Advent Devotional: December 15

When America declared its Declaration of Independence in 1776 from the tyrannical governance of King George III, the nation's founders sought to establish a country based on certain laws, rights, and privileges that transcended human authority. Even though most of our founders were not true believers (almost all of them rejected that Christ is truly God and truly man), they borrowed from a Christian worldview, understanding that justice must be biblically defined according to what is good and evil. The accompanying order from such a biblically-driven society is known in theology as "common grace," that is the natural (though non-salvific) benefits of obedience to God. Had the United States declared its independence fifty years sooner, though, the American Revolution would have looked much more like France's chaotic and anti-God revolution in 1787.

After the Puritans established the American colonies in New England, the generations that followed them fell into a great spiritual lethargy and indifference. Preachers were themselves often unconverted and were trained at Harvard in the ideas of European liberalism. By the 1730s, "America" was a spiritual wasteland, but then, through the bold preaching of men like Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield, the Wesley brothers, David Brainard, Samuel Davies, and others, thousands came to salvation in the "Great Awakening." Two of the men the Lord used during the time, Charles Wesley and George Whitefield, were old friends from their college days at Oxford, and together they wrote, "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing."

Between the Wesley brothers, Charles was better known for his hymn-writing than his preaching (and was better at it too). He determined that he could best serve the church by teaching theology through song, and he'd write some 6,000 of them before his death. He was inspired to write "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" shortly after his conversion after hearing the sound of the London church bells on Christmas Day (the original opening line was actually to that end, "Hark, how the welkin rings"). It was then published in 1739.

So, how did Whitefield contribute to the song? Unlike Charles Wesley, Whitefield was known for his acute theology and brilliant preaching, but not for writing hymns. Still, he played a small, but important part in the song we now sing today. In 1753, Whitefield modified a few lines - most notably, the opening one and the chorus, as we now know it today, "Hark! The herald angels sing, 'Glory to the new-born King.'"