Introduction

While many churches have moved beyond the great hymns of years gone by, many return to the beloved lyrics of godly carols every year at Christmas. If you love the great songs of the faith, this is one time of year that you’re likely to sing the classics.

In this little book, I’ve taken up the pattern of my book I Will Sing of My Redeemer and drawn inspiration from ten great carols that you would commonly find in your hymnal. As you read the lyrics, your heart will sing the familiar tunes. 

These magnificent songs point us to the truth of the incarnation. Jesus, the Son of God, stepped down from glory, emptying Himself of His divine prerogatives. He was born as a little baby in the most unlikely of surroundings - a crude stable, surrounded by animals. His first worshippers were shepherds fresh from the the fields, watching their flocks that night. And the grand announcement came through the song of an amazing angelic choir.

The story is unexpected. It’s not what we expected God to do. Certainly He could have chosen something more grand and majestic. But as these songs describe, Jesus’ birth was a humble affair.

As you celebrate Christmas, I hope these songs will remind you of the real reason for the season. The world will do its best to distract you with fable and fairy tale. It will try to substitute “Christmas spirit” for the babe in the manger as the primary aim.

But armed with these songs, fix your eye upon the truth that on this day so many years ago, God set in motion the plan for the purchase of your salvation.

The Christmas spirit is not one of generosity or of warm fuzzy feelings. It’s not about family getting together. It’s not about what you might get wrapped in shiny paper.

Christmas is about the Christ.

And as simple as that may be to say, unless you remind yourself again and again, it’s easy to be carried away by the pageantry of our society.

So lean into the ten Christmas carols that follow. Let them guide you down familiar tunes and comfortable words back into the presence of almighty God, wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.

Joy to the World

Joy to the world the Lord is come

Let earth receive her king

Let every heart prepare Him room

And heaven and nature sing

And heaven and nature sing

And heaven and heaven and nature sing

Isaac Watts

Travel back in time to the night that Jesus was born. A night like so many others in rural Judea. The stars shone brightly and shepherds bedded their sheep down for a night’s rest. In the middle of this everyday ordinariness came the most shocking announcement.

The first surprise came from the announcers. Angels. At first one angel, but then the heavenly host appeared, filling the sky and shutting out the stars with their multitude. Nowhere in our Bibles do we see such reinforcement of a message from God to His creation.

This announcement was special and God wanted everyone to know that it stood apart from any prior communication He had made.

The second surprise came from the contents of the message itself. Immanuel, God with us, had (finally) come. The twist, of course, was that He came as a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes instead of as a victorious king or a conquering warrior. Against all expectations and hopes, God’s plan would play out exactly as He designed.

Isaac Watts captures the feeling of that night with one simple sentence: Joy to the world!

Let everyone, everywhere, rejoice!

At that moment, two thousand years ago, God ended a four century drought of communication. His silence had broken out into the most extravagant gift He could have given: His Son.

Let all on earth receive their king. Not only their rightful king, but the King of kings and Lord of lords. After centuries of waiting, He had finally come.

Of course, no one expected Him to come this way, as a helpless infant laying in a manger, unable to even care for Himself.

Yet the command stands: Rejoice!

We receive Him as our king, knowing that one day He will come again and take the throne. What we see in the manger isn’t the end of His story.

Of course, His first plan of action was to address the problem of sin, not of national sovereignty. He would pave the way for humanity to reunite with God, as had not been seen since the Garden of Eden.

So we rejoice!

The command upon you is to ensure that He has room in your heart. Do not follow the pattern of Bethlehem, where there was no room at the inn. For while Bethlehem turned away the Lord and sent Him to a stable and a manger, the consequence for you to be found with no room in your heart are far more serious.

To have no room for Jesus is the same as God having neither a place nor a relationship with you. It means to be cast out of His glorious light and into the darkness where there is wailing and gnashing of teeth.

The carol invites you to make room for Him in your heart and respond in praise and song for all He has done for you. The praise giving goes beyond just yourself. All the earth responds with you, recognizing the footprint of its creator.

Just as the night sky over the shepherds burst into song with the hosts of angels, so to the earth sings forth the praise of the advent of the King.

The song reminds us that there is much more going on with the babe in the manger than we might see or understand for ourselves. God’s plan, promised since Genesis 3:15, is unfolding. God is addressing problem of sin. The penalty of death will be overcome. The uncrossable chasm of creator and image bearer will be bridged, and those who were once far off will be made nigh unto God.

The celebration of the manger reflects the immense awe we feel because God is among us. But more than that, it looks forward to God on the move. God who is doing amazing and wonderful things.

In the joy we express over that holy night comes the hope of the promise of a Savior and a solution to the problem of sin. For all who have faith, the nativity brings the light of promise that God has not finished with us, and that despite our inadequacy and rebellion, our destiny is not separate from Him.

So as you think of that blessed night when God entered His creation as a baby, sing for joy because He has come for you!