To the Name of Our Salvation

Word & Song by Anthony Esolen

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I’ve long heard that we have no idea at what time of year Jesus was born, but here is one argument — there are others, based in early Christian calendars — for making it wintertime. It’s a simple one. When the angel spoke to Zachariah, he was exercising his priestly role for one of the great Jewish feasts. Assuming that it was Yom Kippur or Rosh Hashanah, that would put the conception of John the Baptist in September, which would put the Annunciation in March, because then Elizabeth was, as the angel said to Mary, in her sixth month. And that would place the birth of Jesus in December, and likely towards the latter end of it, too.
But it is also a happy choice, for a reason that has a lot to do with the day coming up, when we celebrate the New Year. It was the eighth day of Jesus’ birth, and on that day Mary and Joseph brought the child to the Temple, to be circumcised, fulfilling the commands of the Old Law, and this, as the ancient Fathers pointed out, would be the first time when Jesus shed blood on our behalf. At this dedication of the boy as belonging to the Lord, he would be given his name. Now, parents then didn’t give names because they sounded chic. Names were to have meaning, usually though not always religious meaning. Jesus — that is our English form of the Greek form of his Hebrew name, which was Yeshua, the same as Joshua — means “The Lord Saves.” Hence his name was to be a reflection or a revelation of what he came to earth to do. We might also remember the name Emmanuel, which as Hebrew ‘immanu-el means “God is With Us,” or, more literally, “God is in Our Midst.” And no one suspected that the name would be fulfilled in the very flesh.

So then, the New Year is coming, and it’s been a long time since I’ve cared about the temporal odometer turning to another bunch of zeroes. But the year of salvation is another matter. My beloved Renaissance poet Edmund Spenser thought of both January 1 and March 25 as beginning the New Year, as was common enough in the old days, March 25 being the Feast of the Annunciation, and thus the beginning of a new era, that of the Son of God making his dwelling place among men, nine months before the Nativity.

And so our Hymn of the Week, “To the Name of Our Salvation,” is a fine one to sing on this first of January, this feast of the naming of Jesus. It was originally written in Latin, we don’t know by whom, with the first line Gloriosi Salvatoris nominis praeconia, meaning, Herald of the glorious name of the Savior. It appears in an Antwerp breviary compiled in 1496; what’s below is a translation by the brilliant John Mason Neale, whose work we have featured here several times. When we love someone, we want to dwell upon his or her name, as if we could somehow see or feel the whole of the loved one’s personality just in the syllables and the sounds. In the case of Jesus, meaning and feeling are to be one, and uniquely so. That’s why the unknown author uses the Latin word nomen so often, and why Neale is not sparing with the name, likewise.
The New Year approaches. But this Name is forever.

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To the Name of our salvation, Laud and honor let us pay, Which for many a generation Hid in God's foreknowledge lay; But with holy exultation We may sing aloud today. Jesus is the Name we treasure; Name beyond what words can tell; Name of gladness, Name of pleasure, Ear and heart delighting well; Name of sweetness, passing measure, Saving us from sin and hell. 'Tis the Name that whoso preacheth Speaks like music to the ear; Who in prayer this Name beseecheth Sweetest comfort findeth near; Who its perfect wisdom reacheth, Heavenly joy possesseth here. Therefore we, in love adoring, This most blessed Name revere, Holy Jesus, thee imploring So to write it in us here That hereafter, heavenward soaring, We may sing with angels there.

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Here is a lovely variation on our hymn, sung by the Choir of Marlborough College.

Word & Song by Anthony Esolen is an online magazine devoted to reclaiming the good, the beautiful, and the true. We publish six essays each week, on words, classic hymns, poems, films, and popular songs, as well a weekly podcast for paid subscribers, alternately Poetry Aloud or Anthony Esolen Speaks. Paid subscribers also receive audio-enhanced posts and on-demand access to our full archive, and may add their comments to our posts and discussions. To support this project, please join us as a free or paid subscriber. We value all of our subscribers, and we thank you for reading Word and Song.