Wesley Wednesday: Advent Two Incarnation Hymns Podcast Edition

Welcome to a Wesley Wednesday devotion for the second week of Advent with Linda and David Drinkard.

Charles Wesley wrote a number of hymns and poems for the Christmas Season. Eighteen of them are found in “Hymns for the Nativity of Our Lord” and others in “Hymns and Sacred Poems.” Although many of these may not be familiar to us, they clearly express an understanding of the Incarnation.

Let’s begin with a passage of scripture from Philippians 2:5-11

Philippians 2:5-11 New Revised Standard Version
5 Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,
6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited,
7 but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave,
    being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death— even death on a cross.

Paul Chilcote, points out that the vision of “self-emptying” shaped much of Charles Wesley’s thinking about the Christology of Jesus.
He writes:
“The ramifications of this divine self-emptying stagger the mind. God becomes one with us that we might become one with God. Christ emptied himself of glory and eternity of every divine attribute save one, the essence of God, which is love.
Fully divine –all love and nothing but love—he enters our world of brokenness and sin, takes on our human nature, and makes it possible for God to be present in Human flesh.
“Emptied of all but love he came.”

We find several references to Philippians 2:7 in the hymns Charles wrote for the Nativity of our Lord.

“Let Earth and Heaven Combine “
Let earth and Heaven combine, Angels and men agree to praise in songs divine the incarnate Deity
He laid his glory by, and wrapped him in our clay,
Infant of days he here became and bore Immanuel’s name.

“All-wise, All-good Almighty Lord”
The eternal God from heaven came down, The King of glory dropped his crown, and veiled his majesty;
Emptied of all but love he came.
Jesus I call thee by thy Holy name.


“O Thou Who Hast Redeemed from Old”
Love, only Love, thy heart inclined, and brought thy savior of mankind down from thy throne above…


Although not a Christmas Hymn we find a beautiful reference to Phil 2:7 in the powerful “And Can It Be” #363 in our UMH

He left His Fathers throne above (so free, so infinite, his grace) Emptied himself of all but love, and bleed for Adam’s helpless race.


We close with a reading from the Gospel of John

“In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God. The Word became flesh and lived among us and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Prayer: Loving Jesus, you became obedient to death on a cross for all lost sinners. You grace sustains us and empowers us to be your disciples. Amen.