The First Noel

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  --Isaiah 9:6-7

There are quite a few analogies regarding the difference between knowledge and wisdom.  The most over-used one is this: knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.  Here are some others.  Intelligence is knowing that an alligator has 80 teeth; wisdom is knowing not to confirm that with a live specimen.  Intelligence is knowing your wife is wrong; wisdom is deciding not to argue with her.  Knowledge is knowing that nowhere in the Bible does it say that angels can sing; wisdom is not bringing up this argument during the Christmas season.

Anyone who has heard Handel's Messiah (especially the Hallelujah Chorus) leaves with visions of angelic choirs singing to the unsuspecting shepherds on the hillside near Bethlehem.  "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will to men." (Luke 2:14).  Indeed, it may be considered pedantic to point out that these words were spoken by the angels, not sung,  because the last word in Luke 2:13 is "saying", not "singing."  And while the Bible does not specifically say that angels don't or can't sing, none of the scriptural texts related to angelic communication have any mention of song when the angels spoke them.  

Many of the words recorded in Scripture that were uttered by angels are beautiful enough, or hold enough significance to humans, that some humans have put them to melody.  This is never more evident than in this, the Christmas season.

While it may warm our hearts to think of a choir of angels singing over the Christ-child, it probably never happened.  There is evidence, however, that God Himself sings.  Zephaniah 3:17 says, "The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you by His love; He will exult over you with loud singing."

In Chad Bird's book of devotions Unveiling Mercy, he writes this entry for December 25:

One of the most unforgettable scenes in C.S. Lewis's The Magician's Nephew is when Aslan begins to sing Narnia into existence.  This resonates so deeply because, at one time or another, we've all been touched by the creative power of music.  Nothing seeps into our souls like song.  It moves, inspires, uplifts, stirs something ancient within us.  God may not have sung the words of Genesis 1, but He certainly fashioned within the heart of humanity deep recesses that can only be reached by music and singing.  So when Zephaniah says that the Lord our God, our Savior, will exult over us with rinnah,with "loud singing," with "cries of jubilation," it is hard to imagine a clearer picture of His passionate and creative love.  He has "taken away the judgments against" us (v. 15), rejoiced over us with gladness, quieted us by His love, and sung songs that re-create us anew.

As Mary held her newborn son who was her Savior, as she hummed softly so as not to wake him, I can imagine God singing these words over them: "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone." (Isaiah 9:2).  Or maybe He sang these words: "May his name endure forever, his fame continue as long as the sun! May people be blessed in him, all nations call him blessed!" (Psalm 72:17).

It says in Isaiah 62:5, "as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you."  Many times in the New Testament Jesus is referred to as the Bridegroom, and the Church is referred to as the bride.  In Matthew 9:15 Jesus was referring to Himself when He said, "The attendants of the bridegroom cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they? But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast."  Revelation 19:7 says, "Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready."  So the day will come when Jesus sings over us, His bride, His Church.  On the day of His birth, however, God sang over Him.  Not angels, not even just Mary, but God Himself.

Noel is a French word meaning "a Christmas carol".  According to the song, the first Noel (or Christmas carol) "the angels did say unto certain poor shepherds in fields where they lay."  In this sense, a Christmas carol can either be spoken or sung.  The first song celebrating the birth of Christ, the first Noel, was recited by a chorus of angels whose purpose was to glorify God and announce, "Born is the King of Israel."