Prayer and Praising

“Frankincense to offer have I;
Incense owns a Deity nigh:
Prayer and praising All men raising,
Worship Him God on high.”

“We Three Kings”
Words: John Henry Hopkins, Jr. 1857
Music: John Henry Hopkins, Jr. 1857

We all know that the wise men brought gold, frankincense, and myrrh to the infant Lord; but why those gifts? Various Christmas carols claim to have the answer, including “We Three Kings.” The carol is in five verses: the first and last are general, but verses two through four are in the first person, to be sung as solos, with each wise man explaining the meaning of his gift: gold to crown Him a king:

Born a King on Bethlehem plain,
Gold I bring to crown Him again,
King forever, Ceasing never
Over us all to reign.

Frankincense to acknowledge His Divinity:

Frankincense to offer have I;
Incense owns a Deity nigh:
Prayer and praising All men raising,
Worship Him God on high.

And myrrh to foreshadow His humanity and death:

Myrrh is mine; it’s bitter perfume;
Breathes a life of gathering gloom: —
Sorrowing, sighing, Bleeding, dying,
Sealed in the stone-cold tomb.

These interpretations go back centuries. Origen wrote about it around 248AD, stating that the wise men came,

…bringing gifts, which they offered to him as one whose nature partook, if I may so speak, both of God and of a mortal man — gold, viz., as to a king; myrrh, as to one who was mortal; and incense, as to a God.

Against Celsus, Book I, Chapter 60, trans. Frederick Crombie

The Word itself mentions nothing about what the gifts meant; but the interpretation is drawn from other passage that mention the three susbtances. David’s crown was of gold (2 Samuel 12:30); frankincense was burned as incense in the worship of Jehovah (Exodus 30:34); and Jesus’ body was prepared with myrrh after the crucifixion (John 19:39).

All that being said, the Doctrines of the New Church point in a different direction:

The reason why they offered these three was because “gold” signified heavenly good, “frankincense” spiritual good, and “myrrh” natural good, and from those three goods all worship is made.

Apocalypse Revealed §277

The gifts represent all the essential elements of worship. And in fact, all three substances came together in the worship practiced in the tabernacle of Israel. Within the holy place, all the main articles were either made of or covered with gold; the incense that went up as prayer from the altar of incense was made with frankincense; and all the articles of the tabernacle were annointed with an oil that included myrrh.

When the wise men presented their gifts they presented an image of true worship, worship that comes from a loving heart; worship that is shaped by faith and truth; worship that is put into practice outwardly in both ritual and in good deeds. The wise men themselves acknowledged that their gifts were not merely presents exchanged as between equals. They were given to the infant Lord from a place of utmost worship and humility:

And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Matthew 2:11

When we sing of the wise men and their gifts it is an opportunity to reflect on the gifts of worship that we ourselves give to the Lord. In doing so we can be reminded that worship is much more than just singing hymns and saying prayers. True worship comes from the heart and the mind, and is put into practice every day when we keep the Lord’s commandments. These are the true gifts we can bring to the Lord.

At the end of the day though, it is the Lord who gives us the gifts. Everything that we give to the Lord is ultimately from the Lord, and already belongs to Him. Our giving of it is merely an acknowledgment that it has been His all along, and a recognition that the opportunity to have and to share these gifts is a blessing beyond measure:

The things that are called “gifts and offerings made to the Lord” by man are in their essence gifts and offerings made to man by the Lord.

Secrets of Heaven §9938

The very fact that we are able to know the Lord, to come to Him in humble worship, and to serve Him as our God and King, is worth more than all the prayer and praising that we raise to Him.

Frankincense our offering;
costly myrrh the gift we bring:
Prayer and praising All now raising,
Worship Him God our King.