Gloria

Josh Garrels' “Gloria” is a quiet Christmas song set on a cold winter night. The opening lines place the listener outside: bells ring, voices sing “songs of joy, peace, and love,” and someone heads home through leafless woods alone. The scene is full of silence, with snow like a dream and “diamonds on the hills” reflecting the thrill of all the glory that has fallen to the earth.

The song then draws a link between winter and the reason for the season. “All of life's surrendering to the death that winter brings, in hope of new life, on this holy night.” The second part invites everyone in: “Come in from the cold, come and rest your soul, join us by the fire. Tonight the stories told, ancient but never old, of when the Saviour came.” The angels are heard singing “peace on earth, good will to men,” and the song admits that “all of us are suffering beneath the weight of death and sin,” and that “all our hopes made good in Christ.” The refrain closes the song in Latin, “Gloria, in excelsis Deo,” with the line “We worship Christ.” The mood is reverent and warm, and it works well as a December reflection.

The angels' song is Luke 2:13-14. The child given is Isaiah 9:6, and sin entering the world is Romans 5:12.