Hark! the herald angels sing
Glory to the newborn King;
Peace on earth, and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled!
Joyful all ye nations rise,
Join the triumph of the skies;
With th’ angelic host proclaim
Christ is born in Bethlehem.

These lines open Charles Wesley’s Christmas hymn first published in 1739 in the Methodist collection Hymns and Sacred Poems. Written during the early Methodist revival led by John and Charles Wesley, the hymn reflects the movement’s evangelical emphasis on the Incarnation as God’s saving intervention for humanity. Wesley’s original first line was “Hark! how all the welkin rings,” using “welkin” (the heavens/sky), a word that soon felt archaic to many singers. In the 19th century the hymn became widely known in altered form through editorial changes (notably by George Whitefield) and later through its pairing with Felix Mendelssohn’s tune (commonly called “Mendelssohn”), helping secure its place as a staple of English-language Christmas worship.

The stanza dramatizes the Nativity as a cosmic announcement: angels herald a royal birth (“newborn King”) whose significance is not merely sentimental but reconciliatory—“God and sinners reconciled.” The language compresses key Christian claims about Christmas: peace as a divine gift, mercy as God’s disposition toward humanity, and the joining of earth and heaven in praise (“Join the triumph of the skies”). Wesley’s imperative verbs (“Hark,” “rise,” “join,” “proclaim”) turn the listener into a participant, inviting all nations into a universal chorus. The refrain-like close—“Christ is born in Bethlehem”—anchors the theological vision in a specific historical place, linking doctrine to the Gospel narrative.

1) “Hark! how all the welkin rings, / Glory to the King of Kings” (Wesley’s 1739 opening).
2) “Hark! the herald angels sing, / Glory to the newborn King” (later common revision).
3) “Peace on earth, and mercy mild, / God and sinners reconciled” is sometimes printed with minor punctuation/capitalization changes (e.g., “Peace on earth and mercy mild”).