“…behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.”
One of my
favorite traditional Christmas carols is “Three Kings of Orient,” probably more
commonly known as “We Three Kings of Orient Are.” Part of it is the minor mood
of the 5 stanzas, no doubt (the chorus is in major mood). This hymn honors our
Lord Jesus Christ as the Risen “King and God and Sacrifice” – ranging from his
miraculous birth to his glorious resurrection.
Some folks
object to its phrasing “three kings” and therefore do not to sing the song. That is fair
enough, if you so choose. However, note two things. First, this error is not an
error of “fact” – as the error of placing the wise men at the stable instead of
a house (Matthew 2:11) – but a difference of interpretation. Second, the “offending”
words may be changed.
I do not
agree with the interpretation that we should identify the wise men as kings.
However, this idea goes all the way back to early church writers. Circa AD 200,
Tertullian argued that the wise men were considered kings. In Adversus Marcionem (or Against Marcion, Book 3, chapter 13) after referencing Zechariah 14:14 and Psalm 72:10, 15, he writes, “For the East
generally regarded the magi as kings...”
Origen,
writing around AD 250, mentions the same or similar spiritual meaning of the
gifts as Hopkins in “Kings of Orient” (See Contra Celsum, or Against Celsus, Book 1, Chapter 60). He also appears to be the first to quantify the wise men as
numbering three (Homilies on Genesis and
Exodus). Commenting on Psalm 72:10 and Isaiah 60:6, Matthew Henry writes:
“This was
literally fulfilled in Solomon (for all the kings of the earth sought the
wisdom of Solomon, and brought every man his present, 2 Chron. ix. 23, 24),
and in Christ too, when the wise men of the east, who probably were men of the
first rank in their own country, came to worship him and brought him presents,
Matt. ii. 11.” (Vol. 3, p. 508)
“This was in
part fulfilled when the wise men of the east (perhaps some of the countries
here mentioned), drawn by the brightness of the star, came to Christ, and
presented to him treasures of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, Matt. ii.11.” (Vol. 4, p. 351)
Therefore,
we see there is a long-standing teaching that the wise men were three, and/or
that they were kings. Nevertheless, I think it likely, considering the extent
to which Matthew continually refers his record back to the prophecies of the
Old Testament, that the wise men would have been connected to “that it might be
fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet.” Regardless, I do not find this an egregious
error, as some other Christmas traditions that directly disagree with what the
Bible says. Simply replacing “three kings” with “wise men” will alleviate that problem
(see footnote 1).
The
lyrics below are as generally found in most songbooks I have used in my
lifetime. There are some minor variations from the original, with a major
difference in the last two lines of stanza 5.
2. Born a King on Bethlehem’s plain[ii]
Gold I bring to crown Him again,
King for ever, ceasing never,
Over us all to reign.
3. Frankincense to offer have I;
Incense owns a Deity nigh;
Prayer and praising, All men raising,
Worship Him God on high.
4. Myrrh is mine, its bitter
perfume
Breathes a life of gathering gloom; —
Sorrowing, sighing, Bleeding, dying,
Sealed in the stone-cold tomb.
5. Glorious now behold Him arise;
King and God and Sacrifice;
Alleluia, Alleluia,
Peals through the earth and skies.[iii]
Refrain:
O star of wonder, star of night,
Star with royal beauty bright,
Westward leading, still proceeding,
Guide us to thy perfect light.
John Henry Hopkins, Jr. (1820-1891) wrote this hymn in 1857. He was at that time the
rector of Christ Episcopal Church in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Hopkins was
the General Theological Seminary’s first music teacher (1855-57), and editor of
the Church Journal (1853-68). He
wrote both the words and music for a Christmas pageant of the General Theological Seminary in New York City. According to Doug Storer in Amazing But True, this was the “first widely popular American Christmas carol...” John was the son of John Henry Hopkins, Sr. and Melusina Muller. His father was the first Episcopal bishop of Vermont.
Hopkins first printed Three Kings of Orient in Carols, Hymns, and Songs (New York, NY: Church Book Depository, 1863), on page 12. Though seldom sung this way today, he originally organized the song so that stanzas 2, 3, and 4 were sung as solos by each “king.”[iv] Stanzas 1 and 5 and the chorus were sung by all. Hopkins explains in a note under the song:
“Each of the verses 2, 3, and 4, is
sung as a solo, to the music of Gaspard’s part in the 1st and 5th verses, the
accompaniment and chorus being the same throughout. Only verses 1 and 5 are
sung as a trio. Men’s voices are best for the parts of the Three Kings, but the
music is set in the G clef for the accommodation of children.”
I searched for some a cappella renditions to link here. Apparently, to many now a cappella means not using musical instructions, but allowing for vocal sounds that sound similar to musical instruments. That is interesting, requires a lot of talent, and often sounds good. However, that is not what I was looking for. Here are a couple, by A Cappella Hymns and the Central Dauphin High School A Cappella Group. I like to sing all five stanzas, then sing the chorus once afterward; I realize this is not so common to sing it that way.
[ii] The original has “Bethlehem plain.”
[iii] Hopkins’s original words are “Heav’n sings Hallelujah, Hallelujah the earth replies.”
[iv] The traditional (not biblical_ names of the wise men derive from at least two sources, the 6th-century Armenian Gospel of the Infancy (Melchior, Gaspar, and Balthazar) and the 8th-century Excerpta Latina Barbari, or, A Barbarian’s Latin Excerpts (Melchior, Gathaspa, and Bithisarea). Melchior, Gaspar, and Balthasar are also mentioned in the 8th-century Collectanea et Flores. These particular names mostly circulate in the West.
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