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 men
From heaven's all-gracious King" –
The world in solemn stillness lay
To hear the angels sing.
Still through the cloven skies they come
With peaceful wings unfurled,
And still their heavenly music floats
O'er all the weary world;
Above its sad and lowly plains
They bend on hovering wing,
And ever o'er its Babel-sounds
The blessed angels sing.
But 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!
And ye, 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!
For lo! the days are hastening on
By prophet bards foretold,
When with the ever circling years
Comes round 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.
The author of this poem, Edmund Sears, is said to have written these words during a period of personal melancholy following revolution in Europe and the US-Mexican war shortly before.
When melancholy of the current world overwhelms us, reflect on this poem and remember:
- That heavenly beings once came to proclaim a message of peace.
- The heavenly beings are still coming in peace, they still sing their message of peace.
- Remember to listen for the song of peace, it’s still there.
- Slow down and hear the music.
- The “ever circling years” continue to turn and “the age of gold; when Peace shall over all the earth its ancient splendors fling” continues to draw nigh.
- We can join with the heavenly beings in singing the song of Peace.
Reflect upon what came upon the midnight clear…