Hark! The Fourth Verse Now We Sing!

From time to time, I mention Kairos Prison Ministry in this space, for it is hard not to speak of the awesome wonders God works in the lives of incarcerated people. If you’ve heard of Kairos, you are most likely familiar with the semi-annual, four-day Kairos Weekends in which we volunteers share with inmates the love and forgiveness that are found solely in Christ Jesus. Yet we also return to the prison through monthly reunions and weekly Prayer & Share. And for this month’s reunion, I and some others were asked to share an especially meaningful Christmas carol and why we find it so meaningful. So, do you mind if I practice on you this week?

I chose “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.”¹ It is the gospel put to poetry; the good news wrapped in rhyme. Were you to open your hymnal to this enduring favorite, you would probably find three verses. Then would it surprise you to learn Charles Wesley’s composition had ten? The first verse, the familiar one, proclaims a promise kept: a heavenly King who brings us the peace, the reconciliation of God the Creator and us, His created. The second stanza points us to Jesus’ human incarnation: “Offspring of a virgin’s womb” — the Godhead veiled in flesh, “pleased as man with man to dwell.” Flowing on through its third verse, this Christmas classic heralds the Messiah’s heavenly origin: the “Sun of Righteousness,”² bringing His light and life to us, defeating death and raising us through new birth.

So let’s pick up where our hymnals leave off, for verse four — so powerfully sourced in Scripture — is the cry of the redeemed soul, a prayerful response to God’s faithfulness,. Sing it softly; let it melt into your soul.

Come, Desire of nations, come!³
Fix in us Thy humble home:⁴
Rise, the woman’s conqu’ring seed,⁵
Bruise in us the serpent’s head;⁶
Adam’s likeness now efface,⁷
Stamp Thine image in its place:⁸
Final Adam from above,⁹
Reinstate us in Thy love.¹⁰
Hark! The herald angels sing,¹¹
“Glory to the new-born King.”¹²

Satan is defeated, and in Christ we are new creations¹³ being transformed into His image.¹⁴ Isn’t this what we want? When we behold God’s great promises fulfilled in the most unexpected of ways, don’t our hearts respond in joy, thanksgiving and trust? And in this trust, don’t our spirits cry, “More!”?

Yes, Lord, deliver us from evil, and transform us into unimaginable glory. Grace us with fruitful lives throughout our days here. We see what you’ve done for mankind; do also what you will in each of us. Guide us daily away from our old nature, and transform us into yours. Grow your church on Earth. In Christ we live; in Him we pray. Amen.

¹ Charles Wesley, “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” Hymnal.net, accessed: December 15, 2025.
² Malachi 4:2
³ Haggai 2:7
⁴ John 14:23
^{5, 6} Genesis 3:15
^{7, 8} 1 Corinthians 15:49
^{9, 10} Romans 5:19
^{11, 12} Luke 2:13-14
¹³ 2 Corinthians 5:17
¹⁴ 2 Corinthians 3:18