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On Sunday night, December 8, 2019, we gathered together as a Calvary family to hear and sing some of our favorite Christmas carols, old and new. As part of our Carols & Cookies service, we will also be hearing the stories behind some of these songs – who wrote them? What in their life motivated them to write about Christ’s birth? How should their life and words impact our own?

One carol we didn’t get to was “Angels from the Realms of Glory.” Here’s the story of that song –

James Montgomery led an interesting life. If you met him on the streets of Sheffield, England, in the early 1800s, you may find yourself thinking you’re talking to a “millennial” of his time – full of opinions about the societal issues of the day, passionate about caring for the needy, and occasionally struggling with doubts about the faith of his parents.

Here’s some quick facts about him:

• His parents died when he was young while they were on a missions trip in the West Indies.
• He was raised by Moravians in Ireland, a group known for its passion for the gospel and missions.
• He became involved in a newspaper later called the Sheffield Iris, and used that paper to advocate for justice against the societal evils of his day – slavery, the mistreatment of workers, etc.
• Another love of his was for writing poetry. Even famous poets like Shelley and Byron thought of him highly. And he used his love for poetry to express his sometimes radical views – in fact, some of his poetry led to his imprisonment!

Montgomery had excuses to rebel against Christianity. He could say that his parents’ dedication to the faith foolishly cost them their lives on the mission field and left him as an orphan. And he was raised by the passionate and zealous Moravians, who could have driven him away from the faith. And indeed, he did struggle with his faith in his teen years, even flunking out of school at one point.

Yet, in spite of all this, he grew to fully embrace his faith and write about it in poetry and in his newspaper.

One such poem became a well-loved Christmas carol named, “Angels from the Realms of Glory.”

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.

Saints before the altar bending,
Watching long in hope and fear,
Suddenly the Lord, descending,
In his temple shall appear.

Sinners, wrung with true repentance,
Doomed for guilt to endless pains,
Justice now revokes the sentence,
Mercy calls you—break your chains.

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.

Come and worship, come and worship, worship Christ, the newborn King!

Sources: Christmas Classics by David McLaughlan & The United Methodist Church’s Hymn History