O Holy Night
Read -- Matthew 1:18-25
Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.” And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife, but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus.
Lyrics
O holy night! The stars are brightly shining, It is the night of our dear Saviour's birth. Long lay the world in sin and error pining, Till He appear'd and the soul felt its worth. A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices, For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees! O hear the angel voices! O night divine, O night when Christ was born; O night divine, O night, O night Divine.
“O Holy Night” was originally written by poet and author Placide Cappeau in 1843 southern France. The music for the song was composed by the prolific French composer and music critic, Adolphe Adam and in 1855 the song was translated from French to English by John Sullivan Dwight… Near the end of 1843, a church organ in southern France was renovated. Even though Cappeau showed no interest in religion, he was asked by the parish priest to write a Christmas poem; which he did… Shortly thereafter, Adam wrote the music and the song was first performed in 1857. O Holy Night is one of the most well-known Christmas carols reflecting on Jesus' birth and the redemption of humanity. (Godtub.com/O Holy Night)
Heavenly Father, Can I just thank you for this song! I can't think of another that prepares my heart for Christmas more than this one. So, thank you for inspiring the writing of the words and the music. As we move through the last few days leading to Christmas morning, I pray all of us would recognize the holiness of Christmas. My prayer is that our hearts would recognize the sacred moment of Christmas, because this story is LIFE to us. Because of what happened on that holy night, we are able to draw near to God. In Christ, He drew near to us. How precious! We have rightfully been encouraged to fall to our knees. How else would we respond? Lead each and every one of us to humbly rejoice over the gift of Jesus this Christmas.
