Gospel Gems in the Christmas Carols
Do you want to know a hidden treasure I’ve recently discovered?
You guessed it—Christmas carols! And not for the reasons you might think. While Christmas carols can certainly be melodically beautiful and nostalgic—I am most drawn to their deep, gospel-saturated lyrics.
There are several lyrically rich hymns to choose from—but for the sake of space, I will only expound upon my favorite one to hopefully display the hidden treasures in these lyrics.
Fair warning—I am not a theologian or a pastor, I am merely sharing my interpretation of the lyrics based on what I read in Scripture. For further consideration or study, I encourage you to read through the verses I reference of Tim Keller’s book, Hidden Christmas.
Let’s get to it!
Hark the Harold Angel’s Sing
While this hymn isn’t my favorite melodically—I find the lyrics absolutely mesmerizing. For those who don’t like to theologically nerd out like me, hang in there! Once we get past the image of white robed children’s choirs and paper angels, there is much depth beneath the papery surface of this carol.
Hark! the herald angels sing,
“Glory to the new-born King;
Peace on earth, and mercy mild;
God and sinners reconciled.”
Joyful, all ye nations, rise,
Join the triumph of the skies;
With angelic hosts proclaim,
“Christ is born in Bethlehem.”
The first stanza begins with the birth of Christ—calling for great joy and worship because this new-born king brings the glorious reconciliation between God and sinners. And as you can guess from the title, the Angels are ushering in this worship service.
Why is that worth noting? When Peter talks about the salvation of Christ for all willing humans, foretold by prophets ever since the beginning, he notes that “even angels long to look into these things” (1 Pet. 10-12). This is a perplexing verse that I don’t have all the answers to. One thing is quite clear— if angels, who have so much glory already, are enthusiastic about our salvation, how much more should we be? And if we aren’t, do we truly see and understand it the way they do?
The carol celebrates a gift worthy to evoke joy not only from the angelic hosts high in the heavens but to every single earthly nation—no matter the tribe, race, language or ethnicity (Rev. 7:9). This reminds us that the gospel harbors no ethnic or gender hierarchies, and “we are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28).
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 as man with man to dwell,
Jesus our Immanuel.
This stanza begins to describe who this new-born king, this Christ, really is. He is the everlasting Lord, but enters our scene as the “offspring of the virgin’s womb,” born of a virgin teenage girl, a commoner, in such a manner that would have brought more gossip and scandal that it would reverence and recognition (Matt. 1). This king came in humility—not pomp and circumstance.
But the most amazing part? I can never get over the beauty of this stance: “Veiled in flesh the Godhead see, Hail th’ incarnate Deity.” What does that mean? The Godhead veiled in flesh? The invisible God in the form of a mortal man? Yes! The Godhead see. Hebrews says, “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature” (Heb. 1:3).
Jesus, who is God in the Son, came to wear human flesh. He veiled his incarnate deity in the very frail flesh of humans! To identify with us. To walk this broken earth and know exactly what it’s like to be mocked, scorned, alone, misunderstood, and tempted to sin in every way that we are but remained obedient (Heb. 4:15). He was truly “pleased as man with man to dwell, Jesus our Immanuel,” he really was pleased to dwell with us! That’s why Immanuel means, “God with us.” God with us! (Matt. 1:23, Is. 9:6)
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.
The next stanza praises the light, life, healing and righteousness that Christ brings. I find it interesting that the word “Sun” was used instead of “Son,” as it reminds me of the depiction of Christ as our sun in the future new heavens and new earth (Rev. 22:5)—though it could definitely be applied to “Son” as well, as he identifies as the “Son of God” (Matt 3:17).
But then we get to the climax—the highest, truest purpose of this carol—what this Christ actually came to do. “Mild He lays His glory by,” he lays his glory by—he surrenders it (John 10:18). He doesn’t blast apart those who oppose him, he doesn’t overthrow the worldly empires in a coup. He mildly lays his glory, the glory of all the heavens, in exchange for the form of a humble, human servant (Phil. 2:7). Why?
Because he was “Born that man no more may die; Born to raise the sons of earth; Born to give them second birth,” he was born to reverse the curse of death! First by saving us from the curse of spiritual death—sin—life apart from his fellowship (Rom. 5, Gal. 3:13). And then he reverses the curse of physical death—in the promise of future resurrection and life eternal (1 Corin. 15)! He was born for us. He laid his glory by for us (2 Corin. 5:21).
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;
Adam’s likeness now efface,
Stamp Thine image in its place:
Final Adam from above,
Reinstate us in Thy love.
Wow. Who knew that those familiar tunes in children’s choirs and background music held such theological depth? This last stanza is perhaps the most probing of all—taking us back to the fall of man. It’s some pretty thick theological symbolism and typology but I’ll try my best to unpack it the way I see it!
God’s promise to Adam, after he disobeyed God and therefore ushered in the presence of sin, brokenness and death, was to one day bring a deliverer who would strike the head of the serpent after the serpent bruised his heel (Genesis 3:15). Meaning, there would be a savior to vanquish the power and eventual existence of the serpent (meaning Satan) and the power of sin, death and evil for those who trust in him (Col. 2:15). The New Testament revealed that deliverer as Jesus, the “desire of nations” and the “woman’s conquering seed,” for he was descended from Eve to conquer very forces of evil that were ushered into the world through their initial act of disobedience (Rom. 5:12-21).
This hymn-writer humbly identifies as a sinner, asking the “conquering seed” (Christ) to bruise the “serpent’s head” within him, what I believe he means as the enslaving presence of indwelling sin, originating from the first act of disobedience in the garden (Gen. 3). And then he asks to have this deliverer’s image stamped in the place where Adam’s likeness resides. I believe he means, to invite Immanuel to renew him from the inside out—enabling him to truly obey God with a sincere heart (Rom. 7:13-25; 2 Corin. 3:18). He acknowledges Christ as the final Adam, who brings salvation and life rather than death, (Rom 5:14-17) and longs to be “reinstated” in his love. The hymn-writer is nothing short of enamored with his redeemer’s love.
A Hidden Treasure
Not such a cutesy children’s choir song anymore, is it?
In the way that these staggering gospel proclamations tend to hide behind a blur of familiarity and nostalgia, so too can our idea of Christmas. Years go by, we’ve heard the story and the carols, and somehow it becomes harder to be truly moved by sheer shock and magnificence of this Christmas story. I know that is the case for me.
But the truths these carols sing of are no cutesy children’s story —they are life and power! They are astounding and worthy of deep consideration. Believing and truly grasping their meaning can be so difficult sometimes—but when we dare to believe that they are even true for us, suddenly these routine songs and stories of baby Jesus’ birth become a blazing inferno of immeasurable love, sustaining comfort and joy in the present as we await future glories.
Final Words
Some other Christmas Carols that pack a pretty mean gospel punch are “Joy to the World,” “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,” “O Come O Come Emmanuel,” and “Come Thou Long Expected Jesus”. “O Come O Come Emmanuel” is absolutely packed with gospel motifs and would be another excellent carol to expound on.
Hopefully now you can think about these hymns in a different way—and maybe they will mean something deeper to you this Christmas!