Glory to God: What the Angels Really Said

By Dean Collins

“Angels we have heard on high, sweetly singing ore the plains…”
“Hark the herald angels sing, glory to the newborn king…”

It really is hard to imagine Christmas without Christmas carols. I imagine as you read the first two lines of this devotional, it was hard not to continue the melody of these carols in your head. Singing carols might sometimes be nostalgic, and it certainly can be a part of your worship. And it might be a little of both.

There is a deep connection for most of us around the true meaning of Christmas when we sing the Christmas hymns and carols. But we must be careful that we don’t get mixed up on what the Bible says and doesn’t say about the angels singing at the birth of Jesus. Some 2,000 years have passed since anyone was alive at the time of Christ’s birth, so we have no eyewitnesses to tell us if or what the angels might have sung.

What we do have is what the gospel writers told us happened at the birth of Christ. Luke is the only gospel that wrote anything about angels at Christ’s birth. But Luke never said that the angels were singing. Here is what Luke recorded concerning the angels:

“…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 among those with whom he is pleased!’”

I looked at a lot of translations and all but a few correctly translated this passage. The Message translation uses the word “singing” instead of “saying,” but that is not in the original Greek. Don’t get me wrong. They may have been singing, and they might have had a heavenly praise band accompanying them. But the truth is we simply don’t know.

The scriptures are filled with admonitions and examples of believers singing praises to God. It is an important part of our worship throughout the year and at Christmas. I bring this up for two reasons:

1) We would do well to read the scriptures regularly so that we know not only the truth of the Christmas story but also the truth of the entire narrative of scripture. We have a tendency to hear the preacher, the podcast, the worship song, and assume that it is scripture. Often it will be, but many times it won’t be correct. There is nothing wrong with speculating that the angels sang the night Christ was born. What we do know is that there was a multitude of heavenly hosts with the angel praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased.”

2) I want to offer encouragement for those who can’t sing. You can of course make a joyful noise! But even if you can’t sing, you can declare to God your praise, both with your words and with your actions. We are called to praise God.

So go ahead and sing as the angels well might have this Christmas. But also pay attention to what the scriptures say as we celebrate the birth of Jesus our king!

Father, thank you for the gift of Jesus. We join the heavenly hosts in declaring, “Glory to God in the highest!” Use us today to share your peace with everyone we encounter. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Your Time with God’s Word
Luke 2:8-14; Revelation 19:6-9

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