Oh! lovely voices of the sky Which hymned the Saviour's birth, Are ye not singing still on high, Ye that sang, "Peace on earth"?

In these lines Hemans addresses the angelic “voices of the sky” associated with the Nativity hymn in Luke’s Gospel—those who proclaimed “peace on earth” at Christ’s birth. The speaker’s question (“Are ye not singing still on high…?”) turns the biblical scene into a meditation on continuity: the heavenly promise of peace endures, even when earthly history seems to contradict it. The exclamation and apostrophe convey longing and spiritual homesickness, while the contrast between “still on high” and “on earth” underscores the gap between divine proclamation and human experience. The passage thus functions as both devotional lyric and gentle lament, asking whether the Christmas message remains active and attainable.