Day 19 — It Came Upon a Midnight Clear

With so much strife and turmoil today, perhaps the song “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear” will be even more meaningful than it ever has been in the past. That’s because, unlike most Christmas hymns, this song was not written about the night of Jesus’ birth, but about finding the Christmas message during a time of great sin and strife in the world, as is best expressed in the lesser known third stanza:

Yet 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;

O hush the noise, ye men of strife,

And hear the angels sing.

These lyrics are so true. We have to hush the noise of the world around us to tune into the supernatural. If you’re tuned into the news and completely consumed with COVID, Afghanistan and the lack of leadership in our nation, your focus will be on the works of the devil, and it won’t take long for discouragement to set in. 

“It Came Upon a Midnight Clear” reminds us to remember that, though the world continues to suffer the woes of sin and strife, if we quiet the happenings around us, we’ll be able to hear the angels sing again. We’ll be able to see the power of God again. 

Written in 1849 by Massachusetts pastor Edmund Sears, this poem, turned into a Christmas carol, was written during a period of personal struggle, as well as revolution in Europe and the United States’ war with Mexico. It is a reminder that, just as on that Bethlehem night, God is still pouring out His love and power on earth. The days will come and go, but God’s power, love and peace will always remain.

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 heaven’s all-gracious King.”

The world in solemn stillness lay,

To hear the angels sing.

Can you hear the angels sing? Have you taken time to tune in so closely to the Holy Spirit that His power has become palpable? This Christmas is the perfect time. So much has gone on in 2020 and 2021. It takes even more intentionality to tune out the works of the devil, and focus our minds and spirits on the Lord. First Corinthians 2:5 says, “Your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God” (NKJV). If you’re discouraged by what men are doing this Christmas, it’s time to put your faith back where it belongs—in the power of God.