Continuing with our look back at some of our favorite Christmas carols…this one might be the most confusing!
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing! is still one of the most popular and well-loved carols of the season. You can hear it played in countless stores beginning right after Halloween. It is sung by numerous church choirs, school choirs and recorded by the famous and humble alike.
But its beginning wasn’t so popular since it brought much confusion and dismay to the author of the famous words.
Charles Wesley, brother of John Wesley, wrote the lyrics to Hark! The Herald Angels Sing. Written in 1739, it originally was titled Hymn for Christmas Day and began with these words:
HARK how all the Welkin rings, Glory to the King of Kings!
What in the world is a Welkin? First used in the 12th century, Welkin is a reference to the skies, the heavens, the vault of heaven, or the dwelling place of God. Wesley penned those words proclaiming that all of heaven sounded out the birth of the King.
George Whitefield, a friend of the Wesley’s, actually changed the wording and published it. He obviously concluded the word Welkin was outdated and preferred his own version, much to the chagrin of Charles and John! John Wesley even wrote a rebuttal to those who had the nerve to change their hymns after the fact and rightly so.
Charles Wesley’s biggest complaint was that, to him, the angels were not singing but were proclaiming the birth of the Christ child, according to Luke 2.
“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, good will toward men.” Luke 2:13 KJV.
Mr. Wesley should be commended that he wanted his hymn to be accurate with the Word. The Bible says not to add or take away! Of course we don’t know if they actually sang or not, Mr. Whitefield was using his imagination when he added his words to the hymn. Nevertheless, the newer version gained popularity quickly and HARK how all the Welkin rings, Glory to the King of Kings, vanished into the history vaults.
The ninth and tenth verses were deleted sometime in the early 19th century.
Adam’s likeness, Lord, efface,
Stamp thy Image in its Place,
Second Adam from above,
Reinstate us in thy Love.
Let us Thee, tho’ lost, regain,
Thee, the Life, the Heav’nly Man:
O ! to All Thyself impart,
Form’d in each Believing Heart.
Even though Wesley was not in agreement with the version we sing today and perfectly good verses were also deleted, we don’t want to exclude it from our Christmas caroling list! It still echoes with a beautiful message:
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 the angelic host proclaim:
“Christ is born in Bethlehem”
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 the incarnate Deity
Pleased as man with man to dwell
Jesus, our Emmanuel
Hark! The herald angels sing
“Glory to the newborn King!”
Hail the heav’n-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Son of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings
Risen 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
Hark! The herald angels sing
“Glory to the newborn King!”
We don’t sing this second stanza much either, to my knowledge, but look at the richness of the words! Veiled in flesh the Godhead see…Jesus IS God, veiled in earthly flesh, He is the Father, He is the Son, He is the Holy Ghost. The third verse says He laid His glory by to come as a baby so that man would no more die. Oh, the fullness of His love!
Born to give us second birth! Jesus told Nicodemus we must be born again, of water and Spirit. Today, we have that glorious opportunity to be filled with the Holy Spirit, to have Christ IN us, the Hope of Glory! On top of that, we know that He is coming again, to take us to a place that He has prepared for us. Soon.
Enjoy this sweet version of the carol by the Charlie Brown gang.
Or this beautiful version by Chris Tomlin!
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Thank you for the opportunity every week, Barb! Merry Christmas!
You are so welcome Mary! Thanks for stopping by!
Nanette, that’s a wonderful story. Thank you for sharing it!
Thank you for posting to Motivation Monday!
One of my favorite hymns! The 2nd and 3rd verses are my favorites…such rich declarations of who Jesus is and what He cam to do!
Thank you for filling in the backstory, Candace Jo!
Love this back story! Had never heard this before, until today. Just heard about the Welkin rings on the radio this morning and then saw your post 🙂 Cool! Whether the angels are singing or proclaiming, I absolutely love this song! One of my favorite growing up – to hear the organist let loose everything that big pipe organ could muster and then add in the trumpets who always played at Christmas Eve. Joyous music to celebrate Christ’s birth.
Amazing, this is the second post I’ve read today that has taught me something new about a Christmas song! I love this song. And I guess, any way you read it or sing it, it still proclaims something about the Truth – Jesus was born, and the heavens still ring with the glory of that!!
GOD BLESS!