Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

One of the Christmas carols that I grew up singing as a little girl in the church Christmas play was “Hark!  The herald angels sing glory to the newborn King.  Peace on earth, and mercy mild; God and sinners reconciled.”

That is the reason why God the Father sent His Son, Jesus Christ, into this world as that baby born in Bethlehem...So we could be reconciled to Him.  “All these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ...God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them.  (2 Corinthians 5:18-19, New American Standard Bible)”  Every one of us needed a Savior to restore our broken relationship that we had with God.

As the second verse of that old Christmas carol exhorts us, this is the season to “Hail, the heaven-born Prince of Peace!  Hail, the Sun of Righteousness!  Light and life to all He brings; risen with healing in His wings.”  In Malachi 4:2, we find an Old Testament prophecy of Jesus: “But for you who fear My Name, The Sun Of Righteousness will rise with healing in His wings.  And you will go free, leaping with joy like calves let out to pasture.”  Christ is that “Sun Of Righteousness!”  In Him, there is life, and His life is the light that we need in our lives (see John 1:4).  Jesus was born into this world to die for the sins of this world.  He was crucified and laid to rest in a tomb, but He arose from the dead, and lives for evermore!  That is why we can sing, “He has risen with healing in His wings.”

All of these events in Christ’s life here on earth brought about our healing...our healing from the disease of sin.  All of us were born into sin, “for there is none righteous; no, not one.  (Romans 3:10)”  That is why the righteous Son of God became our perfect, ultimate sacrifice for our sins.  That is why God sent His Son into the world that first Christmas, so long ago.  If we know Christ, then we know that He has set us free from the bondage of sin, and we have a restored relationship with the Holy God.

The second verse of the song continues, “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.”  Jesus was mild, He was gentle.  He humbled Himself, and stepped down from the glory of Heaven.  God the Son took on human flesh when He came to this earth.  “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.  (2 Corinthians 8:9, NASB)  

“Born that man no more may die; born to raise the sons of earth...”  John 3:16 shows us that Christ was born so that death would not have victory over us.  “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  Jesus said, "For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.  (John 6:40, NASB)"

“Born to give them second birth...”  Jesus said, “Ye must be born again” (see John 3:3).  The One who said it made it possible.  By receiving Jesus Christ and believing on His Name, we are born of God and become His children.  This is our second birth!  (See John 1:12-13.)

This Christmas as we celebrate Jesus’ birth, I want to ask you if you have been born again.  I hope you see how much God loves you.  Our sins separated us from Him because He is holy, but when Christ died and rose again, He made a way for us to be forgiven and reconciled to God.  “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. (Romans 10:9-10, NASB)”  Tell the Lord that you are sorry for your sins.  Ask Him for forgiveness, and He will pardon you.  Ask Him for His help to live for Him and do what is right in His sight, and He will grant you strength and purify your heart.  Read His Word and live by it, and you’ll have a firm foundation for your life.  Pray to Him and praise Him, and you’ll find that He is ever so near to you.

This holiday season, all of these precious truths from the Bible give us reason to celebrate, and “leap with joy like calves let out to pasture.  (Malachi 4:2)”

This Christmas...Hark!  Listen!  Those angels still sing.  Join in with them.  Give glory to the King Of All Kings!