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!)

Sweet Singing

Angels We Have Heard on High!

Hymn of the Day
“Angels We Have Heard on High”

Author: Traditional French Carol
Based on Luke 2:14

“And suddenly there was with the angel
a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:
‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth,
peace, good will toward men!’”

Angels we have heard on high,
Sweetly singing o’er the plains,
And the mountains in reply
Echoing their joyous strains.
(refrain)

Shepherds, why this jubilee?
Why your joyous strains prolong?
What the gladsome tidings
Which inspire your heavenly song?
(refrain)

Come to Bethlehem and see
Him whose birth the angels sing.
Come, adore on bended knee,
Christ, the Lord, the newborn King!
(refrain)

See Him in a manger laid
Whom the choirs of angels praise!
Mary, Joseph, lend your aid,
While our hearts in love we raise!
(refrain)


(Refrain) "Gloria! In Excelsis Deo!"

(words used by permission - Public Domain)

Meditation
“Sweet Singing!”

This is a lovely carol from the French tradition. Imagine if you will, the following scene: Vast numbers of angels swiftly descended toward Earth through the star-sprinkled sky. The ‘lead’ angel halted them with a sign. The angels hovered with folded wings over a silent field near Bethlehem. “There they are,” said the lead angel, “the humble shepherds who have been chosen by God to receive our message. It will be the most wonderful news that mortal man has ever received. I can’t wait to see their reaction and to hear what they have to say when we tell them about the new Baby King. Are you ready with your great angelic chorus?”

The lead angel drifted slightly more downward so as to be seen by the shepherds below. The shepherds were terrified! Each one of them covered his face in the brilliance of the light, and cowered before the angels, but they were listening earnestly and with awe as the vision before them began to speak in their own language . . . began to speak, saying:

“Do not be afraid for I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the little town of Bethlehem, the city of David, a Savior has been born to you. He is Christ the Lord. You will find Him lying in a cow’s manger in a crude stable. He is there with Mary, His mother, and Joseph, His father, who have been chosen by God Himself to be His parents during the time that He is on the Earth among the people.”

As the lead angel finished speaking to the shepherds, all of the angels were instantly surrounded by a brilliant heavenly host. Echoing through the sky was the most beautiful singing the shepherds had ever heard. They were exulting and praising God for the long-awaited gift of His Son. The Shepherds left their fields and their flocks and went with great haste to see the Savior with their own eyes. The angels sang as the Shepherds departed – "Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace and good will to all.”

The Bible teaches us that angels are the ministering servants of God and that they are continually being sent to help and protect us, the heirs of salvation. Certainly, their most important task, however, was this momentous occasion announcing Christ’s arrival on earth! Little is actually known of the origin of this inspiring 18th Century French carol, which has become something of a “universal” Christmas favorite, having been passed down through several generations, and having survived the “cut” of editors of a vast number of hymnals. In all of the world’s great religions, angels or something closely akin to angels, play an important part.

In the Judaeo-Christian tradition from which we come, they have traditionally been God’s messengers and have appeared to people during times of their great need for a message from God - - - a message of comfort, of reassurance, of explanation and the like. In several places in Scripture we read of angels “standing in the gap” between God and man. This seems to have been one of their most important functions, and it is easy to see this at work in the little story about the shepherds on the hillside overlooking Bethlehem the night Jesus was born.

It is relatively easy for us to understand how these shepherds were probably terrified by the sudden appearance of the angels in the quiet solitude of the night. They were perhaps even sleeping, huddled down around their small campfire, trying to stay warm in the cold of the night. They were in all likelihood simple men, not well-educated or wealthy, because the well-educated and wealthy did not become shepherds, living among the elements and giving their lives over to the care and keeping of some rather stupid animals. It is likely that they had known something of the prophecy that predicted the coming of a Messiah from God, and it is likely that they had some idea of what such a King would look like and be like when He arrived. I wonder what they thought when they heard about Jesus?

People who know me know that I believe passionately in angels and in their involvement in the everyday-ness of life. I believe that God sends them to us routinely to help us, to comfort us, to guide us, and to protect us, as well as to tell us what God what have us do and be. I believe that I had an encounter with an angel some years ago when I was in California when my aunt Evelyn died.

Some of you have heard the story. On the day of her death, I was riding with two of my cousins (her two youngest children, Bill and Tina) to the hospital. It was a very sad time as we were going over to be there when the respirator that had been keeping her alive for several days was disconnected, and to stay with her until she left this earth for her heavenly home. I had not known my family for very long at this time (only three years) since I was adopted at birth. I never had the opportunity to know my mother as she died before I found the family, and I had been having a nagging feeling of wonder about whether or not she would “approve” of my having found them and become part of them. I needed to know this, and my Aunt Evelyn had been one of the strongest voices of assurance to me that she would have been delighted, indeed.


As we approached an intersection near the hospital, the signal light turned red and Bill stopped to wait for the light. I said to Bill and Tina, as I glanced over my shoulder to my right, “You can laugh at me if you want to, but I have the strangest feeling that Dottie is close by.” (Dottie was my mother’s name.) I saw next to us a little red convertible sports car.

A woman was driving this car, and the prestige license plate on the back of the car said, “Dottie D”. I all but shrieked at Bill and Tina as I yelled, “Look, you guys! Look at that car!” As we pulled away from the intersection when the light changed, I looked back to get a glimpse of the driver of the car, but couldn’t see anything as the windows were of a dark-tint. All three of us gasped in great surprise because, you see, my mother drove a red sports convertible and spelled her name “D-O-T-T-I-E.” Her last name was “Davis” - - - “Dottie D”.



Since all three of us saw the car, I have to believe that it was no figment of my overactive imagination, and I can’t really believe that it was just “wishful thinking”, although I did wish quite intensely for reassurance that I had done the right thing in finding this family. Whatever the source, whether divine and angelic, or somehow “coincidental”, “I” believe that God sent a messenger to tell me that my mother was, indeed, nearby waiting to welcome her beloved sister into heaven, and that she knew that “I” was nearby. I believe she realized that I needed to know it was “ok” for me to be there and that God sent an angel with a message of reassurance. This is one of the most profound experiences of my life.

Angels and their messages grace the texts of countless numbers of hymns, many of them so familiar to us that I wonder if we sing them perfunctorily, taking them for granted, and not really taking in the words and the message that we are intended to receive. What do you think? Will you perhaps, as I will, try to pay closer attention to the singing of the angels this Christmas?

Prayer – Dear God, we thank You that there have been those times in our lives when we have really heard the angels on high singing your praises. We thank You, too, that you are concerned about us on a day-to-day basis, knowing our needs before we even speak them to you, and that you send us your messages of love, mercy, grace, comfort, and assurance in the form of angels and angelic messages. Help us to be sensitive to the nearness of the angels in our lives, and help us to be as angels in the lives of others around us, taking your Word into all the hurting world, for we ask these things, as we ask all things, in Jesus’ precious Name. Amen ~

Activity – Plan a party. Christmas provides a wonderful opportunity to celebrate. Plan the type of party you’d most like to give . . . buffet or seated dinner, Hors ‘d Oeuvres or dessert . . . soup and salad or Pot-Luck. Make a guest list. Make a list of people who might like to help you. Plan your theme and your food. Arrange for someone to help clean-up. Ask someone to take pictures. Have a wonderful time!

“Music is God’s gift to man, the only art of heaven given to earth, the only art of earth we take to heaven.”

Walter Savage Lander

This Day In the City of David

Butter Flies

Christmas Hymn of the Day
“Once In Royal David’s City”
Author: Cecil Frances Alexander

Based on Luke 2:10-12
"Then the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the City of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe, wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger'”.

Once in royal David’s city stood a lowly cattle shed,
Where a Mother laid her Baby in a manger for His bed;
Mary, loving Mother mild, Jesus Christ, Her little Child.

He came down to earth from heaven Who is God and Lord of all,
And His shelter was a stable, and His cradle was a stall.
With the poor, the scorned, the lowly, lived on earth our Savior holy.

Jesus is our childhood’s pattern; day by day, like us, He grew,
He was little, weak and helpless, tears and smiles, like us, He knew;
And He feeleth for our sadness, and He shareth in our gladness.

And our eyes at last shall see Him, through His own redeeming love;
For that Child so dear and gentle is our Lord in heaven above;
And He leads His children on to the place where He is gone.

(Used by Permission - Public Domain)

~ Meditation ~

“In The City of David This Day!”

Cecil Frances Alexander (1818-1895) is the author of this charming carol that tells so simply and yet so beautifully the Nativity story. I have always wanted to use this hymn for a Christmas pageant with children acting out the various stanzas of the hymn, for I find the imagery and symbolism exquisite, even though the hymn itself contains very little “theology”.

The hymn is, rather, a carol - a story - visualizing at a child’s level the clause in the Apostles’ Creed, “I believe in Jesus Christ, our Lord, who was born of the Virgin Mary”. Ms. Alexander is also the author of  "All Things Bright and Beautiful", and "Jesus Calls Us O’er the Tumult".

The first verse of the hymn is a version of the Scripture contained in Luke 2:4, and 7, which reads “Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David . . . And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn". (NKJ)

The second verse begins with the theological concept of the pre-existence and deity of Jesus, then adds details of the Nativity in a kind of "word picture". Luke, however, does not come right out and say that Jesus was born in a stable; every household had a manger for its donkey or goat. It is possible that some kind-hearted woman took Mary into her home.

In the third verse we find the words of Luke 2:51-52 paraphrased. We read, “Then He went down to Nazareth with them and was subject to them, but His Mother kept all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.” The picture of Jesus as a perfect child comes into focus in these lines. The last line of the verse presents two of the attributes of perfect character – sympathy and sharing.

The fourth verse of this charming hymn/carol expresses our hope of heaven which Jesus has promised to all who love Him. (I Corinthians 2:9 – “…Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those that love Him …”) This is a lovely poem, one that should be sung AS children WITH children everywhere.

Once again we find a poet who has been inspired by the beautiful words of the Nativity story. She is one who is so full of this beauty that she wants to find a way to share her wonder with little children . . . to teach them the story in song. We would all be wise to approach Christmas as little children. We are reminded of Jesus’ words, “You must become as little children . . . “. When we are able to put aside the cynicism with which a lot of us live on a day-to-day basis, and approach matters of faith as children do, we find much less to trouble us. We don’t have to become great theologians to understand the mysteries of scripture. We don’t have to become great philosophers to get to the “truth” we so desperately seek.

I will confess something to you. I don’t like simplistic answers to difficult questions, as a general rule. I find life much too complex and issues far too weighty to find much comfort in simplistic answers. I am not able to picture myself fitting into a church that has at its core these “simple” answers to the difficult problems in life, such as “Why do bad things happen to good people?” It is not enough for me to hear, “Because God wanted it that way.” It isn’t that I doubt the Will of God, but that I believe His will to be multi-layered. I believe that God’s will must be understood at a deeper level than simply “He wanted it that way”, so I keep looking for the deeper answers to the tough questions.

Christmas is a different matter for me, though. At no other season of the Church can I let myself go and see the wonder of the Nativity through a child’s eyes. I love the story, the music, the lights, the wonder, the mystery, the awe, the angels and shepherds, the Wise Men, the lessons of the Scriptures and the carols of the poets from ages gone by. I can become as a little child for a period of time, and revel in the simple joys of the Season. I hope you can too!!!!

Prayer - Dear Father of us all, thank you again for coming to earth in the person of your Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We have read today the simple words of a simple song, intended to teach the great truths of the Nativity story to children. Grant us the hearts and the faith of little children and help us to understand the great mystery of Christmas. We see the sights and we hear the sounds, and sometimes, Lord, we confess, we are cynical and we are tired, and we fail to get the message into our hearts. We believe, help our unbelief, for we pray in Jesus’ blessed Name, Amen ~
 
Activity - Visit a museum or a special Christmas display. Callaway Gardens has their Fantasy in Lights going on - - - Lake Lanier Islands has a beautiful light show.  There are family activities at Stone Mountain Park, and many more opportunities. These are wonderful ways to experience the beauty of the season.