Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

And today's passage, in a way, is kind of like one of those Christmas carols that we like to sing where, you know, we consider, I remember, you know, a couple years ago, I looked at the song Joy to the World and considered some of the scriptural themes that are found within it.

I think I've also done Hark the Herald Angels Sing, and those have been very enjoyable just to see how the writers incorporate so much of God's truth within them in such a condensed way.

And as we look at Zechariah's passage, Here we're in Luke, once again, Luke chapter 1, verses 67.

As we consider Zechariah's prophecy, we might consider it as one of the first Christmas carols to be sung, because just like so many of the Christmas carols, it is filled with scriptural imagery talking about the coming Christ.

And we are still singing many of them today.

Like, Hark the Herald Angels Sing at Christmastime, or Christ the Lord is Risen Today at Easter.

And today we'll begin with one of the richest, most beloved hymns by Charles Wesley ever.

And Can It Be is packed with gospel truth.

Assuming he had 50 productive years of hymn writing, that works out to about two or three hymns a week nonstop for 50 years straight.

Not all of them were equally amazing, of course, but he wrote so many that were, and not just dozens, hundreds upon hundreds of hymns that churches are still singing to this day, and you probably know more of them than you think.

At Christmas, hark the herald angels sing.

That's Charles Wesley.

John Wesley traveled thousands of miles on horseback, preaching more than 40,000 sermons and organizing society that spread Methodism across Britain and America.

Charles Wesley wrote over 6,000 hymns, including Hark the Herald Angels Sing and Christ the Lord is Risen Today.

Through their preaching and their songs, thousands came to Christ.

Lives were changed, the poor were helped, and spiritual life across Britain and America was renewed.

I mentioned hymnory.org.

They have their most popular texts list, and number one on that list is Hark the Herald Angels Sing, which I think I've said before, maybe top three hymns of all time.

So that's what they claim.

The Library of Congress, United States Congress, and the Guinness Book of World Records both agree that the most recorded hymn of all time is Amazing Grace, with over 3,000 different distinct recordings.

Here we call upon the St. Louis Carol Association, almost 400 high school students.

They're going to lift their voices in joyful song to give us their version of Hark the Herald Angels Sing.

So for a first-hand report on the carolers in St. Louis, we take you then to Rex Davis.

And of course, he's in St. Louis.

Christmas is really in the air here in St. Louis.

Almost 400 high school students, members of their various school choruses, are assembled here, getting ready for the annual Christmas caroling and about to lift their voices in song under the direction of Helen Wee's graves.

Bing, we hope that all of your listeners will join them now in singing Hark the Herald Angels Sing.

Hark the herald angels sing, glory to the newborn King.

And this is an amazing glimpse into the divinity and the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ because, you know, mostly his deity was veiled there in his humanity.

We sing that, don't we, at Christmas in the hymn, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, we sing veiled in flesh the Godhead see.

Good theology.

And Philippians 2 speaks about the fact that our Lord Jesus made himself of no reputation, took upon him the form of a servant.