Midnight Clear (Love Song)

Chris Tomlin's “Midnight Clear (Love Song)” builds on the carol “It Came Upon the Midnight Clear,” written in the nineteenth century. The verses keep the old text, which pictures angels bending near the earth with harps of gold while the world lay in solemn stillness to hear them sing. The song says the music still floats “through all the weary world.”

The verse about war is the one that speaks to today: “Man at war with man hears not the love song which they bring.” The carol urges people to “hush the noise and cease the strife” and listen. Tomlin adds a chorus of his own that echoes the angels' message: “Glory to God in the highest, glory to God evermore.” It continues with the announcement of good news and great joy for all, and the declaration that Christ the Savior is born. The new bridge turns the carol into a statement of love, calling Jesus “the love song of God” and ending on the phrase “You so loved the world.” The mix of old and new keeps the carol recognizable while giving the congregation a joyful refrain to sing.

The angels' praise is Luke 2:14. God so loving the world is John 3:16, and the child given as Prince of Peace is Isaiah 9:6.