COME, DESIRE OF NATIONS!

COME, DESIRE OF NATIONS!

Hag 2:7

7 And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord  of hosts.

Luke 2:10-11

10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

Gal 3:8

8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.

          Charles Wesley wrote the Christmas Carol we know as “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” but the original tune was the same as “Christ the Lord is risen today.” The original lyrics were “Hark how all the Welkin ring.” Welkin is a word that is long forgotten but it means “vault of heaven” so there was little damage done to the original when George Whitfield changed it to “herald angels.” The tune was changed to one written by Felix Mendelssohn and the result is what we have today.

          I read somewhere, and alas I can’t remember where, that Wesley wrote the hymn in response to an earthquake. If that is so, it would make sense to write a hymn based upon Haggai 2:7 which speaks of a great shaking! Wesley speaks of the “desire of all nations” and we assume he is referring to Messiah but just what is it that all nations long for? I think the announcement of the angel gives us our answer.

Luke 2:10-14

10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

Dear Lord, all around we see a world that longs for peace and good will among men. We grope in the darkness and rarely find this peace because we have failed to recognize and receive the Prince of Peace. We echo the words of Wesley’s hymn when we pray “come, desire of nations, come!” AMEN