He Has Come For Us (God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen)

Meredith Andrews keeps the eighteenth-century carol's opening verses close to their original text — 'remember Christ our Savior was born on Christmas day, to save us all from Satan's power when we were gone astray' — a more theologically specific opening than most modern Christmas songs attempt, naming the rescue in terms of an actual adversary rather than vague good cheer.

The added chorus, 'he has come for us, this Jesus, he's the hope for all mankind, he has come for us, the Messiah, born to give us life,' reaches for Isaiah 9:6's 'unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given' — the same announcement, restated as present-tense fact rather than centuries-old prophecy. 'All the angels sing, hallelujah... all the children sing, hallelujah' pairs the original angelic announcement with an ordinary congregation's response, collapsing the distance between the first Christmas night and whoever's singing the carol now.