Midnight Clear

Isaiah 9:6-7 

For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time onwards and for evermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

 It Came upon the Midnight Clear LBW 54

 1    It came upon the midnight clear, that glorious song of old,
     from angels bending near the earth to touch their harps of gold:
      "Peace on the earth, good will to all, from heav'n's all-gracious king."
      The world in solemn stillness lay to hear the angels sing.

 2    Still through the cloven skies they come with peaceful wings unfurled,
     and still their heav'nly music floats o'er all the weary world.
      Above its sad and lowly plains they bend on hov'ring wing,
      and ever o'er its babel sounds the blessed angels sing.

3    And you, beneath life's crushing load, whose forms are bending low,
      who toil along the climbing way with painful steps and slow:
      look now, for glad and golden hours come swiftly on the wing;
      oh, rest beside the weary road and hear the angels sing!

4    For lo! The days are hast'ning on, by prophets seen of old,
      when with the ever-circling years shall come the time foretold,
      when peace shall over all the earth its ancient splendors fling,
      and all the world give back the song which now the angels sing.

Text: Edmund H. Sears, 1810-1876

             Edmund Sears was a Unitarian minister who, unlike his colleagues, actually believed in the divinity of Christ. He wrote this hymn in the late 1840’s as tensions were rising in America and the country was rushing headlong into Civil War. To Sears, the angelic message of “peace on earth” was not only timely, but central.  And not merely peace among the people of his nation, but the personal peace that came from knowing that Christ had been born, and that birth made all the difference in the world and to the world.  Sears understood how the times could wear on a person spiritually and physically so the third verse reflected his personal struggle.  So too with us in these days of COVID and acrimony, we need to know that we who walk beneath life’s crushing load can stop and hear the angels sing!

Prayer:  Savior of the world, as you once came to our world as a humble child in a manger, so come to us anew and open our ears to listen to the song of the angels. And then, open our hearts to hear that song as the promise of a better tomorrow! Amen.