James Chadwick – Angels We Have Heard On High

As is often the case with Christmas music, the origins of Les Anges dans nos campagnes is unknown.  It is a mix of French and Latin, loosely translated to English by Irish bishop James Chadwick.  His version bears similarities to Les Anges dans nos campagnes, but considered by many a derivative piece.  Played to Edward Shippen Barnes’s arrangement of Gloria, Chadwick’s lyrics gained widespread popularity, eventually becoming the Christmastime staple that it is today.

Note to new users: This is a different kind of review site!  Read About the Berean Test and Evaluation Criteria prior to reading this review.

1. What message does the song communicate?

This famous song is a retelling of a portion of Luke 2.  The angels announce to unsuspecting shepherds that the Lord Jesus is born, giving glory to God in the highest.  The curious shepherds visit baby Jesus, confirming that the angels were right.  They spread the good news to others, amazing everyone within earshot.

This song also contains some poetic license, that Chadwick is among the crowd who converses with the shepherds their reason for joy.  The shepherds respond, saying that the Christ child can be found in Bethlehem, in a lowly manger along with Mary and Joseph.  The shepherds then rejoin Chadwick and others in the crowd, requesting Mary and Joseph to assist them to sing about Jesus.  This adds a human element to this Christmas song.  However, most modern renditions of Angels We Have Heard On High omit this portion.

As with many Christmas songs, it talks about the singing angels. It’s possible that the angels were singing, though the case for it is not strong (see section 2).  This affects the song’s Biblical accuracy, but not its overall message.

Score: 10/10

2. How much of the lyrics line up with Scripture?

Most of this song aligns with Scripture, except for the singing angels.  The Scriptural support for this is weak at best.

[Verse 1]

Angels we have heard on high
Sweetly singing o’er the plains

This is one of the most prevalent traditions that is unsupported by scripture: the singing angels!

According to Luke 2:13-14, there was a multitude of angels exalting Jesus. Though there were heavenly hosts and they announced the birth of Jesus, Scripture does not support that they were singing.  Take a good look at Luke 2:13.  It says “saying”.  It comes from the Koine Greek word “legó”, which means “to say”.  That doesn’t mean that angels can’t sing (Job 38:7’s “morning stars” could be seen as angels), but the text doesn’t say that they sang.

As for the Koine Greek term Aineo (to praise), according to Bible Study Tools, praiseworthy singing is a possible translation for this word.  However, no major translation translates it with singing in mind.

And the mountains in reply
Echoing their joyous strains

Although not recorded in Scripture, a simple experiment suffices to demonstrate that, assuming there were mountains around the angels and shepherds, that an angelic echo is plausible.

[Refrain]

Gloria in excelsis Deo!

Latin for “Glory in the highest to God”.  These are the words the angels say in the first half of Luke 2:14.

Gloria in excelsis Deo!

Repeats line 1.

[Verse 2]

Shepherds, why this jubilee?
Why your joyous strains prolong?
What the gladsome tidings be?
Which inspire your heavenly songs?

According to Luke 2:18, the shepherds went about the city praising God.  Chadwick takes the role of an onlooker, inquiring the shepherds’ reason for worship.  Scripture does not say, but it wouldn’t surprise me if they sang a ditty along the way.

[Verse 3]

Come to Bethlehem and see
Him whose birth the angels sing;
Come, adore on bended knee,
Christ the Lord, the newborn King.

This Verse represents the shepherds’ response to Chadwick, namely, that angels announced the first of the Lord Christ, who will be their Savior.  The angels informed the shepherds that in Bethlehem, they will find baby Jesus lying in a manger.  They can vouch for the angels as witnesses (Luke 2:11-12 and Luke 2:16-17).

Also, see commentary on Verse 1, lines 1 and 2 regarding the singing angels.

[Verse 4]

See Him in a manger laid,
Jesus, Lord of heaven and earth;

This is also part of the shepherds’ response: they invite Chadwick to come and see Jesus in a manger (Luke 2:7 and Luke 2:12).  He is sovereign over creation (Genesis 1:1, Deuteronomy 4:39, Deuteronomy 10:14, Joshua 2:11, Nehemiah 9:6, Psalm 29:10, Psalm 45:6, Psalm 50:7-15, Psalm 93:1-2, Psalm 115:3, Psalm 135:6, Isaiah 43:13, Isaiah 45:9-10, Isaiah 46:10, Lamentations 5:19, Daniel 4:35, Romans 9:19-21, Ephesians 1:11, Hebrews 1:8, James 4:15, Revelation 4:11, and Revelation 20:11).

Mary, Joseph, lend your aid,
With us sing our Saviour’s birth.

This is poetic license, where Chadwick joins the shepherds back to the manger where Christ laid, requesting Mary and Joseph to assist with an anthem.  It is a request, not a truth statement.

Score: 9/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

Its references to shepherds, angels, Mary, Joseph, Bethlehem, and baby Jesus easily lend to elements of Christmas, a Christian holiday.  Unbelievers will rightly conclude that this song retells part of the Christmas story.

Score: 10/10

4. What does this song glorify?

It glorifies God as it remains faithful to the Christmas story that inspired it, aside from the singing angels that is potentially unbiblical and its poetic, albeit plausible, tangent in Verse 4.

Score: 9/10

Closing Comments

James Chadwick’s Angels We Have Heard On High is mostly good.  It reiterates the portion of that ancient Christmas story where angels visit bewildered shepherds, who visit the Christ child and tell others about it, bringing Glory glory.  Though the Biblical case for the singing angels is weak, its language is easy for unbelievers to comprehend, concluding the Christmas origin story.  The song’s final Verse is plausible, even if it’s not in the Bible.

Feel free to consider this for your Christmas pageant.  The singing angels aren’t a dealbreaker for me, even if it’s not totally accurate.

Final Score: 9.5/10

Artist Info

Track: Angels We Have Heard On High (listen to Christendom College Choir & Schola Gregoriana’s version of the song)

Artist: James Chadwick

Album: N/A

Genre: Christmas, Hymn

Release Year: 1862

Duration: N/A

Agree?  Disagree?  Don’t be shy or have a cow!  Calmly and politely state your case in a comment, below.

Updates:

10/25/2022 – Upon recent information from Heather’s comment on Joseph Mohr’s Silent Night, I updated my commentary on the singing angels.  This raised the song’s overall score, from 9/10 to 9.5/10.