It Came Upon a Midnight Clear was written by Edmund Hamilton Sears in 1849. The carol started life as a poem written by its author who was a minister living in Massachusetts at the time. The music for “It Came Upon A Midnight Clear” was composed by American musician Richard Storrs Willis in 1859 who was inspired by the words of the poem. This is one of those songs that we just need to stop and think about, then open our hearts and let Jesus speak to us so we can take it all in.
Take your time and read through it to see what Jesus speaks into your heart. At the end I will share what Jesus spoke into my heart.
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, goodwill to men
From heavens 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.
O 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 prophets seen of old,
When with the ever-circling years
Shall come the time foretold,
When the new heaven and earth shall own
The Prince of Peace, their King,
And the whole world send back the song
Which now the angels sing.
In the first verse Jesus is saying unto me “Stop, be still for a moment. Listen to the joyful presence My Holy Spirit brings unto your heart. Let it be a joy unto you.”
God still sends his Angels round about us in the second verse, even over the “sad and lowly plains.” “Stop and listen” the Lord says. “My Angels are still singing over you.”
We learn in the third verse that when life’s load is crushing you, when you are bending from the heavy load, when you toil to climb the mountain in front of you, when it hurts to take a step and you can barely move, look to the heavens for Jesus is there for you. Jesus said in Matthew 11:28 "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” If we stop and let Jesus care for us then His Angels can also sing over us and minister to us too.
In the fourth verse we see the word “hastening.” Hastening means “to speed up; accelerate.” The days that the prophets of the Bible foretold are coming upon at an ever increasingly faster and faster speed. The day of Christ’s return is going to be here before we know it. The day of the return of the “Prince of Peace” is at hand! When that day arrives and there will be a new Earth and a new Heaven then yes, the whole world will sing praises of our Savior, Christ Jesus.
That’s what I heard Jesus speaking into my heart from this poem/song. I hope it ministered to you too. In addition, I hope that what I shared will help lift you up.
Be Blessed!
BIG SCOTT
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