:4), “the rod out of the stem of Jesse” (Isa. 11:1, 10), the “Immanuel,” the virgin’s son (Isa. 7:14), “the branch of Jehovah” (Isa. 4:2), and “the messenger of the covenant” (Mal. 3:1). This is he “of whom Moses in the law and the prophets did write.” The Old Testament Scripture is full of prophetic declarations regarding the Great Deliverer and the work he was to accomplish. Jesus the Christ is Jesus the Great Deliverer, the Anointed One, the Saviour of men. This name denotes that Jesus was divinely appointed, commissioned, and accredited as the Saviour of men.
To believe that “Jesus is the Christ” is to believe that he is the Anointed, the Messiah of the prophets, the Saviour sent of God, that he was, in a word, what he claimed to be. This is to believe the gospel, by the faith of which alone men can be brought unto God. That Jesus is the Christ is the testimony of God, and the faith of this constitutes a Christian.
Easton’s Bible Dictionary says this about the word Lord:
The Hebrew word Jehovah, has been rendered in the English Bible LORD, printed in small capitals. This is the proper name of the God of the Hebrews.
Easton’s Bible Dictionary says this about the word King:
KING—is in Scripture very generally used to denote one invested with authority, whether extensive or limited. In the New Testament the Roman emperor is spoken of as a king; and Herod Antipas, who was only a tetrarch, is also called a king.
This title is applied to God, and to Christ, the Son of God.
This one line is recognizing this new baby boy as the Christ, the anointed of God, the Messiah that the Hebrew people have been waiting for since the fall; the Lord or Jehovah the God of the Hebrew people; and King, one who is invested with authority, in this case all authority over all of heaven and earth.
How many people sing this song and have no idea what, exactly they are saying? In our Democratic Republic government the idea of a King was washed away a long time ago and the idea of a Messiah or Lord is only present because of Christianity.
Verse 4:
See within a manger laid
Jesus Lord of heaven and earth;
Mary, Joseph, lend your aid,
With us sing our Savior’s birth.
Line 1 says: See within a manger laid
(Photo - wood and stone) A manger? What? The last line said this is the Christ, Lord and King. Why is He in a food dish? No one knows exactly what manger looked like but some believe it was wood like this one and some say stone like this one.
16 So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger.
This is an awfully humble place for the Christ child to be laid to sleep. That’s even humbler then where my parents put me. My mother told me that she used to put me to bed in a drawer of their dresser.
Perhaps the location of His birth, a stable, goes along with the fact that He is the Lamb of God.
Line 2 says: Jesus Lord of heaven and earth
As previously stated Lord is the English rendering of the Hebrew word Jehovah. Which is the special and significant name that God used to reveal himself to the ancient Hebrews. I Am that I Am. And Jesus, being the great I Am, has total authority over heaven and earth. He was anointed by God to fulfill this role.
Line 3 says: Mary, Joseph, lend your aid
Mary and Joseph are the earthly parents of Jesus. Little is known about them except what is recorded in scripture and the writings of a few historians. Here are their stories.
Mary’s story: Luke 1:26-38
26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth,
27 to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.
28 And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.”
29 But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was.
30 The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God.
31 “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.
32 “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David;
33 and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.”
34 Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?”
35 The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.
36 “And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month.
37 “For nothing will be impossible with God.”
38 And Mary said, “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
Joseph’s story: Matthew 1:18-25
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit.
19 And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly.
20 But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.
21 “She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
22 Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.”
24 And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife,
25 but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus.
The hymn requests Mary and Joseph to “Lend your aid.” Now I see two meanings to this:
The first meaning: Jesus is a newborn baby, He needs help. Just because He is the Son of God doesn’t mean He will jump up and get busy living. He came into the world in the usual way. Babies need a lot of help and care. They need a lot of Aid. So, Mary and Joseph “Lend your aid.”
The second meaning: Is coupled with the next line - it is an invitation for Mary and Joseph to lend their aid in singing of the birth of the Christ child.
because Line 4 says: With us sing our Savior’s birth
We are singing about the Savior’s birth. The angels the Shepherds and all of creation were singing of the Savior’s birth. Mary and Joseph needed to lend aid for the singing. Will you join in the song? Will you raise up your voice to glorify God for all the great things He has done.
Exit: Gloria, in excelsis Deo… Give Glory to God in the Highest!
Give glory to God in the highest because God is Love, and this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. The angels delivered the message of Jesus’ birth to the lowliest of Hebrew society so that the shepherds could attend the birth of the Lamb of God. Jesus the King was born in the humblest of circumstances. Jesus proved Himself the Messiah through the great things that He did. Jesus took my place and died on a cross that was meant for me. Jesus was buried and rose from the dead on the third day and is seated at the right hand of God the Father. To believe that “Jesus is the Christ” is to believe that he is the Anointed, the Messiah of the prophets, the Saviour sent of God, that He was, in a word, what he claimed to be. This is to believe the gospel, by the faith of which alone men can be brought unto God. That Jesus is the Christ is the testimony of God, and the faith of this constitutes a Christian.
Are you a Christian? If not now is the time to give Glory to God in the Highest! Accept the love of God into your life. Accept Jesus as Lord and Savior and be saved. Only His love will wash away your sin. Only His love can overcome all of the pain and heartache you have suffered throughout your life.
Oh what wondrous love is this?
Pray:
