There is always a special invitation for all people to come and worship Jesus and to celebrate his birth. However, for me, there is something even more overwhelming and that is to worship Christ, in the presence of the ‘faithful.’ It is almost as if we can let all our inhibitions go and worship as freely as we choose.
O
Come all ye Faithful is just that special invitation, and as
the song progresses, verse by verse, we feel as if we are joining in with
shepherds, angels, Magi and generations of faithful followers who have come to
Adore the King of Angels.
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
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
Very God
Begotten, not created
Sing,
choirs of angels, sing in exultation
Sing, all ye citizens of heaven above!
Glory to God
All glory in the highest
Yea, Lord, we greet Thee, born this happy
morning
Jesus, to Thee be glory given
Word of the Father
Now in flesh appearing
This beautiful hymn as had a long list of potential authors, including
Cistercian Monks, Saint Bonaventure in the 13th Century, as well as
the king of Portugal, John IV (1604–1656),
John Reading (1604–1656) and John Francis Wade (1711–1786).
Although most modern hymn books attribute
the words to Wade, this is more than likely due to the fact that his name
appears on the earliest English printed versions of the song. Even then, it is
believed that Wade was such a gifted copyist, that people often requested him
to write out lyrics, poems and other manuscripts due to his beautiful
hand-writing.
For me, it doesn’t matter in the end. The
Hymn stirs up a great emotion in me and urges all of us to ‘greet our Saviour’
on this happy morning. Christmas Day is the watershed moment in the history of
the world that constantly reassure us that God loved us enough to appear to all
humanity. There is no greater gift than that!
I wish you a Blessed Christmas and Hopeful
New Year.
Living in the Grace of Jesus
D3LM3
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