Hymns of Hope: It Came Upon A Midnight Clear

Written in 1849 by Edmund Sears, the words of “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear” is one of the few Christmas hymns that does not actually mention the birth of Christ. Instead, this song focuses on the good news that the angels brought that first Christmas morn. After appearing to the shepherds outside of Bethlehem, the angels sang of the glory of God and the peace that is ours in Christ. In the fields that night, the song of the angels rang out, piercing the darkness and declaring the arrival of the long-awaited Savior. Hope had come at last.
It came upon a midnight clearThat glorious song of oldFrom angels bending near the earthTo touch their harps of gold
Peace on the earth, good will to menFrom heaven’s all gracious KingThe world in solemn stillness layTo hear the angels sing
The song of the angels still brings hope to our hearts today. In fact, the angels have not ceased to sing of the glory of God. Revelation 4 reminds us that the heavenly hosts “day and night they never stop saying: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,’ who was, and is, and is to come.” The prophet, Isaiah, also tells us of the angels before God’s throne declaring, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!” Listen to the song of the angels, dear one. Let the blessed message they bring fill your weary heart with hope.
Still through the cloven skies they comeWith peaceful wings unfurledAnd still their heavenly music floatsO’er all the weary world
Above its sad and lowly plainsThey bend on hovering wingAnd ever o’er its Babel soundsThe blessed angels sing
The third verse of this song doesn’t appear in most hymnals and songbooks, but it speaks so pertinently to the reality of our world right now. With all the noise of strife and sorrow that fills our daily lives, it can be so hard to quiet our hearts enough to hear the angels song. We, who are bogged down by the woes of sin and strife, we who have suffered the loss of our precious babies, must incline our ears to this heavenly music. Christ has come to bring us peace, and one day He will undo all the brokenness of this world.

Yet with the woes of sin and strife
The world has suffered long;
Beneath the angel strain have rolled
Two thousand years of wrong;
And man, at war with man, hears not
The love-song which they bring;
Oh, hush the noise, ye men of strife
And hear the angels sing.

Through the pain and toil of these weary days, look now for the hope that Christ’s birth has ushered in. Set your heart on eternity. Exchange your crushing load for His easy yoke and light burden. There is rest for you at His feet. This is what the baby in the manger means to us this Christmas—glad and golden hours He brings. Can you hear the angels sing? “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom He is pleased” (Luke 2:15).

All ye beneath life’s crushing loadWhose forms are bending lowWho toil along the climbing wayWith painful steps and slow
Look now for glad and golden hoursCome swiftly on the wingO rest beside the weary roadAnd hear the angels sing

While this song may not specifically mention the birth of Christ, it is bursting with hope nonetheless. It reminds us of the baby born to give His very life for you, born to break the curse of sin upon the earth. Yet, even now the days are hastening on—each new day bringing us closer to Christ’s return. On that glorious day—the age of gold—when everything is made new, the whole world will sing back the song which not the angels sing.

For lo! the days are hastening on
By prophet bards foretold,
When, with the ever circling years
Shall come the age of gold;
When Peace shall over all the earth,
Its ancient splendors fling,
And the whole world give back the song,
Which now the angels sing.

- Ashlee

Hope Mom to Simeon and Odelle

Ashlee is the Editorial Coordinator for Hope Mommies and author of their I AM, Identity, and Sojourn Bible studies. She and her husband, Jesse, live in Milwaukee with their children—five on earth and two in heaven.

 

 

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