TRUNEWS with Rick Wiles - Hark! The Herald Angels Sing: The True Story of This Beloved Carol

Episode Date: December 25, 2022

You cannot tell the story of the birth of Jesus Christ without talking about angels. Angels played a significant role in the birth of Jesus Christ. It was the angel Gabriel who announced to young Mary that she would become pregnant with the Christ child. An angel appeared to Joseph to reassure him about Mary. It was a multitude of angels that declared the birth of the Messiah to shepherds in the fields of Bethlehem. Today TruNews tells you the true story of how one of the most popular Christmas carols in the world was written by four men over many years, ‘Hark! The Herald Angels Sing’. Rick Wiles, Doc Burkhart. Airdate 12/26/22.A hilarious gift idea for Christmas 2022! Order your Fauci Elf! https://tru.news/faucielf It’s the Final Day! The day Jesus Christ bursts into our dimension of time, space, and matter. You can order the second edition of Rick’s book, Final Day. https://www.rickwiles.com/final-day You can partner with us by visiting TruNews.com/donate, calling 1-800-576-2116, or by mail at PO Box 690069 Vero Beach, FL 32969.

Welcome to the special Christmas week edition of True News. You cannot tell the story of the birth of Jesus Christ without talking about angels. Angels played a significant role in the birth of Jesus Christ. It was the angel Gabriel who announced to young Mary that she would become pregnant with the Christ child. In the first chapter of the Gospel according to St. Luke, the Bible says, And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her and said,

Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favor with God. And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and he shall be called the Son of the Highest. And the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David,

and he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Today, Doc and I will tell you the true story of how one of the most popular Christmas carols in the world was written by four men over many years. However, first, I'm pleased to present Angels We Have Heard on High. The carol that you and I know today originally came from a traditional French carol that was first published in 1842. The music was attributed to an unknown person with the initials W.M., believed to be Wilfred Moreau. The lyrics of the English version were written in 1862 by

Catholic Bishop James Chadwick of Newcastle. Angels We Have Heard on High is generally sung to the hymn tune Gloria, the traditional French carol as arranged by Edward Shippen Barnes, an American organist. Our ministry is blessed to have many team members who are also talented musicians. Our house band is here to perform Angels We Have Heard on High. Angels we have heard all night Sweetly singing o'er the plains And the mountains in reply Echoing their joyous strains Gloria Gloria in excelsis Deo

Gloria in excelsis Deo Shepherds, why this jubilee? Why your joyous strains prolong? Wouldn't the gladsome tidings be Wishing by inspire heavenly song Gloria in excelsis Deo Gloria in excelsis Deo In a Chelsea stay Come to Bethlehem and see Him whose birth the angels sing Come adore on bended knee Christ the Lord, the newborn King

Gloria Gloria In excelsis Deo Gloria Gloria In excelsis Deo The Angels Proclamation to the Shepherds of Bethlehem is our topic today. Let's read the sacred scripture found in the gospel according to St. Luke, chapter 2, verses 1 through 20. In those days, a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled. This was the first enrollment when Ciaran was governor of Syria. And all went to be enrolled, each to his own city.

And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to be delivered. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger because there was no place for them in the inn. And in that region, there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an

angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, be not afraid for behold I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people. For to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you. You will find the babe wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest,

and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased. When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us. And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the babe lying in a manger. And when they saw that it, they made known the saying which had been told to them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them.

But Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen as it had been told them. Well, the next Christmas carol we will present today will be Hark the Herald Angels Sing. The lyrics were based on Luke 2, 14,

which tells of the angels saying, Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased. However, before our special guests sing this glorious Christmas carol, Doc and I must share with you the fascinating history of this wonderful hymn. Hark the Herald Angels Sing doesn't have just one composer. The carol that we sing today is the composition that evolved over many years through the contributions of four men. The first version of the carol appeared in Hymns and Sacred Poems, published in 1739 by John and Charles Wesley, co-founders of the Methodist movement. Charles Wesley wrote an

estimated 9,000 hymns. Most of them were written while he was riding on horseback. Many historical accounts claim that Charles Wesley would return home on horseback, jump off his horse and shout quill and ink, quill and ink, because the Holy Spirit had inspired him with a hymn and he had to write it down immediately. Well, here's a digital image of the Wesley brothers hymns and sacred poems first published in 1739. The image that I'm showing you is a 1743 version. Now, the second image is from the page that contained the lyrics of the hymn for Christmas Day. Now, notice that the original lyrics were different than the hymn we sing today. It contained the German word Welken, which means firmament or vault of the sky.

The first stanza was this, hark how all the welkin rings, glory to the king of kings, peace on earth and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled. Joyful all you nations rise, join the triumph of the skies, universal nature say, Christ the Lord is born today. Well, the next person who influenced this great Christmas carol, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, was George Whitefield, the famous preacher who sparked the great awakening in America. Whitefield and the Wesley brothers were close friends.

Reverend Whitefield rewrote the opening lines to Wesley's Hymn for Christmas Day. Whitfield published his revised version in his collection of hymns for social worship in 1753. Now, let's read George Whitfield's revised version of Charles Wesley's hymn for Christmas Day. Hark the herald angels sing. Glory to the newborn king. Peace on earth and mercy mild. God and sinners reconciled. Joyful all you nations rise.

Join the triumphs of the skies. Nature rise and worship him who was born at Bethlehem. Now a third man touched this beloved Christmas carol. His name was William Hayman Cummings. He was a musician, tenor, and organist at the Abbey Church of Waltham, Holy Cross, and St. Lawrence in the town of Waltham Abbey in England. The Abbey Church has been a place of Christian worship since the 7th century. What was Mr. Cummings' role in the development of Hark the Herald Angels Sing? When he was a teenager in 1847, William Cummings was a member of the choir at Exeter Hall when Jacob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdi conducted the first London performance of his oratorio titled Elijah.

Widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, the overture to A Midsummer Night's Dream was one of his most famous works. Mendelssohn died at the young age of 38. William Hayman Cummings paired music composed by Felix Mendelssohn to the lyrics written by George Whitefield, who revised the lyrics written by Charles Wesley. And that, my friend, was how this beautiful, inspiring Christmas carol evolved over many years through the contributions of four men. Today, these are the lyrics we sing at Christmas. Hark the herald angels sing, glory to the newborn King. Peace on earth and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled. Joyful all ye nations rise, join the triumph of the skies. With the angelic host proclaim, Christ is born in Bethlehem.

Hark the herald angels sing, glory to the newborn king. Well, let's listen to the popular modern version as performed by our special guests, Tommy Sellers and Rick Creevey. Hark the herald angels sing Glory to the newborn King Peace on earth and mercy mild God and sinners reconciled Joyful, lowly nations arise Join the triumph of the skies

With angelic hosts proclaim Christ is born in Bethlehem Hark the herald angels sing Glory to the newborn King Hail the heaven-born Prince of Peace Hail the Son of Righteousness, light and life to all he brings, risen with healing in his wings. Mild he lays his glory by, born that we no more may die Born to raise us from the earth

Born to give us second birth Hark the herald angels sing Glory to the newborn King. Hark the herald angels sing. Glory to the newborn King. Well, thank you, Tommy and Rick. They will be back tomorrow and on Wednesday too. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear.

And the angel said to them, Be not afraid, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy, which will come to all people. For to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. The angel's message is for us today. Be not afraid. Behold, heaven has good news of a great joy. The good news is the great joy that Almighty God has given to mankind. What is the great joy that will come to all the people?

In Bethlehem, the city of David, a Savior, Christ the Lord was born. He came to mankind then and he still comes to people today who believe in his name. God gave mankind a great joy. For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. Let's bring back South Florida's Crescendo Brass to close today's program by performing two more Christmas carols. It came upon a midnight clear and angels from the realm of glory.

Thank you for watching this special edition of True News. Here are the Crescendo Press. © BF-WATCH TV 2021 © BF-WATCH TV 2021 © transcript Emily Beynon