“Come and worship, come and worship, worship Christ the newborn king”
“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.” Luke 2: 13-14, KJV
This beloved hymn was written by the Scottish poet and hymn writer James Montgomery whose father was a Moravian minister. His parents became missionaries to the West Indies where they lost their lives when Montgomery was only 12 years old. He was raised by Moravians and attended a Moravian boarding school.
At the age of 10, inspired by Moravian hymns, Montgomery started writing poetry. He later found he enjoyed writing and joined the staff of the Sheffield Register newspaper. In his 20s he had the opportunity to take over the leadership of the newspaper and was publisher and editor for 31 years.
There was a time Montgomery drifted from his Moravian faith, but as he matured, he reconnected with God. On Christmas Eve 1816, while reading his Bible, he was inspired by Luke 2:13-14. He put pen to paper and wrote the words that eventually became known as Angels, from the Realms of Glory. He published the words in his newspaper that very Christmas Eve. Over time he modified some of the wording and republished it in the Christian Psalmist in 1825. After that, it started being sung in churches to various different tunes. It is the tune Regent Square composed by the blind organist Henry Smart that is most used today.
This hymn was first sung in the Moravian Church of England on Christmas Eve in 1821. It proclaimed the birth of Jesus and called for angels, shepherds, sages, saints, sinners, all nations, and all creation to “Worship Christ, the newborn king!” It inspires me and hopefully all of us to do the same!
Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, we are so grateful that we are free to worship Jesus, our newborn King, not only at Christmas but the whole year through. May we sing joyfully and gratefully this inspiring hymn this Christmas season. Amen.
Lorraine Ward