Today's episode featured two hymns by Isaac Watts: "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" (LSB 380) and "Lo! He Comes with Clouds Descending" (LSB 336).
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It can be said that the only thing that unifies the Church of England (Anglican Church, or Episcopal Church in USA) is the Book of Common Prayer. As a denomination, the Church of England agrees to disagree on matters of Christian doctrine and church practice. This was the case during the life of Charles (1707-1788) and John Wesley and this remains the case to today.
"Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" first appeared in John and Charles Wesley's "Hymns and Sacred Poems" (London, 1739) under the heading "Hymn for Christmas Day." In the original text, Charles Wesley's hymn had 10 stanzas. George Whitfield (1714-1770) changed the hymn to its current form and deleted the stanzas that dealt with the doctrine of the Fall. Whitefield was a leader of the Calvinistic (Presbyterian) branch of British Methodism. So, Wesley's original unabridged text would be quite appropriate in a Lutheran hymnal.
This beloved Christmas hymn sparkles not only with the news of Christ's birth, but also with the Gospel message: Christ was born to die, and in that death, He reconciled God and sinners. Jesus came as the Second Adam to restore all of humankind. Our Christ-centered, cross-focused theology is proclaimed clearly in this hymn. In this hymn, as seen in many of Wesley's hymns, each stanza is tied to the next.
1 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 the_angelic host proclaim,
“Christ is born in Bethlehem!” Refrain
ref Hark! The herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King!”
2 Christ, by highest heav’n adored,
Christ, the everlasting Lord,
Late in time behold Him come,
Offspring of a virgin’s womb.
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see,
Hail the_incarnate Deity!
Pleased as Man with man to dwell,
Jesus, our Immanuel! Refrain
3 Hail, the heav’n-born Prince of Peace!
Hail, the Sun of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings,
Ris’n with healing in His wings.
Mild He lays His glory by,
Born that man no more may die,
Born to raise the sons of earth,
Born to give them second birth. Refrain
Text: Public domain
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"Lo! He Comes with Clouds Descending" is one of the most popular hymns in the English language and has been used broadly in English-speaking countries across Christian traditions. It has also been translated into numerous other languages.
The theme of this hymn is the final return of Christ according to the post-resurrection promise Jesus made to His disciples, a promise reiterated by the angels at His ascension. As such, this hymn is fitting for the First Sunday in Advent in the three-year lectionary, and for the Second Sunday in Advent in the one-year lectionary.
The hymn concerns the final return of Christ, bringing both judgment and redemption.
1 Lo! He comes with clouds descending,
Once for ev’ry sinner slain;
Thousand thousand saints attending
Swell the triumph of His train:
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
Christ the Lord returns to reign.
2 Ev’ry eye shall now behold Him
Robed in glorious majesty;
Those who set at naught and sold Him,
Pierced and nailed Him to the tree,
Deeply wailing, deeply wailing, deeply wailing,
Shall their true Messiah see.
3 Those dear tokens of His passion
Still His dazzling body bears,
Cause of endless exultation
To His ransomed worshipers.
With what rapture, with what rapture, with what rapture
Gaze we on those glorious scars!
4 Yea, amen, let all adore Thee,
High on Thine eternal throne;
Savior, take the pow’r and glory,
Claim the kingdom as Thine own.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
Thou shalt reign, and Thou alone!
Text: Public domain
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The following hymns in the Lutheran Service Book were written by Charles Wesley:
336 - Lo! He Comes with Clouds Descending
338 - Come, Thou Long-expected Jesus
380 - Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
457 - Jesus Christ is Risen Today
469 - "Christ the Lord is Risen Today" Saints on Earth
528 - Oh, For a Thousand Tongues to Sing
700 - Love Divine, All Loves Excelling
854 - Forth in Thy Name, O Lord, I Go
873 - Christ, Whose Glory Fills the Skies
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