"I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along
The unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
Till, ringing, singing on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime
A chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
Then from each black accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound
The carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearth-stones of a continent,
And made forlorn
The households born
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
And in despair I bowed my head;
"There is no peace on earth," I said;
"For hate is strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"
Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead; nor doth he sleep!
The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men!"
This is a song (originally it was a poem) that was penned by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in the middle of the Civil War when it looked hopeless for peace on either side. His wife had died in a tragic fire and two years later his son was seriously injured. On Christmas day after all this had happened he heard the church bells ringing and there in his grief he wrote seven stanzas of "I heard the Bells on Christmas Day". Two verses had been omitted from the poem when John Baptiste Calkin in 1872 set the words to music and the song was born. A beautiful song that tells the story of heartache but also of a God that is not dead, nor does He sleep. I had heard and even sang this song but never did the content mean anything to me until now, which is very sad. Out of pure misery this man's words still today grasp my heart and overwhelms me with sorrow for his loss. Yet at the same time his faith in God is evident!
I pray you will be blessed and these days before and after the holidays, holds memories of good and even with the bad there is hope and peace because of the One who came and died for us!
