Angels from the Realms of Glory

During this Advent season I will be preaching from four traditional hymns that anticipate and celebrate the incarnation. This is the second of four blog entries about these Advent songs.

The words to the hymn Angels from the Realms of Glory first appeared in 1816, published in a newspaper that was edited by the author, James Montgomery. The tune Regent Square was composed in 1867 by Henry T. Smart, and this melody is matched with Montgomery's words in the United Methodist Hymnal (#220).

Angels, from the realms of glory,

Wing your flight o'er all the earth;

Ye who sang creation's story,

Now proclaim Messiah's birth:

Refrain: Come and worship, come and worship

Worship Christ, the newborn King.

Shepherds, in the fields abiding,

Watching o'er your flocks by night,

God with man is now residing,

Yonder shines the infant light:

Refrain

Sages, leave your contemplations,

Brighter visions beam afar;

Seek the great Desire of nations,

Ye have seen his natal star:

Refrain

Saints, before the altar bending,

watching long in hope and fear;

suddenly the Lord, descending,

in his temple shall appear:

Refrain

This hymn appears to be about angels. Indeed, that's the first word of the first stanza. But each of the four stanzas addresses a different group, moving from angels to two other witnesses of the Nativity: shepherds and sages (wise men). Then the fourth stanza is about all of us: the saints. This progression makes a pretty important theological statement. Yes, the angels were there to proclaim the birth of Jesus, but they were created for one main purpose: to deliver messages from God. After the angels deliver God's messages (whether to the shepherds, or to Mary, or Joseph, or Zechariah), they exit the scene. The work of carrying out God's directions remains with the people who received the message. Angels appear throughout the scriptures, but only briefly. Once the angels do their job, then you and I are expected to get on with the work of obeying God's Word.

The hymn's meter (grouping of syllables) of 87.87.87 makes it easy to switch with other tunes, and in the UK it is most commonly sung to a traditional French carol named Iris. In that setting the original refrain of "Come and worship" is often replaced with "Gloria in excelsis deo." Here is a performance from King's College Cambridge (sorry about the ad):

Here is a church worship service in the US that uses Smart's tune as the choir processes into the sanctuary: