I would like it to be said of me that “he knew how to keep Christmas.” And Easter, too.
And so we come to Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, by Charles Wesley in 1739, sung by Amy Grant.
If Christ is not born, the world cannot be saved.
And if Christ be not risen, as St. Paul explained, then we can’t be risen, either.
Hence a Christmas hymn in September.
Oh, that lovely snow! Don’t mind me, I love snow. And summer always looks its best in the middle of the winter. And vice-versa.
I’m not doing nooze today, it’s our anniversary; but I am doing a Christmas carol in August, and I’ll post an Easter hymn before the month is out.
So here it is–Good Christian Men Rejoice, sung a capella by the Wissman Family: old, but still glorious.
It’s been horribly hot around here all week long, except for periods of torrential rain (which I got stuck in yesterday)… so why not a Christmas carol?
I Saw Three Ships Come Sailing, sung by Blackmore’s Night–and please don’t get hung up on the difficulties of getting any kind of ship to Bethlehem. That’s not the point! The divine rescue of a fallen world is the point.
I chose this hymn by accident and just went with it because it’s beautiful, the birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ is beautiful to contemplate–and because the computer won’t give me time to be particular.
No hymn requests, so I had to find a hymn on YouTube and this is the first one that came up–Gaudete: “Rejoice! Christ is born of Virgin Mary.”
And really–if that doesn’t happen, we haven’t got a prayer.
Well, I told you’d I’d post one or two Christmas hymns a month, year-round. That goes for Easter, too–so don’t be afraid to request it.
O Holy Night, by the Voice of Eden Choir Masters Assn., India: featuring soloist Deborah Blesse. The Lord has certainly blessed her with a voice!
(See, I told you: nooze-free weekend, especially Sunday.)
Well, we said you don’t have to wait for Christmas to request a Christmas hymn, and Elder Mike has taken us up on it, so here we go–What Child Is This?, sung a capella by the Adoration Ensemble. And it sounds just as beautiful in May as in December.
I’ve said there is no wrong time for a Christmas hymn, so let’s enjoy one today–On This Day Earth Shall Ring, sung by the congregation of the First Presbyterian Church in Beaver Falls, PA. This hymn goes back to 1582, when it was sung in Latin and known as Personent Hodie.
We’re going to keep on doing Easter hymns, too.
I thought I might be too sick to post this–but no way! This is just out of this world.
Requested by Susan, Angels We Have Heard On High, sung by Dan Vasc with a full orchestra behind him. It stirred my soul!
Remember–from now on, hymns for Christmas and Easter are never out of season here! Request them to your hearts’ content.
A Christmas hymn, in March? Well, why not?
Isaac Watts wrote Joy to the World in 1719, and as you can see, it’s still going strong. Here we have a modern rendition of it by Pentatonics. Again, why not?
I’m saving Easter hymns for a little later.