"For hate is strong, And mocks the song"

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow








(Union and Confederate Dead – Gettysburg, PA, July 1863)

As I listened to this Christmas song the other day, it hit me that its words were not as "Christmas-like" as most the other songs we hear.
then today on Family Life Radio I heard the whole story behind it, and what a blessing it was. So I thought I'd share it, and hope it blesses others as well.

"One of America's best known poets, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882), contributed to the wealth of carols sung each Christmas season, when he composed the words to "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" on December 25th 1864. "Glory to God in the Highest, and on Earth peace, good will toward men" (Luke 2:14). The carol was originally a poem, "Christmas Bells," containing seven stanzas. Two stanzas were omitted, which contained references to the American Civil War, thus giving us the carol in its present form. The poem gave birth to the carol, "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day," and the remaining five stanzas were slightly rearranged in 1872 by John Baptiste Calkin (1827-1905), who also gave us the memorable tune. When Longfellow penned the words to his poem, America was still months away from Lee's surrender to Grant at Appomattox Court House on April 9th 1865; and, his poem reflected the prior years of the war's despair, while ending with a confident hope of triumphant peace."

Also, Longfellow had a son who was wounded in the worse War in America's history. You can see his depression in this song, as well as his faith and hope. Songs like this dig a little deeper into the heart and soul, and compel us to ponder this world we live in.

"Christmas Bells"
(The original poem, complete with all seven stanzas)

"I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!


And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along
The unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!


Till, ringing, singing on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime
A chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!


Then from each black accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound
The carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!


It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearth-stones of a continent,
And made forlorn
The households born
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And in despair I bowed my head;
"There is no peace on earth," I said;
"For hate is strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead; nor doth he sleep!
The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men!"

"Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled..." Matt. 1:22

(Interior of Wesley's Chapel)





"Behold, A Virgin shall be with Child, and shall bring forth a Son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us." v.23

This was spoken by Isaiah 700 years before it happened; before it came to pass. You would think in 700 years a lot of things could have taking place to thwart this thing from happening. But not with God.

"But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,
To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons." Gal. 4:4-5

The Lord God had His eternal purpose to save a people for Himself. He sent His angel, Gabriel to Mary, and then to Joseph, and this was all done, that God's purpose would absolutely and positively be fulfilled.

"..and you shall call His name JESUS: for He shall save His people from their sins." Matt. 1:21

"Christ, by highest heaven adored,
Christ, the everlasting Lord,
late in time behold him come,
offspring of a Virgin's womb.
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see:
hail, the incarnate Deity,
pleased as man with man to dwell,
Jesus, our Emmanuel.
Hark, the herald-angels sing
glory to the new-born King.

Hail, the heaven-born Prince of Peace:
hail, the Sun of Righteousness.
Light and life to all he brings,
risen with healing in his wings.
Mild he lays his glory by,
born that man no more may die,
born to raise the sons of earth,
born to give them second birth.
Hark, the herald-angels sing
glory to the new-born King." -Words: Charles Wesley (1707-1788)

"Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him." -St. John the Apostle

(Two priests ask a heretic to repent as torture is administered.)

From the Jews hating Christ Himself, and all throughout the history of the Church, including the Spanish Iquisition, there have been zealous religious types, who in pretense sought to glorify God, and defend Him from blasphemers, and heretics.

Jesus told the Jews that God was His Father, and that He could forgive sins. They called Him a blasphemer, and tried to kill Him. How they hated the Christ. If they truly had the glory of God in their hearts, then they would have knelt before Christ, and asked for His mercy, and then rejoiced in God their Father and His Son. who was in their midst.

And yet, don't we ALL hate God. Would we have been those who cried out, "Crucify Him!"? I believe, until His mercy finds our hearts and we are touched by this mercy and His truth, the Gospel, we ALL long to be left alone in our dark corner of hatred and indifference.

We need to remember where we came from, so we don't do the same, and persecute others in pretense. There's a fine "spiritual" line we need to walk here.

Surely we need to be contending for the faith, the holy Gospel, and keeping it pure. We should be willing to die for the Gospel. Many who were killed in the Spanish Inquistion surely could have simply believed in the pretender's christ, and avoided torture and death.
Protecting the Body of Christ from false teachings and heresy is imperative. We need to do this with great, and patient, discernment, and most of all love for Christ, and for those who are bringing these false gospels, and doctrines within the community of God's people.
Satan will always have his wolves in sheeps-clothing, and we need to be wise as snakes. But we also need to be harmless as doves.

"Be in harmony with one another" Rom. 12:16

(This is a photo of Tenth Pres in Philadelphia. I actually visited it when James Montgomery Boice was the pastor. I still remember his sermon, though it was 15 years ago.)

What a fine sermon I heard in church today from my Pastor!

Here's the first portion of the text he preached from: "Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep."

As Greg was preaching on this portion of the text I thought of Christ, and how He wept at Lazarus' grave sight. He wept with those who wept. I then prayed: "Lord help me to weep, and to experience the sorrow of others more than I do, so that I might be a blessing to them." Amen.

Here's the rest of his text, from which he taught us today: "Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.
Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men." Romans 12:14-17

These words are some-kind-of heavy words for the heart to receive. They are impossible to obey really. We need to hear them, and then tell the Lord we can't possibly do such things. And yet the Bible also teaches us that through Christ, and by faith, we, the Church, can become a living epistle of these same incredible holy words. It will be blood, sweat, and tears in obeying these words, but we can trust God that he will be faithful to work them in us, and through us, if we seek Him with all our heart, and cry out to Him with all our heart.

I pray that I would become a Christian who blesses others, even when others mistreat me. Not so I'm admired, but so the Lord is glorified, and His grace is praised.
Here's the link to Christ Fellowship Church so that if you like you can go and listen to this very edifying sermon. (http://christfc.org/)