A Favorite Carol

Do you have a favorite Christmas carol? Mine is “Angels from the Realms of Glory.” I like it because it’s about worship, and that’s an important part of Christmas that sometimes gets overlooked.

In the first verse the angels worship. “Angels from the realms of glory, Wing your flight o’er all the earth; Ye who sang creation’s story Now proclaim Messiah’s birth.” Those angels who were present at creation fill the skies over the shepherds chanting, “Glory to God in the highest!”

In the second verse the shepherds worship. “Shepherds, in the field abiding, Watching o’er your flocks by night, God with man is now residing, Yonder shines the Infant Light.” The shepherds do the angels’ bidding and go to worship the baby Jesus, who came to be the Light of the World. “Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them” (Luke 2:20).

In the third verse the wise men follow the star to find the newborn King and worship Him. “Sages, leave your contemplations, Brighter visions beam afar; Seek the great Desire of nations; Ye have seen His natal star.” The wise men went through a lot of trouble to find the Baby from heaven, but they finally arrived in Bethlehem. “When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him” (Matthew 2:10-11).

The wise men were not the only “foreigners” to worship the King. The last verse of the song projects into the future, when people from all around the globe will worship. “Tho’ an infant now we view Him, He will share His Father’s throne; Gather all the nations to Him; Every knee shall then bow down.”

After all of these verses comes the chorus: “Come and worship, come and worship; Worship Christ, the newborn King.” That’s why I like this song so much. It’s all about worship. When we sing it, we join the angels, the shepherds, the wise men, and the redeemed from all nations to exalt the King of Kings.

I’m glad that Christmas Day falls on Sunday this year. We get to join with our church family to worship our Savior together on this special day.

Do you have a favorite carol? How about letting me know what it is and why it’s special to you?