Angels from the Realms of Glory

 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 newborn King.

Sinners, wrung with true repentance,
Doomed for guilt to endless pains,
Justice now revokes the sentence,
Mercy calls you; break your chains.

The angels feature prominently in the Christmas story. The Angel of the Lord delivers news to Zacharias about John the Baptist's coming birth. Next we find him in Mary's bedroom proclaiming news that she is with child, which is followed quickly on the heels by a visit to Joseph. The visits from the Angel are terrifying; scripture describes some of the angels as having six wings and speaking with voices that boom like thunder. Each time the Angel of the Lord appears, he begins his monologue with "Do not be afraid." I think that might be the equivalent of Hagrid showing the students of Hogwarts his pet spider Aragog and suggesting that they not fear. Some beings are just terrifying in nature. Such is the Angel of the Lord.

But these angelic beings strike fear and wonder, for each time they come proclaiming great news. Those who couldn't conceive are with child; Mary has found favor with the Lord and He has chosen her to be the mother of the living God; God has seen Joseph's love for Mary and charges him with being faithful to her and with raising His Son. All good, but terrifyingly miraculous news. I can just imagine the incredulous laughter, that laughter the builds out of fear and nervousness and just pure awe, falling out of the mouths of each recipient. Can the things this angel is saying be true? They must be! He has come directly from the presence of God to deliver this information. It must be true. It must be true.

As Angels from the Realms of Glory reminds us, these angels were there at the dawn of creation. Being created before men, before our heavens and earth, these angels watched as Jesus spoke our universe into being. They proclaimed the majesty and glory of each new creation; they resounded in heavenly oohs and aahs as God spoke each new wonder to life. There was a chorus of praise resounding after each, "It is good" that God spoke. These same angels that watched the beginning of it all--the splendor of man created in God's own image, and the heartbreaking agony of Adam and Eve turning from their Maker--are now here to magnify God in the beauty of His rescue plan!

They've been waiting, wondering just what God had in mind. They heard His promise to Adam and Eve in the garden that one day He would crush the serpent. One of their own stood guard at Eden so that man and woman could not return, but Eden had not been destroyed. God had a plan to restore His children to the shalom they knew in the Garden. And now finally, finally, the angel Gabriel had been sent to deliver good news of the Savior. The angels got a glimpse of what was coming! Could it be? Is it true that the Son would come? Here, this very night of Jesus' birth, they see the fullness of the rescue plan! They see that God became a man to dwell among the broken and rebellious. They see the fulfillment of all of the promises and prophesies. Their God, their Creator, has left the glories of heaven, to be with the lowly He loved. He left the throne, the comforts, the presence of His beloved Father, to pursue the ones that had betrayed Him.

And the angels sing out! They can't help it! "Glory to God in the highest!" Come and worship, come and worship Christ the newborn King! They get it! They see how all of God's story, all of man's broken, wandering story, has led to this moment. They sit in the heavens amazed at how God has confounded what man would predict the King to be like, and marvel at how the King of the universe has come as a tender child. He is meek, He is helpless, and the angels know, they are certain, that He will reconcile man back to God.

These angels who've dwelt in glory with Jesus now rejoice that He has left them to be with His children. He is gone, but they sing out. He has come to bring the mercy that this people need. They proclaim that sinners, wrung with true repentance...mercy calls you, break your chains! Break your chains! Be free of the sin that has weighed you down since the dawn of creation! The horror of breaking relationship with God, the anguish of being enslaved to our own desires, ends here, with a sweet Child King. The angels can't help but rejoice! God is so good to His people, and they have watched Him be faithful year after year. Here, in this moment, is the ultimate act of faithfulness and selflessness--the Christ is born today in Bethlehem.

They, like us, cannot help but to come and worship.