Hal Young's Blog, page 58

Igloos, Snow Joes, and Shoveling

Last night at 3am there wasn't a flake to be seen, but by 6am snow was absolutely everywhere. No big deal if you live in Maine, but in eastern North Carolina, it's a very rare occurrence. The biggest snow we'd had was the snow-icaine of 2000. We got 11 inches, which is about 5 times as much as usual, and Hal built a small igloo in the backyard with our boys. It was an incredible memory, the most snow we'd ever seen in the South.

Today has exceeded even that, with what looks like 12 inches on the ground. It's the lightest, fluffiest snow and the trees are just covered in it. Totally gorgeous!

The big guys realized that four of our children had not even been born when we had the big snow of 2000, so they'd missed the igloo! They spent the afternoon working on an even bigger model than the legendary one.

Growing up, my mom always made snow cream (but never from the first snow of the season, though we've abandoned that rule as lacking scientific basis , but what we really loved were her Snow Joes.  I've never heard of anyone else making such a thing, but it was like snow cream, but chocolate. I remember that Hershey's syrup was involved, but unable to find any reference anywhere, I made up our own recipe that is sooooooo easy! I always make extra hot chocolate, just for these:

Snow Joe

Snow Joes

Leftover hot chocolate, chilled in fridge. Hot chocolate made from milk, sugar and Hershey's syrup or cocoa is the best!

Clean, fresh snow.

Mix until the texture of homemade ice cream and eat.

See, I told you they were easy to make – and incredibly wonderful! Try it! (For the OCD, I used a little less than a quart of formerly hot chocolate to a monstrous mixing bowl of snow, perhaps two gallons, and it was plenty for my ten.)

Our big boys decided to see if they could help out some folks this afternoon and walked around the neighborhood offering to shovel folk's driveways and walks. One older lady took them up on it, and delighted them by offering them $10 afterward, but most folks said, "I've got a son that ought to be out there doing it. In fact, he ought to be doing what you're doing!" I told them, "Well, at least you're increasing expectations."

I think I'll go make some Snow Joes…

HOTW: Why This Jubilee?

Yesterday's stanza was the voice of shepherds who heard the angels. Today's verse is the question of those who only heard the shepherds:

Adoration of the Shepherds, Matthias Stomer, 1635-40, NC Museum of Art

 

Shepherds, why this jubilee?

Why your joyous strains prolong?

What the gladsome tidings be

Which inspire your heavenly song?

Gloria, in excelsis Deo!

Gloria, in excelsis Deo!

In the first verse, the shepherds listened to the joyous strains of the angels' song, echoing from the hills all around. Now they've caught that spirit, and the person they encounter on the road witnesses a shepherd jubilee, as they sing their own joyous strain. Were they imitating the music they heard from the angels? To the listener, it seems to be a heavenly song. 

To be perfectly accurate, the Bible doesn't say the shepherds sang on the way.  When they heard the good news of the Messiah's birth, they went to Bethlehem "with haste," and when they'd seen the Child, "they returned glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen"  (Luke 2:16, 20).  However, there are many events in the Bible where Jewish believers broke out in spontaneous singing in times of great joy.  Is it a stretch of the imagination to think that these shepherds might have been overcome with happiness, too?

Hymn of the Week: Angels We Have Heard On High

This week before Christmas, we thought it would be fun to have a hymn that was really triumphant and joyful.   What is more joyful than the angels who announced the arrival of the long-promised Messiah?

Adoration of the Shepherds, Fray Juan Bautista Maino, 1612

Angels We Have Heard On High

Words: Traditional, trans. from French by James Chadwick, 1862

Music: Traditional French carol

Angels we have heard on high

Sweetly singing o'er the plains,

And the mountains in reply

Echoing their joyous strains.

Refrain:

Gloria, in excelsis Deo!

Gloria, in excelsis Deo!

Shepherds, why this jubilee?

Why your joyous strains prolong?

What the gladsome tidings be

Which inspire your heavenly song?

Refrain

Come to Bethlehem and see

Christ Whose birth the angels sing;

Come, adore on bended knee,

Christ the Lord, the newborn King.

Refrain

See Him in a manger laid,

Whom the choirs of angels praise;

Mary, Joseph, lend your aid,

While our hearts in love we raise.

Refrain

There is some interesting discussion about where and when this carol was written, but everyone agrees it was translated from French to English by James Chadwick in the early 1860′s.  The imagined speaker in the song is one of the shepherds, describing the sound of the angels singing in the heavens overhead, and the sound echoing from the mountains around them.

It's interesting to realize that this is exactly what you would expect from a real, audible, earth-shaking sound — not a dream or an imagination, but the truth.  A huge choir of angels sang with a mighty voice that literally shook the air and the hillsides!

They probably didn't sing in Latin, though.  Gloria in excelsis Deo is a Latin phrase which means, "Glory to God in the highest!", as recorded in Luke 2:13-14.  It is said that the Latin phrase has been used by believers as a call to worship since the 2nd Century!  You can often see it as an inscription on windows, stone, and woodwork in churches, especially older Catholic churches where Latin was part of the worship service well into the 20th Century. 

Whatever language men or angels use, though, certainly we can borrow an old Christian tradition and sing Glory to God in the Highest in a beautiful old language!

HOTW: Born This Happy Morning

O Come All Ye Faithful

Simeon and Anna Recognize the Lord in Jesus, Rembrandt, 1627

Yea, Lord, we greet Thee, born this happy morning;

Jesus, to Thee be all glory given;

Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing.

What a happy day indeed that saw the promises fulfilled – a Savior born to a fallen world! This verse makes me think of Simeon and Anna in the temple, though they did not find out until the Babe was eight days old. Do you know their story? Simeon had been promised by the Spirit that He would not see death before he had seen the Messiah. Can you imagine that old man's joy in seeing the promises come true? And Anna, an elderly widow who shared the hope of the Savior with Temple-goers night and day. It delights me to think of their expressions when they saw their Infant King! Read their stories in Luke 2:21-39.

As we have studied this week, Jesus, the King whose birth we celebrate at Christmas, is fully man, but also fully God. As God, He should be worshipped and given glory. John 1:14 says:

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

And so, Jesus is the Word of God become flesh, a man, in order to take the punishment for our sins so that we could be reconciled to God. His birth is a joyous occasion, but we should remember that the joy comes from our Father God's love for us:

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16

Let's not ever forget that! The joy of Christmas is our joy in God's tender love for us, that He sent His Son to live as one of us and to die in our place. Thank you, dear Father.

HOTW: Sing, All Ye Citizens of Heaven!

Rembrandt, "The Angel Appearing to the Shepherds," etching, 1634

Sing, choirs of angels, sing in exultation;

O sing, all ye citizens of heaven above!

Glory to God, all glory in the highest;

Angels are God's messengers, and they appear all through the story of Christ's birth — the angel Gabriel explained God's plan for Jesus' birth to Mary (Luke 1:26-38) and then to Joseph (Matthew 1:18-25), and later an unnamed angel warned Joseph to take Jesus and Mary to Egypt for His safety (Matthew 2:13-15).  The most famous appearance, though, is a multitude of them who appeared to shepherds:

Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.  And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid.  Then the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.  For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.  And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger."

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:

" Glory to God in the highest,

And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!"

(Luke 2:8-14)

So in this verse, we aren't just surprised like the shepherds were — we're cheering the angels on!  "Sing, choirs of angels! Sing in exaltation!"

And while the verse speaks of angels, we can also remember that  believers here on earth are also "citizens of heaven above."  Paul says that we believers are "no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God"  (Ephesians 2:19) — "For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ." (Philippians 3:20)

This Christmas, we can raise our voices and join with the angels', to praise the newborn and everlasting King!

Tip for Singing: Remember that Paul said we are supposed to be "speaking and admonishing one another" with our songs of worship ( ). That means our words should make sense!  And sometimes we have to think while we're singing.   There are two ways to sing this verse — one sounds like:

Glory to God all,

Glory in the highest

Doesn't it sound better if you sing it like you'd say it?

Glory to God,

All / Glory in the highest

So remember — you're not singing to "God-all," but instead you're singing "Glory to God," [yes indeed!] "All glory in the highest!"

HOTW: God of God, Light of Light

O Come All Ye Faithful  

 

Have you ever repeated a creed in church? Many of us have at least heard before The Apostle's Creed, "I believe in God the Father, Maker of Heaven and Earth," is how it begins. Why do churches do that?

In the early years of the church, just like today, the church was plagued by those who wanted to twist the truth of God's Word to advance their own agenda. The Council of Nicea, a meeting of Christian leaders from all over the known world, was confronted by one of these heresies at their meeting in the year 325. The Arian heresy, named after Arius, one of the men teaching it, had been spreading through many churches. The Arians taught that Jesus Christ was not God, but merely a created being.

Why do we call that a heresy? A heresy is an untruth, or lie, taught about God and His Word. We know that the Arians were teaching heresy because their doctrine is contradicted by the Word of God.  John 1 teaches:

 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. 8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. 9 That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

The Council decided that it was important for real Christians to have a statement that they could all agree on setting forth the essentials of the faith. That statement, as edited by subsequent church councils, became the Nicene Creed, and it is not only one of the most ancient creeds, or doctrinal statements, but it is the only one used frequently in Protestant, Orthodox and Roman Catholic assemblies.

The second verse of O Come All Ye Faithful is taken from the Nicene Creed. In fact, the Latin is taken word for word from the creed. Here's the creed, translated into English:

I believe in one God,

the Father Almighty,

maker of heaven and earth,

and of all things visible and invisible;

And in one Lord Jesus Christ,

the only begotten Son of God,

begotten of his Father before all worlds,

God of God, Light of Light,

very God of very God,

begotten, not made,

being of one substance with the Father;

by whom all things were made;

who for us men and for our salvation

came down from heaven,

and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost

of the Virgin Mary,

and was made man;

and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate;

he suffered and was buried;

and the third day he rose again

according to the Scriptures,

and ascended into heaven,

and sitteth on the right hand of the Father;

and he shall come again, with glory,

to judge both the quick and the dead;

whose kingdom shall have no end.

And I believe in the Holy Ghost the Lord, and Giver of Life,

who proceedeth from the Father [and the Son];

who with the Father and the Son together

is worshipped and glorified;

who spake by the Prophets.

And I believe one holy catholic* and apostolic Church;

I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins;

and I look for the resurrection of the dead,

and the life of the world to come. AMEN.

 And now, let's look at the stanza for today:

God of God, Light of Light,**

Lo, He abhors not the Virgin's womb;

Son of the Father, begotten, not created;

Do you see where in the creed the different phrases come from? Can you find several of those same phrases in John 1? This is a direct counter to the Arian heresy: Jesus is God of God – the same substance as God the Father. Light of light was a favorite explanation of the co-existence of God the Father and God the Son used by Athanasius, the chief defender of the truth at the council. Many times in Scripture light is used to describe Jesus (Isaiah 9:2, Isaiah 60:1-3, John 1:4-9 above)  You can click here for a more in depth discussion.

Also, Jesus is the Son of the Father, begotten, not created. Jesus is not a part of the creation, but is instead the Creator. It makes all the difference in the world. A mere man could not have died for any sins but his own, only a sinless, infinite God could have died for the sins of many.

The most questions people have about this verse come from the second line, but it is quite understandable when you know church history. Even before the Arians, there was the gnostic heresy which taught that the material world, all matter, is evil and that as a pure spirit – God would abhor becoming flesh. They did not believe that Jesus was a material being at all, but only appeared to come in the flesh. Just as the Arians denied Christ was God, the Gnostics denied that He was man. If He had not come in the flesh, He could not have lived a holy life and died for our sins. The Gnostics teach that man is saved by special knowledge that enables him to gradually leave the material body and become pure spirit.

Why are we going into all this ancient Church history? Because these heresies are alive and well. If you think about it, you can probably identify three or four major cults that teach one of these heresies. Every cult denies at least one of these very essentials of the faith: Christ is God come in the flesh, both God and man, and salvation is by faith in Christ's substitutionary death alone, not by works or knowledge. It's essential to teach our children the truth of God and to point out the problems in the counterfeits that Satan will put in their paths.

Enjoy singing with your children the words that Christians have been saying to affirm the essentials of the faith for nearly 1700 years! 

*Catholic, in this creed, is a word meaning universal, all Christians everywhere.

**And, if you're wondering how in the world to sing the first line, it's like this: God uh-of Go-od, Li-ight uh-of Li-ights.

HOTW: Come and behold Him

   O Come All Ye Faithful  

The Adoration of the Magi, Botticelli, 1475

O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant,

O come ye, O come ye, to Bethlehem.

Come and behold Him, born the King of angels;

Refrain

O come, let us adore Him,

O come, let us adore Him,

O come, let us adore Him,

Christ the Lord.

The first verse of this lovely hymn calls the faithful to Bethlehem to behold the newborn King. Why are they joyful and triumphant? Because at last their Messiah is come to conquer sin and death!

"Come to Bethlehem," is an invitation full of meaning because more than 500 years before Christ's birth, the prophet Micah (5:2) announced:

 "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting."

Bethlehem was the chosen birthplace of the King of Israel who was from old, from everlasting. In other words, the eternal God! It is amazing to think that the Lord would lead Caesar Augustus in far away Rome to call for a census at the perfect time to require Joseph and Mary to be in Bethlehem the very day the Christ Child was to be born. Read Luke 2:1-6. We serve a mighty and sovereign God, who holds the heart of the king in his hand to do with it what He will, as it says in Proverbs 21:1.

What does it mean to adore Him? The word adore means to worship as God. Kind of makes you wonder why we find ourselves saying we "adore chocolate" or "adore kittens." The meaning of words does change over the years and adorable now means cute and loveable, but adore in this refrain definitely means to worship, to lovingly honor and respect.

Before we close, I'd like to say a few words about the artwork we chose to go with this verse. It's the "Adoration of the Magi", which means the worship of the wise men, and it was painted by Sandro Botticelli, an Italian Renaissance master, in 1475. Do you notice that many of the magi are dressed in Renaissance style clothing? Many artists dressed Biblical characters in their own fashion (and ethnicity!), not out of ignorance, but in an effort to help people see themselves in the story. In fact, several of the characters seen in this painting were modeled on individuals in the Medici family, rulers of Florence, where Botticelli worked.

Next, notice the crumbling columns in the background.  We have a reproduction of an Old Master in our house that shows the Christ Child and lamb on Classical ruins. Interest in the Classical time period revived in the Renaissance, so they were very interested in those subjects, but I have often wondered if the artists were showing the Classical civilizations of Rome and Greece crumbing under their sin, while Christ comes to the fore. This painting is currently held in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence and our son Caleb visited there in October. When he gets home, I'll ask him if he saw this masterpiece.

See you tomorrow!

Hymn of the Week: O Come All Ye Faithful / Adeste Fideles

For many years, we've taught our children the hymns of the faith through what we call the Hymn of the Week. Each day we sing all the verses of the song we're learning and explain one of the verses. By the end of the week, even the young children have learned to sing the hymn and understand it. We can sing for hours in the van without a hymnbook – such a blessing! Last week and this, we decided to share our Hymn of the Week studies with you. Enjoy!

Adoration of the Magi, Rubens, 1617-18

O Come All Ye Faithful/Adeste Fideles

O Come All Ye Faithful is the English translation of the Latin hymn Adestes Fideles. There is a great deal of dispute as to who wrote it. A variety of authors have been proposed, from St. Bonaventure in the 13th Century to King John IV, the Musician King, of Portugal, when his daughter Catherine traveled to England to marry King Charles II. A likely author and probable composer is John Francis Wade, who first published the hymn text and tune together in his Cantus Diversi in 1751. Whole academic dissertations have been written on the origin of this great hymn.

Starting tonight, we'll be publishing each day an explanation of one verse of O Come All Ye Faithful. Did you know one verse is taken almost exactly from the ancient Nicene Creed? We'll also be learning about the role of angels in Scripture and who is called the Word. Click on the title to get the tune.

O Come All Ye Faithful

O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant,

O come ye, O come ye, to Bethlehem.

Come and behold Him, born the King of angels;

Refrain

O come, let us adore Him,

O come, let us adore Him,

O come, let us adore Him,

Christ the Lord.

God of God, Light of Light,

Lo, He abhors not the Virgin's womb;

Son of the Father, begotten, not created;

Refrain

Sing, choirs of angels, sing in exultation;

O sing, all ye citizens of heaven above!

Glory to God, all glory in the highest;

Refrain

Yea, Lord, we greet Thee, born this happy morning;

Jesus, to Thee be all glory given;

Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing.

Refrain

If you are studying Latin with your children, or plan to, they may really enjoy singing the original Latin words.

Adeste Fideles laeti triumphantes,

Veníte, veníte in Bethlehem.

Natum vidéte, Regem Angelorum:

Veníte adoremus,

Veníte adoremus

Veníte adoremus Dóminum

Deum de Deo, lumen de lúmine,

gestant puellae viscera

Deum verum, genitum non factum:

Refrain

Cantet nunc io chorus Angelórum

cantet nunc aula caelestium:

Gloria in excelsis Deo:

Refrain

Ergo qui natus, die hodierna

Jesu, tibi sit glória

Patris aeterni Verbum caro factum:

Refrain

There are four additional verses written by a Catholic priest in the mid 1800s. Our family had never heard these before this year, but our son tells us they are much more common in England and Europe. We won't be discussing these, but are including them for your interest.

See how the shepherds, summoned to His cradle,

Leaving their flocks, draw nigh to gaze;

We too will thither bend our joyful footsteps;

Refrain

Lo! star led chieftains, Magi, Christ adoring,

Offer Him incense, gold, and myrrh;

We to the Christ Child bring our hearts' oblations.

Refrain

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?

Refrain

Thanks for worshipping with us this week! See you this evening with the verse for tomorrow!

Please leave us a comment and let us know what you think about the idea of our upcoming Hymn of the Week curriculum.

Hymn of the Week: O Come All Ye Faithful, Adeste Fideles

For many years, we've taught our children the hymns of the faith through what we call the Hymn of the Week. Each day we sing all the verses of the song we're learning and explain one of the verses. By the end of the week, even the young children have learned to sing the hymn and understand it. We can sing for hours in the van without a hymnbook – such a blessing! Last week and this, we decided to share our Hymn of the Week studies with you. Enjoy!

Adoration of the Magi, Rubens, 1617-18

 O Come All Ye Faithful/Adeste Fideles

O Come All Ye Faithful is the English translation of the Latin hymn Adestes Fideles. There is a great deal of dispute as to who wrote it. A variety of authors have been proposed, from St. Bonaventure in the 13th Century to King John IV, the Musician King, of Portugal, when his daughter Catherine traveled to England to marry King Charles II. A likely author and probable composer is John Francis Wade, who first published the hymn text and tune together in his Cantus Diversi in 1751. Whole academic dissertations have been written on the origin of this great hymn.

Starting tonight, we'll be publishing each day an explanation of one verse of O Come All Ye Faithful. Did you know one verse is taken almost exactly from the ancient Nicene Creed? We'll also be learning about the role of angels in Scripture and who is called the Word. Click on the title to get the tune.

O Come All Ye Faithful 

O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant,

O come ye, O come ye, to Bethlehem.

Come and behold Him, born the King of angels;

Refrain

O come, let us adore Him,

O come, let us adore Him,

O come, let us adore Him,

Christ the Lord.

God of God, Light of Light,

Lo, He abhors not the Virgin's womb;

Son of the Father, begotten, not created;

Refrain

Sing, choirs of angels, sing in exultation;

O sing, all ye citizens of heaven above!

Glory to God, all glory in the highest;

Refrain

Yea, Lord, we greet Thee, born this happy morning;

Jesus, to Thee be all glory given;

Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing.

Refrain

If you are studying Latin with your children, or plan to, they may really enjoy singing the original Latin words.

Adeste Fideles laeti triumphantes,

Veníte, veníte in Bethlehem.

Natum vidéte, Regem Angelorum:

Veníte adoremus,

Veníte adoremus

Veníte adoremus Dóminum

Deum de Deo, lumen de lúmine,

gestant puellae viscera

Deum verum, genitum non factum:

Refrain

Cantet nunc io chorus Angelórum

cantet nunc aula caelestium:

Gloria in excelsis Deo:

Refrain

Ergo qui natus, die hodierna

Jesu, tibi sit glória

Patris aeterni Verbum caro factum:

Refrain

There are four additional verses written by a Catholic priest in the mid 1800s. Our family had never heard these before this year, but our son tells us they are much more common in England and Europe. We won't be discussing these, but are including them for your interest.

See how the shepherds, summoned to His cradle,

Leaving their flocks, draw nigh to gaze;

We too will thither bend our joyful footsteps;

Refrain

Lo! star led chieftains, Magi, Christ adoring,

Offer Him incense, gold, and myrrh;

We to the Christ Child bring our hearts' oblations.

Refrain

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?

Refrain

Thanks for worshipping with us this week! See you this evening with the verse for tomorrow!

Please leave us a comment and let us know what you think about the idea of our upcoming Hymn of the Week curriculum.

 

 

HOTW: Second Adam from Above

Welcome to the last post in our series on Hark the Herald Angels Sing. If this is the first one you've seen, you may want to begin with our Introduction.

The Garden of Eden, Jan Brueghel the Elder, 1615

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, Lord, efface,

Stamp Thine image in its place:

Second Adam from above,

Reinstate us in Thy love.

The fourth verse and last verse that we sing uses the first four lines of the last two original verses, but it works together incredibly well. This verse addresses the protoevangelium. That's a very big word, but it just means the early or first gospel, when our dear Father gave Adam and Eve hope for the Savior to come in Genesis 3:15. Speaking to the serpent, Satan, He said,

"And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel."

"Rise, the woman's conquering Seed," the carol tell us. It was now time for the Savior who was promised at the beginning of the world to come and restore our nature which was ruined in the Fall. His coming and dying paid the penalty for the sins of God's people so that they could be reconciled to God. And He is coming for all of His people, more than just the children of Abraham — Haggai 2:7 tells us the Gentile nations will come to Him as well. He is what they are longing for; He is the Desire of Nations.

The last part of the verse teaches us about Christ as the second Adam. I Corinthians 15:22 teaches us about this beginning with, "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive." and don't miss Romans 5:12-19 and especially, "For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous." Another reference to the Lord as the second Adam is in I Corinthians 15: 45, "And so it is written, "The first man Adam became a living being." The last Adam became a life-giving spirit." Efface means to wipe out, and Colossians 3:8-10 explains that we have to put off the old man and put on the new. Romans 8:29 says that we should be conformed to the image of Christ, which is why the hymn says "stamp Thine image in its place."

This last verse reminds us that the Lord Jesus Christ's birth  (and death) is the culmination of thousands of years of prophecies beginning in the Garden of Eden. There is incredible theological and devotional richness in this Christmas hymn and we've enjoyed studying it again with our children this week. Was it a help to you? We're working on a curriculum to help teach the hymns of the faith to our children, not just the words and tunes, but the meaning and Scripture references, too, without each family having to search out all the cross-references and definitions themselves. It would be done for you, like in these posts. Would you like that? Leave us a comment!

Hark the Herald Angels Sing

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!"

Refrain:

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.

Refrain

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.

Refrain

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, Lord, efface,

Stamp Thine image in its place:

Second Adam from above,

Reinstate us in Thy love.