Hark! the Herald Angels Sing -- Charles Wesley

The 32-year Charles Wesley was feeling in 1739 the need for a Christmas song in his homeland, a place where the composition of songs to celebrate the holiday had been banned over a century earlier. Consequently, not much music existed to mark the Christmas season, giving Wesley an inspiration for an opening line to emphasize what he felt was inspirational in his own faith. It wasn’t what he originally wrote, but “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” carried the same message of joy and greeting that he must have felt God had sent to earth over seventeen centuries earlier when His own son chose make His unique entry. Perhaps Charles’ exquisite poetry for the occasion was the product of how special he thought Christ’s descent to earth was. Each stanza that he wrote is special, and probably is one reason why what he crafted is still around nearly 300 years later.

Charles Wesley’s conversion experience, at Aldersgate Street in central London, had fundamentally changed his outlook in the year (1738) before he composed the poem to mark the Christmas season, and so we could imagine that this incident had a significant impact on his writing even a year later. Members of the Wesley clan, including Charles’ brother John and his father Samuel, were ordained members of the Church of England (Anglican). Though the Wesley brothers had been educated by and committed to work for the church, both had an experience in 1738 that focused their lives more completely on spreading the message of God, including by way of a new sect known as Methodism. Charles’ life was filled with the composition of poem-hymns from that point forward, so that by the end of his life he had authored some 6,500 hymns, including one of the earliest products of his newfound life purpose, ‘Hark! The Herald Angels Sing’. English Puritanism a century earlier had dictated that all traditions associated with the Catholic Church, and what at the time was considered the ‘unholy’ and hedonistic Christmas festivals, be excised from official and religious life. A huge gap had therefore developed in music that would permit Christians in England to rejoice and appreciate Christ’s birth at the holiday, because of the reputation of impiety surrounding the holiday that had developed. Yet, Charles’ zeal in his renewed faith could not be contained by a cultural tradition, and perhaps his own poetic words were a personal effort to re-center his generation of countrymen on what the holiday should really celebrate – the arrival of deity on a mission to save decrepit humanity. Charles’ compatriot, George Whitefield, actually modified the original Wesleyan words of the hymn’s first line, so he deserves some credit for what we sing today in the song’s first line and its refrain. But, the original thoughts and the inspiration were Wesley’s, a believer who was zealous to proclaim the profound nature of the entrance and work of Christ on earth.

Hark, including the exclamation point (!), is undoubtedly indicative of Charles Wesley’s life outlook. He’s saying ‘look how important is this God, don’t miss Him’ with every one of his original 10 stanzas (merged into five modern-day verses). One verse of his is a poignant statement, but five verses tell us that Charles’ fire burned deep within himself. He had much to say, more than could be contained in one hymn, in fact. But, since this one about angels singing was so close to his conversion experience, we could say that it might have shown us what his spark looked like initially – how brightly it burned. It kinda helps explain the rest of Charles Wesley’s life, some 6,000 hymns later. Read all five of his verses, and see what you think.                 

See more information on the song story in these sources: The Complete Book of Hymns – Inspiring Stories About 600 Hymns and Praise Songs by William J. Petersen and Ardythe Petersen, Tyndale House Publishers, 2006; Amazing Grace: 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions by Kenneth W. Osbeck, Kregel Publications, 1990; 101 More Hymn Stories, by Kenneth W. Osbeck, Kregel Publications, 1985; and Then Sings My Soul – 150 of the World’s Greatest Hymn Stories, Robert J. Morgan, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2003.

Also see this link, showing all five original verses: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/h/h/a/hhangels.htm

Biography of the writer is here: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/w/e/s/l/wesley_c.htm
And here….https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Wesley
The song’s story is also here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hark!_The_Herald_Angels_Sing
See this site for some background on English Puritanism: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puritans