It Came upon the Midnight Clear
The angels' song of peace on earth, and a call to hear it in a troubled world.
The words are public domain. We print a hymn only after checking it word for word against a dated old printing, and this one hasn’t been checked yet. Hymnary has it now.
“It Came upon the Midnight Clear” at HymnaryAbout this hymn
The hymn retells the angels' song of peace at Jesus' birth. It then notes that the world still suffers from war and strife, and urges people to listen to that song and wait for the promised age of peace.
It rests on Luke 2:13-14, where the angels sing of glory to God and peace on earth.
It is sung at Christmas. Edmund Hamilton Sears, a Massachusetts pastor, wrote it in 1849, and it was first printed in the Christian Register in Boston.
For musicians and planners
| Words | Edmund Hamilton Sears, 1849 | Public domain |
|---|---|---|
| Tune | CAROL · Richard Storrs Willis, 1850 | Public domain |
Checked 2026-09-27 against hymnary.org text, tune and person pages (attribution and rights only). The words are not transcribed here yet.
Hymn numbers checked against Hymnary.org’s index of Evangelical Lutheran Worship. Full record: Hymnary.