It Came Upon the Midnight Clear is an American Christmas carol written in 1849 by Edmund Hamilton Sears, a Massachusetts pastor, and first printed in a Boston paper on December 29, 1849. It retells the angels' song to the shepherds in Luke 2: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men" (Luke 2:14). Unlike most carols, it spends little time at the manger. It asks why a world that heard the angels' message of peace is still at war, and it looks ahead to the day when the whole earth will sing their song. The words and the usual tune are in the public domain.
Most Christmas carols take us to Bethlehem. It Came Upon the Midnight Clear takes the angels' song and carries it into our own world. Edmund Sears wrote it in 1849, a year after the Mexican-American War ended, in a country that was arguing bitterly over slavery and drifting toward civil war. He heard the angels sing peace on the earth, and he looked at the woes of sin and strife around him and asked people to hush the noise and listen. Below are Sears's five verses, the story behind them, and 12 KJV verses behind the carol, verse by verse. For the angels' message in full, read the Christmas story in the Bible; for another angel carol, see Angels We Have Heard on High.
It Came Upon the Midnight Clear: the words
Verse 1
It came upon the midnight clear,
That glorious song of old,
From angels bending near the earth
To touch their harps of gold:
Peace on the earth, good will to men,
From heaven's all-gracious King!
The world in solemn stillness lay
To hear the angels sing.
Verse 2
Still through the cloven skies they come
With peaceful wings unfurled,
And still their heavenly music floats
O'er all the weary world;
Above its sad and lowly plains
They bend on hovering wing,
And ever o'er its Babel-sounds
The blessed angels sing.
Verse 3
But with the woes of sin and strife
The world has suffered long;
Beneath the angel-strain have rolled
Two thousand years of wrong;
And man, at war with man, hears not
The love-song which they bring;
O hush the noise, ye men of strife,
And hear the angels sing!
Verse 4
And ye, beneath life's crushing load,
Whose forms are bending low,
Who toil along the climbing way
With painful steps and slow,
Look now! for glad and golden hours
Come swiftly on the wing;
O rest beside the weary road,
And hear the angels sing!
Verse 5
For lo! the days are hastening on,
By prophet bards foretold,
When with the ever-circling years
Comes round the age of gold;
When peace shall over all the earth
Its ancient splendors fling,
And the whole world give back the song
Which now the angels sing.
Words: Edmund Hamilton Sears, first printed in The Christian Register (Boston), December 29, 1849. Text checked against Sears's own collection, Sermons and Songs of Christian Life (Boston, 1875), pages 17 and 18 (Internet Archive scan), and the Wikipedia transcription, with modern punctuation. Usual tunes: Carol by Richard Storrs Willis (1850) in the United States and Noel, adapted by Arthur Sullivan (1874), in Britain. Public domain. Many hymnals leave out verse 3 or 4.
That glorious song of old (verses 1 and 2)
1. Luke 2:13
"And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,"
It came upon the midnight clear, that glorious song of old. Luke says the angel who spoke to the shepherds was suddenly joined by an army of others: And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, and their words follow in the next verse: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men (Luke 2:14). Host means army. The first Christmas choir was heaven's army, singing not a battle cry but a song of peace. Harps of gold are the poet's picture; what Luke does say is that heaven could not keep quiet. See Bible verses about angels.
2. Isaiah 6:3
"And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory."
From heaven's all-gracious King. The angels who sang over Bethlehem are the same beings Isaiah saw worshipping around God's throne: And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. Isaiah's vision shows what the angels' song is about: the holiness and glory of God. On the night Jesus was born, that glory came down to earth in a way Isaiah could only glimpse. The King of heaven had come to a stable. The carol calls Him all-gracious, full of grace, because He came not to judge the world but to save it (John 3:17). See Bible verses about the glory of God.
3. Hebrews 1:14
"Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?"
Above its sad and lowly plains they bend on hovering wing. Sears pictures angels still bending over the world, as if their song never stopped. The Bible says angels do serve God's people: Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation? The Bible warns against worshipping angels (Colossians 2:18), but it shows them serving God's people at His command. God has not abandoned this weary world. See the angel Gabriel.
4. Genesis 11:9
"Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth."
And ever o'er its Babel-sounds the blessed angels sing. Babel is the city of Genesis 11, where people tried to build a tower to heaven and God scattered them: Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth. Confound means confuse. Babel-sounds are the noise of a divided world, people shouting over each other and not understanding. Over all that noise, the carol says, one clear song still sounds. At Pentecost God began to reverse Babel, when people from many nations heard the gospel in their own languages (Acts 2:6). See Bible verses about unity.
Two thousand years of wrong (verse 3)
5. James 4:1
"From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?"
But with the woes of sin and strife the world has suffered long. Sears's third verse is the heart of his carol, and it is the verse many hymnals leave out. He asks why the world, after hearing peace on the earth, still fights. James gives the Bible's answer: From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? Lusts means selfish desires; members means the parts of the body. War between nations begins as war inside the human heart. See Bible verses about war.
6. Romans 8:22
"For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now."
Beneath the angel-strain have rolled two thousand years of wrong. Sears counted from the first Christmas to his own day and saw a long history of suffering. Paul says the whole creation feels it: For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. Travaileth means labors, as a mother in childbirth. The groaning is real, but it is the pain of birth, not of death. Paul goes on to say that creation is waiting for the day God sets it free (Romans 8:21). The carol's sorrow over the world's wrongs is honest, and its hope is the same as Paul's. See Bible verses about suffering.
7. Ephesians 2:14
"For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;"
And man, at war with man, hears not the love-song which they bring. The angels sang of peace, and the New Testament says that peace has a name: For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us. Paul was writing about Jews and Gentiles, two groups who had been divided for centuries. In Christ, the wall between them came down. The love-song of Christmas announces a Person who reconciles enemies. See Bible verses about peace.
Sing it: I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day, Longfellow’s lyrics and story.
8. Psalms 46:10
"Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth."
O hush the noise, ye men of strife, and hear the angels sing! Sears's command echoes one of the best-known verses in the Psalms: Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. In Psalm 46 God speaks over a world of raging nations and tottering kingdoms, and He tells them to stop. Be still means cease, let go. The carol invites us to grow quiet long enough to hear what heaven is saying. See Psalm 46 KJV.
Rest beside the weary road (verses 4 and 5)
9. Isaiah 40:29
"He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength."
And ye, beneath life's crushing load, whose forms are bending low. The fourth verse turns from the world's wars to the person who is simply worn out. Isaiah has a promise for exactly that person: He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Faint means exhausted, ready to collapse. Sears himself had known a breakdown. The carol does not tell tired people to try harder. It tells them to rest beside the weary road and listen, because God gives strength to those who have none left. See Isaiah 40:31 meaning.
10. Galatians 6:9
"And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not."
Who toil along the climbing way with painful steps and slow. Many people reach Christmas worn down by caring for others, working long hours or carrying a quiet grief. Paul writes to people like that: And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. In due season means at the right time, God's time. The climbing way is still steep, but it leads somewhere. Look now! for glad and golden hours come swiftly on the wing, Sears says. The harvest is coming. See Bible verses about never giving up.
11. Isaiah 2:4
"And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more."
For lo! the days are hastening on, by prophet bards foretold. The prophet bards are the Old Testament prophets, and the best-known of their promises of peace is this one: And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. Plowshares are farm blades. Weapons will be turned into tools for growing food. It comes when the LORD Himself judges and rules. The carol's age of gold is that promised kingdom. See Bible verses about the kingdom of God.
12. Habakkuk 2:14
"For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea."
And the whole world give back the song which now the angels sing. Sears ends with a vision of the whole earth singing heaven's song back to God. Habakkuk saw the same day coming: For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. Christians sing it each December as a promise and a prayer: Your kingdom come. See Bible verses about the glory of God.
A short prayer
Father in heaven, thank You for the glorious song the angels sang the night Your Son was born: glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace. Quiet the noise in my heart and in my home, so that I can hear Your good news again. Forgive the strife I carry and the wrongs I have done to others, and make me a peacemaker. When life's load is heavy and the road is slow, give power to my weariness and strength to my steps. Hasten the day when the whole earth will be filled with the knowledge of Your glory, and every voice will join the angels' song. In Jesus' name, Amen.
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Frequently asked questions
Who wrote It Came Upon the Midnight Clear?
Edmund Hamilton Sears (1810-1876) wrote it in 1849 while serving as pastor of a small Unitarian congregation in Wayland, Massachusetts. It was first printed in The Christian Register, a Boston paper, on December 29, 1849. The next year Richard Storrs Willis, a composer who had studied with Felix Mendelssohn, published the tune now called Carol, which is the usual melody in the United States. In Britain it is sung to Noel, adapted by Arthur Sullivan in 1874.
What Bible verse is It Came Upon the Midnight Clear based on?
It is based on Luke 2:13-14, where a multitude of the heavenly host praised God, saying, glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. The carol's line Peace on the earth, good will to men comes straight from that verse. Its later verses draw on the prophets' promises of a coming age of peace, such as Isaiah 2:4 and Habakkuk 2:14. This page lists 12 KJV verses behind the carol, verse by verse.
Why does It Came Upon the Midnight Clear not mention Jesus by name?
Sears built the carol around the angels' song rather than the manger scene, and he wanted to apply its message of peace to the wars and quarrels of his own day. The carol does name the Giver of that peace, heaven's all-gracious King. In Luke 2 the angels' song follows the news that unto you is born this day a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord (Luke 2:11). Many churches sing it together with readings from Luke 2, which fills in the rest of the story.
Is It Came Upon the Midnight Clear in the public domain?
Yes. Sears's words were published in 1849, Willis's tune in 1850 and Sullivan's Noel in 1874, so the words and both tunes are in the public domain in the United States. The text on this page is Sears's own, as printed in his Sermons and Songs of Christian Life (1875). Modern arrangements, recordings and rewritten verses can be under copyright, so check before you copy a particular arrangement or a recording.
Sources: All Scripture quotations are from the King James Version (KJV), public domain in the United States. References were checked against the KJV text from bible-api.com.
Related: Christmas · The Christmas story in the Bible · Angels We Have Heard on High · God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen · O Holy Night · Peace · Angels · Advent · Angels, from the Realms of Glory (lyrics)
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