From the Realms of Glory

Ornaments on Brass and Gold Tree in Den

Hymn of the Day

“Angels From the Realms of Glory”
Author: James Montgomery

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)

Shepherds, in the field 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)

Refrain - Come and worship, come and worship,

Worship Christ the newborn King.
Based on Luke 2:9

“And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them,

and the glory of the Lord shone around them and they were greatly afraid.”

Meditation

“The Realms of Glory!”

This Christmas hymn is one of James Montgomery’s favorite compositions. Montgomery, one of the greatest of the Moravian hymn writers, wrote it in 1816, and it is considered one of the most challenging hymns ever written. The central focus of this hymn is the worship and adoration of Christ. It is addressed to those who witnessed the nativity and all whose lives are touched by the event. In the first verse the angels who sang at the creation of the world are invited to “proclaim Messiah’s birth”. In verse two the invitation is to the shepherds and to the Magi in verse three. The “saints” in verse four are Simeon and Anna who encountered the child Jesus in the temple. Its style is quite unique! Montgomery was known to be a deeply devoted, noble person who made important contributions to English hymnody.

Montgomery's parents were Moravian missionaries to the West Indies. While attending a Moravian seminary in England, James received word of the sudden death of both of his parents on the mission field. He left seminary suddenly, and, for a period of time, lived a life of aimless discouragement. He soon became interested in newspaper work and writing and at the age of 23 he was appointed editor of the weekly “Sheffield Register”. As Editor of this paper, James Montgomery became a champion of many different causes, chief among them the abolition of slavery. He was always ready to assist the poor, and defend the rights of the downtrodden. He was twice imprisoned for his stands and his writings on controversial issues.

In 1787 he published a volume of poems called Prison Amusements. It was so named from the fact that many of the works had been written by Montgomery while he was in prison. In 1825 he gave up his editorship of the paper to devote himself solely to literary and philanthropic pursuits, including the promotion of foreign missions, a cause that remained dear to his heart because of the involvement of his parents in mission work. In James Montgomery’s hymns there is a newly-awakened evangelistic fervor present. He was the first English hymn writer to sound the “missionary trumpet”. By 1833 his integrity and worth were widely recognized throughout his homeland, and he was awarded an annual pension of $1,000.00 by the government as a reward for his many contributions to English society.

"Angels From The Realms of Glory" first appeared as a poem in Montgomery’s newspaper on December 24th, 1816. Later it was published in a hymnal entitled “Montgomery’s Original Hymns” and was known as "Good Tidings of Great Joy to All People." Many students of hymns consider this one of the finest Advent hymns ever written. In all, Montgomery wrote approximately four hundred hymns including "According to Thy Gracious Word", "Hail To The Lord’s Anointed", and "Stand Up and Bless the Lord".

The tune most often associated with this hymn is “Regent Square” which was written by Henry Smart who was born on October 26, 1913, in London. It is named “Regent Square” for the Regent Square Presbyterian Church, which was known at that time as the “Presbyterian Cathedral in London.” Smart, who was completely self-taught, was widely recognized as one of the finest organists and composers of his day in the British Isles. He was totally blind the last fifteen years of his life, during which time he continued to do some of his finest writing.

Montgomery wrote this text addressing angels, shepherds, wise men and saints. His refrain is to all of them and to all of us inviting us to Come and worship Christ the newborn King. So are we angels? I don’t think so. I don’t think we are shepherds or wise men either. What glorious company we find ourselves in - - - angels who came from the “realms of glory” to be present to sing “creation’s story” - - - who were present the night Christ was born to proclaim His birth - - - faithful shepherds - - - kings – Magi – Wise Men!!! We are certainly invited to join with an amazing array of folk, each of whom has an important place in the Nativity story. Dare we hope that we might be considered to have just as important a place and function in the retelling of the story to the people of our own day and time? If we “do” have such a place, are we in it? Are we telling the story and spreading the good news as God would have us do?

Prayer - Our Father, we hear the angels who have come to us to bring us your message and to proclaim the birth of our Savior. We would be like the shepherds and forsake all other things to come to the manger to worship the newborn King, and we would be like the Wise Men and bring Him our best gifts to welcome Him into our lives. So teach us to number our days that we may come at last to join with the Saints in everlasting praise to You, for we pray in Jesus’ name and for His sake. Amen~

Activity - Organize a potluck supper. Have a “trim-the-tree” party. Make it a neighborhood gathering, a “friends” gathering, or a “church” gathering, organized around a potluck supper. If you choose to make it a neighborhood party, start early in the day. Plan to decorate trees in several homes and have a “Progressive Supper” - appetizers at one home, decorating that family’s tree; then moving on to salad, soup,
main dish, and finally to dessert, decorating trees or helping with decorations of some sort in each place!!!!! (It’s always nice to have help putting the tree in the stand!)