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Beside the Weary Road

ByKelly Keller

This is Part Two of our 2025 Advent series. (You can find the other parts here: One. Three. Four.)

And ye, beneath life’s crushing load,
Whose forms are bending low,
Who toil along the climbing way
With painful steps and slow,
Look now! for glad and golden hours
Come swiftly on the wing.
O rest beside the weary road,
And hear the angels sing!

When I began working with this hymn, I noticed that this one doesn’t have a direct reference to Jesus himself. It is only obliquely related to the birth of Christ; it refers to the announcement made by the angels to the shepherds.

Luke 2:8-14:

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest,

   and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

More than the birth of Christ, this hymn speaks of the essential nature of hope in the Christian life. Here we gain a reminder of what the angels spoke: peace on earth, goodwill to men. These words are meant to be remembered through the ages.

But then, the writer goes on to admit, our lives on earth will unfold in such a way that it is easy to forget this message sung by the angels. Suffering will be a reality, and progress will seem slow, if it is even noticeable at all. The load will become heavy. There will be times when we feel crushed by the weight of things.

What do we do in response? One approach would be to pull ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and carry on fearlessly. Shake it off! This will all be settled tomorrow.

But here we find some different advice: Sit down. Rest. Listen to the song.

It is natural, when we act from a place of insecurity or fear, to meet uncertainty or suffering with action. It feels unnatural to sit still in such a time, so we double down and get busy in a flurry of frantic activity. We sense we are losing control, so we scramble to regain it.

But the hymn writer reminds us: we need not act; we need to sit and remember God’s words to us.

Peace. Goodwill. He has his eyes on those he loves.

Kelly Keller
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