Scripture Verse

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. Luke 2:14

Introduction

Words: Charles Wes­ley, Hymns for the Na­ti­vi­ty of Our Lord (Lon­don: Will­iam Stra­han, 1745), num­ber 18.

Music: Green Fields from The Pea­sant Can­ta­ta (Mer hahn en neue Ob­er­keet), by Jo­hann S. Bach, 1742. Ar­ranged by Lew­is Ed­son in The Cho­rist­er’s Com­pan­ion (New Ha­ven, Con­nec­ti­cut: 1782) (🔊 pdf nwc).

portrait
Charles Wesley (1707–1788)

Lyrics

All glo­ry to God in the sky,
And peace up­on earth be re­stored!
O Je­sus, ex­alt­ed on high,
Appear our om­ni­po­tent Lord:
Who mean­ly in Beth­le­hem born,
Didst stoop to re­deem a lost race,
Once more to Thy crea­tures re­turn,
And reign in Thy king­dom of grace.

When Thou in our flesh didst ap­pear,
All na­ture ac­know­ledged Thy birth;
Arose the ac­cept­able year,
And Hea­ven was op­en on earth.
Receiving its Lord from above,
The world was un­it­ed to bless
The giv­er of con­cord and love,
The Prince and the Au­thor of peace.

O wouldst Thou again be made known,
Again in Thy Spi­rit des­cend,
And set up in each of Thine own
A king­dom that ne­ver shall end!
Thou on­ly art able to bless,
And make the glad na­tions obey,
And bid the dire en­mi­ty cease,
And bow the whole world to Thy sway.

Come then to Thy ser­vants again,
Who long Thy ap­pear­ing to know,
Thy qui­et and peace­able reign,
In mer­cy es­tab­lish be­low:
All sor­row be­fore Thee shall fly,
And an­ger and hat­red be o’er,
And en­vy and mal­ice shall die,
And dis­cord af­flict us no more.

No hor­rid alarm of war
Shall break our eter­nal re­pose;
No sound of the trum­pet is there,
Where Je­sus’ Spi­rit o’er­flows:
Appeased by the charms of Thy grace
We all shall in am­ity join,
And kind­ly each oth­er em­brace,
And love with a pas­sion like Thine.

illustration
Shepherds and Angels