Friday Morning Prayer:)… December 12, 2019
December 12, 2019 - 8 minutes readO come, O come, Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear
O come, Thou, Dayspring from on high
And cause Thy light on us to rise
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night
And death’s dark shadow put to flight
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel
O come, O come, true prophet of the Lord
And turn the key to heaven’s door
Be Thou our comforter and guide
And lead us to the Father’s side
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall by His word our darkness dispel
O come, our great High Priest, and intercede
Thy sacrifice, our only plea
The judgment we no longer fear
Thy precious blood has brought us near
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Has banished every fear of hell[1]
“For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.”[2]
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This hymn in its original form is said to have been written some 1200 years ago.[3] It is awe-inspiring that for over millennia the Spirit of Jesus has empowered and illuminated the hearts of many to create worship hymns and spiritual songs of worship sustaining truth even today as we sing, O come, our great High Priest, and intercede; Thy sacrifice, our only plea. The judgment we no longer fear; Thy precious blood has brought us near. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel, God with us.
This week I called a fella to paint festive decals on our local Alpine Youth Center windows. I asked if he could put Joyful! Joyful! We adore Thee! And the traditional Merry Christmas and Jesus is the reason for the season. I asked if he could paint a cross too. He categorized the cross to be relevant to Easter usually, but not common at Christmas. I acknowledged his professionalism and asked that he use his judgment to emphasize Christ and put a cross if possible. The birth of Christ is not complete without the cross. We celebrate Jesus’ birth in light of his death, burial, resurrection, ascension, forever presence in Spirit, and his imminent return according to God’s sovereign plan.
Isaiah, “For to us a child is born to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from this time forth and forevermore.”[4]
Jesus, our God incarnate, fully God and fully a man destined to die. “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all….”[5]
Joyful! Joyful! We adore Thee! Indeed, we celebrate Jesus always, especially remembering his miraculous birth, our Great High Priest interceding, yet he “…did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And, being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!”[6]
The greatest Christmas present is Jesus! He makes safe the way that leads on high and closed the path that ends in misery for all who genuinely believe. Our salvation by God’s abundant grace through faith in God the Son is the ultimate, most satisfying, and essential forever gift for every person according to God’s sovereign love and mercy. “He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.”[7] The plea to the unregenerate heart, even the marginal, complacent, indifferent is to receive the gift of salvation. ‘Thy sacrifice is our only plea….’ God has mercy on the humble repentant heart that cries out for forgiveness through the cross.
We echo the words of the apostle Paul, “This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance (and for this we labor and strive), that we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe.”[8]
O Come, Thou King of nations bring
An end to all our suffering
Bid every pain and sorrow cease
And reign now as our Prince of Peace
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come again with us to dwell
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Sisters in Jesus are meeting to pray! First Baptist, 1912 Arnold Way, Alpine, 0900
You are invited to join gals who love Jesus for a time of love and encouragement and earnest prayer. Thank you! We are most grateful for our sisters in Christ helping many through prayer, humbly before the throne of grace.
Brothers are meeting too! Mt. View Bible, 2710 Alpine Blvd. Alpine, 0730
Join diverse brothers in Jesus who unite at the cross of Jesus. Our constant goal is to glorify God with our lives and love another deeply as a sign of our truly great salvation. You are always welcome and it is a definite joy to engage with the brothers, especially in humble confident prayer.
[1] https://sovereigngracemusic.org/music/songs/o-come-o-come-emmanuel/
[2] Hebrews 2: 17-18
[3] https://youtu.be/j_k4rl2TOh4 (story behind this old hymn)
[4] Isaiah 9:6-7
[5] Isaiah 53: 3-6
[6] Philippians 2:6-8
[7] John 1:11-13
[8] 1 Timothy 4:9-10
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