The First Noel

I can’t pick a favorite Christmas hymn, but this one is definitely in the top three. Our hymn book does not include verse 6 of the First Noel, but to me it is the most powerful and profound:

Then let us all with one accord
Sing praises to our heavenly Lord
That hath made Heaven and earth of nought
And with his blood mankind has bought.

We have all been bought with a price.

President Gordon B. Hinckley taught:

“This is the wondrous and true story of Christmas. The birth of Jesus in Bethlehem of Judea . . the three-year ministry of the Master . . .His sacrifice, the totally selfless act of dying in pain on the cross of Calvary to atone for the sins of all of us . . . the miracle of the Resurrection, bringing the assurance that ‘as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive’ (1 Cor. 15:22).

He continued, “There would be no Christmas if there had not been Easter. The babe Jesus of Bethlehem would be but another baby without the redeeming Christ of Gethsemane and Calvary, and the triumphant fact of the Resurrection” (“The Wonderous and True Story of Christmas”, Gordon B. Hinckley, Ensign, Dec. 2000).

These are the good tidings of great joy spoken of by the angel to the shepherds—“God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

Death and sin separated the human family from God. Justice required that a price be paid to overcome that breach. The Atonement of Jesus Christ, which provides resurrection for all and forgiveness for those who seek it, was that price. Jesus Christ is the repairer of the breach and He has bought us with His blood.

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Author’s note: On Christmas Eve 2021, I read a Facebook post from Elder Jeffrey R. Holland where he recounted a personal Christmas experience that changed his perspective of Christmas. In part, he shared this self-rebuke, “…Put your theology where your Christmas carols are” (read his full post here). I decided to take some time and think through the messages of some of these carols. I rediscovered that the truths these Christmas hymns teach can help us understand the “good tidings of great joy” (Luke 2:10) spoken of by the angel to the shepherds on the night of the Savior’s birth.

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Lead Image Courtesy of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints