Good Christian Men, Rejoice is a Christmas carol by John Mason Neale, published in 1853, based on the medieval German and Latin carol In dulci jubilo (In sweet rejoicing). Each of its three stanzas shouts one word of good news, News! Joy! Peace!, and gives one reason: Jesus Christ is born today, He has opened heaven's door, and we need not fear the grave because He was born to save. It is the angel's message of Luke 2:10 set to a dance-like tune: "I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people."
Few carols are as old as the tune behind this one. In dulci jubilo was sung in Germany in the 1300s, a playful mix of Latin and German lines; legend says the mystic Heinrich Seuse heard angels singing it and joined their dance. Martin Luther's churches loved it, and it passed into English hymnbooks through many translations. In 1853 John Mason Neale, the Anglican priest who also gave us Good King Wenceslas and O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, wrote a fresh English version for Carols for Christmas-tide. He dropped the Latin and kept the bounce, built around three exclamations: News! Joy! Peace! The repeated words may have come about by accident: Neale is said to have misread long held notes in his old printed source as repeated short ones, so he wrote News! News! where the melody holds a note. The result is one of the most cheerful carols in English. Below are the words as printed in 1871 and the 12 KJV passages behind each line.
Good Christian Men, Rejoice: the words
Verse 1
Good Christian men, rejoice
With heart, and soul, and voice;
Give ye heed to what we say:
News! News!
Jesus Christ is born to-day:
Ox and ass before Him bow,
And He is in the manger now.
Christ is born to-day!
Verse 2
Good Christian men, rejoice
With heart, and soul, and voice;
Now ye hear of endless bliss:
Joy! Joy!
Jesus Christ was born for this!
He hath oped the heav'nly door,
And man is blessed evermore.
Christ was born for this!
Verse 3
Good Christian men, rejoice
With heart, and soul, and voice;
Now ye need not fear the grave:
Peace! Peace!
Jesus Christ was born to save!
Calls you one and calls you all,
To gain His everlasting hall:
Christ was born to save!
Words: John Mason Neale, Carols for Christmas-tide (London, 1853), a free English version of the medieval carol In dulci jubilo, here in the form printed in Christmas Carols New and Old, edited by Henry Ramsden Bramley and John Stainer (London, 1871), carol 8. Stanzas 2 and 3 are copied from that collection's printed text (Internet Archive scan); stanza 1 is printed under the music there and follows the standard transcription, checked against the words visible in the scan (fore Him bow, And He is in the manger now; Christ is born to-day). Neale's 1853 first printing spelled it Good Christen men. Public domain.
News! News! Jesus Christ is born today
1. Luke 2:10
"And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people."
Give ye heed to what we say: News! News! The carol begins the way the angel began on the first Christmas night. Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. Tidings is simply news, and the angel's news is not a moral lesson or a warning but an announcement of something God has done. Neale's singers are messengers too, passing the headline along: Jesus Christ is born today. The angel said the joy is for all people. That is why the carol keeps calling everyone, good Christian men, then you one and you all, to listen and rejoice.
2. Luke 2:7
"And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn."
And He is in the manger now. The second half of the first stanza pulls us into the stable at Bethlehem. She brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. A manger is a feeding trough for animals. The carol's word now makes the scene present tense, as if the singers have just come from seeing it. Christmas carols often do this. They are not only history lessons; they invite us to stand at the manger ourselves and look. For the whole account, see the Christmas story in the Bible.
3. Isaiah 1:3
"The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider."
Ox and ass before Him bow. Luke never mentions animals, but Christians since the early centuries have pictured an ox and a donkey at the manger because of this verse. The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know. Isaiah's point was a rebuke: even dumb animals recognize the one who feeds them, but God's people did not recognize Him. Old carols and paintings turned the verse around. At Bethlehem the animals at the crib knew their Master, while most of the world slept. The question for us is whether we will know Him too.
4. Philippians 4:4
"Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice."
Good Christian men, rejoice with heart, and soul, and voice. The refrain is a command, and Scripture gives the same command: Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice. Paul wrote those words from prison, so Christian joy is not the same as a good mood. It is gladness rooted in what God has done, and it can be chosen even in hard times. Neale asks us to rejoice with every part of us: the heart that feels, the soul that believes and the voice that sings. Christmas is a season to let that joy be heard out loud.
Joy! Joy! He hath oped the heavenly door
5. John 10:9
"I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture."
He hath oped the heav'nly door. Oped is an old word for opened. Jesus called Himself the way in: I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. A sheepfold had one gate, and the shepherd often lay across it at night, becoming the door himself. Heaven was shut to sinners, but the child born at Bethlehem is the door God has opened. The carol says this is what Jesus was born for. The manger is the beginning of a road that leads to the cross and the empty tomb, and through Him to God.
6. Hebrews 10:19-20
"Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;"
The letter to the Hebrews explains how the door was opened. In the temple a thick veil hid the holiest place, and only the high priest could pass it once a year. Now believers have boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh. Jesus took flesh at Christmas so that His flesh could be torn on the cross, and the temple veil tore in two when He died (Matthew 27:51). The incarnation and the atonement belong together. That is why Neale's Christmas carol talks about heaven's door.
7. Revelation 4:1
"After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter."
Behold, a door was opened in heaven. John's vision on Patmos begins with an open door and a voice saying, Come up hither. The book of Revelation is full of what lies beyond that door: the throne of God, the Lamb who was slain and a great multitude singing. The carol's second stanza promises endless bliss, and the line And man is blessed evermore points to the same place. The baby in the manger is the Lamb on the throne. Christmas joy is joy about where the story ends as well as where it begins.
8. 1 Peter 1:8
"Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:"
Joy! Joy! Peter describes Christian joy in a way that fits a carol: Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory. The shepherds saw the child; we have not. Yet faith gives the same gladness, a joy too big for words, which is perhaps why carols resort to shouting a single word twice. The joy is full of glory because it is tied to Jesus Himself, not to the decorations or the gifts. Those fade by January; the reason for the joy does not.
Peace! Peace! Now ye need not fear the grave
9. Hebrews 2:14-15
"Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage."
Now ye need not fear the grave. Why did the Son of God become a baby? Hebrews answers: Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death. He took our flesh so that He could die our death and break its power. The next verse says He came to deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. The third stanza's Peace! Peace! is the peace of people no longer enslaved by fear of the grave.
10. 1 Timothy 1:15
"This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief."
Jesus Christ was born to save. Paul calls this a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. It may have been a short creed the early Christians repeated, the gospel in one sentence. Notice that Paul does not say Jesus came to teach or to set an example, though He did both. He came to save. And Paul counts himself first among the sinners He came for. The carol's line is that faithful saying put to music: whatever else Christmas is, it is a rescue.
11. 1 Corinthians 15:55
"O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?"
O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? Paul quotes Hosea 13:14 and turns it into a taunt aimed at death itself. Because Christ has risen, death has lost its sting and the grave its triumph. It may seem strange to find a resurrection verse on a Christmas page, but the carol puts the grave in its third stanza on purpose. Christmas carols in Neale's tradition always look ahead. The child is born in order to die and rise, and that is the only reason anyone can sing Now ye need not fear the grave at a funeral, or at Christmas.
12. Matthew 11:28
"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."
Calls you one and calls you all, to gain His everlasting hall. The child born to save does not stay silent; He grows up to call people to Himself. Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. The invitation is to one and all, the tired, the burdened and the guilty. The everlasting hall in Neale's line is the banquet hall of heaven, the house with many rooms Jesus promised (John 14:2). The carol ends as the gospel does, with an open door and an invitation to come in.
A short prayer
Lord Jesus, I rejoice today with heart, and soul, and voice, because You were born for me. Thank You for the news the angels brought, for opening the door of heaven by Your own flesh and blood, and for taking away the fear of the grave. Where I am weary or afraid this Christmas, give me Your peace. Let me hear You calling me by name, and help me pass the good news on to everyone who needs to hear that Christ was born to save. In Your name, Amen.
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Frequently asked questions
What does Good Christian Men, Rejoice mean?
The carol calls Christians to rejoice with heart, soul and voice over three pieces of good news: Jesus Christ is born today, He has opened the door of heaven, and because He was born to save, we need not fear the grave. Its three cries, News! Joy! Peace!, echo the angel's message in Luke 2:10-14. The ox and ass bowing at the manger come from the old Christian reading of Isaiah 1:3.
Who wrote Good Christian Men, Rejoice?
John Mason Neale (1818-1866), an English priest and translator, wrote the English words in 1853 for Carols for Christmas-tide. They are a free version of the medieval carol In dulci jubilo, sung in Germany from the 1300s. The tune is the same old In dulci jubilo melody, arranged by Thomas Helmore in Neale's book and by John Stainer in 1871.
Why does the carol say News, News?
Neale and Helmore based their version on a 1582 songbook, Piae Cantiones, and are said to have misread its notation of long held notes as repeated short notes. Neale filled them with repeated words: News! News!, Joy! Joy! and Peace! Peace! Whatever the cause, the repeats have become part of the carol's character. Some modern hymnals print a gender-neutral first line, Good Christian friends, rejoice.
Is Good Christian Men, Rejoice public domain?
Yes. Neale published the words in 1853 and died in 1866, and the In dulci jubilo melody is medieval, so the carol is in the public domain in the United States. The text on this page is from the 1871 Christmas Carols New and Old printing, and you may print and share it freely.
Sources: All Scripture quotations are from the King James Version (KJV), public domain in the United States. References were checked against the KJV text from bible-api.com.
Related: Good King Wenceslas · O Come, O Come, Emmanuel · Joy to the World · Angels We Have Heard on High · Hark the Herald Angels Sing · The Christmas Story in the Bible · Rejoicing · Christmas Day · Of the Father's Love Begotten (lyrics)
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