Thursday, December 25, 2008

O Holy Night (Merry Christmas)


O holy night, the stars are brightly shining;
It is the night of the dear Savior’s birth!
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope, the weary soul rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.

Fall on your knees, O hear the angel voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born!
O night, O holy night, O night divine!

Led by the light of faith serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.
So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming,
Here came the wise men from Orient land.
The King of kings lay thus in lowly manger,
In all our trials born to be our friend!

Fall on your knees, O hear the angel voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born!
O night, O holy night, O night divine!

Truly He taught us to love one another;
His law is love and His Gospel is peace.
Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother
And in His Name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
Let all within us praise His holy Name!

Fall on your knees, O hear the angel voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born!
O night, O holy night, O night divine!

We've all heard this song hundreds of times. I know I've heard it so many times I don't even think about it anymore. Thats sad. We need to think about it.
The first verse says that the world had long been in a slump of having to worry about their errors (error pining) they were stuck in sin with no saving grace except the Lord's forgiveness through animal sacrifices. Then the Lord appeared and all those people who were unconditionally forgiven truly knew the worth of this gift. This weary world had hope now! The hope of a new morning after a horrible day. Like a burden was lifted. The world no longer had to carry this heavy package on their shoulders, THEY HAD CHRIST!
The chorus is just a glorious passage of praise to Christ!
The second verse proclaims that we stand by his cradle with beaming hearts! Our hearts rejoice for this savior! Then the song says that we see the King of all kings lying in a manger. I don't think I've ever really grasped the concept of King of all kings. Just think about that one. This King of all kings was born to be our friend. Think of the most famous person you can think of. Then imagine that that famous person is your best friend. Not just an aquaintance, not just an old neighbor, you didn't just see them on the street, but they are your very best friend. Having Christ as our best friend is infinitely as incredible.

Then the last verse. "Let all within us praise his holy name." Everything. All of us. Every cell. Every finger. Every toe. Every eye. Every drop of blood. Every thought. Every motion. Every look. Let not one thing fail to praise Christ.


This song is far from normal.

2 comments:

  1. Katie,
    one day I was checking out my daughter-in-laws blog(whos name happens to be Katie) and decided to click "next blog". It was your blog that came up. Since then I check out your blog as much as I do hers.
    I too, have heard and tried to sing this song, really didn't know all the words, kinda just faked some of the words. Since I have accepted Christ in to my life, about 5 years ago, I have learned what a great worship and praise song this truly is.
    Thank you for sharing your thoughts
    experinces in Christ.
    Merry Christmas

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  2. Wow. It's good to know that I can be an encouragement to someone else. Thank you for your words of hope and Merry Christmas.

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