King of the Carols - It came upon a Midnight Clear - The coming age of Peace

 

The precious Gift of Peace

For lo! the days are hastening on,
by prophet seen of old,
when with the ever-circling years
shall come the time foretold
when peace shall over all the earth
its ancient splendors fling,
and the whole world send back the song
which now the angels sing.

You and I living in the West take many precious gifts for granted - and one of them is national peace. We go to bed each night fairly certain that a bomb won't explode above our heads, that a bullet won't ricochet around our room. But imagine the continual uncertainty and stress that many around the world - this very day - suffer as they settle uneasily in their beds each night.

National peace is not the only variety of peace. There is peace with our present circumstances, or peace in the midst of our present circumstances, the supernatural peace that passes all understanding, the deep down peace that the world cannot give. Many a convert to Christ comments joyfully on this immediate and new deep fruit of the Spirit. There is peace that comes from knowing our sins are forgiven and God's anger is turned away from us.  

All of us long for peace. All of us find the absence of peace draining, wearing and wearying. Whatever the source of dis-ease or distress, we find it enormously difficult, for we were made for harmony and shalom. And more than made for it we were called to work for it, to be blessed peacemakers who preach a Gospel of peace.

Our carol's author in this final verse of "It came upon a midnight clear" looks forward to the day when Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace shall return and "peace shall over all the earth its ancient splendors fling and the whole world send back the song which now the angels sing."

Heaven will be filled with Peace

Everything about heaven will be peaceful. No-one will be there who might spread gossip or disturb the peace. Satan will be forever locked up in the abyss. We ourselves will have new bodies to suit our new natures. There will be no curse to disturb creation's order and seated on the throne will be the Lamb, who is also called the Prince of Peace.

What disturbs your peace and my peace today? Jesus does not want our hearts to be troubled. He says to us, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." (John 14:27). 

Let none of us fret but instead cast our burdens on the Lord knowing that he cares for us and promsies that if we bring our prayers to him with thanksgiving his peace will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

And let's muse, meditate and long for the age of peace, which soon will be upon us.

A SONG FOR THE DAY

Here's a wonderful old hymn about God's Peace. You can sing along HERE.

Loved with everlasting love,
Led by grace that love to know;
Gracious Spirit from above,
Thou hast taught me it is so!
O this full and perfect peace!
O this transport all divine!
In a love which cannot cease,
I am His, and He is mine.
In a love which cannot cease,
I am His, and He is mine.

Heav’n above is softer blue,
Earth around is sweeter green!
Something lives in every hue
Christless eyes have never seen;
Birds with gladder songs o’erflow,
Flowers with deeper beauties shine,
Since I know, as now I know,
I am His, and He is mine.
Since I know, as now I know,
I am His, and He is mine.

Things that once were wild alarms
Cannot now disturb my rest;
Closed in everlasting arms,
Pillowed on the loving breast.
O to lie forever here,
Doubt and care and self resign,
While He whispers in my ear,
I am His, and He is mine.
While He whispers in my ear,
I am His, and He is mine.

His forever, only His;
Who the Lord and me shall part?
Ah, with what a rest of bliss
Christ can fill the loving heart!
Heav’n and earth may fade and flee,
Firstborn light in gloom decline;
But while God and I shall be,
I am His, and He is mine.
But while God and I shall be,
I am His, and He is mine.

Gearge Robinson & James Mountain

A PRAYER FOR THE DAY

Our Father in heaven,

We thank you that the angels introduced the Son of God as one who would bring peace on the earth. We thank you that we have peace with God through his blood. And we thank you for every other variety of peace you bless us with. We thank you for the peace that passes all understanding and we long for the day when the Prince of Peace will rule over the new creation.

Teach us to cast our burdens on you and not to fret or dwell long ill at ease.

Teach us to look forward to the day when we will enjoy the age of eternal peace with all of God's people in a new world never again to be disturbed by war or sin.

We ask these things in the name of Jesus

Amen

King of the Carols - It came upon a Midnight Clear - Rest for the Weary

 

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!

All trials are relative

One of the most important roles church history plays in the life of a Christian is this: it reminds us that Christians have faced far more severe conditions than we have or are. When our circumstances take a turn for the worse it is easy to moan and complain, but a quick dip into history will soon turn our petty moans to mighty praises. 

I am presently making my way through the history of Anabaptists recorded in a ginormous two-volume book called "The Chronicle of the Hutterian Brethren." These Christians living the 1500s and 1600s endured unbelievable persecution and had to move on mass, as whole communities, from one city to another, one country to another. They were robed, pillaged, tortured, raped, imprisoned and martyred for no other reason than that they believed the Gospel.

It helps us to put our "won't be able to eat Christmas dinner with all my family" woes into perspective doesn't it?

Life's Crushing Load

And yet, though that may all be true, it does not mean we do not suffer. Every generation suffers in a different way. Our Carol writer is accurate, for many are bending low beneath life's crushing load. And many toil along the climbing way with painful steps and slow.

Do we not all find ourselves among this number from time to time?

Whatever our burden, Jesus says to us:   “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11)

His righteousness gives us rest from all our attempts to live the perfect lives we cannot live.

His daily forgiveness gives us rest from guilt and shame.

His compassion for his sheep gives us rest in a dark, cold and indifferent world.

His Spirit gently dwelling within us gives us rest from our fears and sorrows.

His hope of eternal life gives us rest in the face of death.

A SONG FOR THE DAY

Matthew 11:28-30 is rendered in song most beautifully HERE.

A PRAYER FOR THE DAY

Our ever-giving Father in Heaven,

We thank you for the many gifts we enjoy. Forgive us for our complaining and moaning when life takes a sudden turn for the worse. Remind us that your people have endured far worse than we presently are and teach us to be ever thankful.

We pray for our brothers and sisters around the world persecuted and hounded for their trust in Jesus. 

We thank you that we can cast all our burdens on the Lord because you care for us. Teach us to do that and to remember and to feel that your yoke is easy and your burden is light. 

We ask these things in the precious name of Jesus,

Amen

King of the Carols - It came upon a Midnight Clear - Still the Gospel Rings Out

 

 Still through the cloven skies they come
with peaceful wings unfurled,
and still their heavenly music floats
o'er all the weary world;
above its sad and lowly plains,
they bend on hovering wing,
and ever o'er its Babel sounds
the blessed angels sing.

Pure Poetry

I am amazed at the noble feats people have undertaken to try and make Christmas a little more normal this year. 

I have heard of people rushing down the motorway to pick up a loved one before a deadline sets in, and of others rushing across the country to deliver presents before the said deadline prohibited such travel.

In the light of all the social constraints upon us this year, it is perfectly understandable that we grasp at these precious opportunities to see our loved ones.

But let all who love the Lord spare a thought and a moment for those who do not know the Gospel.

Our Carol author, Edmund Sears, or we should say, Pastor Edmund Sears, spirals away into poetic wonderland with this second verse. He imagines that the angels
still, with peaceful wings unfurled, float their music over all the weary world.

 How the Good News Travels

The Gospel does indeed float across the world, not by angels but by messengers. Some of those messengers are evangelists who give their time and energy to sharing the Gospel to all near and far. Some of the messengers are pastors who are called to "do the work of an evangelist." And yet others are ordinary believers who believe that part of their calling as a believer is to fulfill the great commission and "go into all the world and make disicples." 

We can invite people to watch our Sunday services online. We can put a tract in a Christmas Card. We can post on Facebook. We can be always praying for opportunities to share a word in season. And we can pray for the Gospel that goes out from our online services too, that it will have powerful effect in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Sad and Lowly Plains?

Pastor Sears imagines the angels singing their message across sad and lowly plains. 

Nothing has changed. Across our world and nation there is sadness all around. The sadness of bereavement without hope. The sadness of lives messed up by sin. The sadness of hopeless circumstances and the misery of addiction. And today the additional fog of Covid-19 drapes the world in grey.

The Gospel, if not the angels, still bends on hovering wing, over the chaotic Babel sounds of the world and brings to everyone who will hear it joy and hope.

The Hope of all our sins forgiven!

The Hope of peace with God!

The Hope of the indwelling Comforter!

The Hope of eternal life!

A PRAYER FOR THE DAY

Dear Father in heaven,

We thank you for those who shared the Good News with us. Perhaps a parent, perhaps a friend, perhaps an evangelist.

We pray for every evangelist who burdened for the lost seeks to share the Good News on the highways and byways of life. 

We pray that you will help us look out beyond our circle this year and would you lead us to some opportunity to share the Gospel with someone, somewhere?

So that someone will hear the Word and live, and so that heaven will rejoice at the repentance of sinners.

We ask this in the name of Jesus

Amen

 

King of the Carols - It came upon a Midnight Clear - Literally Out of the Blue

 

Had a Prophet said One Year Ago...

It came upon the midnight clear,
that glorious song of old,
from angels bending near the earth
to touch their harps of gold:
"Peace on the earth, good will to men,
from heaven's all-gracious King."
The world in solemn stillness lay,
to hear the angels sing. 

Had a prophet stood in the middle of your city last December and cried out, "Harken to me, next year a disease will stampede through the world, disrupting everything from economics to air travel and next Christmas the Government will tell you who you can and cannot have over for Christmas dinner," that man would surely been jeered, stoned or worse.

And yet, out of the blue, a global disease has come upon us, over 1.6 million have been killed by it worldwide, and now a new strain threatens the UK.

Things happen out of the blue. Covid-19 has taught us that. And let's face it, in a fallen world, so often sudden events are bad news. 

So many families heard this weekend that hoped-for gatherings will not be possible this Friday. And others, that plans would have to be pruned way back.

Sudden Good News

Not so for those ordinary shepherds out in the Judean fields, 2000 years ago. Their news was good news. 

Quite literally out of the blue, an angel accompanied by glorious light appeared to them. At first they were terrified, yes, but by the end they were "glorifying and praising God." 

Today's author, tries to capture the scene:

It came upon the midnight clear,
that glorious song of old,
from angels bending near the earth
to touch their harps of gold:

Yes, some poetic license has been thrown into the mix! Did they really play golden harps? Well, the four living creatures of Revelation 5 play harps. And harps appear other times in that book of heavenly scenes. So perhaps they did.

We get the point: this is a glorious and heavenly scene.

The main angel is surrounded by a  choir of angels "a great company of the heavenly host" and after giving glory to God they say much what our carol repeats:

Peace on the earth, good will to men,
from heaven's all-gracious King.

Ruining Christmas to Make it!

The first reaction of the Shepherds was not joy but sheer terror, not a positive emotion, but a negative one. Only after explanation and experience was their terror turned to joy.

And someone once pointed out to me that this is what must happen to anyone who becomes a follower of Jesus at Christmas time.

Their Christmas must first be 'ruined' with a comprehension of their sin. Once they realise they have sinned, they are in the right frame of mind and heart to hear talk about a Saviour. 

If there is no conviction of sin, well then there is no need for a Saviour. But once the bad news that "all have sinned and come short of the glory of God" sinks in by the Spirit's enlightening power, then the message of a Saviour is the best news ever, and then sorrow for sin can translate into the joy of forgiveness.

We who know the Lord can rejoice that our Saviour has come, but we should pray that God would ruin many a Christmas with the conviction of sin, so that men and women can seek a Saviour and find one, with joy, in heaven's all-gracious King. 

You can listen to one version of the carol HERE.

A PRAYER FOR THE DAY

Our all-gracious Father,

We thank you today for every good gift. While we may lack some of the good things we have enjoyed in other years, we give you thank for the blessings we do have. Teach us to be thankful in every circumstance.

We pray for our lost world. We ask that the powerful Word of God would show many that they are sinners and that your Spirit would draw them from conviction of sin to the knowledge and joy of salvation.

We ask these things in Jesus' Name,

Amen.

King of the Carols - Hark the Herald Angels Sing - Born to Bless!

 

Hail the heaven-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Sun of Righteousness!
Light and life to all he brings,
risen with healing in his wings.
Mild he lays his glory by,
born that we no more may die,
born to raise us from the earth,
born to give us second birth.

Our final verse of this wonderful carol reels of a list of six blessings Jesus came into the world to give us.

Light and Life

"Light and life he gives to all"

John says that Jesus is "the true light that gives light to everyone." (John 1:9). A deep and profound truth. It cannot mean that everyone that has ever lived has come to salvation, for that is not confirmed by the rest of Scripture. But in some way, everyone has been blessed by the Son of God. 

We experience the blessing of Jesus' light when we follow him, for he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but have the light of light." (John 8:12). 

Life as well as light, says the carol writer! "I have come" said Jesus, "that they may have life, and have it to the full." (John 10:10). We can never experience true life until we come to Jesus and experience his Spirit working through us. Jesus came not to load us with a thousand killjoy rules, but to set our hearts free with his easy yoke.

Healing and Freedom from Death 

Our jubilant carol writer, filled with joy, wants us to remember two more blessings:

Risen with healing in his wings.
Mild he lays his glory by,
born that we no more may die

One day our bodies will be healed. It is not a promise for this world, but a joy to look forward to. Some say its a believer's right in this world, quoting "By his stripes we are healed." (Isaiah 53:5). Our souls are healed by his stripes, for their sins are forgiven, and our bodies will be healed one day too. A friend of mine complained about his visits to an ageing relative. Every time he got "an organ recital" he said. Every faculty is in decline, says the writer of Ecclesiastes, as we grow old. But one day all of our organs will be renewed. Our bodies will not be patched up, but made new, just like the never dying resurrection body of Jesus.

Freedom from death! "Born that we no more may die." The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life. We all deserve to die! And all who reject the Gospel will die twice. Their bodies will die and then their souls will die eternally. But those who believe will never experience the second death, though they may have to pass through the first one. 

Eternal Life and Second Birth

Born to raise us from the earth,
born to give us second birth. 

So ends this edifying carol. Our final home is not here - let none of us forget. Jesus came to "raise us from the earth", to save us and then to take us home to his mansion of many rooms. 

Second birth is being born again by the Holy Spirit. It's a miraculous event that transforms our characters to such a degree that afterwards it can be said that we are new creatures. It takes place through "the living and enduring word of God." (1 Peter 1:23)

What a list of blessings! Light! Life! Healing! Escape from Death! Eternal life and Second Birth! And there are many more besides.  

And every one of them has come through the Lord Jesus Christ, born in Bethlehem, Crucified outside of Jerusalem, raised on the third day and reigning in heaven now! 

 A SONG FOR THE DAY
This new song says it, "In Christ Alone."

A PRAYER FOR THE DAY

Our Father in heaven,

We echo the worship  of our carol's author, "hark the herald angels sing, glory to the new born King." We bring worship and adoration to Jesus Christ, heaven's King and thank you for the many blessings that have come through him.

Thank you that we no longer walk in the darkness of sin and ignorance.

Thank you that we have been given life abundant.

Thank you that our souls have been healed and we look forward to the compete healing of our bodies.

Thank you that we will never experience the second death.

Thank you for eternal life and thank you for a new heart.

Forgive us when we do not live in the light of such blessings and help us, by your indwelling Spirit to live holy and upright lives pleasing to you.

We ask this in Jesus' name,

Amen.

King of the Carols - Hark the Herald Angels Sing - Veiled in Flesh

 

 

Christ, by highest heaven adored,
Christ, the everlasting Lord,
late in time behold him come,
offspring of the Virgin's womb:
veiled in flesh the Godhead see;
hail th'incarnate Deity,
pleased with us in flesh to dwell,
Jesus, our Immanuel.

 Glory Veiled

This  second verse of "Hark the herald Angels Sing" reminds us that Jesus Christ is God, the Son of God, by highest heaven adored. And reminds us that no-one looking into the manger would have known, for his glory was veiled in flesh.

This is both a mystery and a stumbling block to some.

It is a mystery to all of us how the divine the Son of God, "the everlasting Lord," who had no beginning or end, could combine that divine nature with a truly human nature, so that there is only one Person, the divine and human Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 

Jesus was not at one moment divine and at the next human. From the moment he took on human flesh in the womb of Mary he was the God-man and to this very day he is the God-man and for all eternity future he will be the eternal God-man.

No-one can get that, absolutely no-one can understand this high truth. But where the mind fails, the heart can still worship.

A stumbling block for others who refuse to believe simply because they don't understand the mystery or because they think that God taking on a human nature would diminish God.

The so-called Jehovah's Witnesses refuse to accept that Jesus was both man and God, robbing him of his glory by assigning him to the status only of a man. 

But everywhere in Scriptrue the true humanity and true divinity of Jesus Christ is attested. Those disputes are long over and settled and those who deny the dual-natures of Jesus Christ, combined in One Person, are rightly regarded as heretics and false teachers.

Why veil his divine nature?

But why did the Son of God veil his divine nature while he was in the world so that anyone passing Jesus in the street would have failed to notice that this was God? 

Except to those whose spiritual eyes were opened to the truth, no-one could "see" that Jesus was God, and perhaps especially so, when he was a tiny babe in Bethlehem.

If the Son of God had not veiled his human nature it would have been impossible for anyone to get near him, so bright would his countenance have been. Moses was forbidden to see God's glory because "no-one can see God and live." (Exodus 33:20)

And if his countenance was too glorious to behold, he could not have lived an ordinary human life.  He would always have been held in high esteeem and never become the "man of sorrows and aquainted with grief."  

No soldier could have got near him to arrest him, and no Roman ruler could have crucified him. 

And if he had not veiled his divinity he could not have become the kind of sacrifice that was necessary to effectually pay for the sins of other human beings. It was necessary that the Saviour be a real man - a  sinless man, true - to  take away the sins of a world of real men.

So, all for love's sake, so he could save us, the Son of God was born as a human babe leaving aside all the trappings of divine majesty.

A SONG FOR THE DAY
How about THIS lovely rendition of "Joy to the World." One bloke, four voices, in beautiful harmony. 

A PRAYER FOR THE DAY

Our loving and holy Father above,

We thank you for the wonderful plan of salvation. We thank you that in the wisdom of God your Son veiled his divinity so that he could experience a normal human life, be a sympathetic high priest and become a suitable sacrifice for sinners.

We will never know the sorrow you went through as you saw your beloved Son suffer and we will never understand the agony of your Son. But we thank you that for love's sake, Jesus became poor.

We worship Father, Son and Holy Spirit for such a great salvation,

Amen

King of the Carols - Hark the Herald Angels Sing - Peace, what Peace?

 

 

What kind of Peace?
 

1. 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 hosts proclaim,
"Christ is born in Bethlehem!"

 
Hark! the herald angels sing,
"Glory to the newborn King"

Some of us are old enough to remember the "Liberation  Theology" of the 1970s. This peculiar strand of thinking said that Christians should put all their energies into helping to set the oppressed free. In other words the church should adopt a political agenda and work for the freedom of all enslaved peoples.

They would have read the words of the Christmas angels, "on earth peace" to mean, "Jesus and his people should work for peace and freedom and democracy."

But is that what the angels meant when they sang "peace on earth?"

Well Yes, and No.

First Yes.

 Horizontal Peace 

Every follower of Jesus ought to be a peacemaker, in our homes, neighbourhoods, places of work and churches. It is profoundly unChrist like to be a mischief maker and a warmonger. 

Christians walk softly, and most esepcially in the fold.

So, yes, we are all for peace! 

And where given the chance of working for peace in the wider world, we should do what we can and to pray for "those in authority that we may all live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness." (1 Timothy 2:2) 

And we look forward to the day when the Prince of Peace will, return and in the words of another carol:

when with the ever-circling years
shall come the time foretold
when peace shall over all the earth
its ancient splendors fling.

Vertical Peace

So yes, we are called to work for peace, but also No! No, the angels were not talking mainly about horizontal peace, peace between men or between nations. They were singing mostly about peace between God and sinners. As our carol says:

Peace on earth, and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled!

The biggest relationship breakdown in the universe is not between this man and that woman, this nation and that country. The biggest disruption is between God and mankind. 

God is angry with us for our deliberate walking out on him, our deliberate wrongdoing, and we, on our part don't want him in our lives: we hide from him, suppress the knowledge of him and fail to give him thanks.

Mankind is at war with God!

Peace by his Blood

But God sent his Son into the world to act as a go-between, a priest, a reconciller, a peace-maker. And though we were his enemies, God sent his beloved Son, "through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross." (Colossians 1:20).

Our sin, which alienated us from God was paid for by the atoning death of Jesus Christ, so that God could turn his face towards us and we could be reconciled with God. What an amazing act of grace and kindess!

Be reconciled to God

So the message of the angels is not about horizontal peace - as important as that might be,  the angels were declaring to the Shepherds that Jesus Christ was going to give to us the precious gift of peace with God.

And so our message to the world this Christmas, the message that should ring out from the church, and from every Christian man, woman and child is "Be reconciled to God!" (2 Corinthians 5:20)

And this peace is a joyful message for the whole of the world:

Joyful, all ye nations, rise,
join the triumph of the skies;
with th'angelic hosts proclaim,
"Christ is born in Bethlehem!"

Here is a simple way we can all share that message this very week. If every Christian in the UK put up an  advertisement on their Facebook page for their church's online carol service - think how many friends could be reached with the Gospel! 

I do that every Saturday, Christmas or not Christmas! Let the world know where they can hear the Gospel the next day - in secret if they do not want anyone to know they are listening.

Let's take up these rare opportunities while we have them.

A SONG FOR THE DAY

Here's an old spiritual song more about the inside heart peace God gives to his people in their hearts than the peace God has made with us through his Son. We need this kind of peace too, that comes from the Holy Spirit who assures us that we are loved by God through all the storms and uncertainties of life.

A PRAYER FOR THE DAY

Our Father in heaven,

We thank you for the peace with experience here in the West, the peace we so often take for granted. We thank you for stable government and the absence of war on our streets.

We pray for world leaders that they may work for peace, and we pray that the decisions they make will enable us  all to live peaceably in all godliness.

We thank you for the peace that comes through your Son, the Lord Jesus and through his death on the cross.

Help us to share the  Gospel with a lost world and to urge them to be "reconciled to God."

We ask this in Jesus' Name,

Amen.

King of the Carols - Hark the Herald Angels Sing - The Unique Glory of God

A Top Ten Carol

In the BBC's poll of the most popular carols, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, comes in the top ten, and with good reason. The words are wonderful, the tune is easy to sing - and joyful too.

 

1  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 hosts proclaim,
"Christ is born in Bethlehem!"

Hark! the herald angels sing,
"Glory to the newborn King"

2 Christ, by highest heaven adored,
Christ, the everlasting Lord,
late in time behold him come,
offspring of the Virgin's womb:
veiled in flesh the Godhead see;
hail th'incarnate Deity,
pleased with us in flesh to dwell,
Jesus, our Immanuel.

3 Hail the heaven-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Sun of Righteousness!
Light and life to all he brings,
risen with healing in his wings.
Mild he lays his glory by,
born that we no more may die,
born to raise us from the earth,
born to give us second birth.

Our carol focusses in on the part of the nativity story which tells of the angels appearing to the shepherds. 

 

I say angels plural, but the story begins with just one angel.  

A Terrifying Sight

 

We read in Luke chapter 2 that the shepherds were terrified, which gives us an idea of the brightness and the glory of this heaven-come-to-earth scene.

What caused the shepherds to tremble? Not the glory of the single angel, but the glory of the Lord, the divine brightness that shone all around the heavenly messenger, "An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them."

 

Glorious blinding light is an apt image for the sheer wonder, majesty and power of our Creator God, who, says Paul, "dwells in unaproachble light, whom no-one has seen or can see." (1 Timothy 6:16)

 

The Unique Glory of God

 

Let us pause to remember today God is glorious, that only God is glorious, and that he is jealous of his glory too, “I am the LORD; that is my name! I will not give my glory to anyone else, nor share my praise with carved idols." (Isaiah 42:8).

 

Let us remind ourselves that all other glory is reflected glory, derived glory, borrowed glory. 

 

As the moon has no glory of its own but merely reflects the glory of the sun, so the angelic beings have no glory of their own, but reflect the glory of their Maker. 

Two Big Lessons

First, if we have gifts let us never boast about them, but always be careful to redirect glory to where it belongs. "Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord." (1 Corinthians 1:31).

One day King Herod, dressed in his royal robes, gave a speech. He was worshipped by some in the crowd who cried out, "this is the voice of a god not man" (Acts 12:22-23). And because Herod did not right away give the glory to God - he did not say something like, "God gave me those speaking gifts" or "God helped my royal designers come up with such majestic clothes" an angel of the Lord "struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died."

Let us watch out for the sin of pride, the terrible, satanic sin of pride.

 

And second, let's give glory where it is due, as our carol does:

"Glory to the Newborn king!"

 

The babe in the manger was the incarnate Son of God, the Word, the second Person of the Godhead, the Creator. He, the Lamb of God, is worthy to "receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honour and glory and praise!" (Revelation 5:12)

A SONG FOR THE DAY

Here's this lovely carol sung by the Gettys. 

A PRAYER FOR THE DAY

Our glorious Father in heaven,

We give glory to you, and to the Holy Spirit and to the Son.

 

We acknowledge that all we have comes from you, and we praise and thank you for everything. We thank you for the terrifying glory the shepherds saw, which has reminded us today of your power and majesty and awe.

Keep us from every proud thought. Forgive us for every boastful notion. Help us whenever we are tempted to boast to boast in you alone.

And help us to glorify your Son, born in a manger for our salvation.

We ask these things in the humble exalted name of Jesus

Amen.

King of the Carols - O Holy Night - No stranger to our Weakness

 

Contemplation

2. Led by the light of faith serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts by his cradle we stand.
So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming,
Here came the Wise Men from Orient land.
The King of kings lay thus in lowly manger,
In all our trials born to be our Friend.
He knows our need– to our weakness is no stranger.
Behold your King, before him lowly bend!
Behold your King, before him lowly bend! 

A friend of mine shared how his prayer life had dried up. The words he was speaking just-in-his-head were confusing and jumbled. So he tried writing down his prayers, a very Bible-Psalms thing to do. And now he finds prayer intelligible and meaningful. Speaking out our prayers is another way of making them more real. The late evangelist from York, David Watson, used to speak out all of his prayers.

The internal fuzz of thoughts are forced out into a coherent stream of words, either in speech or in writing. It's not that the Lord only hears linear prayers, it's more that we can more own and mean them when they are spoken or written.

Singing the carols gives one kind of joy, pausing to contemplate their words another source of delight. Our carolling author has drawn out three comforting truths from the Bible account of the wise men in the second verse of O Holy Night.

Drawn by star or faith

The wise men were led to Jesus by the light of a supernatural star but we are led to Jesus Christ by faith:

Led by the light of faith serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts by his cradle we stand.
So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming,
Here came the Wise Men from Orient land.
The King of kings lay thus in lowly manger,

It's a charming parallel! They were drawn by a star, but we are drawn to the Lord Jesus, the divine risen Son of God, through the supernatural gift of faith. Without faith we could not have seen who he was, or have appreciated his glory, or believed on his name. 

We should surely thank God more often for the remarkable divine gift of faith!

No stranger to our Weakness

The sheer vulnerability of the baby in the manger reminds us that the Lord Jesus is no stranger to weakness.

In all our trials born to be our Friend.
He knows our need– to our weakness is no stranger.

Oh how weak we are! Think of our smallness, our fears, our frailty, our many weaknesses, or battles, our stumbles and falls! No, Jesus does not understand falls, for he was sinless, but he understands the hellish fires of temptation, he understands mental anguish and he understands physical pain.

In the hero stories of the world, the victor is often a powerful figure: someone to be admired, but only at a distance! But in our Hero Story we have someone who has walked in our moccasins, for mile after mile after mile. He knows our needs.

So to worship!

So, urges the hymn writer, like the wise men, let us bow low before our king. "On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary and they bowed down and worshipped him." (Matthew 2:11). Let us bow on bended knee and offer our honour, adoration and worship to Jesus Christ, our heavenly King.

Behold your King, before him lowly bend!
Behold your King, before him lowly bend!

A SONG FOR THE DAY

Here's a Christmas song you may never have heard before, from Amy Grant.  Listen HERE.

 

A PRAYER FOR THE DAY

Our loving faithful Father,

We thank you for the marvel of your ways. We thank you that our Hero, your glorious King, was not born in Jerusalem or Rome, London or New York, but in little Bethlehem and in an unknown manger.

We thank you that his utter vulnerability as an infant child reminds us that he has known weakness, as we ourselves do.

Thank you for your wise Hero ways. And thank you for the divine gift of faith. 

Teach us to bow low and worship the King, as did those wise men of old.

We worship you and the whole Triune God in Jesus' Name,

Amen

King of the Carols - O Holy Night - A Thrill of Hope

 

A Weary World

 O holy night! the stars are brightly shining;
It is the night of the dear Savior's birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
Till he appeared and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope-the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn!
Fall on your knees! O hear the angel voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born!
O night, O holy night, O night divine!

A few days ago, 90 year old Margaret Keenan unwittingly - and perhaps unwillingly - became an overnight celebrity by being the first person in the UK to receive the Pfizer Covid vaccine. 

Someone said, "It has given us hope." Another, “It has given a lot of people around the country hope,” and someone else “I just think it’s a really good day for Great Britain.”

There can be no doubt that the last eight months have been wearying for many of us, in one way or another. Wired to thrive on future hope, we naturally drift into despair when there is nothing positive ahead of us. If the future is merely the same as the present, we find life tiring.

So the first Covid vaccine was regarded by many as a ray of hope, since potentially it could put an end to the dark reign of Covid.

Our carolling author says the same thing about the birth of Jesus:

A thrill of hope-the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn!

The incarnation brought hope, the breaking of a new and glorious dawn, he urges us to remember and sing.

How does the birth of Jesus breathe Hope?

Four Rays of Hope

First of all, the birth of Jesus reminds us that God had not forgotten mankind but still loves men and women. Four hundred years had passed without prophets or news from heaven, but then all of a sudden, God comes down to earth to reveal the heart of God - God wants to dwell with us, so he sent Immanuel, "God-with-us" to earth.

Does God care for me, for this Covid-ravaged world? The birth of Jesus says "Yes!"

Secondly, the birth of Jesus reminds us that God cares for the weak. Absolutely everything about the birth of Jesus spoke to the poor. He was born not in Rome or Jerusalem but in a backwater town called Bethlehem. He was born, not to a prince and princess but to an obscure Mary and a local carpenter. He was born not amidst the finest medical care, but in a stable. He was born not to the fanfare of trumpets but to the sound of silence. And so the list goes on...

Does God care about nobody me or nobody you? He does. For his Son entered our nobody worlds to prove it.

Thirdly, the birth of Jesus would prove to be a great comfort in the face of suffering. For the babe of Bethlehem would grow into the Man of Sorrows able fully to sympathise with us. Does God in heaven understand me? He does now!

Fourthly, the birth of Jesus gives us hope of sins forgiven, because his name, Jesus, was given to him to signify that he would save his people form their sins (Matthew 1:21). We all sin against God and against our fellow man. We can say things that cannot be taken back and can do things that have lasting impact on ourselves and those around us. Can those things be forgiven, we wonder? Or must we carry their weight of guilt, remorse and regret for ever? The birth of Jesus gives us the hope of sins forgiven through the once-for-all sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.

Fall on your Knees!

No human being could bring such vast and universal hope to the world, and to me and to you. And so our carol writer urges us to fall on our knees in worship. 

What a fitting way to celebrate Christmas this year - to worship the Lord Jesus by lip and by life.

A SONG FOR THE DAY

A lovely modern song about Jesus, our Living Hope

How great the chasm that lay between us
How high the mountain I could not climb
In desperation, I turned to heaven
And spoke Your name into the night
Then through the darkness, Your loving-kindness
Tore through the shadows of my soul
The work is finished, the end is written
Jesus Christ, my living hope

Who could imagine so great a mercy?
What heart could fathom such boundless grace?
The God of ages stepped down from glory
To wear my sin and bear my shame
The cross has spoken, I am forgiven
The King of kings calls me His own
Beautiful Saviour, I’m Yours forever
Jesus Christ, my living hope

Hallelujah, praise the One who set me free
Hallelujah, death has lost its grip on me
You have broken every chain
There’s salvation in Your name
Jesus Christ, my living hope

Then came the morning that sealed the promise
Your buried body began to breathe
Out of the silence, the Roaring Lion
Declared the grave has no claim on me
Then came the morning that sealed the promise
Your buried body began to breathe
Out of the silence, the Roaring Lion
Declared the grave has no claim on me
Jesus, Yours is the victory!

 Phil Wickham / Brian Johnson

You can sing along HERE.

A PRAYER FOR THE DAY

Our loving Father in heaven,

In these strange and weary days, teach us to look above and to look ahead.  We thank you for a season of the year when we can choose to remember the coming of God into the world to give us hope in this life and hope for the world to come.

Save us from expecting too much from this passing world. Help us to love and serve you today, but to remember always that our citizenship is in heaven and teach us to eagerly await a Saviour from there.

We worship the Lord Jesus Christ in whose name we pray these things,

Amen. 

 

King of the Carols - O Holy Night - The One who Satisfies Souls

 

 

A Childhood Memory Carol

When I was a lad growing up in Karachi, Pakistan, I heard this carol every Christmas. How it was allowed in a Muslim country, I will never know, but the Karachi American School put on a pageant which stretched across an enormous park and included wise men on camels and a star slid across the sky along an invisible metal wire. 

This carol has been more popular in the USA but in recent years it has migrated across the pond and is becoming well known here. The tune is hauntingly  beautiful and the words are wonderful too.

Let's take a look at the first half of verse 1.

O holy night! the stars are brightly shining;
It is the night of the dear Savior's birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
Till he appeared and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope--the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn!
Fall on your knees! O hear the angel voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born!
O night, O holy night, O night divine!

2 Led by the light of faith serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts by his cradle we stand.
So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming,
Here came the Wise Men from Orient land.
The King of kings lay thus in lowly manger,
In all our trials born to be our Friend.
He knows our need– to our weakness is no stranger.
Behold your King, before him lowly bend!
Behold your King, before him lowly bend!

3 Truly he taught us to love one another;
His law is love and his gospel is peace.
Chains shall he break, for the slave is our brother,
And in his name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we;
Let all within us praise his holy name.
Christ is the Lord! O praise his name forever!
His pow'r and glory evermore proclaim!
His pow'r and glory evermore proclaim!
 

The Time had Come

 

 Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
Till he appeared and the soul felt its worth.

 

The first verse of this carol reminds us that the birth of the Lord Jesus marked a turning point in the history of the world. I know of historians who refuse to use the politcally correct BCE (Before Common Era) and CE (Common Era) and continue to use BC (Before Christ) and AD (Anno Domini), the year of the Lord. The facts of the matter are that the world dates human historical time by the birth of Jesus, BC before he came, AD afterwards.

 

Up until the birth of Jesus the Gentile world (most of the world) lived in "sin and error pining." Even the Israelites were in the dark, for though they had far more light than the rest of the world they made little use of it and sometimes lived more godless lives that the pagan world. (It's one reason we find the prophets of the Old Testament so hard to read - sinning against the light is far more culpable than sinning without any knowledge of the truth). 

 

So our authors (Placide Cappeau and Adolphe Adam)  are right when they say that the world lay in darkness. One faithful believer like Abraham here, a small remnant there, but by and large most of Old Testament Israel walked in darkness. It is a most solemn lesson.

 

And into this dark world Jesus, the light of the world came, as Paul puts it "when the time had fully come" (Galatians 4:4)

The Soul Felt its Worth?

We cannot know exactly what our authors meant when they wrote "and the soul felt its worth." It could be that some of the meaning was lost when the carol was translate from French into English. 

But we know the spiritual truth they were directing us to. Our souls are empty until they are fed with the bread of life. Our hearts are thirsty until they are quenched by the Spirit of Christ. Our consciences are defiled until washed by the blood of Jesus. All our future dreams are uncertain without the hope of life beyond the grave.

Our souls long for God and they long for eternity. They were made for more than anything this world can offer us. "I still haven't  found what I'm looking for" is not just the sigh of Bono, it's the cry of every human heart. But when our hearts have been fed by the true Manna from heaven then, at last, our souls feel their worth, we come home, we realise what life is for and what life is about.

 

May we be courageous enough to tell others of this good news during December. This year, unlike any other recent year, they can listen to the Gospel in the comfort of their own homes without anyone else knowing. May they hear about the Lord Jesus and respond to him in living faith.

A SONG FOR THE DAY

Sing along with "O Holy Night" HERE.

 

A PRAYER FOR THE DAY

Our gracious Father in heaven,

We thank you for this day and for every gift that we receive from your bountiful hand. We thank you that even in the sadness of this strange era, you are still with us, and we can count many blessings. 

Thank you that the Holy Spirit lives within our hearts as our comforter and the one who makes the presence of Jesus real.

We thank you that our souls have found what they were looking for in Him the bread of life. 

Help us this year to share the Good News with those who are still in darkness.

We ask these things in Jesus' Name

Amen

King of the Carols - Once in Royal David's City - Crowned in White

 

1 Once in royal David's city
stood a lowly cattle shed,
where a mother laid her baby
in a manger for his bed:
Mary was that mother mild,
Jesus Christ, her little child.

2 He came down to earth from heaven
who is God and Lord of all,
and his shelter was a stable,
and his cradle was a stall:
with the poor, and mean, and lowly,
lived on earth our Savior holy.

3 And thro' all his wondrous childhood
he would honor and obey,
love and watch the lowly maiden
in whose gentle arms he lay:
Christian children all must be
mild, obedient, good as he.

4 And our eyes at last shall see him,
thro' his own redeeming love;
for that child so dear and gentle
is our Lord in heav'n above:
and he leads his children on
to the place where he is gone.

5 Not in that poor lowly stable,
with the oxen standing by,
we shall see him, but in heaven,
set at God's right hand on high;
when like stars his children crowned
all in white shall wait around.

Cecil Frances Alexander

 A Children's Carol

Let's not forget that "Once in Royal David's City" is really a Children's Carol. It's a pity then that two of the verses which Cecil wrote for the instruction of children are rarely sung today.

That perhaps is a reminder of the way we grown ups tend to despise children, just as the disciples of old. Of course we would never say so, but we feel ourselves above childish things and simple truths.

But Jesus was not. All his teaching was simple and accessible to everyone. And he rebuked his disciples' proud grown-up attitudes when he said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” (Matt 19:14).

Every sermon should be so simple that a child can understand. One old preacher encouraged other preachers to "place some of the grain low near to the floor" so the children should reach it!

The mark of good preaching is not erudition and learning - that's a dark shadow cast by the ice cold university upon the church - the mark of great preaching is that a child can understand it.

It is said that when Charles Spurgeon returned to his pulpit after many weeks of leave it was the children who most welcomed him back most.

A Babe no Longer

All that may be as it is, but now to the final verse of our Children's Carol. Cecil reminds her little audience that, looking forward to the consumation of all things, when we see Jesus it will not be "in that poor lowly stable, with the oxen standing by." No! Instead "we shall see him in heaven, set at God's right hand above."

And so we remember today that Jesus, born, crucified and raised from the dead has been exalted to the highest place and been given the name above every name so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9-11).

Crowned in White

One day, our grimy clothes of time will be exchanged for the white robes of eternity and like the stars, his children wearing crowns, we will gather around the throne of God and the Lamb.

How wonderful to have our vision on December the 9th raised beyond tinsel and wrapping paper, above chocolates and Christmas trees to our final home.  

May the Lord's people be recognised this December by their other-worldliness! In a season where people are going OTT on Christmas to compensate for the restrictions of Covid, may the Lord's people set their affections on things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.

A SONG FOR THE DAY

And so, again, another  song to lift our eyes above the here and now. You can sing along to "He is Worthy" HERE.

A PRAYER FOR THE DAY

Our eternal Father,

We thank you for every good gift that comes down from you. We thank you for the amazing skill of medical experts who have come up with a vaccine to combat this new disease, and we thank you for every other medical advance that has made our lives less painful and more pleasant.

We thank you for the little ones you have placed in the midst of every Christian fellowship, whose simple faith is a rebuke to our grown up fears and doubts. Teach us the sweet humility and simple trust of a child. 

And teach us today, whatever worries press in upon us, to look upward to you and forward to the Great Day of Christ's return.

We ask this in Jesus' Name

Amen