Unpacking the Theology of Another Christmas Hymn

Christmas season is here, with Christmas Day itself less than two weeks away! Sometimes it’s easy for me to enjoy all the “trappings” of Christmas but difficult for me to keep my focus where it belongs: on Jesus, Whose birth we celebrate.

One part of Christmas I have always enjoyed is Christmas hymns, both at church and at home. Over the past few years, one thing I have found is that concentrating on the words helps me with the focus I should have. At the same time, it sometimes takes some extra work to figure out the meaning, especially since some of the phraseology sounds a bit archaic to our modern ears. This is because so many of them were written in the 19th century.

When I was growing up in the 1960s, I listened over and over to the annual Goodyear Christmas albums that my dad always brought home. One of my favorite songs is “O Holy Night;” Andy Williams sang it on one of those albums. Then in the 1980s I heard it on a Maranatha Christmas album. On the Maranatha album, by the time the choir soars into “Christ is the Lord! O praise His Name forever!”, my heart is soaring with them!

As I mentioned earlier, however, the meaning of some of the lyrics of our favorite hymns can be a bit hard to understand. Here is my attempt at an exegesis of sorts for “O Holy Night.”

O holy night! the stars are brightly shining; (On this holy night, it seems the stars are shining even brighter than usual.)
It is the night of the dear Savior’s birth. (That’s because it’s the night of Jesus’ birth!)
Long lay the world in sin and error pining, (Up until now, the world has been laboring under the burden of sin, longing for deliverance.)
Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth. (Now Jesus has come, and our souls have some understanding of our worth, as we are created in God’s image and can be saved.)
A thrill of hope- the weary world rejoices, (The world begins to rejoice with hope!)
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn! (Look! A new, glorious morning is coming!)
Fall on your knees! O hear the angel voices! (Kneel in worship and listen to the angels singing!)
O night divine, O night when Christ was born! (This is a divine night because Jesus is born!)
O night, O holy night, O night divine!

Led by the light of faith serenely beaming, (We have come in faith to worship Jesus.)
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand. (Our hearts are full of peace as we joyfully worship by Jesus’ cradle.)
So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming, (The Star in the East led us here.)
Here came the Wise Men from Orient land. (We are the Magi from the Orient.)
The King of kings lay thus in lowly manger, (Jesus, the King of kings, is lying in a humble manger.)
In all our trials born to be our Friend. (Jesus is our Friend, helping us in all of our troubles.)
He knows our need— to our weakness is no stranger. (Jesus, although perfect, understands our weaknesses and knows what we need.)
Behold your King, before Him lowly bend! (Gaze on your King and kneel before Him!)
Behold your King, before Him lowly bend!

Truly He taught us to love one another; (Jesus has taught us how to love one another.)
His law is love and His gospel is peace. (We are now under the law of love, and His message gives peace.)
Chains shall He break, for the slave is our brother, (Jesus will break all chains, including slavery.)
And in His name all oppression shall cease. (Ultimately, enslavement of all kinds will no longer exist.)
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we; (We joyfully sing to the Lord with thankful hearts!)
Let all within us praise His holy name. (Let’s praise Him with all of our being!)
Christ is the Lord! O praise His name forever! (Jesus is Lord!! Praise His Name for all eternity!!)
His pow’r and glory evermore proclaim! (Tell the world about His power and glory!)
His pow’r and glory evermore proclaim!

A couple of notes: The first four lines of the second verse probably all refer to the Wise Men; obviously, lines 3-4 do. I suppose it’s possible the hymnwriter intended lines 1-2 to refer to the shepherds, but that seems less likely. Regardless, we know from Luke 2 (especially “nearby” in verse 8 and “hurried” in verse 16) that the shepherds went to see Jesus immediately, whereas the Wise Men probably didn’t see Him until He was two years old; notice they visited Jesus in “the house” in Matthew 2:11. Regarding the reference to “chains” and “the slave” in verse 3, this probably refers to actual slavery; this hymn was composed in 1847 by Adolphe Adam, a Frenchman, and translated into English eight years later by John Sullivan Dwight, an American. This translation was six years before the beginning of the Civil War. We can also see this as liberation from spiritual slavery, but it seems likely that physical slavery was intended here as well.

Here is a link to the Maranatha Christmas version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USR3Fr5Bf0Q The first six lines of verse 3 are not sung, but this remains my favorite version of the various ones I’ve heard.

May this hymn bring peace and joy to your soul. Merry Christmas!

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If you’re interested in previous posts related to Christmas, check these out:

https://keithpetersenblog.com/a-christmas-quiz/ (This is a Christmas quiz.)

https://keithpetersenblog.com/unpacking-the-theology-of-a-christmas-hymn/ (This is about the incredible theology packed into the hymn “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.”)

https://keithpetersenblog.com/the-foolishness-of-christmas/ (This is about how the Christmas message is foolishness to non-Christians, but the saving power of God to Christians.)

https://keithpetersenblog.com/a-tale-of-two-christmas-light-extravaganzas (This is a comparison of two very different Christmas-light displays in my city a couple years ago.)