Photo by Jonathan Pielmayer
Not much is known about God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen’s origins. The earliest version on record comes from Three New Christmas Carols in 1760, which only contained the first Verse and Refrain. A fuller version was published in 1775 by The Beauties of the Magazines, which contained five Verses. The song has gone through many changes and eventually settled on Carols for Choirs’ version, published in 1961 by Oxford University Press. We’ve been singing the 1961 edition ever since.
Since we don’t know the original version, I picked the one I grew up with. It’s a variation of God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen published as part of Carols Old And Carols New in 1918. It contains Verses included in most variants we sing today.
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1. What message does the song communicate?
This song contains three moods:
- The good news, that Christ was born to save us from the power of the Devil.
- A retelling of Luke 2, where the shepherds receive the message in mood 1 from an angel and visits Bethlehem to confirm it.
- An invitation to us to join the shepherds, worshipping Christ and remembering the reason for the season.
This song follows basic format.
Score: 10/10
2. How much of the lyrics line up with Scripture?
The whole song either agrees with the Bible or contains portions that are not Scripturally supported, but plausible.
This song is public domain.
[Verse 1]
God rest ye merry gentlemen
Let nothing you dismay
A prayer offered to God for us Christ-followers would keep our away from our problems and towards Jesus (Hebrews 12:2).
For Jesus Christ our Saviour
Was born on Christmas Day
We don’t know when Christmas Day is. Yes, we celebrate Christmas on December 25th; However, the date comes from Roman Catholic attempts to ease the conversion of Pagans, who believed that their god Mithras was born on December 25th. So, when we sing “born on Christmas Day”, we’re not claiming that Christ was born on December 25th. The Bible doesn’t tell us which specific day He was born. The important thing is that Jesus was born (Matthew 1:25 and Luke 2:6-7). Whatever day that was, that is Christmas Day, even if we happen to celebrate it on a different day.
To save us all from Satan’s pow’r
When we were gone astray
Christ came to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8). Part of his works is to tempt us away from God so that we would incur eternal separation from Him (Matthew 18:8, Matthew 25:41, Matthew 25:46, Mark 9:43, Jude 1:7, Revelation 14:11, and Revelation 20:10).
[Refrain]
O tidings of comfort and joy
Tidings are a piece of news. The news described here is the birth of Jesus, who would save us from our sins (John 1:29). Embracing Christ brings us comfort and joy (Matthew 11:28-30).
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy
Repeats or derives from line 1.
[Verse 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
These lyrics draw from events recorded in Luke 2:8-12. The angel’s message is the same that we tell each Christmastime, that a Savior was born in Bethlehem: Christ the Lord.
[Verse 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
The Son of God to find
The shepherds’ response, according to Luke 2:15, was to go to Bethlehem to find this Christ-child that the angel talked about.
[Verse 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 down
Unto the Lord did pray
When the shepherds came to Bethlehem, they found Mary and Joseph, along with baby Jesus lying in a manger (Luke 2:16). Was Mary praying? Was there an ox feasting upon a fresh batch of hay? Scripture doesn’t say; However, unlike the singing angels that I often criticize, it’s conceivable that these took place during their visit.
[Verse 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 efface
The lyricist invites us to praise God, love others, and receive the Christmas spirit and reject everything else. A good summary verse for these concepts is Philippians 3:8.
Score: 10/10
3. How would an outsider interpret the song?
Unbelievers should easily conclude the same three moods as I described in section 1. Even if they don’t understand terms like “tidings” and “efface”, the lyricists’ use of everyday language, along with terms like “Christmas Day”, “shepherds”, and “Mary and Joseph” in connection with Christ’s birth serves to ease this conclusion.
Score: 10/10
4. What does this song glorify?
It glorifies Christ as the Savior who came to save us from Satan’s schemes and implores us to worship Him.
Score: 10/10
Closing Comments
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen is an excellent Christmas song. At least, the version I reviewed is. Its simple message of Baby Jesus who will save us, retelling Luke 2’s angelic message and visiting shepherds, and call to follow Christ bring Him glory. Unbelievers should interpret similarly as I.
This song proclaims to God His value and worth. Therefore, it is suitable for corporate worship.
Score: 10/10
Artist Info
Track: God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen (listen to a traditional choir’s version of the song)
Artist: Anonymous
Album: N/A
Genre: Christmas, Hymn
Release Year: 1760 (earliest recorded)
Duration: N/A
Agree? Disagree? Don’t be shy or have a cow! Calmly and politely state your case in a comment, below.
Updates:
10/06/2023 – Re-examined this song for corporate worship and subsequently altered the review’s end.
Comments
Trougot Lundall
Agreed ! … Though pertaining to [thank you ] the traditional versions & not at all the group Pentatonix version. Which I actualy found very distressing & apart from the opening, the rest of the lyrics there-after lost it’s power & meaning. Which is another perfect example of how a Christian sound song can be taken, turned into a watered down worldly hip song & sung./ produced in such a way that it Glorifies everything else, except Christ … I absolutely detested it !
Vince Wright
Trougot,
Thank you for your comments!
I’ve also noticed the deterioration of classics. Particularly unnecessary (and watered down) chorus’ added.
-Vince Wright
johnmduncan
Thank you for posting this song…an encouraging reminder of God’s comfort amidst a worldly mess. I thank God every day that He provides peace amidst the panic, hope amidst hopelessness, and comfort amongst the craziness.
Vince Wright
johnmduncan,
My pleasure!
-Vince Wright
Verna
I find so that many traditional and well-loved Christmas carols are written in gender exclusive language. Of course, this was the way of the world when they were created. There are so many places where the words ‘men’ and ‘man’ and ‘mankind’ are used. However, in today’s world, this excludes half the population from feeling spoken to in the carols. I have changed all of my song sheets to gender inclusive language, using the words ‘all, human, humanity, people, us’ etc to align the songs with current usage.
I find it sad that little girls are expected to see themselves in the male gender, or feel excluded completely.
I wonder though, in this Carol, what is the reference of “ye merry gentlemen”? Is this referring to all people, or the 3 kings, the shepherds, or whom?
Vince Wright
Verna,
I understand! Like with Scripture, it’s important to understand the language used from the time it was written. I looked into the etymology of “gentlemen”. It literally means “well-born man” or “man of good family or birth”, referencing wealthy and/or noblemen. The word “man” could either mean “male” or “person”, depending on the context and century.
It might be worth asking women if they feel excluded when they sing this song. A few years ago, there was a top private school that changed it to “gentlefolk” and received backlash for doing so.
It’s not clear who these “gentlemen” are in reference to the song. I can see it referencing the unnumbered kings who visited Jesus. They were nobles! However, I couldn’t find anything on the specific meaning of “gentlemen” within this song.
-Vince Wright