Today I’m highlighting the hymn, “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear” which was written out of reflection on Luke 2:14, where the angels proclaim, “Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom He is pleased.”
The hymn was written by Edmund Sears in 1849 at a time when world he lived in was anything but peaceful. The Mexican-American War had just ended the previous year which left the nation (as well as the church) shaken and divided. Tensions over slavery were increasing and within a little more than a decade the country would be engulfed in The American Civil War. Sears was looking out at a world full of conflict, division, and fear, which honestly doesn’t feel too far from our world today, does it?
Sears went through personal seasons of discouragement and exhaustion and even suffered an emotional breakdown after seven years of struggling under the demands of a large congregation in Lancaster, Massachusetts. You can hear his anguish of heart reflected in his lyrics:
And ye, beneath life’s crushing load,
Whose forms are bending low,
Who toil along the climbing way
With painful steps and slow,
He later went on to faithfully pastor a humble little country church in Wayland, Massachusetts. He is described as physically feeble but he had a tenderness of heart that caused him to grieve deeply over human suffering, especially those who were in slavery. Even though he was quiet by nature, he did not remain silent. He wrote articles for Christian magazines speaking out against slavery, and he preached boldly and courageously about the issue because he believed Scripture spoke clearly.
This was a man who felt the weight of a groaning world. It was in the midst of this private struggle and public turmoil that he penned this hymn.
So with all that in mind, let’s return to the angel’s proclamation in Luke 2:14, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased”
The angels were doing what angels always do; they were worshiping and glorifying God. They had witnessed God’s perfect creation of man in His own image, they had watched in shock and horror as man fell into sin, they were privy to centuries worth of prophecy declaring that a redeemer would come. And now, before them, God’s eternal plan of redemption was unfolding and they marvel at it! The perfect Son of God had condescended, taking on human flesh to save His people from their sin.
So what is this “peace” the angels refer to? It’s not simply a feeling of emotional calm or the absence of war and conflict. The peace the angels are celebrating is peace with God; the peace that comes through salvation. The truth is, apart from Christ, we’re not at peace with God; Romans 8:22 says we’re actually His enemies! But because Jesus came, lived a perfect life, died, and rose again, those who repent of their sin and trust in Him for their salvation are forgiven, brought near and have peace with the Father.
Romans 5:1 says, “Since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” That’s the peace Luke is talking about. It’s the peace Christ gives to those who belong to Him; those who put their faith and hope in Him and who bow the knee to the Prince of Peace.
If you are in Christ, do you marvel at your salvation? Are you in awe of the fact that it was God‘s good pleasure to save you? You should! The angels do!
Sears understood the ache of a world longing for this kind of peace. His hymn acknowledges that the world is still full of “life’s crushing load” and “the woes of sin and strife.” But he reminds weary believers that because of Christ, we have true peace; peace with God; even if the world around us feels chaotic.
And one day that peace will fill the earth when the Prince of Peace returns. With that in mind as I close I want to leave you with the final verse of this hymn which looks forward to a day when this peace will be fully realized for those that are in Christ.
For lo! the days are hast’ning on,
By prophet seen of old,
When with the ever-circling years
Shall come the time foretold
When Christ shall come and all shall own
The Prince of Peace, their King,
And saints shall meet Him in the air,
And with the angels sing.
by Daniell W
