Everyone loves Christmas! And what would Christmas be without its carols? In 1739, one of the most theologically rich carols ever was penned: “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.” Its author, Charles Wesley, an itinerant evangelistic preacher and brother to John, was one of the most masterful hymn writers in history. In his lifetime, he wrote 6500 hymns (averaging more than two per week!). The lyrics we sing today are identical to Wesley’s original text in 1739, with one notable exception. His first line read, “Hark, how all the welkin rings.” Welkin means “heavens” or “sky.” George Whitefield, also an itinerant evangelistic preacher and friend to the Wesley brothers, recommended the change to the very familiar opening line.
Heavenly glory
This beloved carol transports singers and listeners to the hillside outside Bethlehem, ablaze with heavenly glory. Throughout this Christmas season, we will examine four lines from Wesley’s great hymn and explore the profound truths they hold.
The first line appears in the opening stanza: “Peace on earth, and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled!”
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 hosts proclaim,
"Christ is born in Bethlehem!"
Refrain:
Hark! the herald angels sing,
"Glory to the newborn King"
Christ, by highest heaven adored,
Christ, the everlasting Lord,
late in time behold him come,
offspring of the Virgin's womb:
veiled in flesh the Godhead see;
hail th'incarnate Deity,
pleased with us in flesh to dwell,
Jesus, our Immanuel.
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.
Mild he lays his glory by,
born that we no more may die,
born to raise us from the earth,
born to give us second birth.
Let’s consider the two profound halves of this proclamation, “Peace on earth, and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled!”
“Peace on earth...”
Wesley draws directly from Luke’s account of Jesus’ birth where the shepherds outside Bethlehem watch the heavens split open to reveal a multitude of angelic forces:
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 among those with whom he is pleased!” (Lk. 2:13-14)
The angelic announcement of peace is not sentimental but salvific. It’s not the gentle hush of a mother soothing her child - it is the promise of a transformed relationship between God and humanity. Paul tells us that before salvation we were Christ’s enemies,
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the flesh and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. (Eph 2:1-3)
Christ’s coming establishes peace between warring factions. Because of his sacrifice, those whose lives were once marked with hostility toward God and others may now experience shalom—the Hebrew word for peace that conveys safety, wholeness, and wellness.
Paul continues:
For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. (Eph. 2:14-17
Jesus’ arrival brings true and lasting peace!
“…and mercy mild.”
Jesus doesn’t just bring peace, it brings mercy: God shows compassion on the undeserving. What is mild mercy? Is that different from medium or hot mercy? Wesley is highlighting God’s humble and deliberate kindness. His mercy sooths that which is heated in this world.
Jude speaks of how this mild mercy of Christ ought to flavor our thoughts and prayers, “But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. And have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh” (Ju 1:20-23). As we attend to the mercy of Christ that mercy flows out of us toward those who struggle.
“God and sinners reconciled.”
Wesley affirms that this peace is, at its core, God’s peace treaty of sinners to himself. With this reconciliation comes joy! In Romans, Paul says, “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation” (Rom. 5:10-11).
As those who have received this mercy of reconciliation, we now bear the responsibility to share it with those around us. Paul says, “All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation” (2 Cor. 5:18-19).
Just as the angels proclaimed peace to the shepherds, we are called to proclaim the reconciling peace God has brought through the birth of His Son.
Peace has come.
You can be reconciled to your Creator.
Nat King Cole’s Hark the Herald Angels Sing