Come Let Us Adore Him: Stories Behind the Most Cherished Christmas Hymns
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Rob Morgan's unmistakable talent for storytelling continues as he reacquaints people with the Christmas hymns that are so true to the tradition of Christmas. In Come Let Us Adore Him, Rob shares his historical findings about these great hymns, their writers and composers, and other nuggets that engage readers more deeply in the beloved music of the Christmas season.
Robert J. Morgan
Robert J. Morgan teaches the Bible each week on his podcast, The Robert J. Morgan Podcast, and through his speaking engagements and his books, including: The Red Sea Rules, The Strength You Need, 100 Bible Verses That Made America, The 50 Final Events in World History, and Then Sings My Soul. He also serves as associate pastor at World Outreach Church in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
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Come Let Us Adore Him - Robert J. Morgan
To:
__________________________________
From:
__________________________________
Date:
__________________________________
SSCOME LET US
ADORE HIM
STORIES BEHIND THE MOST CHERISHED
CHRISTMAS HYMNS
ROBERT J. MORGAN
a1Copyright © 2005 by Robert J. Morgan
Published by J. Countryman®, a division of the Thomas Nelson, Inc., Nashville, Tennessee 37214
All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means— electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or any other—except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
J. Countryman is a trademark of Thomas Nelson, Inc.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations used in this book are from the New King James Version of the Bible © 1979, 1980, 1982, 1992, Thomas Nelson, Inc.,Publisher.
Project Editor: Kathy Bake
Design: Jackson Design Co, LLC
ISBN 1–4041–0232–9,
Printed and bound in the United States of America
www.thomasnelson.com
www.jcountryman.com
To Christiana
Table of Contents
Prelude
From Heaven Above to Earth I Come
We Sing, Emmanuel, Thy Praise
While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks
Joy to the World!
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
Hallelujah Chorus (from The Messiah)
O Come, All Ye Faithful
Come, Thou Long–Expected Jesus
Angels, from the Realms of Glory
Silent Night
The First Noel
O Holy Night
Once in Royal David’s City
It Came Upon a Midnight Clear
O Come, O Come Emmanuel
Good King Wenceslas
Now Praise We Christ the Holy One
Of the Father’s Love Begotten
We Three Kings of Orient Are
Come, Thou Redeemer of the Earth
Angels We Have Heard on High
Thou Didst Leave Thy Throne
I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
What Child Is This?
Who is He in Yonder Stall?
O Little Town of Bethlehem
There’s a Song in the Air
Away in a Manger
Go, Tell It on the Mountain
Jesus Christ is Born Today!
Blessed is the season which engages
the whole world in a conspiracy of love!
HAMILTON WRIGHT MABIE
Prelude
Christmas is a season for singing—a midwinter’s epoch of joyful music—and the hymns of Christmas are among the best–known songs in the world. Beginning on that wondrous night when angelic choirs hovered over Bethlehem’s fields and down to our own day, Yuletide carols have cheered the world with the greatest news in history. No wonder we sing them from our earliest days to our grayest years.
But not everyone can sing openly this Christmas.
When a group of Korean business leaders recently visited our church, I asked them about the plight of Christians in North Korea.They have suffered greatly,
was the sad reply. There has been terrible persecution, and thousands of Christians have died for their faith; yet many believers still worship despite danger and death threats. When they gather, it’s in complete secrecy; and when they sing, it is done in silence. They open their mouths in unison, but they allow no sound from their voices for fear of being overheard.
The next Sunday, I sang with renewed intensity. It would have been a shame to miss the privilege of lifting my voice to the Lord with all my heart. To paraphrase something Ruth Bell Graham once told me, We should sing when we feel like it, for it is a shame to miss such an opportunity; we should sing when we don’t feel like it, for it is dangerous to remain in such a condition.
Especially at Christmas.
Of our all holy days, it’s the Season of the Advent that most invites our songs. In fact, we have a special name for Christmas hymns. We call them carols, a word coming from an old Latin word meaning choral song.
This volume spans the ages of Christianity, telling the stories of carols ancient and modern. Here you’ll find the background of our best–known Christmas hymns, plus a few stories of great carols that have nearly been lost to history.
With this little volume, we invite you: O Come, Let Us Adore Him!
ComeAdore_int_69_0007_001Oh, clap your hands, all you peoples!
Shout to God with the voice of triumph!
For the LORD Most High is awesome;
He is a great King over all the earth.
Sing praises to God, sing praises!
Sing praises to our King, sing praises!
For God is the King of all the earth;
Sing praises with understanding.
God reigns over the nations;
God sits on His holy throne.
P SA L M 4 7 : 1 – 2 , 6 – 8
From Heaven Above to Earth I Come
1531
Then God blessed them, and God
said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply;
fill the earth and subdue it . . ."
GENESIS 1 : 2 8
Martin Luther never expected to marry, for he had taken a vow of celibacy as an Augustinian monk. Even after discovering the great Reformation truths of Scripture Alone, Faith Alone,
he still intended to keep his vow. As the Reformation picked up steam and other monks began to marry, he exclaimed, Good heavens! They won’t give me a wife!
It wasn’t just monks who were renouncing their celibacy, however; it was nuns, too. When Luther heard that a group of nuns from a nearby cloister wanted to escape their situation (which in their case amounted to virtual captivity) he agreed to help them, though doing so was a serious violation of the law. Enlisting the aid of a local merchant named Leonard Kopp, age sixty, Luther arranged for the nuns to be smuggled out in the empty barrels used to