O Holy Night, Carols, 2 December 2012
O Holy Night (Cantique de Noël)
Lamentations 3:18-26
Big Idea: Knowing Jesus provides a thrill of hope in our weary world if we are willing to wait.
Welcome to the first Sunday of Advent. Advent is about expectant waiting and preparation. For generations, the Israelites awaited the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. We are awaiting His return. We are in between His first and second visits to our planet. We look back and forward.
In some traditions, December 25 is the beginning of the festivities, while for most in our culture it is the climax. This is the month of preparing for Christmas Day—shopping, wrapping, parties, baking, …and music!
Just for the record, I believe Christmas music should begin when we see Santa in the Thanksgiving Day parade. That is the signal to me that the season has officially started.
Anyone that knows me even casually knows that I love music. I’m a third-generation musician and I love everything about music. I suppose that’s why Christmas music is so meaningful to me. It is the soundtrack of the season, but more than that, its lyrics convey the true meaning of Christmas.
I’m not talking about “Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer” or “I Want A Hippopotamus for Christmas.” I’m thinking more about the Christmas carols.
I have a confession to make. I love music, have over 20,000 songs in my iTunes library, and listen to music daily, but I rarely pay attention to the lyrics.
Sometimes, that’s a good thing, for song lyrics are often misunderstood, something known as mondegreen. Consider these examples:
Deck the Halls
Deck the halls with Buddy Holly
Deck the halls with boughs of holly
The First Noel
The first Noel, the angels did say, was to frighten poor shepherds..
The first Noel, the angels did say, was to certain poor shepherds..
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
Get dressed ye married gentlemen, let nothing through this May
God rest ye merry, gentlemen, let nothing you dismay
We Three Kings
We three kings of Oregon are, bearing gifts, we travel so far.
We three kings of Orient are, bearing gifts we traverse afar
Silent Night
Silent night, holy night, all is calm, all is bright, round young virgin…
Silent night, holy night, all is calm, all is bright, ‘round yon virgin…
Joy To The World
Joy to the world! The Lord has gum.
Joy to the world! The Lord is come.
During the next four weeks during our preparation for Jesus’ birthday celebration, we’re going to look at four classic Christmas Carols, their lyrics, and their biblical message. It is my hope and prayer that as you hear these songs, you’ll not only hum the melody, you’ll think about the timeless message.
O Holy Night
This week’s carol is O Holy Night. It is one of my all-time favorite songs. I have more than 30 different recordings of it.
History
Here’s a bit of background to the song. In 1847, a parish priest asked a French wine seller, Placide Cappeau, to write a poem for Christmas. His Jewish friend, Adolphe Charles Adams, added the music. What is fascinating is that neither Cappeau nor Adams were Christians, but God used them to tell the Christmas story like no other.
On Christmas Eve in 1906, a Canadian inventor, Reginald Fessenden, did the first-ever AM radio broadcast which included a reading of Luke 2 and him playing this song on the violin.
Lyrics
O Holy Night! The stars are brightly shining, It is the night of the dear Savior's birth. Long lay the world in sin and error pining. Till He appeared and the Spirit felt its worth. A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices, For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn. Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices! O night divine, the night when Christ was born; O night, O Holy Night , O night divine! O night, O Holy Night , O night divine!
Led by the light of faith serenely beaming, With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand. O'er the world a star is sweetly gleaming,
Now come the wise men from out of the Orient land. The King of kings lay thus lowly manger; In all our trials born to be our friends.
He knows our need, our weakness is no stranger, Behold your King! Before him lowly bend! Behold your King! Before him lowly bend!
Truly He taught us to love one another, His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains he shall break, for the slave is our brother. And in his name all oppression shall cease. Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we, With all our hearts we praise His holy name. Christ is the Lord! Then ever, ever praise we, His power and glory ever more proclaim! His power and glory ever more proclaim!
Title
The word “holy” means set apart, sacred. Although God is holy, the song title refers to how sacred and distinct the first Christmas was.
Focus
We could spend all day dissecting the lyrics, but I want to focus on one sentence.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
We live in a weary world. Anxiety, fear, disease, uncertainty, and depression are everywhere. Such was the scene 2000 years ago.
The Roman Empire ruled and oppressed the people, especially the Jews that were longing for the promised Messiah to come and deliver them.
If that weren’t enough, imagine Mary and Joseph traveling between 80 and 120 miles to register for the census—on foot, or possibly with the aid of a donkey. Some of us complain when we’re in the car for 2 hours. Imagine their journey!
Is your world weary? For many, this season is one of celebration, but for others it can be downright depressing. They say that the holiday amplify your emotions, be they positive or negative.
Notice the words that surround “the weary world.”
“A thrill of hope” and “rejoices.”
There is a thrill of hope in the midst of the chaos of the holy night.
What a paradox!
The Bible records another scene of a weary world. The date is 586 BC. The Holy Temple has been destroyed. The city of Jerusalem was a wreck. The people were distraught. Jeremiah was lamenting. In fact, he wrote an entire book filled with his mourning, wailing, and weeping called…Lamentations.
So I say, “My splendor is gone and all that I had hoped from the LORD.” I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. (Lamentations 3:18-20)
Can you picture his weary world?
Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: (Lamentations 3:21)
This sounds promising. Notice that it is not on the front of his mind, but he will call it to mind. He remembers there is hope. What is it?
Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. (Lamentations 3:22)
They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:23)
Notice how he shifts from talking about God to praying to God. Great is Your faithfulness.
I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD. (Lamentations 3:24-26)
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
This season we are preparing for the arrival of Jesus, celebrating His first arrival and awaiting His return.
When your world is weary, Jesus can bring a thrill of hope that causes you to rejoice.
Jesus brings us what we need.
This is not always what we want, but He provides for our needs. He is our portion as it says in verse 24. Scholars have debated what this word “portion” means exactly, but many believe is refers to the Israelites in the desert when God provided their portion of manna for that day. They needed God every day. Hoarding would result in rotten manna. Jesus taught us to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.” God already has everything you need for tomorrow. He is already there. You can be here, today.
Our family hymn is Great Is They Faithfulness, taken from this passage of Lamentations. One of my favorite lines is “strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow.” That’s what He offers. He is our portion and will provide what we need today. We have hope for tomorrow, too, but we must wait for it.
Jesus brings us the hope to keep going.
It is the thrill of hope in a weary world. Notice the next line of the song says “for yonder breaks/a new and glorious morn.” A new morning is coming. God is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him (25).
It has been said that we can live 40 days without food, 8 days without water, 4 minutes without oxygen, a few seconds without hope. People put their hope in risky places—bad relationships, a shaky stock market, politicians, sports teams, …
Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. (Hebrews 10:23)
Don’t ever let go…hold on to the hope, not the fear and anxiety we talked about last week (Phil. 4:6).
Finally, Jesus brings the help we are seeking.
Verse 26…sometimes you have to wait. The Jews waited for generations for the Messiah. We have been waiting 2000 years for His return.
One encounter with Jesus makes all the difference.
Because Jesus is here you can have hope in the middle of the night.
And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. (Romans 13:11-12)
The night is nearly over and the day is almost here.
I was working on this message sitting in a hospital waiting room, wondering when the night would be over.
I still don’t know, but I have hope!
The sun/Son always rises again.
As Tony Campolo likes to say at Eastertime, It’s Friday…but Sunday’s coming!
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Credits: Series theme and various ideas from Craig Groeschel, LifeChurch.tv
You can listen to the podcast here.
You can view a music video of O Holy Night from LifeChurch.tv here.
Lamentations 3:18-26
Big Idea: Knowing Jesus provides a thrill of hope in our weary world if we are willing to wait.
Welcome to the first Sunday of Advent. Advent is about expectant waiting and preparation. For generations, the Israelites awaited the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. We are awaiting His return. We are in between His first and second visits to our planet. We look back and forward.
In some traditions, December 25 is the beginning of the festivities, while for most in our culture it is the climax. This is the month of preparing for Christmas Day—shopping, wrapping, parties, baking, …and music!
Just for the record, I believe Christmas music should begin when we see Santa in the Thanksgiving Day parade. That is the signal to me that the season has officially started.
Anyone that knows me even casually knows that I love music. I’m a third-generation musician and I love everything about music. I suppose that’s why Christmas music is so meaningful to me. It is the soundtrack of the season, but more than that, its lyrics convey the true meaning of Christmas.
I’m not talking about “Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer” or “I Want A Hippopotamus for Christmas.” I’m thinking more about the Christmas carols.
I have a confession to make. I love music, have over 20,000 songs in my iTunes library, and listen to music daily, but I rarely pay attention to the lyrics.
Sometimes, that’s a good thing, for song lyrics are often misunderstood, something known as mondegreen. Consider these examples:
Deck the Halls
Deck the halls with Buddy Holly
Deck the halls with boughs of holly
The First Noel
The first Noel, the angels did say, was to frighten poor shepherds..
The first Noel, the angels did say, was to certain poor shepherds..
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
Get dressed ye married gentlemen, let nothing through this May
God rest ye merry, gentlemen, let nothing you dismay
We Three Kings
We three kings of Oregon are, bearing gifts, we travel so far.
We three kings of Orient are, bearing gifts we traverse afar
Silent Night
Silent night, holy night, all is calm, all is bright, round young virgin…
Silent night, holy night, all is calm, all is bright, ‘round yon virgin…
Joy To The World
Joy to the world! The Lord has gum.
Joy to the world! The Lord is come.
During the next four weeks during our preparation for Jesus’ birthday celebration, we’re going to look at four classic Christmas Carols, their lyrics, and their biblical message. It is my hope and prayer that as you hear these songs, you’ll not only hum the melody, you’ll think about the timeless message.
O Holy Night
This week’s carol is O Holy Night. It is one of my all-time favorite songs. I have more than 30 different recordings of it.
History
Here’s a bit of background to the song. In 1847, a parish priest asked a French wine seller, Placide Cappeau, to write a poem for Christmas. His Jewish friend, Adolphe Charles Adams, added the music. What is fascinating is that neither Cappeau nor Adams were Christians, but God used them to tell the Christmas story like no other.
On Christmas Eve in 1906, a Canadian inventor, Reginald Fessenden, did the first-ever AM radio broadcast which included a reading of Luke 2 and him playing this song on the violin.
Lyrics
O Holy Night! The stars are brightly shining, It is the night of the dear Savior's birth. Long lay the world in sin and error pining. Till He appeared and the Spirit felt its worth. A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices, For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn. Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices! O night divine, the night when Christ was born; O night, O Holy Night , O night divine! O night, O Holy Night , O night divine!
Led by the light of faith serenely beaming, With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand. O'er the world a star is sweetly gleaming,
Now come the wise men from out of the Orient land. The King of kings lay thus lowly manger; In all our trials born to be our friends.
He knows our need, our weakness is no stranger, Behold your King! Before him lowly bend! Behold your King! Before him lowly bend!
Truly He taught us to love one another, His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains he shall break, for the slave is our brother. And in his name all oppression shall cease. Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we, With all our hearts we praise His holy name. Christ is the Lord! Then ever, ever praise we, His power and glory ever more proclaim! His power and glory ever more proclaim!
Title
The word “holy” means set apart, sacred. Although God is holy, the song title refers to how sacred and distinct the first Christmas was.
Focus
We could spend all day dissecting the lyrics, but I want to focus on one sentence.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
We live in a weary world. Anxiety, fear, disease, uncertainty, and depression are everywhere. Such was the scene 2000 years ago.
The Roman Empire ruled and oppressed the people, especially the Jews that were longing for the promised Messiah to come and deliver them.
If that weren’t enough, imagine Mary and Joseph traveling between 80 and 120 miles to register for the census—on foot, or possibly with the aid of a donkey. Some of us complain when we’re in the car for 2 hours. Imagine their journey!
Is your world weary? For many, this season is one of celebration, but for others it can be downright depressing. They say that the holiday amplify your emotions, be they positive or negative.
Notice the words that surround “the weary world.”
“A thrill of hope” and “rejoices.”
There is a thrill of hope in the midst of the chaos of the holy night.
What a paradox!
The Bible records another scene of a weary world. The date is 586 BC. The Holy Temple has been destroyed. The city of Jerusalem was a wreck. The people were distraught. Jeremiah was lamenting. In fact, he wrote an entire book filled with his mourning, wailing, and weeping called…Lamentations.
So I say, “My splendor is gone and all that I had hoped from the LORD.” I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. (Lamentations 3:18-20)
Can you picture his weary world?
Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: (Lamentations 3:21)
This sounds promising. Notice that it is not on the front of his mind, but he will call it to mind. He remembers there is hope. What is it?
Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. (Lamentations 3:22)
They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:23)
Notice how he shifts from talking about God to praying to God. Great is Your faithfulness.
I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD. (Lamentations 3:24-26)
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
This season we are preparing for the arrival of Jesus, celebrating His first arrival and awaiting His return.
When your world is weary, Jesus can bring a thrill of hope that causes you to rejoice.
Jesus brings us what we need.
This is not always what we want, but He provides for our needs. He is our portion as it says in verse 24. Scholars have debated what this word “portion” means exactly, but many believe is refers to the Israelites in the desert when God provided their portion of manna for that day. They needed God every day. Hoarding would result in rotten manna. Jesus taught us to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.” God already has everything you need for tomorrow. He is already there. You can be here, today.
Our family hymn is Great Is They Faithfulness, taken from this passage of Lamentations. One of my favorite lines is “strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow.” That’s what He offers. He is our portion and will provide what we need today. We have hope for tomorrow, too, but we must wait for it.
Jesus brings us the hope to keep going.
It is the thrill of hope in a weary world. Notice the next line of the song says “for yonder breaks/a new and glorious morn.” A new morning is coming. God is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him (25).
It has been said that we can live 40 days without food, 8 days without water, 4 minutes without oxygen, a few seconds without hope. People put their hope in risky places—bad relationships, a shaky stock market, politicians, sports teams, …
Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. (Hebrews 10:23)
Don’t ever let go…hold on to the hope, not the fear and anxiety we talked about last week (Phil. 4:6).
Finally, Jesus brings the help we are seeking.
Verse 26…sometimes you have to wait. The Jews waited for generations for the Messiah. We have been waiting 2000 years for His return.
One encounter with Jesus makes all the difference.
- - Lazarus, dead for four days, he stinketh (KJV)
- - A woman was bleeding for 12 years
- - 38 years the man could not walk, he met Jesus at the pool of Bethsaida
Because Jesus is here you can have hope in the middle of the night.
And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. (Romans 13:11-12)
The night is nearly over and the day is almost here.
I was working on this message sitting in a hospital waiting room, wondering when the night would be over.
I still don’t know, but I have hope!
The sun/Son always rises again.
As Tony Campolo likes to say at Eastertime, It’s Friday…but Sunday’s coming!
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Credits: Series theme and various ideas from Craig Groeschel, LifeChurch.tv
You can listen to the podcast here.
You can view a music video of O Holy Night from LifeChurch.tv here.