I don’t doubt that you will listen to plenty of Christmas music in the next few weeks.  Good for you.  And especially if they are Christmas songs celebrating the Savior’s birth!

I hope you sing some of those songs too.

It’s interesting that in the first two chapters of Luke, Luke records no less than 4 accounts of people being moved to spontaneous praise of the Lord.  These are the earliest Christmas “songs” … even though they all were almost certainly spoken.

There is “Mary’s Song” – the words the pregnant Mary said after her relative, Elizabeth, greeted her (Luke 1:46-55).  Then we have “Zechariah’s Song” – the first words John the Baptist’s nine-month-mute father spoke after his son was born (Luke 1:67-79).  Of course, there is also the famous “song” of the angel host before the shepherds (Luke 2:13-14).  And the Gospel writer closes out the list with the “Song of Simeon,” when Joseph and Mary presented Jesus to the Lord in the temple (Luke 2:29-32).

What was the motivation, message and purpose behind these songs?  It’s actually quite clear; there’s a common refrain.  Let’s listen.

Mary proclaims:

“My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior … His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation.  He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; … He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, just as he promised our ancestors.”

What did Zechariah have to say?

“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come to his people and redeemed them.  He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago) …”

As for “the great company of the heavenly host,” the angels were praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

It was a similar story with Simeon.  Simeon took Jesus in his arms and praised God, saying:

“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace.  For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and the glory of your people Israel.”

What was the motivation, message and purpose behind these songs?

The motivation of both the sinful humans and the sinless angels was the same – profound joy in the goodness of God.  The message was “God has kept his promises and sent a Savior.”  The purpose was simply to praise God.

When God revealed that he had kept his promises and the Messiah, the Savior, had finally come … and they recognized the extent of his love and his absolute faithfulness … they simply couldn’t contain themselves.  They burst into inspired, highly emotional, incredibly moving, words of praise.

That is the same motivation for the Christmas songs we sing to our Lord: profound joy in the goodness of God.  That is the same message in our singing: God has kept his promises and sent a Savior.  We share the same purpose for our songs as well: to praise our gracious God.

We desperately needed a Savior, and in Baby Jesus God the Father gave us one!

So sing your praises to your God, this Christmas and always!