Angels, from the realms of glory

Angels, from the realms of glory. James Montgomery* (1771-1854). First published in Montgomery’s newspaper, The Sheffield Iris, 24 December 1816, in five 6-line stanzas, entitled ‘Nativity’. It was slightly altered by Montgomery in The Christian Psalmist (1825), where it was entitled ‘Good tidings of great joy to all people’. The final stanza echoes Psalm 85: 10: ‘Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other’, but its severe opening lines have caused many editors to omit that verse: Sinners, wrung with true repentance, Doomed for guilt to endless pains, Justice now revokes the sentence, Mercy calls you; break your chains:… This is frequently...

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