1.
Before the marvel of this night
Adoring, fold your wings and bow,
Then tear the sky apart with light
And with your news the world endow.
Proclaim the birth of Christ and peace,
That fear and death and sorrow cease:
Sing peace, sing peace, sing gift of peace.
Sing peace, sing gift of peace.2.
Awake the sleeping world with song,
This is the day the Lord has made.
Assemble here, celestial throng,
In royal splendor come arrayed.
Give earth a glimpse of heav'nly bliss, A teasing taste of what they miss:
Sing bliss, sing bliss, sing endless bliss.
Sing bliss, sing endless bliss.3.
The love that we have always known,
Our constant joy and endless light,
Now to the loveless world be shown,
Now break upon its deathly night.
Into one song compress the love,
That rules our universe above:
Sing love, sing love, sing God is love.
Sing love, sing God is love.
Tonight, Christmas Eve, we join with Jaroslav Vajda in beholding the "marvel of this night." And for this marvel Vajda takes us back to "where the shepherds lately knelt" to observe the song of the angels.
You will again observe that Vajda uses repetition. Each verse ends with a phrase that is repeated. And again the composer is Carl Schalk.
The hymn begins with the angels preparing then singing their song for the shepherds. And first the angels honor Him who set in motion our redemption. They fold their wings and bow. But the news is too beautiful and too joyful to keep contained. The angels tear the sky apart with light! They get to proclaim peace. They get to proclaim that sin and death will cease, that sin and death no longer hold dominion over God's creation.
Sing gift of peace!
Alas, should the angels awaken anyone at night? Wouldn't this be considered rude? Let's rephrase this. If a family member or close friend had a baby, would you be mad or disappointed if that person called you late at night or in the wee early hours to break the news? I doubt it. You would be overjoyed! And thus the angels are encouraged and invited to come and share the Good News. For in this sight and in this message we get a glimpse of heavenly bliss.
Sing endless bliss!
In verse three Vajda shares with us that this Good News is too good to keep to ourselves. Like the shepherds we, too, want to share what we have seen and heard. We are to share this love to a loveless world. We are to break the night with celestial light. And notice, we don't have to be eloquent or learned or trained in a theological seminary. We can compress the message of love into one song-just like the angels did. That one, brief song encapsulates the essence of God's redemption: Promise fulfilled.
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