Fall on your knees?

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O Holy Night is one of my favorite Christmas hymns. I always enjoy seeing who will be chosen to sing that hymn in a worship service. I don’t know a lot about singing, but I know a person needs a great voice to handle that hymn! The chorus to O Holy Night is:

Fall on your knees
O hear the angel voices
O night divine
O night when Christ was born
O night divine
O night divine


I saw the picture in this blog post and those words came instantly to my mind. It is easy to lose sight of the divine purpose of Christmas, especially if there are great deals on a television set.

I always try to finish my Christmas shopping early. I don’t enjoy the “holiday mood” of the mall if I have to buy something there. I love to watch the children visit Santa. Some are excited while others are absolutely terrified and traumatized when their parents sit them on the knee of a strange man in a bright red suit. I can’t say that I blame them!

Christmas Day is just around the corner. Are you ready spiritually? If not, fall on your knees and hear the angel voices. This is a divine season. We have a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. The first stanza of the hymn says:

O holy night, the stars are brightly shining;
It is the night of the dear Savior’s birth!
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
Till He appeared 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!

I find myself considering the words, “Long lay the world in sin and error pining.” The world has always needed a Savior. How blessed we are to celebrate Christmas. We know what the holiday is really about. The hymn was premiered in 1847 to celebrate a newly renovated organ. I wonder what the people in 1847 were “pining” for. There have always been things to want in this world. (I’m not sure I have ever wanted anything as badly as those people fighting over the television set!) But there are always things to want. It is common to define “enough” as “just a little bit more.”

I am blessed to have all that I need and most of what I would want. Is there anything I should be pining for? I think the answer is found in the lyrics of the hymn. I want to remember the worth of my soul. Jesus thought my soul was worth dying for. Do we, as Christians, value our souls as we should?
We need to experience the thrill of hope and teach our weary world to rejoice in the truth of Christmas. Jesus chose to be born and Jesus chose to die because Jesus chose for us to understand how greatly God values our souls. Whatever else you might be pining for, understand that Jesus is pining for you. Christmas is the highest expression of God’s love for the world, and that love was made complete in the sacrifice of Easter. Whatever else we may want, we do not lack the love of God.

The hymn closes with these words:

Truly He taught us to love one another;
His law is love and His Gospel is peace.
Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother
And in His Name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
Let all within us praise His holy Name!

What do you need most today? Fall on your knees, praise his holy name and you will probably find it.

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Posted by Janet Denison

Janet Denison teaches others to live an authentic faith through her writing, speaking, and teaching ministry. She blogs weekly at JanetDenison.org and often at ChristianParenting.org. She is also the author of The Songs Tell the Story and Content to Be Good, Called to Be Godly, among other books. Janet and her husband, Dr. Jim Denison, live in Dallas, Texas. When they’re not writing or ministering to others, they enjoy spending time with their grown children and their four still-growing grandchildren.