Christmas PlaylistSample

Hark! (a.k.a. Hey!)

Way back in 1739, Charles Wesley wrote a Christmas song soaked with Scripture. If “Away in a Manger” is like Cool Whip on a Christmas torte, Wesley’s “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” is like a simmering soup with 32 ingredients. Just consider the first quarter of the first verse: “Hark! The herald angels sing/‘Glory to the newborn King.’”

Hark! is an old-school word that means “Hey!” or “Don’t miss this!” Herald (not Harold!) means “messenger.” These angels were messengers who showed up and sang, “Hey! You! Pay attention!”

Why? Because there was a newborn King. How can a newborn be a king? If you’re the king and queen’s latest kid, you’re the newborn prince. So how could Jesus be the newborn King? Answer—Only if Jesus is God. Then he would be King and Lord from day one. The angels were singing, “Hey! That baby in the manger looks like just another kid, but he’s not. He’s more. He’s the newborn King! He’s Christ the Lord!”

This might seem basic if you’ve been a believer for a long time, but the baby Jesus is God. The little guy in Mary’s arms, wrapped in swaddling clothes, is the same Lord that angels bow down and worship. God should not be in such lowly places, but our God chose to dwell with us, to be among us, to become Immanuel, which means “God with us.”

Hark! Hey! Don’t miss this miracle! “A Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord” (Luke 2:11).