I have to admit that over the years I’ve grown weary of some of the traditional Christmas songs. When you think about how many times I have sung them in my forty-something years it’s amazing. Take “Silent Night” for example. I bet that in an average year I would have sung that song (or heard it) no less than twenty times. We sing it at church, in the music programs at church and school, and at various events we attend. Most Christmas Eve services I’ve attended sing “Silent Night” by candlelight as the closing of the service. Overdone? Maybe.
However, at our Christmas luncheon at work last week when we joined in singing “Silent Night” I noticed a verse that I’ve probably repeated a thousand times:
Silent night, holy night
Son of God, love’s pure light
Radiant beams from Thy holy face
With the dawn of redeeming grace
Jesus Lord at Thy birth
Jesus Lord at Thy birth.
I was struck by these words and I’ve been pondering them ever since. Perhaps it’s because of what I have been studying recently in the Book of Isaiah.
The first phrase that hit me was “radiant beams from Thy holy face.” Isaiah points to a time in the future when Jesus returns to reign on the earth. The sun and the moon will no longer be needed because the light of God’s glory and radiance will be all that we need.
“The sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. Your sun will never set again, and your moon will wane no more; the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your days of sorrow will end.” Isaiah 60:19-20 NIV
Then there is the phrase “the dawn of redeeming grace.” With the birth of Jesus came both redemption and grace. We deserve neither. Grace by its definition is unmerited or undeserved favor. To redeem is to buy back or deliver. That’s what Jesus did for us on the cross. He paid the price for our sin (redemption).
There are few phrases as powerful as “redeeming grace.” No wonder I was moved by these words even after the numerous times I’ve sung them.
I challenge you, as I do myself, to think about the words that you are singing over the next few days. May God touch our hearts as we sing about the birth of His Son.
Merry Christmas!