Charles Wesley

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing (Poem)

Summary


"Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" is a Christmas poem by Charles Wesley that opens with a triumphant call for all nations to rise and join the celestial rejoicing over the birth of Christ. Wesley moves swiftly from jubilation to theological depth, meditating on the Incarnation — God taking human form — and the promise of reconciliation between the divine and the fallen. Each stanza builds in intensity, moving from announcement to invitation, urging the reader not merely to observe the nativity but to be inwardly transformed by it.

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Hark! the herald angels sing
Glory to the new-born King!
Peace on earth and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled.

Joyful all ye nations rise,
Join the triumph of the skies,
With the angelic host proclaim
Christ is born in Bethlehem!

Hark! the herald angels sing
Glory to the new-born King!

Hail the heaven-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Sun of Righteousness!
Light and life to all he brings,
Risen with healing in his wings.

Mild, he lays his glory by;
Born, that man no more may die,
Born to raise the sons of earth,
Born to give them second birth.

Hark! the herald angels sing
Glory to the new-born King!

Credits

Charles Wesley was an 18th-century English hymn writer and co-founder of the Methodist movement, responsible for composing over 6,000 hymns during his lifetime. The original 1739 version of this poem opened with the line "Hark how all the welkin rings" — it was George Whitefield who later revised the opening to the now-famous "Hark! The herald angels sing." Wesley's deeply doctrinal verse reflects his lifelong conviction that faith must be felt as much as it is professed.
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