A WIDOW'S CHRISTMAS: Singing With the Heavenly Hosts

Five Years Later

“For God is the King of all the earth: sing ye praises with understanding.” Psalm 47:7

My husband couldn’t, as my grandmother would say, “Carry a tune in a bucket.” And it would have had to have been a very BIG bucket because even though Ron’s notes were often off-key, he sang loudly and with enthusiasm. At no time did he sing more loudly than during the Advent season, when he’d bellow out lyrics to Christmas carols, often mixing up the words but not the meaning.

Hark the Harold angels sing
Glory to the newborn king
Pieces of earth and mercy wild
God and sinners all will smile.

When I think of Ron celebrating Christmas in Heaven, I am certain that his voice blends perfectly with the angelic choir and he doesn’t miss a note. The Bible passages that mention the angels praising God don’t actually say they SING (Isaiah 6:1-3; Luke 2: 8-14; Revelation 5:11-13), but the vision of angels singing as they praise God has become firmly fixed in our minds. Music is so entwined with our worship that we are sure the heavenly host of angels MUST sing (Ephesians 51:19).

Silent night, holy night
Shepherds wake at the sight
Glories beam from heaven’s star
Heavenly hosts sing, "Alleluia"
Christ the Savior is born
Christ the Savior is born

Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892), known as the “Prince of Preachers” firmly believed that angels sang! He said, “ They sang the story out, for they could not stop to tell it in heavy prose. They sang, ‘Glory to God on high, and on earth peace, good will towards men.’ I think they sang it with gladness in their eyes; with their hearts burning with love, and with breasts as full of joy as if the good news to man had been good news to themselves.”

Thomas Carlyle (1895-1881), a Scottish philosopher, once said: "Music is well said to be the speech of angels." The Midrash, the classic collection of Jewish teachings on the Torah, mentions that when Moses spent time studying with God over a 40-day period, Moses could tell what time of day it was by when the angels changed singing shifts.

James 5:13 says, “Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy?

Ron, his body now healed, his spirit now at Home with the Father and the Son, has many reasons to rejoice in song! James 5:13 says, “Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise.” Surely Ron is happy, singing songs of praise with the Heavenly Host!

Peace on the Earth, goodwill to men, from Heaven's grateful king
The world in silent stillness lay to hear the angels sing

The Biblical stories of the angels at the Nativity do not specifically use the word “sang”. Luke 2:13-14 states, “Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

So do angels sing?

Ron’s last Christmas, December, 2018

In the Book of Revelation (5:11), John describes the elders and the angels “singing a new song.” Job 38:7 says that at the day of creation, “the morning stars sang.” In Hebrew poetry, “stars” are often represented by angels and the word “sing” can be translated as “joyfully shouted.”

Who am I to argue with Spurgeon, Carlyle, and Moses?

And sometimes at night, when the lights on the little blue Christmas tree twinkle, I can hear the voice of my husband, now in perfect pitch, singing:

Joy to the world! the Lord is come;
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare him room,
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven, and heaven, and nature sing.

Do you think angels sing?

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