Here are the forgotten verses of one more Christmas carol:
O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free Thine own from Satan’s tyranny; From depths of hell Thy people save, And give them victory over the grave. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Key of David, come, And open wide our heavenly home; Make safe the way that leads on high, And close the path to misery. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, O come, great Lord of might, Who to Thy tribes on Sinai’s height In ancient times once gave the law In cloud and majesty and awe. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Root of Jesse’s tree, An ensign of Thy people be; Before Thee rulers silent fall; All peoples on Thy mercy call. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
“O Come, O Come, Emmanuel”
Author Unknown
Written around the 12th Century
As found in the Cyber Hymnal
Here are some forgotten verses from another Christmas carol:
Still through the cloven skies they come
With peaceful wings unfurled,
And still their heavenly music floats
O’er all the weary world;
Above its sad and lowly plains,
They bend on hovering wing,
And ever over its Babel sounds
The blessèd angels sing.
Yet with the woes of sin and strife
The world has suffered long;
Beneath the angel strain have rolled
Two thousand years of wrong;
And man, at war with man, hears not
The love-song which they bring;
O hush the noise, ye men of strife
And hear the angels sing.
“It Came Upon The Midnight Clear”
Edmund H. Sears
Written in 1849
As found in the Cyber Hymnal
Here are some more more forgotten verses from another familiar Christmas carol:
True God of true God, Light from Light Eternal, Lo, He shuns not the Virgin’s womb; Son of the Father, begotten, not created; O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.
See how the shepherds, summoned to His cradle, Leaving their flocks, draw nigh to gaze; We too will thither bend our joyful footsteps; O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.
Lo! star led chieftains, Magi, Christ adoring, Offer Him incense, gold, and myrrh; We to the Christ Child bring our hearts’ oblations. O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.
Child, for us sinners poor and in the manger, We would embrace Thee, with love and awe; Who would not love Thee, loving us so dearly? O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.
“O Come All Ye Faithful”
John F. Wade
Written around 1743
As found in the Cyber Hymnal
Yesterday I started a week-long feature sharing forgotten verses from some of our favorite Christmas carols. Here is the second installment:
Come, Desire of nations, come, Fix in us Thy humble home; Rise, the woman’s conqu’ring Seed, Bruise in us the serpent’s head. Now display Thy saving power, Ruined nature now restore; Now in mystic union join Thine to ours, and ours to Thine. Hark! the herald angels sing, “Glory to the newborn King!”
Adam’s likeness, Lord, efface, Stamp Thine image in its place: Second Adam from above, Reinstate us in Thy love. Let us Thee, though lost, regain, Thee, the Life, the inner man: O, to all Thyself impart, Formed in each believing heart. Hark! the herald angels sing, “Glory to the newborn King!”
“Hark the Herald Angels Sing”
Charles Wesley
Written in 1739
As found in the Cyber Hymnal
Every year we sing numerous Christmas carols from our hymnal at church. But often our hymnal only has a few select verses included. So this week I want to feature some forgotten verses from some of our favorite Christmas carols. Here is the first:
Sinners, wrung with true repentance, Doomed for guilt to endless pains, Justice now revokes the sentence, Mercy calls you; break your chains. Come and worship, come and worship, Worship Christ, the newborn king.
Though an Infant now we view Him, He shall fill His Father’s throne, Gather all the nations to Him; Every knee shall then bow down: Come and worship, come and worship, Worship Christ, the newborn king.
All creation, join in praising God, the Father, Spirit, Son, Evermore your voices raising To th’eternal Three in One. Come and worship, come and worship, Worship Christ, the newborn king.
“Angels From the Realms of Glory”
James Montgomery
Written 1816-1825
As found in the Cyber Hymnal
Charles Wesley wrote this hymn soon after he was saved in 1738, publishing it for the first time in 1739. Interestingly it has gone through some adaptations to come to its present form today. For instance, it was originally published as ten four-line stanzas instead of five eight line stanzas. In 1753, George Whitefield, a contemporary and friend, changed the last line of the refrain from “Glory to the King of kings” to “Glory to the newborn king.” For a full history see this article from Christianity Today. Like most of Wesley’s hymns, there are more verses than we usually sing – note the final two verses below. This hymn is quickly becoming a favorite of mine due to its rich theology. It gives us a wonderful crash course on the incarnation and numerous aspects of our salvation. To hear the music, see the music video which I stumbled across from my alma mater at the start of this blog.
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!”
Hark! the herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King!”
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 th’incarnate Deity,
Pleased with us in flesh to dwell,
Jesus our Emmanuel.
Hark! the herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King!”
Hail the heav’nly 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.
Hark! the herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King!”
Come, Desire of nations, come,
Fix in us Thy humble home;
Rise, the woman’s conqu’ring Seed,
Bruise in us the serpent’s head.
Now display Thy saving power,
Ruined nature now restore;
Now in mystic union join
Thine to ours, and ours to Thine.
Hark! the herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King!”
Adam’s likeness, Lord, efface,
Stamp Thine image in its place:
Second Adam from above,
Reinstate us in Thy love.
Let us Thee, though lost, regain,
Thee, the Life, the inner man:
O, to all Thyself impart,
Formed in each believing heart.
Hark! the herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King!”
Charles Wesley was saved in 1738 and wrote his first hymn that very day. In the seven years that followed, he wrote 18 Christmas hymns which were published in 1745 as Hymns for the Nativity of our Lord. You can find the lyrics to these hymns here. The most familiar of them is Come Thou Long Expected Jesus. Unlike many of Charles Wesley’s long hymns, this one is only two stanzas. Interestingly though, the hymn that follows in this collection has the same metre, and I have to wonder if there is some relation. Speculation aside, Come Thou Long Expected Jesus is a hymn expressing Israel’s hope of the coming Messiah, and our hope in his return. Christ is further proclaimed as our King who should rule our hearts, and our Savior in whose merit we find salvation. For further thoughts on the theology of this hymn, see an article by Probe Ministries here. For the music, listen to the music video at the beginning of this post.
Come, thou long-expected Jesus, Born to set thy people free, From our fears and sins relieve us, Let us find our rest in thee: Israel’s strength and consolation, Hope of all the earth thou art, Dear desire of every nation, Joy of every longing heart.
Born thy people to deliver, Born a child and yet a King, Born to reign in us for ever, Now thy gracious kingdom bring; By thine own eternal Spirit, Rule in all our hearts alone, By thine all-sufficient merit Raise us to thy glorious throne.
Brian J. Mikul 