Advent Meditation on O Come, O Come Emmanuel

Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion! When the LORD restores His captive people, Jacob will rejoice, Israel will be glad. Psalm 14:7

As I was singing this old hymn (12th century!) on Sunday in church, I was struck anew by the words and started thinking about the double meaning - this hymn could have been sung by the Jews in the Old Testament as they waited for their Messiah, and it applies just as beautifully to us here today as we wait for the second coming of Jesus.

Over the next few weeks, we'll look at each verse of this wonderful Advent hymn, and meditate on what it means to wait for our Emmanuel to come once again.

God's people, who we read about in the Old Testament, had been waiting for a Savior and Redeemer to come, ever since Adam and Eve first sinned against God. We read in the early part of Genesis that God promises hope to these first humans who went against His word. Here God speaks to Satan to tell him the consequences of his deception of the people God created in His image:

"And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel." Genesis 3:15

We continue to see God promise a Messiah all through the Old Testament.

It will become a sign and a witness to the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt; for they will cry to the LORD because of oppressors, and He will send them a Savior and a Champion, and He will deliver them. Isaiah 19:20

God's people, Israel, were captive. They were literally slaves in different parts of their history, and they were also captive to their own sin. They were able to make atonment for their sin, once a year, through the sacrificial process, but as the author to the Hebrews tells us, that was just a reminder of how sinful they were. It was impossible for the blood of the animals to wash them clean of their sin.

But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Hebrews 10:3-4

That's why Jesus Christ was sent by God. He paid the ransom for their sin (and ours!), once and for all.

"For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." Mark 10:25

For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time. I Timothy 2:5-6

Today, we are Israel. Jesus Christ, by His work on the cross, has made us His chosen people, and has grafted us in to Israel. Even if you weren't born into Israel, you are now a part having been saved by Christ. (see Romans 11)

Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called "Uncircumcision" by the so-called "Circumcision," which is performed in the flesh by human hands--remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. Ephesians 2:11-13

Israel was in exile, in a land not their own, waiting for their Messiah.

Doesn't that sound like us today? Those of us who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and claim forgiveness through His blood shed for us on the cross are exiles, living in a land that is not ours because Heaven is our home. I find it interesting that Peter even addresses his readers as aliens in his letter -

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure. I Peter 1:1-2

Israel was in mourning until their Redeemer appeared. Just like we are in mourning as we wait for Jesus to come again and take us to place He has prepared for us. Just as they rejoiced when Messiah appeared on that blessed Christmas morning, we can rejoice, knowing that God will be "with us" (Emmanuel) once again.

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
Unknown author of the 12th century

O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.

Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

How Cheering is the Christian's Hope

But as for me, I will watch expectantly for the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me. Micah 7:7

When I read the words of this hymn, it immediately reminded me of Paul's letter to the Romans. We do toil here below on earth, this place that is not our home. But our faith in Christ gives us hope, because we know we are just "passing through" this wilderness of woe.

And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. Romans 5:3-5

Christ's love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit. We have hope - hope that does not disappoint! That is an incredible encouragement to me. God gave this promise to His people long ago, and it remains true today - when we hope in Him we will not be disappointed!

...Then you will know that I am the LORD; those who hope in me will not be disappointed. Isaiah 49:23

Our hope points us to our eternal home, our final land of rest, where we will reign with Christ and His saints. Our life in the Son is our promise of eternal life with Jesus and God the Father.

The one who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself; the one who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning His Son. And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. I John 5:10-12

So, why we toil on this earth, dealing with the daily struggles and disappointments of living where we "don't belong," let us follow Paul's exhortation as we cry, "Come quickly, Lord Jesus!"

Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality. Romans 12:10-13

How Cheering is the Christian's Hope
Author Unknown

How cheering is the Christian’s hope,
While toiling here below!
It buoys us up while passing through
This wilderness of woe.
It buoys us up while passing through
This wilderness of woe.

It points us to a land of rest,
Where saints with Christ will reign;
Where we shall meet the loved of earth,
And never part again.
Where we shall meet the loved of earth,
And never part again.

Fly, lingering moments, fly, O fly;
Dear Savior, quickly come!
We long to see Thee as Thou art,
And reach that blissful shore.
We long to see Thee as Thou art,
And reach that blissful shore.

How Good it is to Thank the Lord

It is good to give thanks to the LORD and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; to declare Your lovingkindness in the morning and Your faithfulness by night. Psalm 92:1-2

Sing to the LORD, all the earth;
Proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day.
Tell of His glory among the nations,
His wonderful deeds among all the peoples.
For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised;
He also is to be feared above all gods.
For all the gods of the peoples are idols,
But the LORD made the heavens.
Splendor and majesty are before Him,
Strength and joy are in His place.
Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples,
Ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
Ascribe to the LORD the glory due His name;
Bring an offering, and come before Him;
Worship the LORD in holy array.
Tremble before Him, all the earth;
Indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved.
Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
And let them say among the nations, "The LORD reigns."
Let the sea roar, and all it contains;
Let the field exult, and all that is in it.
Then the trees of the forest will sing for joy before the LORD;
For He is coming to judge the earth.
O give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;
For His lovingkindness is everlasting. I Chronicles 16:23-34

How Good it is to Thank the Lord
Words from the Psalter

How good it is to thank the Lord,
And praise to Thee, Most High, accord,
To show Thy love with morning light,
And tell Thy faithfulness each night;
Yea, good it is Thy praise to sing,
And all our sweetest music bring.

O Lord, with joy my heart expands,
Before the wonders of Thy hands;
Great works, Jehovah, Thou hast wrought,
Exceeding deep Thine every thought;
A foolish man knows not their worth,
Nor he whose mind is of the earth.

When as the grass the wicked grow,
When sinners flourish here below,
Then is there endless ruin nigh,
But Thou, O Lord, art throned on high;
Thy foes shall fall before Thy might,
The wicked shall be put to flight.

Thou, Lord, hast high exalted me
With royal strength and dignity;
With Thine anointing I am blest,
Thy grace and favor on me rest;
I thus exult o’er all my foes,
O’er all that would my cause oppose.

The righteous man shall flourish well,
And in the house of God shall dwell;
He shall be like a goodly tree,
And all his life shall fruitful be;
For righteous is the Lord and just,
He is my Rock, in Him I trust.

O Render Thanks to God Above

Praise the LORD! Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; for His lovingkindness is everlasting. Psalm 106:1

Thinking about and meditating on God's lovingkindness through the ages is a great antidote to weariness when you're feeling down. His mercy has withstood the test of time, and shall forever last. We can certainly be thankful that His mercies are new every morning!

The LORD'S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23

God's mercy is demonstrated through the many stories in the Old Testament, all of which point to the ultimate gift of mercy - the gift of Jesus, God's son, who took our sin upon Himself, and died in order to pay for those sins so that we could be free from our lives of death, and saved from the wrath of God.

But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
Ephesians 2:4-7

I love that word to us from Paul in Ephesians that so demonstrates God's mercy toward us. He is rich in mercy: He saved us, made us alive with Christ, raised us with Him, and seated us with Him -- all so that He could show the surpassing riches of His grace, shown to us in Christ Jesus!

And His mercy isn't contingent or dependent on what we have done. He saved us, not according to what we did, but according to His mercy!

But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior. Titus 3:4-6

I love the picture of the last verse of this hymn: the writer asks that he would be worthy to see all the saints that have prospered under God's mercy so that he might join the joyful chorus in singing praise to God for His mercy, and count God's people's triumph as his own. I so look forward to that day! When we will gather with the saints in heaven and recount God's mercies from the beginning of time, through our lives, and on in the lives of others.

It brings to mind the verse from Amazing Grace:

When we've been there ten thousand years,
Bright shining as the sun,
We've no less days to sing God's praise,
Than when we've first begun.

Let's be faithful to give God glory for His mercies while we are still here on earth. May others be encouraged by our thankfulness and praise of God's great mercies, new every morning.

O Render Thanks to God Above
Words by Na­hum Tate and Ni­cho­las Bra­dy

O render thanks to God above,
The fountain of eternal love,
Whose mercy firm through ages past
Hath stood, and shall forever last.

Who can His mighty deeds express,
Not only vast, but numberless?
What mortal eloquence can raise
His tribute of immortal praise?

Extend to me that favor, Lord,
Thou to Thy chosen dost afford;
When Thou return’st to set them free,
Let Thy salvation visit me.

O may I worthy prove to see
Thy saints in full prosperity,
That I the joyful choir may join,
And count Thy people’s triumph mine!

I'd Rather Have Jesus

It's been on my mind to write about this great hymn for some time. I was further prompted as I sang along with the radio last night and really began thinking about what I'd rather have Jesus than...

Jesus tells us that following Him will be costly.

Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?" Matthew 16:24-26

In this country (USA), most of us will not have to worry about outright persecution. We can worship with other believers on Sunday or anytime through the week, we can read the Bible and play Christian music in our homes, and listen to it on the radio! Many of our brothers and sisters in Christ do not have that freedom.

But following Jesus may cost us other things besides our freedom. For some, it costs them relationships with family members or friends. Jesus asks us to lose our life for the sake of finding it. What does this mean for you? It may not mean forsaking literal silver and gold, but it may mean forsaking the life you imagined. I'd rather have Jesus than to have my dreams come true. That is difficult to say, but I can honestly say it.

More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Philippians 3:8-11

Unlike Paul, I cannot say that I have suffered the loss of all things. Most of us can't. But I can agree with Paul that I would rather have Christ than have the things (material or otherwise) I have lost. Look what Paul tells us the ultimate outcome is of that gain: attaining to the resurrection from the dead!

I encourage you to meditate on these words. I pray that you will agree with the writer, that Jesus is all your hungering spirit needs.

I’d Rather Have Jesus
Words by Rhea Miller

I’d rather have Jesus than silver or gold;
I’d rather be His than have riches untold;
I’d rather have Jesus than houses or lands,
I’d rather be led by His nail pierced hand.

Than to be a king of a vast domain
Or be held in sin’s dread sway,
I’d rather have Jesus than anything
This world affords today.

I’d rather have Jesus than men’s applause;
I’d rather be faithful to His dear cause;
I’d rather have Jesus than world-wide fame,
I’d rather be true to His holy name.

He’s fairer than lilies of rarest bloom;
He’s sweeter than honey from out of the comb;
He’s all that my hungering spirit needs,
I’d rather have Jesus and let Him lead.

Be Present at our Table, Lord

This beautiful grace, sung to the tune of the Doxology, is one my extended family uses ocassionally when we gather together. It came to mind as I've been thinking about God's provision for me. He has supplied us with more food than we could ever need. He really does "stretch" our meager resources when we are good stewards of what He has given us, and when we faithfully use the funds He has entrusted to us to further His kingdom.

Just as I invite Him to present in every other aspect of my life, I want Him to be present at our table. In our conversation, in the enjoyment of the food He has blessed us with, in using the food to strengthen our bodies for service to His glory.

Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.I Corinthians 10:31

And just as this hymn says, as much as I am thankful for the food I have in abundance, I am even more grateful for Jesus' blood.

But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. Ephesians 2:13

Grace to you and peace, from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood-- and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father--to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. Revelation 1:4-6

I ask, along with this hymn writer, that just as God gives us each day our daily bread, that He would let manna to my soul be given, the Bread of Life sent down from heaven.

"For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world." John 6:33

Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst." John 6:35

"I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh." John 6:51

Dear Lord, thank you for my abundant table. Do come and be among us, in everything we do, and thank you for Your Son who shed His blood for us. Keep us in Your word, that we may draw life from it, receiving food for our souls from the bread of heaven. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

Be Present at our Table, Lord
Words by John Cennick

Be present at our table, Lord;
Be here and everywhere adored;
Thy creatures bless, and grant that we
May feast in paradise with Thee.

We thank Thee, Lord, for this our food,
For life and health and every good;
By Thine own hand may we be fed;
Give us each day our daily bread.

We thank Thee, Lord, for this our good,
But more because of Jesus’ blood;
Let manna to our souls be giv’n,
The Bread of Life sent down from Heav’n.

By Grace I'm Saved

God has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity. II Timothy 1:9

I've been spending time in Ephesians - what a great book! As I was reading in Ephesians 2 this morning I was struck by the contrast between what I was like before Christ rescued me from the domain of darkness, and what I am now, living under His grace.

Before Christ:
-Dead in trespasses and sins (v. 1)
-Walking according to the course of this world (v. 2)
-Walking according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit working in the sons of disobedience (v. 2) - Yikes!
-Living in the lust of the flesh (v. 3)
-Indulging the desires of the flesh and the mind (v. 3)
-Children of wrath (v. 3)
-Separate from Christ, having no hope, without God in the world (v. 12)

This is not a pretty picture. I could have written "yikes" after every one of those. It is a sobering list.

I am thankful to God that He
-chose me in Christ Jesus before the foundation of the world
-made me holy and blameless before Him
-predestined me to adoption as His child according to the kind intention of His will
-freely bestowed grace upon me through Jesus Christ, His beloved (Ephesians 1:4-6)

Because of His great love with which He loved me, I have been
-made alive together with Christ! (Ephesians 2:5)
-seated with Him in the heavenly places! (v. 6)
-shown the surpassing riches of God's grace in kindness in Christ Jesus! (v. 7)
-saved by faith, a gift of God! (v. 8)
-created in Christ Jesus for good works that have been prepared for me by God! (v. 10)
-brought near to God by the blood of Christ! (v. 13)
-given access to the Father by the Spirit! (v. 18)
-made a fellow citizen with the saints, a member of God's household! (v. 19)
-built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit! (v. 22)

Aren't you glad for this latter list? Does it apply to you? Have you made the decision to follow Jesus and live under God's grace?

If you have, I pray that you will meditate on this list and go to the Father in thankfulness.

If you haven't, I pray that you will seek His face and put your trust in Him. If you place your faith in Him, you will be saved, (a free gift of God!) and have eternal life with Him in heaven. Don't spend another minute living in that first list of who you are without Christ. Turn to Him today and be made a fellow citizen with the saints through your adoption into God's household.

Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift! II Corinthians 9:15

By Grace I'm Saved
Words by Christian L. Scheidt

By grace I’m saved, grace free and boundless;
My soul, believe and doubt it not;
Why stagger at this word of promise?
Hath Scripture ever falsehood taught?
Nay; then this word must true remain:
By grace thou, too, shalt Heav’n obtain.

By grace! None dare lay claim to merit;
Our works and conduct have no worth,
God in His love sent our Redeemer,
Christ Jesus, to this sinful earth;
His death did for our sins atone,
And we are saved by grace alone.

By grace! O, mark this word of promise
When thou art by thy sins oppressed,
When Satan plagues thy troubled conscience,
And when thy heart is seeking rest.
What reason cannot comprehend
God by His grace to thee doth send.

By grace! This ground of faith is certain;
So long as God is true, it stands.
What saints have penned by inspiration,
What in His Word our God commands,
What our whole faith must rest upon,
Is grace alone, grace in His Son.