eHymns.org

Edmund H. Sears in 1849

Richard Storrs Willis in 1850

Alvin (Bud) Herman Manz in 2005

CAROL. C. M. D.

First published in 1849, these lines mark the first of any carols by an American writer and one of only two lyrics penned by Edmund Sears. “Although I was educated in the Unitarian denomination, I believe and preach the divinity of Christ,” he wrote. The depths of turmoil at its writing are in stark contrast to the peace which the lines profess: the Civil War loomed near; the upheaval of the Industrial Revolution was ongoing and the obsessive rush for greed of gold in the west was disrupting communities. One can almost see the wistful wonder Edmund must have visualized of the hope yet to come.

Source: https://melodypublications.com/blogs/news/it-came-upon-the-midnight-clear-edmund-sears

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 heav'ns allgracious King:
"The world in solemn stillness lay
To hear the angels sing.

Still thro' the cloven skies they come,
With peaceful wings unfurled,
And still their heav'nly music floats
O'er all the weary world:
Above its sad and lowly plains
They bend on hov'ring wing:
And ever o'er its Babel sounds
The blessed 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 gladand golden hours
Come swiftly on the wing;
O rest beside the weary road,
And hear the angels sing.

For lo, the days are hast'ning on,
By prophet bards foretold,
When with the evercircling years
Comes 'round the ageof 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. AMEN.