Title: My Heart Is Filled with Wonder
Author: Hans Adolph Brorson, 1694-1764
Danish title: Mitt hjerte altid vanker
Translation: Gracia Grindal, 1943-
Relevant Scripture verse: Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. – Philippians 2:5-7 RSV
1 My heart is filled with wonder, to think how poor, forlorn, the manger was for Jesus the night when he was born. And yet it is my treasure, my hope, my faith, my light. I cannot ever leave you, O blessed Christmas night.
2 This stable, dark and dreary, shall be a palace rare. Each day I’ll learn to seek it instead of earthly care. Here I have found the flower, the Rose, for which I yearned. When I remember Jesus, my heart within me burns.
3 A wonder unlike any that I have ever known! To think that God Almighty would leave his heavenly throne to sleep in this dark stable without a kingly crown, to think that God incarnate from heaven would come down!
4 You should have had a heaven spun into quilts for you! A torch of stars for keeping the Son of God in view. A legion of bright angels to sing you lullaby, you should be swathed in purples, the King they prophesied.
5 A sparrow’s place of hiding is in her quiet nest. The swallow need not wonder where she will find her rest. Nor does the lion worry where he can lay his head. Why should my God be sleeping upon a borrowed bed?
6 O come, my heart, be open, lift high your long shut gates. Invite into your presence King Jesus, who awaits. This is no foreign dwelling, but one that he has bought. O come to me, Lord Jesus, and change my troubled heart.
7 I would bring fresh palm branches to lay upon your bed. For you have come to save me, to suffer in my stead. My soul breaks forth rejoicing this happy Christmas tide. For you are born within me and make my darkness hide.
How we think of Christmas naturally stems from the images we observe. This time of year, we see nativity scenes on front lawns and in front of churches. These scenes are an amalgamation of the Bible’s Christmas stories from the Gospels of Matthew and Luke in the New Testament. Luke chapter two, with its account of angels and shepherds in the field, is distinct from what is described in Matthew chapter two, which speaks of “wise men” coming to see the “child” Jesus in the “house.” The word “child” in Greek refers to an older child, such as a toddler. Matthew tells the horrific story of King Herod attempting to get rid of Jesus by ordering the death of the children of Bethlehem “two years old and under,” which indicates that Jesus could have been by that time somewhat older than the newborn infant described in Luke. In short, wise men would likely not have been standing at the manger of Jesus alongside shepherds.
Yet preoccupation with the details and the timeline surrounding Jesus’ birth is missing the bigger picture. A nativity scene by itself cannot capture the significance of Christmas for us, the incarnation of the Son of God. Some have said that if Matthew and Luke in the New Testament did not exist, we would have no Christmas. But is that really true? We might not have some of thing things we associate with Christmas, such as nativity scenes, and we might not have the cultural “holiday season” that has become a part of our life’s annual rhythm, but the message of Jesus’ coming into the world in humility, “for us and for our salvation” in the words of the Nicene Creed, would still be with us based on other parts of the New Testament, such as in the letters of the Apostle Paul.
With the exception of his account of Jesus instituting the Lord’s Supper (1 Cor 11:23-26), the Apostle Paul never speaks of anything that Jesus did. Paul was obviously not concerned with reporting on the details of Jesus’ life, including his birth. His concern lay rather with who Jesus is for us and what that means for our lives. So, while Paul never mentions Mary (by name), Joseph, angels, shepherds, or wise men, Paul does speak of Christmas in his own way, such as in Philippians chapter two: he was in the form of God, [and] did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
I first became acquainted only ten years ago with the haunting melody of this Christmas hymn by the Danish Lutheran bishop Hans Brorson, and it has ever since been one of my most beloved songs of this season. Among American Lutherans it is unfortunately mostly unknown. In addition to his role as an ecclesiastical official in the town of Ribe, Denmark, Brorson was a prolific author of hymns, which remain popular throughout Scandinavia and beyond. His name will appear again as I continue down the list of my fifty-two favorite hymns.
Brorson’s Christmas hymn “My Heart Is Filled with Wonder” incorporates the Christmas imagery we have come to expect from our nativity scenes through its mention of a “stable,” but more importantly it marvels at the love of God expressed at the incarnation of the Son of God for us, how He became human to redeem us: to think that God incarnate from heaven would come down!
This hymn and its accompanying tune are typical of much of Scandinavian hymnody: the lyrics and the tune are honest and even mournful, not denying the darkness of the present age. Yet there is a quiet joy that is expressed within at the knowledge that God’s love for the world in Jesus Christ is real; his lowly birth is an ever-present reminder of that: O come to me, Lord Jesus, and change my troubled heart…For you are born within me and make my darkness hide…My soul breaks forth rejoicing.
For this reason, Brorson’s hymn is a refreshing change of pace this time of year. There is a place for joyous sounding Christmas music, but for many, “the most wonderful time of the year” is filled with sadness and gloom. Brorson reminds us that Jesus has arrived in our world to share our sorrow, take it upon himself, and give us everlasting joy, even if we cannot fully see it now. That joy lives within us by faith.
You can access here a recording of “My Heart Is Filled with Wonder” sung by the Swedish pop singer Carola Häggqvist:
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=mit+hjerte+altid+vanker+carola&iar=videos&iax=videos&ia=videos&iai=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dx05dDCbly7s
Author: Hans Adolph Brorson, 1694-1764
Danish title: Mitt hjerte altid vanker
Translation: Gracia Grindal, 1943-
Relevant Scripture verse: Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. – Philippians 2:5-7 RSV
1 My heart is filled with wonder, to think how poor, forlorn, the manger was for Jesus the night when he was born. And yet it is my treasure, my hope, my faith, my light. I cannot ever leave you, O blessed Christmas night.
2 This stable, dark and dreary, shall be a palace rare. Each day I’ll learn to seek it instead of earthly care. Here I have found the flower, the Rose, for which I yearned. When I remember Jesus, my heart within me burns.
3 A wonder unlike any that I have ever known! To think that God Almighty would leave his heavenly throne to sleep in this dark stable without a kingly crown, to think that God incarnate from heaven would come down!
4 You should have had a heaven spun into quilts for you! A torch of stars for keeping the Son of God in view. A legion of bright angels to sing you lullaby, you should be swathed in purples, the King they prophesied.
5 A sparrow’s place of hiding is in her quiet nest. The swallow need not wonder where she will find her rest. Nor does the lion worry where he can lay his head. Why should my God be sleeping upon a borrowed bed?
6 O come, my heart, be open, lift high your long shut gates. Invite into your presence King Jesus, who awaits. This is no foreign dwelling, but one that he has bought. O come to me, Lord Jesus, and change my troubled heart.
7 I would bring fresh palm branches to lay upon your bed. For you have come to save me, to suffer in my stead. My soul breaks forth rejoicing this happy Christmas tide. For you are born within me and make my darkness hide.
How we think of Christmas naturally stems from the images we observe. This time of year, we see nativity scenes on front lawns and in front of churches. These scenes are an amalgamation of the Bible’s Christmas stories from the Gospels of Matthew and Luke in the New Testament. Luke chapter two, with its account of angels and shepherds in the field, is distinct from what is described in Matthew chapter two, which speaks of “wise men” coming to see the “child” Jesus in the “house.” The word “child” in Greek refers to an older child, such as a toddler. Matthew tells the horrific story of King Herod attempting to get rid of Jesus by ordering the death of the children of Bethlehem “two years old and under,” which indicates that Jesus could have been by that time somewhat older than the newborn infant described in Luke. In short, wise men would likely not have been standing at the manger of Jesus alongside shepherds.
Yet preoccupation with the details and the timeline surrounding Jesus’ birth is missing the bigger picture. A nativity scene by itself cannot capture the significance of Christmas for us, the incarnation of the Son of God. Some have said that if Matthew and Luke in the New Testament did not exist, we would have no Christmas. But is that really true? We might not have some of thing things we associate with Christmas, such as nativity scenes, and we might not have the cultural “holiday season” that has become a part of our life’s annual rhythm, but the message of Jesus’ coming into the world in humility, “for us and for our salvation” in the words of the Nicene Creed, would still be with us based on other parts of the New Testament, such as in the letters of the Apostle Paul.
With the exception of his account of Jesus instituting the Lord’s Supper (1 Cor 11:23-26), the Apostle Paul never speaks of anything that Jesus did. Paul was obviously not concerned with reporting on the details of Jesus’ life, including his birth. His concern lay rather with who Jesus is for us and what that means for our lives. So, while Paul never mentions Mary (by name), Joseph, angels, shepherds, or wise men, Paul does speak of Christmas in his own way, such as in Philippians chapter two: he was in the form of God, [and] did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
I first became acquainted only ten years ago with the haunting melody of this Christmas hymn by the Danish Lutheran bishop Hans Brorson, and it has ever since been one of my most beloved songs of this season. Among American Lutherans it is unfortunately mostly unknown. In addition to his role as an ecclesiastical official in the town of Ribe, Denmark, Brorson was a prolific author of hymns, which remain popular throughout Scandinavia and beyond. His name will appear again as I continue down the list of my fifty-two favorite hymns.
Brorson’s Christmas hymn “My Heart Is Filled with Wonder” incorporates the Christmas imagery we have come to expect from our nativity scenes through its mention of a “stable,” but more importantly it marvels at the love of God expressed at the incarnation of the Son of God for us, how He became human to redeem us: to think that God incarnate from heaven would come down!
This hymn and its accompanying tune are typical of much of Scandinavian hymnody: the lyrics and the tune are honest and even mournful, not denying the darkness of the present age. Yet there is a quiet joy that is expressed within at the knowledge that God’s love for the world in Jesus Christ is real; his lowly birth is an ever-present reminder of that: O come to me, Lord Jesus, and change my troubled heart…For you are born within me and make my darkness hide…My soul breaks forth rejoicing.
For this reason, Brorson’s hymn is a refreshing change of pace this time of year. There is a place for joyous sounding Christmas music, but for many, “the most wonderful time of the year” is filled with sadness and gloom. Brorson reminds us that Jesus has arrived in our world to share our sorrow, take it upon himself, and give us everlasting joy, even if we cannot fully see it now. That joy lives within us by faith.
You can access here a recording of “My Heart Is Filled with Wonder” sung by the Swedish pop singer Carola Häggqvist:
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=mit+hjerte+altid+vanker+carola&iar=videos&iax=videos&ia=videos&iai=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dx05dDCbly7s