Day 11/ Track 11: It Came Upon a Midnight Clear

Author: Edmund Sears, 1849

Tune: “Carol” Richard Willis

Scripture: Luke 2:14

Unlike many Christmas hymns, this hymn’s setting is current to the author. Written at the time of the Mexican-American war, Sears reflects on the birth of Jesus, bringing the celebration and hope of that moment into the despair of the times. The Methodist and Lutheran hymnals omit verse 3, which focusses on the times that Sears laments in, a time like today.

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!

We are again reminded to see beyond the current heaviness of our world and remember the hope and presence of Jesus, with us today.

Can you hear the angels sing?

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