Hark! Hear Ye Not The Angel Song

For Christmas Day

Words: Godfrey Thring, Hymns and Sacred Lyrics (London: Henry S. King & Co., 1874), pp. 35-36.
See: Hark! Hear Ye Not The Angel Song - Alt. from Hutchins, with notes

Tune: “Angel's Song” by Orlando Gibbons.

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 ii. 13-14

Hark! hear ye not the angel song
The hills of Bethlehem among?
To you, this day, th' Incarnate Word,
To you, the Everlasting Lord.

To you, on earth, this happy morn,
To you the Prince of Peace is born,
Whilst heaven re-echoes yet again
Peace,—peace on earth, good will to men.

Thus angels sang, and thus sing we,
To God on high all glory be,
Let Him on earth His peace bestow,
And unto men His favour show.

For dead indeed must be the heart,
Thrice dead, which will not bear a part,
And with the angel choir proclaim,
A Saviour born in Bethlehem.

Then men and maidens, young and old,
Come join the shepherds at the fold,
And singing list, and listening sing
A carol to our new-born King.

Sheet Music from Edgar Pettman, ed., Modern Christmas Carols (London: Weekes & Co., 1892), #23:

Note from Pettman: No. XXIII.—The first four lines should be sung as a quartette, unless the parts will be sung most accurately in tune by the whole Choir; who will, however, join in at the 5th line. Great care is required to change suddenly from ff. to pp. at the last line.

Note from Rev. Thring:

Written at the request of the Rev. R. R. Chope, to a stanza of George Withers (the 3rd), the only one remaining, set to the original "Angels' Song" of Orlando Gibbons.

Editor's Note:

In this volume, Rev. Thring's eight Advent, Christmas and Epiphany compositions begin on p. 24 of the 1874 edition, with “Collect, First Sunday in Advent” (first line: “Cast away the works of darkness”).

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