Christmas carols – at least, the best of them – are more than just sweet words and catchy melodies. They tell a story, which is why they often contain many verses. All too often, we leave out the most significant verses or dumb down the words to make them more socially acceptable.
This morning I’d like to focus on an old Norwegian/Danish carol, Her Komer Dine Arme Smaa, “Thy Little Ones, Dear Lord, Are We.” Its author, Hans Adolph Brorson (1694-1764), was a Lutheran pastor who wrote about 70 hymns and was often called the “poet of pietism.” Norse pietists held firmly to Lutheran doctrine but also emphasized the need for personal faith, personal conversion to Christ, and a pious lifestyle.
“Thy Little Ones” has been called “a little Christmas song for children,” but it is much, much more. You can hear the tune in the video below as we examine it verse by verse.
Verse 1 emphasizes that we come to Jesus as children – with humility, childish eagerness, and delight:
"Thy little ones, dear Lord, are we
And come Thy lowly bed to see;
Enlighten every soul and mind,
That we the way to Thee may find."
As Jesus humbled Himself to be born in a lowly stable and laid in lowly bed, so we humble ourselves as “little ones” coming to Him.
Verse 2 breaks forth with the joy of Christ’s birth:
"With songs we hasten Thee to greet
And kiss the dust before Thy feet;
O blessed hour, O sweetest night,
That gave Thee birth, our soul’s delight."
As we worship Christ, we recognize that His coming is the central event of human history, the advent of God’s plan to reconcile the world unto Himself. All seems to be joy, singing, worship, blessedness, sweetness – until verse 3.
In verse 3, all is not sweetness and light, because our world is a “vale of tears”:
"Now welcome! From Thy heav’nly home
Thou to our vale of tears art come;
Man hath no off’ring for Thee save
The stable, manger, cross and grave."
The world is a vale of tears because of sin! “Cursed is the ground for thy sake” (Genesis 3:17; cf Romans 8:22). Christ comes to a lowly place, the stable and manger, and descends further to take our sins upon Himself and suffer a criminal’s death on the cross, then descends further still to the grave.
As we come to verse 4, we see the supreme irony – that even though He has shown us His infinite love, we are indifferent to Him:
"Jesus, alas! How can it be
So few bestow a thought on Thee
Or on the love, so wondrous great,
That drew Thee down to our estate?"
He came to us because of His love: “God commendeth His love to us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Such infinite amazing love should naturally bring infinite gratitude and devotion.
But few bestow a thought on Christ. Does Brorson refer to heathens in foreign lands, or unchurched people in Norway or America? Or does he refer to believers who go about their daily lives oblivious to what Christ has done for them?
Think about that this Christmas morning: Will you spend Christmas day thinking and talking about nothing but food, folks and football? What will you do this Christmas that tells of Christ?
But there’s the problem. We are “dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1-3) and therefore cannot respond unless we are quickened by our Lord. Dead people cannot respond to God; God must make them alive by imparting to them His saving faith: “By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).
And so, verse 5 asks God to draw us to Himself by giving us grace and imparting true faith and love:
"O draw us wholly to Thee, Lord,
Do Thou to us Thy grace accord,
True faith and love to us impart,
That we may hold Thee in our heart."
Many seem to think that although they are saved by grace through faith, they hold on to Christ by their own power. No, we depend upon Christ not only to save us but also to keep us: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand” (John 10:27-28).
Verse 6 therefore implores the Lord to hold us fast to Himself:
"Keep us, howe’er the world may lure,
In our baptismal cov’nant pure,
That ev’ry yearning thought may be
Directed only unto Thee."
And then, in verse 7, we are reminded of that glorious day when faith shall be turned to sight, and we will be secure and safe in the joys of heaven:
"Until at last we, too, proclaim,
With all Thy saints, Thy glorious name;
In Paradise our songs renew,
And praise Thee as the angels do."
The praise of God in heaven will be pure and beautiful, dwarfing anything on earth. Many hymnals end the carol with this verse, but Brorson the pietist wants to bring the matter down to an individual response. So as we see in verse 8, our response is to follow His leading, be drawn to Jesus, and pray that our family circle will be unbroken in heaven:
"We gather round Thee, Jesus dear,
So happy in Thy presence here;
Grant us, our Savior, ev’ry one,
To stand in heav’n before Thy throne."
Christian faith involves a communal response as the Church, the body of believers, but also an individual response. Trust Him and Him alone for your salvation. Follow His leading, as you are drawn by Him. Pray and witness that others will likewise come unto Him.
With these thoughts in mind, may you truly have a Merry Christmas!
Colonel Eidsmoe serves as Professor of Constitutional Law for the Oak Brook College of Law & Government Policy (obcl.edu), as Senior Counsel for the Foundation for Moral Law (morallaw.org), and as Pastor of Trinity Presbyterian Church (trinitypca.org) near Notasulga. He may be contacted for speaking engagements at eidsmoeja@juno.com.
The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of 1819 News. To comment, please send an email with your name and contact information to Commentary@1819News.com.
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