As I was decorating the house for Christmas and listening to carols, “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen” caught my attention. The words proclaim the joyous news of “Jesus Christ our Savior, born on Christmas Day, to save us all from Satan’s power when we were gone astray.” Yet the tune is in minor key, which gives the song an air of sadness. My curiosity kicked in (it doesn’t take much), wanting to know why the composer would make such a choice.
After a bit of research, here’s what I discovered: This is an old carol, dating back to 15th century England. The composer is unknown, so we have no record of the musical/ lyrical choices he made. However, we can make an educated guess about his motivation, to answer the question why he wrote this carol.
Church music of that time was rather dreary, and sung in Latin. The common folk would never have been allowed to compose music for worship, especially in English. So historians surmise that a peasant wrote this song, perhaps to be sung in his own home.
(May I be so bold as to suggest a woman may have created the song, as a diversion during household chores? Oh, wait a minute. A woman would have been more likely to compose “God Rest Ye Merry, Milk Maidens.” Never mind!)
Whatever its inception, the carol grew in popularity and soon was sung by many. It remained a favorite through subsequent generations and was finally published in 1833. Charles Dickens even chose the song for a scene in The Christmas Carol (1843):
“…at the first sound of — ‘God bless you merry, gentlemen! May nothing you dismay!’— Scrooge seized the ruler with such energy of action that the singer fled in terror, leaving the keyhole to the fog and even more congenial frost.”
Back to the question that began this investigation: Why such a positive message expressed with such a sad-sounding tune? Without much background information to go on, my curiosity has to be satisfied with conjecture. What would be a logical explanation for uplifting words set in a minor-key?
Perhaps the composer was trying to express the dichotomy in which we live.
First, the minor key suggests the sad reality that we live in a world oppressed by “Satan’s power” (from verse 1 of the carol). He is a roaring lion, prowling around for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8) with his lies and temptations. And what do lions choose to prey upon? The weakest of creatures who cannot easily flee.
The second half of the dichotomy comes from the cheerful lyrics, retelling the glorious story of Jesus’ birth. The chorus resounds again and again with “tidings of comfort and joy.” Why? “This day is born a Savior of virtue, power, and might” (from verse 3 of the carol).
And now the icing on the cake. (Or, more appropriately for this time of year, the star on top of the tree!) This Savior of virtue, power, and might is in us! Somehow His spirit entwines with each of ours. We can experience His comfort and joy, just as the carol proclaims.
Yet there’s more. We can experience His presence. We can rest in His peace, rely upon His wisdom, and go to Him for help and guidance. Not even these seven blessings cover the gamut of His loving-kindness to us.
Now, because our Savior of virtue, power, and might lives within us, we are not weak creatures, who cannot easily flee that roaring, prowling lion called Satan. Jesus, our Lord and Savior, is much greater than he is (1 John 4:4)!
My heart almost skips a beat, just thinking about such astounding realities. With a humbled, grateful, merry heart, I “now to the Lord sing praises” (verse 6 of the carol)–enthusiastically!
Will you join me?
Nancy I really like how you write and enjoy your curiosity and even your imaginative digressions ( would a woman write this?) I learn, I smile, I leave refreshed. Thank you!
Jean, I am delighted you stopped by, and thank you very much for becoming a follower. I look forward to continued support and encouragment of each other as we write!
Oh, Nancy, our minds or shall I say hearts seem to run side by side. Thank you for the insight on the hymn. I also have been meditating & journaling Christmas carols. My first one was Oh Come Let Us Adore HIm. I delved into the meaning of adore- the greatst degree of love & respect, to worship. Jesus certainly deserves our greatest love & respect.
What a great idea–to meditate and journal about the carols of Christmas. And thank you for sharing about the word “adore.” You are so right: Jesus deserves our greatest love, respect, and worship. What boggles my mind is that He doesn’t require it, as He so rightly could. His humility and respect of us is incredible!
Another beautiful message, Nancy. You truly have a gift given to you by the power of the Holy Spirit. I can’t wait to hear the news that your book is going to be published. Surely it will happen soon. I love the way you think!!
Grace, you are a wonderful “balcony” friend–one who cheers, encourages, and fosters confidence. Thank you for your gracious, positive input, not just to the blog, but to my heart.
Awwww, you’re welcome, dear sister in Christ.
I’m running a liitle late on reading your blog, I haven’t been feeling well. When I have sinus pain, it’s hard to read anything. So I’m catching up and it’s so funny you write about a Christmas song. 1. I have never heard any one do that until this year. 2. My pastor has been doing one each Sunday in December along with Facebook posts everyday for the last 16 days as a Christmas devotion. He has yet to do God Rest Ye, Merry Gentleman. It is so interesting to learn about the songs we are so famiiar but don’t know the backround of. It kind of gives me a bigger understanding of what Christmas is about. Love it!
I’m so sorry you’ve been ill, but you must be on the mend if you’re able to read again. That’s good news! Thank you for being a regular visitor to the blog. I agree with you: the more we understand about God and His Word, the more we appreciate. In fact, the post for Thursday (the 20th) touches on that very subject! May you have a joyous and peace-filled Christmas, Nancy.
This week has been a week full of sad news regarding people I love in addition to the horrible shooting in Conn. Along with your ‘God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen’ theme, yes, I am so thankful that we have a God who walks with us through these dark trials. A God who came to us as a baby, who knows our emotions and understands us. I wouldn’t say I’m ‘merry’ about it, but I am so grateful and eternally thankful. We don’t ever walk alone.
“We never walk alone.” That *is* good news in the midst of heartbreak. Thank you, Grace.
I totally love how you chose to ‘investigate’ a Christmas carol, Nancy. Too often familiar hymns are so long in our subconscious that I for one don’t pay attention to the words as I am singing. I am so proud, Nancy, to count you as a longtime friend in Christ and am truly blessed by this blog (and that we have remained friends even after graduating from Taylor so long ago)… Your blog came along at just the right time in my life!
What a JOY to know this blog has blessed your heart, Cheri. And isn’t it fantastic to think how God’s timing brought it into being just when you needed a bit of inspiration! Thank you for your kind, encouraging words.