John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) Amongst American Hymnals, the Hymns of the Church, 1869, and the Baptist Praise Book, 1871, give the full revised and authorised text of 18. The use of this hymn in various forms in English-speaking countries is extensive, abbreviations being the rule. Bingham, appeared in his Hymnologia Christiana Latina, 1871, pp.

Of the first four stanzas a rendering into Latin:-“Angeli, sancta regione lucis,' by the Rev. Isaac Gregory Smith, 1855, reads:-Īnother found in the Salisbury Hymn Book, 1857, and others, including the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge Church Hymns and Thring's Collection is:. That given in A Hymn Book for the Services of the Church, &c, by the Rev. Has been, in some instances, omitted, and in others a doxology has been substituted. 239 and must be regarded as the authorised text. These changes (together with the new title) were retained in his Original Hymns, 1853, No. 487, the title was, 'Good tidings of great joy to all people,' and the following changes were introduced:. On its republication by Montgomery in his Christian Psalmist, 1825, No. 24, 1816, in 5 stanzas of 6 lines, and entitled 'Nativity.' In the 8th edition of Cotterill's Selection, 1819, it was repeated without alteration, and again in the 9th ed., 1820. This hymn, which ranks as one of the most popular of the author's compositions, first appeared in his Iris newspaper, Dec. Stanza 5 is a doxology (not written by Montgomery) from the Salisbury Hymn Book (1857).Ĭhristmas Day worship service during the Christmas season and Epiphany (not only for the Christmas story, but also for the hymn's obvious mission focus in stanza 4).Īngels from the realms of glory. Stanza 4 comes from another Montgomery carol inspired by Philippians 2. Stanzas 1-3 are from Montgomery's text, which was inspired by the Christmas stories in Luke 2 and Matthew 2. The text was originally in five stanzas, although many hymnals now delete the fifth stanza. 5)–in the call to “come and worship Christ, the newborn King!” The text successively incorporates all creatures–the angels (st. Perhaps because he knew the psalms so well, Montgomery expresses a cosmic sense in this text: he reaches from Christ's incarnation to the final great day. Entitling it 'Good Tidings of Great Joy to All People,' Montgomery republished the text with small alterations in his Christian Psalmist (1825).

Montgomery based the text in part on the French carol 'Angels We Have Heard on High' (347) it was sung to that tune for over fifty years. A writer of many Christian hymns, James Montgomery ( PHH 72) composed this Christmas and Epiphany text and published it on Christmas Eve, 1816, in the Sheffield Iris, a newspaper he edited.

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