Angels From the Realms of Glory

heark, the herald angels sing
Originally uploaded by Melvin T. Schlubman
Do you love the words to hymns?

I bought a book "Then Sings My Soul: 150 of the World's Greatest Hymn Stories" and aim to post about it in future.

Today I read the lyrics to "Angels From the Realms of Glory", written by James Montgomery (1816) and Henry Smart (1867).

It begins:

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:

Come and worship, Come and worship,

Worship Christ, the new-born King.

James Montgomery was inspired to write the words after reading Luke 2, in particular verse 13. He was orphaned at a tender age, when his parents felt the calling to be missionaries in Barbados, and they died there. His parents had left him in Ireland in a Moravian community. He became a respected community leader and publisher of the Sheffield Iris newspaper, and this song was first sung on Christmas day in 1821 in a Moravian church in England.

I love to sing these songs when alone. Trust me, you don't want to hear me, though I do sing with enthusiasm.

This Advent season is when angels are especially winging o'er all the earth, I believe.

Angel Book, Prizes Too

This is my week to host the blog tour for Then Along Came An Angel, and I am happy to review the book for you and let you know about the wonderful prizes the editor is offering. To enter just leave a comment here.

Here is my review for this book full of true angel encounters.

This is a compelling collection of stories written by people who have encountered an angel. I noticed as I read that I kept thinking “this is my favorite story” and then a few pages later “no, wait, this is my most-liked.”

With so many lovely stories to select from, several favorites did emerge, beginning with “An army outside my window”, by Lea Peters, which starts “Gunshots rang just outside the front wall of our home. I plucked my 10-year-old son off the bicycle.” I got goosebumps reading about the powerful protective angels surrounding a missionary’s house during civil war in Burundi in central Africa.

Another story “The freeway, His way” is told by a senior citizen who arrives late to church, and takes the only seat she can reach with her walker. The writer, Marilyn R. Prasow, is very worried about her finances and specifically how she will pay for gas and for a prescription she needs. Her neighbor in the pew is a young man she has not seen before, and he turned to her and said “God has put this need in my heart to help you.”

The young man insisted on writing a check and giving it to her. When she finally dared to look at the check, she thought it would be for a helpful amount like ten dollars, but her spirit leapt with joy, when she saw how much larger the amount was. This reminds me that God is like that, often giving us so much more than we can even dream.

As you read this book about angels among us, you will surely find your own favorite stories that will touch your soul.

Here is a link for more info and to order a copy:
http://tinyurl.com/6qtbkb




Leave a comment here, or on one of the other blogs on the tour, for a chance to win a large array of goodies; one commenter will be selected to win 2 angel books, a tote bag, lotions and more, valued at $118.00. The link below also gives details on the prizes.

The other blogs on the tour are listed at http://thenalongcameanangel.blogspot.com