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“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 newborn King.”
Jesus offers Peace
The Christ of Christmas is ‘Prince of Peace.’ There is no true, lasting peace without the Prince of Peace. Christ offers true, inner peace that results in outer peace, if we are willing to give up our own agendas and follow Him.
Jesus offers Righteousness
Christ is ‘Sun’ of Righteousness. One definition of righteousness is “Right living according to God’s Word.” Human history is full of mankind’s attempts to live right, without God’s help. There is no right living apart from God’s right living, revealed in the Book. “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death” (Proverbs 14:12).
It’s not enough to “do the best you can.” Only the right living that Christ brought can make things right with God. Have you been frustrated by your own efforts at right living? Christ brought help, which starts with a life that follows the Word of God, word–for–word, line–by–line, lesson–by–lesson.
Jesus offers Light and life
“Light and life to all He brings.” “In Him was life, and that life was the light of men” (John 1:4). Contrary to what many of us “good” Christians have displayed by our lives, a life of faith and service to Christ should be the most joyful, exciting life ever.
The really dull, boring, unpleasant Christian life is the one that dabbles just enough with Christ to miss out on both sides of excitement. We have enough of Christ to spoil the pleasure and excitement of sin (thank goodness). But we also don’t have enough of Christ to get the great benefits of peace, joy and contentment that a serious commitment to faith offers. Christ is Light and Life to anyone willing to dedicate his or her life completely to worshiping and serving Jesus Christ.
Jesus offers Healing (“Risen with healing in His wings”)
From physical to emotional to mental to financial to social to spiritual healing, Christ is the source of all true, lasting healing in the human condition. “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed” (1 Peter 2:24 NIV).
No person is truly whole, whatever he or she may look like on the outside, until Christ’s “Whole Person” healing has been applied to body, soul, spirit, mind and relationships.
Jesus offers Victory over death
“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.”
The victory Christ won over death—on the cross and out of the empty tomb—is our victory too. “And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you” (Romans 8:11 NIV).
Any person who trusts Jesus Christ as Savior has received not only victory over death but a new life that transcends mere earthly life and all the problems even the best life can have. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). By dying with Christ, we live; Christ’s life can be lived out in us as we give ourselves to Him.
The quiet, understated entry of God into human existence and into human history is the single most important happening (along with His death and resurrection). If He had not come, we cannot even speculate about what the world would be like today. Humankind had already proved, long before Jesus came, that we could only cause the destruction of society. And if He had not come, that destruction was a sure and unavoidable threat.
Ralph Stockman said, “The hinge of history is on the door of a Bethlehem stable.” He meant that the world was like a swinging door, it could go either direction—good, or bad. And history was hanging on what happened in Bethlehem. Jesus was born, and history swung to the good.
Look at two old-fashioned words that we find in this Christmas Carol. The words Wesley used did not seem strange to singers back then. But even though we don’t use these words in everyday language anymore, their meaning is still relevant to our lives.
The first word in this song jumps out at you: “Hark!” This word means PAY ATTENTION, or LISTEN! “Hark!” is a word you would shout in order to grab everyone’s attention. The song could start with the words: HEY, YOU! But that wouldn’t be as poetic. Jesus often said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” It does no good for God to speak if we will not listen.
The message of salvation has been proclaimed: Jesus has come. Salvation is yours if you will accept it. The first thing we need to do is accentuated by that one word: “Hark!” Are you listening to Christ today?
The second archaic word is “Hail!” which means to acclaim, salute, acknowledge. The carol says: “Hail the heaven born prince of peace! Hail the Sun of Righteousness!” To Hail is to give the Worship that is due to the One who brings us Peace and Righteousness, Light and Life, Healing, and Eternal Salvation.