Lessons From CarolsNäide

The earliest version of “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” dates back to around 1650. The carol is featured in Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. It is also quoted in George Eliot’s novel Silas Marner. When the carol was written, most church music had a dark, somber tone. Many of the congregants did not care for this style of music; instead, they preferred songs that had more joy and happiness, similar to rousing drinking songs. Many of today’s Christmas carols came out of a desire to marry the infectious joy of popular songs with scriptural lyrics, of which “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” is the most famous.

1. God rest you merry, gentlemen, let nothing you dismay,

Remember Christ our Savior was born on Christmas Day

To save us all from Satan's power when we were gone astray.

O tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy;

O tidings of comfort and joy.

2. From God our heavenly Father a blessed angel came

And unto certain shepherds brought tidings of the same;

How that in Bethlehem was born the Son of God by name.

O tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy;

O tidings of comfort and joy.

3. “Fear not,” then said the angel, “Let nothing you affright;

This day is born a Savior of a pure virgin bright,

To free all those who trust in Him from Satan's power and might.”

O tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy;

O tidings of comfort and joy.

4. The shepherds at those tidings rejoiced much in mind,

And left their flocks afeeding, in tempest, storm, and wind,

And went to Bethlehem straightway, this blessed Babe to find.

O tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy;

O tidings of comfort and joy.

The carol’s first stanza is a concise presentation of the gospel. As human beings, we are often dismayed at the condition of this sinful world. But when we are down, we must remember that Christ our Savior was born. For those who are saved, this marks the beginning of the salvation process: the Savior’s birth. The following lines in stanza 1 tell us why He has been born, “to save us all from Satan’s power when we were gone astray.” We have all succumbed to the temptation of sin in our lives and have gone astray. However, according to Romans 5:8, “God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Christ didn’t die for us after we got it all together and began living holy lives. Christ died for us while we still rejected Him and followed our sinful desires.

The second stanza focuses more on the Christmas story itself. It speaks of God the Father sending angels to the shepherds proclaiming the birth of the Son of God, and the third stanza tells of the interaction between the angels and the shepherds. The angel told the shepherds that “unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” The stanza then returns to the gospel theme: “to free all those who trust in Him from Satan’s power and might.”

The fourth stanza provides the shepherds’ reaction. The shepherds responded immediately upon receiving the news of the Son of God being born in Bethlehem. They did not wait or contemplate what they should do. They rejoiced and left their flocks to seek the Son of God. Stanza four says that they left their flocks in “tempest, storm, and wind.” There is no biblical evidence of a tempest, storm, or wind. This is likely poetic hyperbole by the author, suggesting that the shepherds were in the fields at night during the winter, as winters in Judea are typically mild. The depiction is more fitting for winters in Great Britain and would have resonated with the audience.

The chorus reinforces the message of the gospel. The story of Christ’s birth should fill us with joy, as it did the first-century shepherds. And the gospel message should be of great comfort to the sinner. And that is what this carol tells us to do: offer one another “tidings of comfort and joy.” We are to share the gospel with joy!