All Glory in the Highest

Heather Allington

Heather writes for Sunday Song Book on behalf of the The Salvation Army Oshawa. As a lifelong member of the Army, she has loved these familiar - and some less familiar - songs for many years, and enjoys researching and writing about their origins. She is a wife, mother, grandmother and retired elementary school teacher who likes trying her hand at watercolour painting and poetry writing.

Do you know the song that the angels sang
On that night in the long ago,
When the heavens above with their music rang
Till it echoed in the earth below?

All glory in the highest,
Peace on earth, goodwill to men,
Glory in the highest, peace, goodwill to men;
Glory in the highest;
Glory in the highest; glory in the highest,
Peace on earth, goodwill to men.

Do you know the song that the shepherds heard
As they watched o’er their flocks by night,
When the skies bent down and their hearts were stirred
By the voices of the angels bright?

Do you know the story that the wise men learned
As they journeyed from the East afar,
O’er a pathway plain, for there nightly burned
In their sight a glorious guiding star?

Christmas carols come in such a variety of styles, and this is one of the livelier ones – maybe one in which Salvationists even clap their hands to the chorus! Little is known about the author, Abner F. Cobb. He lived from 1853 to 1923 in the United States, mainly in Illinois. In his youth he was a machinist, but later graduated from Eureka College and became a pastor in various towns in Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky and Texas. Cobb was also an active evangelist, participating in meetings in major U.S. cities. He wrote several hymns, many referring to anticipating life in Heaven with the Lord.