Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way
Matthew 1:18

God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen

1. God rest you merry, gentlemen, let nothing you dismay,
For Jesus Christ our Savior was born upon this day,
To save us all from Satan's power when we were gone astray:
O tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy, O tidings of comfort and joy.

2. From God our heavenly Father a blessed angel came,
And unto certain shepherds brought tidings of the same,
How that in Bethlehem was born the Son of God by name:

3. The shepherds at those tidings rejoiced much in mind,
And left their flocks a-feeding in tempest, storm and wind,
And went to Bethlehem straightway, this blessed Babe to find:

4. But when to Bethlehem they came, whereat this Infant lay,
They found Him in a manger, where oxen feed on hay;
His mother Mary kneeling, unto the Lord did pray:

5. Now to the Lord sing praises, all you within this place,
And with true love and brotherhood each other now embrace;
This holy tide of Christmas all other doth deface:

Traditional English Carol

One of the oldest English Christmas carols, dating to the 1400’s or earlier, it was written as an upbeat melody to speak of the birth of Jesus. During the 15th century most carols were somber in tone, offering little inspiration, so this one likely shocked and inspired. It is often misunderstood due to its goofy punctuation and archaic language; “rest” means to keep and “merry” means joyful, and “gentlemen” was a person without land so the carol is actually quoting the Angel; “I bring you tidings of great joy for all people” spoken not to the well-heeled but to shepherds. A modern translation might be; “God keep you in joy, humble ones”. (I think we all need a little Christmas right now!)

Prayer: Incarnate God, may your message of joy break into the somber times in which we are living, and may it bring your people joy again! Amen.

Here is one of my favorite renditions of this carol from John Rutter’s “A Christmas Star”

Merry Gentlemen