Angels From the Realms of Glory
/“Angels From The Realms Of Glory” by James Montgomery (1771-1854)
Historical and Devotional Analysis by James Cheesman
Historical Background
“Angels from the realms of glory” has become my favorite Christmas hymn. It was written by James Montgomery in 1825. Montgomery is considered the first hymnologist in the English language, and he is one of the greatest British hymnwriters of all-time, along with Isaac Watts, Charles Wesley, William Cowper, and John Newton.
The son of Moravian missionaries, James Montgomery edited and published the Sheffield Iris newspaper from 1794 through 1825. Yet he was most renowned as a hymn writer and poet. He was close friends with William Wordsworth, Sir Walter Scott, and Samuel T. Coleridge, was the Poet Laureate of England, and was given an annual pension to write poetry by the Prime Minister for the last nineteen years of his life.
Montgomery first published “Angels from the realms of glory” in the Sheffield Iris on Christmas Eve of 1816, with five stanzas. He reprinted it with the title “Good tidings of great joy to all people” in The Christian Psalmist in 1825 as number 487.
Fig. 1 The Christian Psalmist. (Glasgow: William Collins, 1832).
Text: Theological Background
“Angels, from the realms of glory” features many of the main characters of the Christmas story outside of Jesus and his family. The subjects of the original five stanzas in order are:
One: Angels
Two: Shepherds
Three: Sages
Four: Saints
Five: Sinners
Notice the alliteration in stanzas two through five. The first two stanzas are derived from Luke 2:8-20. The third stanza about the wise men, or sages, comes from Matthew 2. The fourth stanza’s subjects are Simeon and Anna, who in Luke 2:25-38 are revealed as righteous and devout believers who have been “watching long in hope and fear” for the coming Christ. The fifth stanza is a call for believers who have already repented, and non-believers who need to repent, to also join in the worship of the angels, shepherds, sages, and saints of old in the worship of the newborn king.
Montgomery masterfully alludes to many other scriptures in this hymn. Job 38:7 says, “When the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy,” in reference to the angels shouting and singing at creation. Montgomery connects the worship of the angels at the birth of Christ to their rejoicing at the creation of the world in a way that expands the wonder of the historical moment of the incarnation!
In stanza two, Montgomery acknowledges Christ’s title of “God with us,” or the “Immanuel” of Isaiah 7:14. The citation of “infant light” also refers to the gospel of John’s emphasis on Jesus as the “Light of the World” (John 1:9, John 8:12). In stanza four, Montgomery interprets Jesus’ appearance in the temple as a baby as a fulfillment of Malachi 3:1, which states, “And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple.”
The fifth stanza has been frequently omitted from hymnals, likely due to its severe sounding opening lines. It is a shame, though, for in this omission is lost a beautiful invocation of Psalm 85, sometimes called the Christmas psalm, and verse 10 specifically: “Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.”
The whole fifth stanza moves from our condemned, sinful state to the realization that the newborn Christ will satisfy justice’s demands, pour out his mercy, and thus save us from the chains of doom and pain. When stanza four is sung as the last stanza, it causes the singer to put themselves in the place of the “saints” who rejoice after waiting for the Christ, which is certainly a helpful perspective. However, Montgomery’s original final stanza leaves the worshipper with a more fully-orbed reason to gratefully, “come and worship, come and worship, worship Christ the newborn King.”
Text: Poetic Background
Montgomery was a proponent of consistent rhyme schemes. He was particularly fond of double rhymes. He employs double rhymes in the first and third line of each stanza to increase the energy:
Angels, from the realms of glory, a Perfect Double Rhyme
Wing your flight o’er all the earth, b Perfect Rhyme
Ye who sang creation’s story, a Perfect Double Rhyme
Now proclaim Messiah’s birth; b Perfect Rhyme
Montgomery expertly composes with several poetic devices,, including antithesis (contrasting ideas or words) and parallelism (similar ideas or words). The first two lines of stanza one contain the antithesis of “glory” against “earth.” The third and fourth line contain a parallelism referring to the angels who “sang creation’s story” and also “proclaim Messiah’s birth.”
The refrain “Come and worship, Worship Christ the newborn King,” contains the word “worship” at the end line five and the beginning of line six, which is an example of anadiplosis. To fit the tune REGENT SQUARE, which became the most commonly paired tune with this text starting later in the nineteenth century, the phrase “Come and worship” is repeated, employing the technique of epizeuxis for dramatic effect.
Stanza three contains examples of synechdoche, which is a type of metaphor. The “contemplations” the sages leave behind represent more than just thoughts; in fact, they leave behind their entire religious and vocational lives as they seek the “brighter visions” of God’s promises in the Messiah. “Desire of nations” is a metaphorical title for Jesus Christ.
Stanza four contains an antithesis in the phrase “hope and fear,” for these represent contrary emotions experienced at the same time. Finally, stanza five features personification and metaphor. “Justice” is personified as “revoking a sentence” as a human judge, and “mercy” is personified as calling to all to “break your chains.” The breaking of chains is a metaphor for finding freedom from sin, guilt, and doom through Jesus Christ.
Conclusion:
I love this hymn as a call to worship, an assurance of pardon, and a celebration of the gospel. We are going to be singing the original fifth stanza at FBC Farmersville because of the way it takes the Christmas story and points to Christ’s ultimate purpose. Jesus came to fulfill justice and extend mercy to those in bondage to sin and death! All who have “broken their chains,” are now called to “Come and worship, worship Christ the newborn King!”
Nerdy Post-Script 1: Tune and Musical Usage
The most popular tune pairing, especially in the United States and Canada, is REGENT SQUARE by Henry Smart (1813-1879). Smart wrote REGENT SQUARE for Horatius Bonar’s “Glory Be to God the Father,” which was first published in Psalms and Hymns for Divine Worship in 1867. Smart also resided in Sheffield, near Leeds, for some time. His tune is what calls for the repetition of “Come and worship, come and worship,” which has become customary. In England, many churches also sing “Angels, from the realms of glory” to IRIS, which is another name for the tune GLORIA, customarily paired with “Angels we have heard on high.” Montgomery envisioned the text being sung to the tune GLORIA.
Nerdy Post-Script 2: Other Alternate Stanzas and Lyrics
There are two alternate final stanzas which have been utilized in various hymnals. The first alternative appeared in The Christmas Box (1825) and comes from another Montgomery hymn based on Philippians 2:
Though an infant, now we view Him,
He shall fill His Father's throne,
Gather all the nations to Him,
Every knee shall then bow down.
The other option comes from the Salisbury Hymn Book (1857) and states:
All creation, join in praising
God the Father, Spirit, Son,
Evermore your voices raising
To the eternal Three in One.
Finally, editors have frequently changed two phrases. Baptists in The Baptist Hymnal (1991), Celebrating Grace Hymnal (2010), and The Baptist Hymnal (2008) changed “His natal star” to “the infant’s star.” Other hymnals have changed that phrase to “the morning star” or “Savior’s star.” For those desiring gender inclusive language, stanza two has been changed from “God with man is now residing,” to “God with us is now residing.”