A Christmas Devotional By Darlene ZschechSampl

O Come All Ye Faithful

I have sung this song and led many in worship through the beauty of these words literally hundreds and hundreds of times. The lyric and melody never get old. “O come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.” Really, worship doesn't get simpler or more powerful than that. It’s the eternal call for us to lean our hearts heavenward, to come and adore Jesus, to behold Him in all His glorious beauty, and to join in the songs of angels as they declare His glory. As we see in Luke 2, as the angel announces Jesus’ birth, all of heaven joins in a song of worship. 

There are so many songs like this one, written to locate us in a moment of surrender, and there is nothing quite like the power of a simple melody and powerful poetry to help gather our hearts toward heaven. For many years, this hymn was known as an anonymous Latin hymn, however, recent findings revealed manuscripts that tell it was written in 1744 by an English layman named John Wade and set to music by him in much the same style used today. It was probably written on a harpsichord, an early piano, or a harp, much like I would sit at a piano and create today. One hundred years later, the carol was translated into its present English form by an Anglican minister, Frederick Oakeley, who wanted to use it for his congregation. The translated original Latin text literally means “be present or near, ye faithful.”

I encourage you to remember, as you sing this song this Christmas, to truly enter into the moment of worship as you declare His goodness and enjoy His presence.