oh night divine, when Christ was born
Oh Holy Night is easily my favourite Christmas carol. Musically, it’s incredible – fun to play, strange and minor chord progressions, 6/8 timing, obscure phrasing – it has everything. It makes me smile when I hear it; particularly the ‘refrain’ section – if you get a powerful drummer to really emphasise that section, it’s awesome.
The music is great and all… but check out the words. I know it’ll be hard to read it without singing in your head, but really take the time to read and hear exactly what Christmas is about. (I’ve taken out a couple of lines to just make it flow better as you read.)
Oh holy night; the stars are brightly shining.
It is the night of our dear Saviour’s birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
‘Til He appear’d and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees! Hear the angels’ voices!
Oh night divine, when Christ was born.The King of Kings lay thus in lowly manger;
In all our trials, [He's] born to be our friend.
He knows our need; to our weakness is no stranger.
Behold your King! Before Him lowly bend!
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!Christ is the Lord! Oh praise His Name forever,
His power and glory evermore proclaim.
His power and glory evermore proclaim.
Incredible. To think that a God could see the beautiful baby in this poem, know that it was His child, love him so dearly, and still be willing to sacrifice that life to save every one of us… Our minds can’t even comprehend such sacrifice!
I celebrate the day that you were born to die, so I could one day pray for you to save my life.
My prayer is that this Christmas you would understand what Jesus’ birth was all about; that you understand just what this baby would become, and what he would go through; and that you take the time to get to know this loving and caring God. He’s a friend of mine, and He’s a good friend to have, let me tell you.