Christians, awake, salute the happy morn,
whereon the Savior of the world was born;
rise to adore the mystery of love,
which hosts of angels chanted from above;
with them the joyful tidings were begun
of God incarnate and the Virgin's son.
2 Then to the watchful shepherds it was told,
who heard th'angelic herald's voice: "Behold,
I bring good tidings of a Savior's birth
to you and all the nations on the earth:
this day hath God fulfilled his promised word,
this day is born a Savior, Christ the Lord."
3 He spake, and straightway the celestial choir
in hymns of joy, unknown before, conspire;
the praises of redeeming love they sang,
and heav'n's whole orb with alleluias rang;
God's highest glory was their anthem still,
peace on the earth, and unto men good will.
4 To Bethl'hem straight the happy shepherds ran,
to see the wonder God had wrought for man;
and found, with Joseph and the blessed maid,
her son, the Savior, in a manger laid;
amazed, the wondrous story they proclaim,
the earliest heralds of the Savior's name.
5 Oh, may we keep and ponder in our mind
God's wondrous love in saving lost mankind!
Trace we the babe, who hath retrieved our loss,
from his poor manger to his bitter cross.
Tread in his steps, assisted by his grace,
till our imperfect state God doth replace.
6 Then may we hope, th'angelic throngs among,
to sing, redeemed, a glad triumphal song;
he that was born upon this joyful day
around us all his glory shall display;
saved by his love, incessant we shall sing
eternal praise to heav'n's almighty King.
(J Byrom. Source)
Performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fL-7g7QeFb0
I was pleased when someone else suggested this as it’s not a particularly well-known one, I don’t think I’ve ever encountered it outside Methodist circles (and yes, I’ll get the obvious joke out of the way: Methodists are good at going round in circles). It’s also quite a long one.
The lyrics were written in the 18th Century by John Byrom, who according to his wikipedia entry seems to have been an interesting chap. He was a poet and member of the Royal Society alongside Isaac Newton, as well as inventor of a system of shorthand used by John and Charles Wesley. There are links to both Jacobitism (those favouring the Stuart dynasty over the Hanovarians) and freemasonry and many of his papers apparently mysteriously disappeared some years after his death.
“Christians Awake! Salute the happy morn” was apparently written in 1745 as a Christmas present for his daughter Dorothy (Dolly). I’d love a carol for a Christmas present, if anyone feels up to it!
The lyrics tread well-worn ground, calling Christians to praise and celebrate Jesus’ arrival on earth, with reminders of the angels’ message to the shepherds and describing their wonder on seeing Jesus. The focus is on their reaction-
“amazed, the wondrous story they proclaim,
the earliest heralds of the Savior's name.”
The lyrics, especially verses 4 and 5, appear in slightly different versions. The former Methodist hymnbook Hymns & Psalms has ‘apostles’ instead of ‘heralds’ in the quotation above, giving a more direct impression of the shepherds as the first believers and followers of Jesus. Verse 5 in Hymns & Psalms also starts “Like Mary, let us ponder in our mind” rather than “Oh, may we keep and ponder in our mind” taking up the theme of Mary as understanding more of God’s plan for Jesus (which verse 5 reminds us of) than most of those around her. It’s an interesting change and I wonder which was original, especially given that the carol was first written for a woman or girl- it might have made sense to refer to the only female character in the story, perhaps to encourage her to think more deeply about it?
The end of verse 5 encourages the singer to ‘“Tread in his steps, assisted by his grace” i.e. to try to live in the way Jesus taught, until “our imperfect state he doth replace”, referring to being resurrected, ‘perfect’ or free from the desire to sin, and ready to do as the final verse says and sing with the angels “eternal praise to heaven’s almighty King”. Easier to sing than to do!
