a pleasant shock while caroling

We sang carols in church last Sunday. Traditional ones: Away in a Manger, Silent Night. Just that sort. I like to sing carols. There I was joining in the festive song, using the low range of my voice since they usually pitch a note or two outside my upper range, glancing at the words printed in the program, but singing most of the verses by heart.

Only most. I don't think I've ever previously encountered the third verse of It Came Upon a Midnight Clear. It speaks of the woes of sin and strife, of a world that has suffered long. It says we've endured 2,000 years of wrong: "And warring humankind hears not/The tidings which they* bring" Then it tells us:

O hush the noise and cease your strife
And hear the angels sing;

How have I missed out on this motherly command all these many Christmases of my life?

{click image to view full size. My source.}

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*the angels bending near the earth

Addendum:

Must be something about third verses. We also sang the third of Joy to the World and it also has a surprising turn. It speaks of thorns that infest the ground and blessings that flow "far as the curse is found."