TITLE: HARK THE HERALD ANGELS SING
SCRIPTURE: ST. LUKE 2:14
Although it would be a sin, and an act of rebellion against our heavenly Father and our Lord Jesus Christ to pay the slightest adoration to the mightiest angel, who we view in this text, it would be an unkind act if we did not give to holy angels at a minimum a place in our heart. In fact, when we consider the character of angels and their many deeds of sympathy with men, and kindness towards them, it is hard to resist the impulse of love towards them.
The one incident in angelic history, to which our text refers, is enough to weld our hearts to them forever. How free from envy the angels were! I know they asked a question as recorded in PSALM 8:4-6 “WHAT IS MAN, THAT THOU ART MINDFUL OF HIM? AND THE SON OF MAN, THAT THOU VISITEST HIM? FOR THOU HAST MADE HIM A LITTLE LOWER THAN THE ANGELS, AND HAST CROWNED HIM WITH GLORY AND HONOUR. THOU MADEST HIM TO HAVE DOMINION OVER THE WORKS OF THY HANDS; THOU HAST PUT ALL THINGS UNDER HIS FEET” - this was more a statement of acknowledgment than a probing question.
• Christ did not come from heaven to save their compatriots who followed Satan in his revolt against God
• Christ did not step down from His throne to die for them, but left them to be reserved in chains and darkness until the last great day
• Yet the angels did not envy men
• They did not think it beneath them to express their joy when they found him arrayed in the body of an infant
• They were free from pride
• They gladly sped from their bright seats above, to tell the shepherds the marvelous story of an Incarnate God
Amazingly enough, this passage involves shepherds — men who herded livestock for a living, who were at the very bottom of the social structure. You have heard people say, "she cusses like a sailor." In those days there was a saying, "he lies like a shepherd." Fairly or unfairly, the character of a shepherd was not highly regarded. Shepherds tended to be socially inept - hygienically challenged - culturally reviled.
• The work was dirty, smelly, and dangerous
• Shepherds were exposed to all the elements in all seasons
• Men who shepherded usually had no other work options
It's worth noting these angels did not bring the wonderful message of Christ’s birth to those who had influence. They did not appear to the –
• Wealthy
• Political
• Religious leaders
Instead, they came to the least significant - least respected - least likely people in the community. So when God's messenger said he came to bring good news to all people, he demonstrated it by starting at the bottom.
• First there was one angel (presumably Gabriel who appeared to Zechariah)
• Then he was joined in VS. 13 with "A GREAT COMPANY OF ANGELS"
• That phrase means "more than could be counted"
If we were to look at this event at ‘face value’ I believe we would agree it does not look that earth-shattering as a narrative -- a young couple have a child. So what, happens everyday.
• In the midst of a mass migration of people ordered by an empire seeking to maximize its profits – a baby was born
• Hardly front-page news
• No doubt many babies were born that night and there is sadly nothing new about the powerful exploiting the powerless
• A poor couple give birth to a baby in an obscure town in a distant land
• Granted, it was a son – hardly something to trouble the sleep of kings and emperors
But then…there were angels. An angel and a multitude of the heavenly host left their place in heaven and appeared in the skies over Bethlehem.
• The heavenly host had far been seen as God’s heavenly army ready to fight and do battle
• But on this unique night, for the only time recorded in the Bible, the heavenly host appear and people see them worshipping God
• The shepherds get a glimpse of heaven
The angels who announced the birth of Jesus were the same that were present at the creation of the heavens and earth.
• They had seen many a planet fashioned between the palms of Jehovah, and tossed by his eternal hands through the infinitude of space
• They had sung solemn songs over many a world which God had created
• They had often chanted "BLESSING AND HONOR, AND GLORY, AND MAJESTY, AND POWER, AND DOMINION, AND MIGHT, BE UNTO HIM THAT SITS ON THE THRONE," manifesting Himself in the work of creation
But this time, when they saw God stoop from His throne, and become a babe they lifted their notes higher still; and reaching to the uttermost stretch of angelic music, they gained the highest notes of the divine octive scale of praise, and they sung, "GLORY TO GOD IN THE HIGHEST.” if angels shouted before and when the world was made, their hallelujahs were more full - more strong - more magnificent, if not more hearty, when they saw Jesus Christ born of the Virgin Mary to be man’s redeemer.
When the angels sung this, they sang what they had never sung before. "GLORY TO GOD IN THE HIGHEST," was an old, old song.
• They had sung it from before the foundations of the world
• They didn’t sing that, however, in the garden
• There was peace there, for there was glory to God there
But, now, man had fallen, and since the day when cherubim with fiery swords drove out the man, there had been no peace on earth.
• Wars had raged from the ends of the world
• Men had slaughtered one another
• There had been wars within as well as wars without
• Conscience had fought with man
• Satan had tormented man with thoughts of sin
• There had been no peace on earth since Adam fell
But now, when the newborn King made his appearance, the swaddling band with which He was wrapped was the white flag of peace. That manger was the place where the treaty was signed, whereby warfare should be stopped between man’s conscience and himself, man’s conscience and his God. Where else can peace be found, but in the message of Jesus? Peace can be found nowhere but in Him.
Those who doubt God’s love need to look at the circle of angels around the shepherds, see their blaze of glory; hear their song, and let their doubts die in that sweet music and be buried in a shroud of harmony.
• He has good will to men
• He is willing to pardon
• He forgives iniquity, transgression, and sin
The first angel brought the news in VS. 11: "TODAY IN THE TOWN OF DAVID A SAVIOR HAS BEEN BORN TO YOU; HE IS CHRIST THE LORD." He gave specific instructions about when and where this Messiah was to be born. The great company of angels brought the commentary on the news in VS 14. They brought it in the form of a song.
• This particular song has inspired composers for two thousand years
• Often called the "Gloria" after its first word in the Latin translation
• It is the basis of modern choral works, traditional Christmas carols, and ancient liturgical chants
• It is composed of two parts
• The first phrase is about what this good news means for God
• The second phrase is about what it means for all of us
This line of the angel's song focuses on --
• The One who set these events in motion
• The One who controls all events on earth
• The One who dwells in the highest place
Because of what is about to happen — because of who this baby is — people who respond to this message will respond with praise. They will say things like --
• My life was a mess, and you gave me purpose
• I used to glorify myself, but now, the glory is yours, God
• I was wandering, lost and alone. I'd been rejected by everyone I once loved and trusted. And you found me
• You are glorious, Lord!
• I was living my life in fear — fearful of those around me, fearful of the future. And then, because of the Son you sent, I found release from my fear. God, you are magnificent!"
So what kind of peace are the angels referring to? Is this the peace that nations leaders offer? No, not really. All those are at best temporary forms of peace.
• Wars will break out again
• Pandemics will come again
• Babies will cry again
• Relationships will get strained again
The peace that only the Messiah can bring is a personal, permanent kind of peace — peace between self-absorbed, willful, sinful people like you and me, and the Holy God. Those whom God favors are those who understand and embrace this truth. God is offering a chance for us to have peace in our relationships.
The angels' song also gives us the hope of peace from our past.
• If there is anything in your past that still causes you SHAME - EMBARRASSMENT – GUILT -- this song promises you can be at peace
• If there is anything in your past that brings you SADNESS – GRIEF – LONELINESS -- this song promises you can be at peace
• If there is anything in your past that brings you REGRET over things done or said that HURT PEOPLE you love -- this song promises you can be at peace
Our world does promise peace in a number of ways. We are bombarded with advertisements that promise we will know peace if we just purchase the right products. Every drug, both legal and illegal, lies by suggesting that getting buzzed is the only way to find peace.
• Many of us believe that real peace would come if we just had financial security
• Still others try to convince us that peace is found only in independence, never being committed to anyone or anything
We are so bombarded by the peace that the world offers, all of which is temporary at best and fatal at worst — that we fail to believe the peace proclaimed by the angels and promised by Jesus himself. We often think of peace as a being without trials and troubles — the absence of pain and suffering and heartache.
• That kind of peace, while admittedly nice, cannot be sustained
• Not in this world
So we need a Peace -
• That transcends circumstance
• That allows us to rise above the urgency of the immediate
• That allows us to have a clear head and a peaceful heart in the midst of the chaos that defines contemporary life
• PHILIPPIANS 4:7 “AND THE PEACE OF GOD, WHICH PASSETH ALL UNDERSTANDING, SHALL KEEP YOUR HEARTS AND MINDS THROUGH CHRIST JESUS”
That's part of what the angels' song is about. If we could get a glimpse of heaven today, we would hear them singing, "GLORY TO GOD IN THE HIGHEST, AND ON EARTH PEACE TO MEN ON WHOM HIS FAVOR RESTS." Hundreds of years before Jesus was born, the Prophet Isaiah proclaimed peace with a song of his own - "FOR UNTO US A CHILD IS BORN, UNTO US A SON IS GIVEN, AND THE GOVERNMENT WILL BE ON HIS SHOULDERS. AND HE WILL BE CALLED WONDERFUL COUNSELOR, MIGHTY GOD, EVERLASTING FATHER, PRINCE OF PEACE."
--Peace can be found no matter what the circumstances
--The most real part about you is your soul, and when your soul is at peace with God, you have the capacity to endure any crisis, any tragedy, any misfortune
--That’s why the Angels Sang, and we Sing today
Hark! the herald angels sing,
Glory to the new born King,
peace on earth, and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled!
Joyful, all ye nations rise,
join the triumph of the skies;
with the’ angelic host proclaim,
Christ is born in Bethlehem!
Hark! the herald angels sing,
Glory to the new born King!
