God’s Mysterious Providence

“It will never do to sacred words!”

Those are the words of the great Felix Mendelssohn, the 19th century German composer. They were spoken in regard to a piece of choral music he had composed in 1740 called Festgesang #7. The music had been originally composed to commemorate the invention of the printing press.

For a number of years Festgesang #7 only existed as a piece of music without words, with Mendelssohn lamenting, “If the right ones (words) are hit, I am sure that piece will be liked very much.”

Unbeknownst to Mendelssohn, away and across the English Channel a young Methodist minister by the name of Charles Wesley, who had experienced a great spiritual awakening, had composed, only a year earlier, a beautiful ten stanza poem that existed as a hymn without music.

Everything changed in 1855 when William H. Cummings, a doctor of sacred music realized that Wesley’s words and Mendelssohn’s music were a perfect match.  Thus was born the greatly loved Christmas carol, Hark! The Herald Angels Sing!

As we come near the celebration of Christmas and ponder the song of the herald angels around the birthplace of Jesus, let us also consider the strange ways that God has worked in our lives to bring together circumstances and people that we might not ever have thought possible, to produce beauty for the Kingdom of God!

CP