****WE THREE KINGS

Christian music has always suffered a lot of criticism and some of it is deserved.  So, we should carefully examine lyrics for truth and doctrinal correctness.  Some of our available Christian music is so full of heresy that we should never use it in our worship.

But then there are some that aren’t necessarily heretical; they just contain some figurative or speculative or poetic language that might be misunderstood or are slightly, factually incorrect. 

WE THREE KINGS is one of those Christmas songs, and I have deliberately avoided it several years.   I was bothered by its inaccurate imagery: 

  

“Three Kings come from the Orient to visit the baby Jesus in His manger bed.” 

The Bible tells us none of that.  So, I have to admit, I never really paid much attention to it.  But once we get past the song’s title and the opening line, there is a lot of important prophetic doctrine in it. 

  

In fact, I have come to realize that my only legitimate dislike for this carol could be narrowed down to just TWO LITTLE LETTERS; “R” and “E.”  That’s right!  If the author had just written, “We THE Kings,” there wouldn’t be much left for me to criticize.  

John Henry Hopkins, Jr. was an author, book illustrator, stained glass window designer, clergyman, and editor of the New York Church Journal.  He wrote WE THREE KINGS for a Christmas pageant at the General Theological Seminary of New York City in 1857.  Six years later it was published in his book, Carols, Hymns and Song. 

Were there really three kings?  The Bible calls them Magi, so some would argue that they were pagan astrologers or sorcerers.

The suggestion that the Wise Men were kings comes from prophecies in Isaiah 49:7; “Kings shall see and arise,” and Isaiah 60:10; “Their kings shall minister unto thee.” 

There are other records that refer to the Wise Men as kings. The journals of Marco Polo contain a report from Persia about three kings who took gold, frankincense, and myrrh with them on a journey to visit a newborn prophet.

The term Wise Men, as used in the King James Bible, is from the Greek word that is translated, “magi” in English.  Some scholars think the Wise Men were priests in a Persian religious sect.  However, other biblical scholars have speculated that they might have been descendants of Nebuchadnezzar’s advisors who were influenced by Daniel during the captivity.  Having heard of Daniel’s prophecies and teachings they may have been true believers to whom God had revealed the birth of the promised Messiah.

The first four stanzas are a narrative.  The first verse starts with the account of the wise men following the star on their journey to find the baby.

Stanzas 2, 3, and 4 name three gifts they brought: 

Gold speaks of royalty.  This Baby is the King of kings.

  

Incense was used in the tabernacle as a symbol of prayer and worship.  Jesus is God in human flesh. 

Myrrh was used as an embalming spice.   It pointed to Christ’s death on the cross for sin.

The final stanza is a song of praise in which Hopkins summarized the three-fold offices of this Baby.  Jesus Christ is our King, He is our God, and He is our Sacrifice.  Praise the Lord!