Christmas Carols and Music

[pneu-engine]

What songs and carols of Christmas have you recently heard that blessed your heart and filled you with incomparable joy?

Today we heard::::::::::

[i][b]"Who Is He in Yonder Stall?"

"O Holy Night"

"One Small Child"[/b][/i]

The cantata,[i][b] "Heaven's child"[/b][/i]

The Christmas portion of [b][i]"The Messiah"[/i][/b]

[HappyChristian]

We Sang I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day on Saturday. It's got a great message. The poem was written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. He had just heard that his son had been wounded in the Civil War; he had lost his wife in a freak accident two years previously (she had been sealing locks of their daughters hair in packets...why, I don't know...when somehow she caught fire. He tried to put it out and burned his hands severely. She died shortly afterward.

I heard the bells on Christmas day
Their old familiar carols play,
And mild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along the unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And in despair I bowed my head
?There is no peace on earth,? I said,
?For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.?

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
?God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
With peace on earth, good will to men.?

[Bakershalfdozen]

"Of The Father's Love Begotten" is a hymn that comes down to us from Prudentius in the 5th Century. Christians have been singing it for over 1500 years.

Clemens Prudentius was born in 348 AD in Spain. A Christian Latin poet, Prudentius wrote a number of hymns, occasional Christian lyrics, and poems on saints. Although he held a high place at the Roman court, he eventually retired to devote himself to religion.
Prudentius has been called "the father of Christian allegory."

Prudentius achieved distinction in government administration but retired in later life to write devotional poetry, becoming the first to use the classical Latin verse forms with complete success in the service of the new faith. His lyrical poetry includes Hymns for the Day, a cycle of twelve hymns for various times of the day, parts of which are still found in modern hymnals; and Crowns of Martyrdom, fourteen long poems celebrating the lives of martyrs, including "The Passion of Agnes." Prudentius also wrote two long didactic poems: Apotheosis, on the doctrine of the Trinity; and Hamartigenia (Origin of Sin), which attacks the Gnostic theologian Marcion. Other works include Psychomachia, an allegorical description of the struggle between (Christian) virtues and (pagan) vices; Contra Symmachum, a polemic against paganism based on the events of the year 384; and a series of 49 poems describing biblical scenes depicted in wall paintings on a Roman church--a valuable source on Christian iconography.

The date of the hymn's writing, though not entirely known, can be deduced through the life of Prudentius. Prudentius would have lived at the time of the Arian heresy and the Council at Nicea. The hymn reflects many of the statements set out in the Athanasian Creed.

A look at the theology of this hymn reflects the unique nature of Christ as reflected in this hymn.

The hymn has become a standard Christmas hymn in the church, usually in association with John 1:1-18.

Of the Father's Love Begotten

by Aurelius C. Prudentius, 413, cento
Translated by John. M. Neale, 1818-1866
and Henry W. Baker, 1821-1977


1.
Of the Father's love begotten
Ere the worlds began to be,
He is Alpha and Omega,
He the Source, the Ending He,
Of the things that are, that have been,
And that future years shall see
Evermore and evermore.

The hymn starts straight off on why a small baby was born in Bethlehem. There was a cosmic quality to this birth, an eternal element, an ingredient that defies reason and logic. ?Of the Father?s love begotten.? God so love the world that he gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16). And this begetting occurred before the world was created! The joyful message of Christmas is this: God knew what all people would do before he created the world and us people in it. He knew what each of us would do before he created each one of us. Yet he still created the world, and he still sent His Son to die for us. No matter what you did, you are forgiven through the blood of Christ.

Prudentius reminds us of the words spoken to John in his Revelation: Jesus is the Alpha and Omega. Jesus was there at the earth?s creation. You know what that means? Jesus was in consultation with his Father in creating the people who would rebel! Jesus knew, creating those people, that he would have to die to pay for their sins!
And in the end, Jesus will be ruling, just as he rules now from on high.

2.
Oh, that birth forever blessed
When the Virgin, full of grace,
By the Holy Ghost conceiving,
Bare the Savior of our race,
And the Babe, the world's Redeemer,
First revealed His sacred face
Evermore and evermore.

Prudentius now takes us to that manger in Bethlehem. Look, the virgin has conceived and has given birth?and has called him name Immanuel (?God with us)!

Notice how Prudentius describes Mary? ?Full of grace. It was by grace that Mary was chosen to be the vessel of God, not because she was sinless. In her Magnificat, Mary states her sinful condition when she states ?because of God my Savior.? She states her need of a Savior and, paradoxically, that she is bearing and giving birth to that Savior!

3.
O ye heights of heaven, adore Him;
Angel hosts, His praises sing;
Powers, dominions, bow before Him
And extol our God and King.
Let no tongue on earth be silent,
Every voice in concert ring
Evermore and evermore.
Can?t you just see that angelic choir singing above Judea?s hillsides to the shepherds? Prudentius sums up that scene eloquently in this verse, stating the totality of the heavenly chorus.

And, of course, the shepherds couldn?t keep this news to themselves. They rushed to see the baby, then rushed to announce the joyous news. No doubt the citizens of Bethlehem were all astir on that night so long ago, the Roman legions standing guard on alert. Just what were they to make of this spectacle?

4.
This is He whom Heaven-taught singers
Sang of old with one accord;
Whom the Scriptures of the prophets
Promised in their faithful word.
Now He shines, the Long-expected;
Let creation praise its Lord
Evermore and evermore.
Lest we think the angels were out of place, Prudentius tells us that the angels stated the fulfillment of Old Testament prophets. Taking a cue from St. Paul (?If anyone, even an angel, speaks a Gospel different than the Gospel I proclaimed to you, let him be condemned? Galatians 1:8), Prudentius points out the angelic message?s harmony with Old Testament prophesy.

5.
Christ, to Thee, with God the Father,
And, O Holy Ghost, to Thee
Hymn and chant and high thanksgiving
And unending praises be,
Honor, glory, and dominion,
And eternal victory
Evermore and evermore.

Prudentius finishes (in this English version found in The Lutheran Hymnal) with a Trinitarian doxology, common among early Christians. It reasserts the truths of the Trinity stated in the Athanasian Creed as well as the honor due the Triune God, which includes the Son of God, the baby lying in Bethlehem?s manger.



More verses and the melody can be found at http://www.cyberhymnal.org

Of the Father?s love begotten, ere the worlds began to be,
He is Alpha and Omega, He the source, the ending He,
Of the things that are, that have been,
And that future years shall see, evermore and evermore!

At His Word the worlds were fram

[pneu-engine]

That is truly superb. :thumb

I absolutely love historical things like this. :Green