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Robert Cottrill

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Room for Jesus

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She brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

Lk. 2:7

It was an inauspicious beginning for the earthly life of the incarnate Son of God. The Saviour entered the world with neither position nor possessions. Though it is often sentimentalized, the manger remains a symbol of Christ’s willing condescension. And even though many were blind to this awesome event, heaven recognized it for what it was (vs. 10-14), and men and women of faith accepted the truth of it (vs. 20, 29-30, 38).

Phillips’ paraphrase has, “And as there was no place for them inside the inn, she wrapped Him up and laid Him in a manger.” Great scorn is heaped upon the innkeeper for having no place for Jesus. But this seems a little unfair.

The Roman census required that all return to the place of their birth to be registered. For Joseph and Mary, that was Bethlehem, because of their kinship to King David. However, that was surely true of many others who came to the little town. And because Mary was expecting a child, their trip from Nazareth may well have been slower. When they arrived, the inn was full.

Without some kind of divine revelation of who Mary’s Baby was, the innkeeper could not be expected to do other than he did. We are not actually told that it was he who made the suggestion of shelter in a stable, or using a manger for a crib, but perhaps it was. Maybe he had great sympathy for Mary, and did the best he could to give the couple shelter.

But there is another interesting possibility. Were any of Mary and Joseph’s family in that inn? Any others from Nazareth? Perhaps. And if so, why did one of them not surrender some space for the two, given Mary’s special need? The answer may be that family members were already shunning Joseph and Mary, believing them to having been immoral, with a Child conceived before they were married.

Whatever the case back then, we do need to make a current application. It was the prayer of the Apostle Paul that the Ephesian believers welcome Christ into their lives. He says: “For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ…that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith” (Eph. 4:14, 17).

Here the apostle is not referring to the initial indwelling of Christ, through the Spirit, which takes place at conversion. He is writing to Christians. They could say already, as Paul does, “Christ lives in me” (Gal. 2:20). But the Greek word he uses for “dwell” carries more of the idea of settle down and be at home in. It refers more specifically to our perception of Christ’s presence, and to intimate communion with Him. It parallels what Jesus calls “abiding” in John 15, and may be summarized as Christ-centred living.

I once heard a Jewish rabbi, in a televised synagogue service, point out to his congregation that the word hear is found in the word heart (as is the word ear). He stated that this should remind us that the one with a heart for God will have ear ready to receive His Word. With this Paul would concur. The at-homeness of Christ in our hearts will mean that we hear His voice, through the Scriptures, and readily believe and obey Him.

And for those who do not yet know Him at all, who have not put their faith in Christ for salvation, you have a need to invite Him into your life.

Have you any room for Jesus,
He who bore your load of sin?
As He knocks and asks admission,
Sinners, will you let Him in?

Room for Jesus, King of glory!
Hasten now His Word obey;
Swing the heart’s door widely open,
Bid Him enter while you may.

Room for pleasure, room for business,
But for Christ the Crucified,
Not a place that He can enter,
In the heart for which He died?

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

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Words: Ancient Latin antiphons (responsive chants), translated by John Mason Neale (b. Jan. 24, 1818; d. Aug. 6, 1886)
Music: Veni Emmanuel, a fifteenth-century French melody arranged by Thomas Helmore (b. May 7, 1811; d. July 6, 1890)

(Stanza numbers in brackets below refer to the stanza number in The Cyber Hymnal. Find the link at the bottom of the article.)

The origin and history of this carol is quite fascinating. First of all because it began as a song with a text of one word only!

An established custom in the ancient Latin church (by the eighth century, or perhaps earlier), was to sound “the Great O of Advent,” meant to express a deep longing for the coming of Christ. A long drawn out “O” was sung, before and after the reading of Mary’s Magnificat (Lk. 1:46-55). This Scripture is so called because that’s the word that begins Mary’s praise of God in vs. 46 of the Latin Vulgate: “My soul magnifies [exalts, glorifies] the Lord.”

This “Great O of Advent” was sounded for each of the days before Christmas. And eventually the idea developed to give each “O” a particular emphasis or theme, based on statements of Scripture that exalted the Lord Jesus. There was, in Latin:

  • O Sapienta (Wisdom)
  • O Adonai (Lord) – cf. (6)
  • O Radix Jesse (Stem of Jesse) – cf. (3)
  • O Clavis David (Key of David) – cf. (5)
  • O Oriens (Dayspring) – cf. (4)
  • O Rex Gentium (King of the world)
  • O Emmanuel (God with Us) – cf. (1)

With the last of these being sung on Christmas Eve, the seven “O’s” also contained a hidden message. The acrostic formed by the seven Latin words, s-a-r-c-o-r-e, when read backwards (i.e. looking back) is ero cras, meaning, “I will be present tomorrow.”

Later, someone turned these and other antiphons into a fully developed Latin hymn. It is this which was translated by John Mason Neale, in 1851. The Cyber Hymnal provides eight stanzas, of which four are commonly found in hymnals today:

  • (1) (cf. Matt. 1:22-23)
  • (3) (cf. Isa. 11:1-2)
  • (4) (cf. Lk. 1:78-79)
  • (5) (see below)
  • (6), added by some hymnals, proclaims the deity of Christ, identifying Him with Jehovah God who gave the Law on Mount Sinai (cf. Exod. 19:9; 20:1).

A word should be added regarding (5) that speaks of Christ as “the key of David.” This comes from Isaiah 22:20-23 which, in the context, refers to a mortal man named Eliakim. A trusted servant in King Hezekiah’s time (cf. II Kgs. 18:37), he was given control (the “key”) of the royal chambers, and charge of the wealth of the king, as well as being responsible for choosing servants for the royal household. He further had the authority to accept or refuse access to those wanting to approach the king.

Though this man was a historical figure, he is a type (i.e. an Old Testament picture) of Christ (the antitype, the New Testament fulfilment). Even the meaning of his name (Whom God Will Raise Up) providentially suits the coming Messiah. Regarding access to the throne of God, compare the words of the Lord Jesus, “No one comes to the Father except through Me” (Jn. 14:6). In Revelation 3:7, Christ is said to have “the key of David,” ultimate and final power and administrative authority over the kingdom of God.

(1) 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.

I’m surprised that some hymn books have not included (8), a prayer for the peace and unity of the whole human family. While the Lord’s peace can be enjoyed at the personal level now (Rom. 5:1), it will only be achieved internationally when Christ, the “Desire of nations” (Hag. 2:7) and Prince of Peace (Isa. 9:6), returns to reign. The sentiment is in keeping with the petition in the Lord’s Prayer which says, “Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:10).

(8) O come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Bid Thou our sad divisions cease,
And be Thyself our King of Peace.

Questions:

  1. What might the feelings of godly Jews have been before Christ came? And after He came?
  2. What is to be our attitude now, as we await Christ’s return (II Tim. 4:8; Tit. 2:13)?

Links:

Silent Night

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Words: Josef Mohr (b. Dec. 11, 1792; d. Dec. 5, 1848); English translation made in 1863, by John Freeman Young (b. Oct. 30, 1820; d. Nov. 15, 1885)
Music: Stille Nacht, by Franz Xaver Gruber (b. Nov. 25, 1787; d. June 7, 1863)

Note: If Amazing Grace is the most familiar hymn today, Silent Night is surely the most familiar Christmas carol–and it could be counted as a very well-known hymn too. It is difficult to say anything about either song that hasn’t been said many times before.

The latter began its musical life in the German language (see the first stanza below), around 1817, in Oberndorf, Austria. The story of how it travelled from a remote village in the Alps to worldwide fame is told in the Wordwise link at the end of this article.

Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht!
Alles schläft, einsam wacht
Nur das traute hochheilige Paar,
Holder Knabe mit lockigem Haar,
Schlaf in himmlischer Ruh,
Schlaf in himmlischer Ruh.

(Stanza numbers in brackets below refer to the stanza number in The Cyber Hymnal. Find the link at the bottom of the article.)

Hymn historian Carlton R. Young (Companion to the United Methodist Hymnal, p. 596) refers to the carol’s “inherent simplicity and tender piety.” However, it was ignored for some years after it was written, being deemed inferior by hymn book editors. Another hymn historian, Eric Routley, looks down his nose at the song and says it epitomizes the German Christmas, “cosy and child-centred.” It wasn’t commonly included in English hymnals until the turn of the twentieth century, nearly a hundred years after its creation.

Simple it may be, but there are great truths here.

(1) Silent night, holy night,
All is calm, all is bright
Round yon virgin mother and Child.
Holy Infant, so tender and mild,
Sleep in heavenly peace,
Sleep in heavenly peace.

(1). That first Christmas was a “holy night,” meaning it was sanctified, set apart by God for the supremely great event that took place in Bethlehem. There Jesus, an Infant “tender and mild,” lay in a manger, tended lovingly by His “virgin mother,” Mary. In the bustle and busyness of Bethlehem, crowded with visitors because of the Roman census (Lk. 2:1-3), the birth was likely little noticed. A history-changing event in poor peasant dress, passed over until something else happened.

(2). God sent His angels to reveal the significance of this momentous occurrence. They were “ministering spirits sent forth” (Heb. 1:14) to announce to some shepherds in the fields around Bethlehem the birth of the Saviour (Lk. 2:8-14). At first, the men “quaked at the sight.” But to their credit they believed the angelic message, and went with excited anticipation to find the Babe (Lk. 2:15-16).

(2) Silent night, holy night,
Shepherds quake at the sight;
Glories stream from heaven afar,
Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia!
Christ the Saviour is born,
Christ the Saviour is born!

(3). Josef Mohr uses the third stanza to firmly establish the identity of this One who has been born. He is the incarnate “Son of God,” and “Lord,” both titles recognizing His deity, used many times in Scripture. Christ was worshipped, as the Son of God (Matt. 14:33), and worshipped as the Lord (Matt. 8:2). And because He existed from all eternity as a member of the Trinity, He was rightly called “Lord at [His] birth.”

(3) Silent night, holy night,
Son of God, love’s pure light;
Radiant beams from Thy holy face
With the dawn of redeeming grace,
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth,
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth.

(4). Pastor Mohr doesn’t deal with the wise men specifically, but He does mention the supernatural star that later led them to Christ. And as those men came to worship Him (Matt. 2:1-2), we too are invited to sing His praises, owning Him as our King.

(4) Silent night, holy night
Wondrous star, lend thy light;
With the angels let us sing,
Alleluia to our King;
Christ the Saviour is born,
Christ the Saviour is born!

Questions:

  1. This carol is very well known. What could you do to help singers to see its message in a fresh way?
  2. What are the very best of our Christmas carols, in your view?

Links:

Hark, the Herald Angels Sing

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Words: Charles Wesley (b. Dec. 18, 1707; d. March 29:1788)
Music: Mendelssohn, by Felix Mendelssohn (b. Feb. 3, 1809; d. Nov. 4, 1847)

Note: The melody was taken from Mendelssohn’s cantata celebrating the four hundredth anniversary of Gutenberg’s invention of the printing press. It was arranged as a hymn tune by William Hayman Cummings (1831-1915). The Wordwise link below marks the birth of William Cummings, but has more information on the hymn as well.

Charles Wesley wrote this hymn in 1739, calling it simply “Hymn for Christmas Day.” Before the use of Cummings’ tune Mendelssohn was established, it appears the hymn was sung to the tune Easter Hymn, now used for Wesley’s Christ the Lord Is Risen Today. (Try this with a congregation; it gives the hymn quite a different feel.)

Eventually the ten four-line stanzas of the original were combined into five eight-line stanzas, with the first two lines of the hymn repeated as a refrain. Various other changes were made by George Whitefield, and later by Martin Madin, but the essence of this truly great hymn remains.

Wesley began with the words “Hark, how all the welkin rings!” with “welkin” being an old word for the sky. It was George Whitefield who changed this to “Hark, the herald angels sing,” in 1753. Actually, we are not told that the angels sang. The Bible says, “There was…a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest’ (Lk. 2:13-14). However, the Greek word translated “praising” (aineo) can include praise that is sung, so it’s possible they did.

Hymnals commonly use (1), (2), and (3), with some adding a combination of (4) and (5), as follows:

(4) Come, Desire of nations, come!
Fix in us Thy humble home;
Rise, the woman’s conqu’ring Seed,
Bruise in us the serpent’s head.
Adam’s likeness, Lord, efface,
Stamp Thine image in its place:
Second Adam from above,
Reinstate us in Thy love.

(Stanza numbers in brackets below refer to the stanza number in The Cyber Hymnal. Find the link at the bottom of the article.)

This extraordinary Christmas hymn ranks with Wesley’s Jesus, Lover of My Soul as his very best. Further, it is considered by many hymn historians to be one of the greatest hymns in the English language. The joy of worshipful celebration is combined with strong doctrinal teaching, making it a must to include at the Christmas season.

But it is this very strength that has bothered me on occasion, depending on who is singing it. Walking through a mall during the holiday season, one can hear this carol many times. But when some worldly, profane Hollywood type sings it, sometimes with a sexy, sensual voice, I cringe! “This people honours Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me” (Mk. 7:6; Jas. 3:8-10).

This is a carol that definitely fulfils the Bible’s exhortation that we should be “teaching…one another in…hymns” (Col. 3:16). All through, the hymn either quotes or alludes to relevant Scripture texts. Take, for example, the combined stanza above. The first line is taken from Haggai 2:7; the second from Ephesians 3:17; the third and fourth from Genesis 3:15; the last four lines allude to First Corinthians 15: 22, 45, 47, and 49.

Ask two basic questions, and you will see that Wesley leaves us in no doubt as to the answers.

1) Who is this One born in Bethlehem?

He is “Christ,” meaning the Messiah, and the “newborn King” ((1); cf. Matt. 1:1; 2:2). He is “the everlasting Lord,” and “incarnate Deity.” He is the “Godhead…veiled in flesh” (Col. 2:9). “By highest heaven adored” (i.e. worshiped by angels, Heb. 1:6, 8), He is virgin born “Emmanuel [God with us]” (CH-2; cf. Mic. 5:2; Jn. 1:14; Matt. 1:21-23). He is the “Prince of Peace,” “the Sun of Righteousness (Isa. 9:6; Mal. 4:2). “Mild [i.e. willingly, in submission to God the Father] He [laid] His glory by” ((3); Phil. 2:5-8).

2) What did He accomplish through His coming?

Through faith in His saving work, “God and sinners [are] reconciled” ((1); cf. II Cor. 5:18-20). “Light [Jn. 8:12; Eph. 5:8] and life [Jn. 3:16; 10:10; 14:6] to all He brings.” As the Sun of Righteousness, He has spiritual “healing in His wings [poetic imagery for the sun’s restoring rays]” (Mal. 4:2; cf. I Pet. 2:24-25). He was “born to give [us] second birth” a new birth of the Spirit by which we’re raised to life everlasting (Jn. 1:12-13; 3:3).

(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 host proclaim,
“Christ is born in Bethlehem!

Hark! the herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King!”

Questions:

  1. Would it be possible for you to do a Christmas Bible study of this hymn and the relevant Scriptures?
  2. What other carols do we sing that also provide solid teaching about Christ and His saving work?

Links:

It Came Upon the Midnight Clear

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Words: Edmund Hamilton Sears (b. Apr. 6, 1810; d. Jan. 14, 1876)
Music: Carol, by Richard Storrs Willis (b. Feb. 10, 1819; d. May 7, 1900)

Note: Edmund Sears served as the pastor of several small Unitarian churches in Massachusetts. The carol was written at the request of his friend and fellow pastor in Quincy, W. P. Lunt. The original title was “Peace on Earth.”

(1) 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.

(Stanza numbers in brackets below refer to the stanza number in The Cyber Hymnal. Find the link at the bottom of the article.)

Perhaps the startling thing about this Christmas carol is that it does not make a single reference to Christ or His birth, in any of its five original stanzas. All the stranger since it’s about the angel’s message to the shepherds, which begins by telling them the One in whom “peace” can be found (Lk. 2:11). Perhaps we might be inclined to put that down to the fact that Sears was a Harvard-graduated Unitarian, and that group does not believe in the deity of Christ. However, Pastor Sears seems to have been a Unitarian more in name than in practice, since he believed and preached that Christ is God the Son.

There is another strain in this carol that not all evangelicals would espouse. It’s among the first American hymns to be rooted in the social gospel, the idea that if we just do good works, correct social wrongs, and love their neighbours, “the age of gold” (5) will be ushered in, a kind of heaven on earth. And therefore that the church should put its focus on helping the poor and downtrodden, rather than on calling people to eternal salvation through Christ.

The social gospel seems to have been a particularly American phenomenon, and the middle of the nineteenth century was a great breeding ground for it. Opposition to slavery was seething and there was a growing unrest as north and south took sides–conflict that would eventually lead to the Civil War. In addition, 1849 brought the California Gold Rush, with its passionate greed for gain, and attendant wickedness. After nearly two millennia, the peace and good will of the angelic announcement of Christ’s birth (Lk. 2: 14) seemed farther away than ever.

(3) Yet with the woes of sin and strife
The world has suffered long;
Beneath the angel strain have rolled
Two thousand years of wrong;
And man, at war with man, hears not
The love-song which they bring;
O hush the noise, ye men of strife
And hear the angels sing.

There are a couple of issues that need to be addressed, with regard to this emphasis:

  1. The Gospel. To put our focus on preaching the gospel of imperishable grace, and on the need for sinners to prepare for eternity, does not mean Christians should fail to be concerned about what is going on around them in society. It’s a matter of emphasis and focus. Helping the poor, and speaking out against social wrongs must not replace the mandate of the church to preach the gospel (Mk. 16:15). And the gospel is not, at its core, a message of temporal social betterment. Here is the gospel:

“I declare to you the gospel…that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures” (I Cor. 15:1, 3). “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes” (Rom. 1:16).

The gospel (the good news) is that through faith in Christ we can be delivered from eternal condemnation and receive God’s gift of everlasting life (Jn. 3:16; cf. Eph. 1:7, 13-14; Col. 1:3-5; II Tim. 1:9-10). Whatever else we do, in compassion and mercy to others in need, we cannot forget or minimize that.

  1. The Golden Age. As (5) proclaims, there is indeed an “age of gold” coming up ahead. But it will not be brought about by social action, or peace treaties, or any of the feeble and faltering efforts of man. It will be ushered in at the return of Christ, when He rules over the earth, bringing in the Kingdom Age of peace and plenty. The “prophet-bards foretold” it, many times (e.g. Isa. 2:1-4; 9:6-7; Dan. 7:13-14; Amos 9:11-15; cf. Rev. 20:1-4).

But, that is not how the Bible portrays the present age, as we look forward to Christ’s return. “In latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons” (I Tim. 4:1). “Evil men and imposters will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived” (II Tim. 3:13).

In the last days perilous times will come: for men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power.

II Tim. 3:1-5

Yes, a better day is coming with the return of the glorified Son of God. But not yet. And we pray with John, “Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!” (Rev. 22:20).

Questions:

  1. Even when world “peace” eludes us, what aspects of peace can we experience now, by the grace of God?
  2. How can Christians and local churches maintain a balance between social action on the one hand, and the mandate of the Great Commission on the other?

Links:

While Shepherds Watched

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Words: Nahum Tate (b. _____, 1652; d. Aug. 12, 1715)
Music: Christmas, by George Frederick Handel (b. Feb. 23, 1685; d. Apr. 14, 1759)

Note: The hymn tune Christmas is a common one for this carol in our hymn books. But also associated with it is Winchester Old, from Este’s Psalter, published in 1592.

(Stanza numbers in brackets below refer to the stanza number in The Cyber Hymnal. Find the link at the bottom of the article.)

Nahum Tate did not have a great reputation as to his character. One writer describes him as intemperate and careless, another as a drunkard and a spendthrift. However, as a poet, he did work with Nicholas Brady (1659-1776) to produce a new metrical version of the Psalms in 1700, one superior to what the church had used previously.

Tate and Brady also added a Supplement to the book containing a number of hymns of their own creation. As well as this hymn for Christmas, there were others for Easter, and for the Lord’s Supper.

Some appreciated the new songs, others did not. On one occasion, Tate was visiting in the home of friends when it came time for family devotions. The maid explained her refusal to sing with the others by saying, “Sir, as long as you sung Jesus Christ’s Psalms I sung along with ye; but now that you sing Psalms of your own invention, ye may sing by yourselves!” Even so, this Christmas hymn gained early acceptance, likely because it is close to a word-for-word rendering of Scripture passage (Lk. 2:8-14).

There is a lesson in this. “The word of God is living and powerful” (Heb. 4:12). Even when it is recited by unregenerate lips, or put on paper by the pen of a drunken wastrel, the Spirit of God can use it. Years ago I worked in an advertising company managed by a well-known Canadian agnostic named Charles Templeton. My parents had known him years before, when he laboured as a clergyman. My father’s gospel quartet sang in his church. But those days were long gone.

During the years I worked with him, he would occasionally reminisce about those bygone times, and we’d sing a hymn or two as we worked. He knew the words, but his heart was unchanged. Charles confessed to me that he never believed what he was preaching. To him, it was all for show, and an ego trip. My dad continued to pray each day–for decades–that the man would repent and be truly saved but, as far as I know, he died far from Christ.

However, when I later trained for the ministry, and began serving in a church, I met a fellow-pastor who said he was saved under Charles Templeton’s ministry. Amazing! The Word had borne fruit in His heart by the power of the Holy Spirit.

So, am I saying it doesn’t matter whether a preacher is a believer or not? No. Hardly. I’m sure Charles misled many people by his hypocrisy, or his open defection from the faith. And he himself missed the joy of serving the Lord Jesus Christ wholeheartedly. But it remains true that God will sometimes speak, in sovereign grace, through some strange instruments. After all He did that one day with Balaam’s donkey (Num. 22:22-35)!

As to the angelic announcement to the shepherds, it was means of tying the Old Testament and the New together. Bethlehem is only five miles south of Jerusalem. It’s almost certain that the sheep raised there were going to be used for temple sacrifices. Sacrifices that had been offered since ancient times, foreshadowing the great and final Sacrifice to come. How wonderful for those men to hear the news that the Saviour had been born, the One John the Baptist would later call, “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (Jn. 1:29).

You were…redeemed with…the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.

I Pet. 1:18-19

Further, Christ’s humble beginning, with a manger for His cradle, would be a symbol of welcoming grace. Even the shepherds, rendered ceremonially unclean by their occupation, were summoned to Him and went joyfully (Lk. 2:15-16). When He began His earthly ministry, “many tax collectors and sinners also sat together with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many, and they followed Him,” and “the common people heard Him gladly” (Mk. 2:15; 12:37). God’s grace is extended to all.

(3) “To you, in David’s town, this day
Is born of David’s line
A Saviour, who is Christ the Lord,
And this shall be the sign.

(4) “The heavenly Babe you there shall find
To human view displayed,
All meanly wrapped in swathing bands,
And in a manger laid.”

(6) “All glory be to God on high,
And to the earth be peace;
Good will henceforth from heav’n to men
Begin and never cease.”

Questions:

  1. Can you think of an instance in recent times when God blessed His Word, in spite of the sinful (and perhaps unregenerate) nature of the human instrument?
  2. In the shepherds, we have an example of those who shared the gospel message (cf. Lk. 2:11, and 17) though they surely didn’t fully understand what it meant. What lesson is there for us in that?

Links:

Ivory Palaces

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Words: Henry Barraclough (b. Dec. 14, 1891; d. Aug. ____, 1983)
Music: Henry Barraclough

Note: You can learn more about Mr. Barraclough in the Wordwise link below, as well as reading of the strange association of the Bible text involved here with a common household product. Henry Barraclough wrote a few more hymns and tunes, but as far as I know this is the only one that has continued to be used. The Cyber Hymnal gives part of the story behind this hymn. A fuller account was provided by Billy Graham in 1967, for the book Crusade Hymn Stories (pp. 25-26).

(Stanza numbers in brackets below refer to the stanza number in The Cyber Hymnal. Find the link at the bottom of the article.)

Briefly, what led to the writing of the hymn is this. Presbyterian evangelist and Bible teacher Dr. J. Wilbur Chapman was preaching in 1915 at the Montreat Conference Center, in North Carolina. The team also consisted of song leader Charles Alexander, soloist Albert Brown, and their young accompanist Henry Barraclough.

One evening that summer Dr. Chapman spoke on Psalm 45, a royal wedding song, which also has a secondary application to the Messiah. (More about the text in a moment.) After the service, twenty-four-year-old Barraclough was a passenger in the car that drove them away from the meeting place. The phrases of a new song’s refrain began to take shape in his mind.

Having nothing else to write on, he took a business card and scribbled the refrain on the back. Later, at their hotel, he added the first three stanzas and the music. The song was sung at the meeting the next morning by Alexander and Brown. Then, at Dr. Chapman’s request, Henry Barraclough added a fourth stanza speaking of the second coming of Christ.

Billy Graham adds a personal footnote to this story. When he was beginning his ministry as an evangelist in 1945, it was Albert Brown who introduced Billy to a young musician named Cliff Barrows, who continued to work with him in his evangelistic crusades for decades afterward.

As to the Bible text involved, its poetic imagery can only be fulfilled in part by a mortal king of ancient times. Its fullest sense was to be captured by the Messiah-King, the Lord Jesus Christ. In confirmation of this, we see vs. 6-7 of the psalm quoted in Hebrews 1:8-9, as God the Father speaks to God the Son:

“To the Son He says: ‘Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of Your Kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness more than Your companions.’”

Hebrews 1:8-9

The grace and beauty of the King are celebrated (Ps. 45:1-2), and His glorious victories (vs. 3-5). The latter verses of the psalm (vs. 10-17) give attention to the beautiful bride. In its New Testament application this would apply to the church, the body of Christ. Dr. Chapman’s central text that evening was vs. 8 of the psalm.

“All Your garments are scented with myrrh and aloes and cassia, out of the ivory palaces, by which they have made You glad.”

Psalm 45:8

The text is a poetic description of the king in his resplendence, coming from his palace for his wedding. As he proceeds on his way, the fragrance of his garments is shed abroad. Mr. Barraclough’s hymn takes a stanza to describe each of the spices mentioned in Psalm 45:8. There is the fragrance of myrrh (1), and of aloes (2), and of cassia (3).

Myrrh and cassia were two of the principle ingredients of the anointing oil referred to in vs. 7 (cf. Exod. 30:22-25). It was used in inaugurating the priests and kings of Israel. And myrrh and aloes are mentioned in the marriage preparations of King Solomon (S.S. 4:14).

The spices which perfumed the king’s robes also have a connection to the Lord Jesus. Myrrh was one of the gifts of the wise men brought to the Baby Jesus (Matt. 2:11). And myrrh and aloes were used to embalm the body of Christ at His burial (Jn. 19:39).

(1) My Lord has garments so wondrous fine,
And myrrh their texture fills;
Its fragrance reached to this heart of mine
With joy my being thrills.

Out of the ivory palaces,
Into a world of woe,
Only His great eternal love
Made my Saviour go.

(4) In garments glorious He will come,
To open wide the door;
And I shall enter my heav’nly home,
To dwell forevermore.

Questions:

  1. In what ways is King Jesus superior to the earthly monarch celebrated in the psalm?
  2. What can we say about the experience of the bride at such a wedding (cf. Rev. 19:7, 9)?

Links:

Who Is He in Yonder Stall?

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Words: Benjamin Russell Hanby (b. July 22, 1833; d. March 16, 1867)
Music: Benjamin Russell Hanby

Note: This hymn was published in 1866, the year before Hanby’s death. Originally, each couplet was a stanza on its own, making ten of them. When he was editing the Worship and Service Hymnal (a fine mid-twentieth century hymn book, published in 1957), Donald Hustad decided to combine two couplets for each stanza, making five in all.

There’s a certain irony in the fact that, two years before he wrote his hymn, Mr. Hanby wrote the first ever song about Santa Claus! Sadly, now, each Christmas, there’s more about Santa going over the airwaves than about the Lord Jesus. Hanby’s song begins:

Up on the housetop reindeer pause,
Out jumps good old Santa Claus,
Down through the chimney with lots of toys,
All for the good little girls and boys.

Ho, ho ho! Who wouldn’t go?
Ho, ho ho! Who wouldn’t go?
Up on the housetop, click, click, click
Down through the chimney with good Saint Nick.

(Stanza numbers in brackets below refer to the stanza number in The Cyber Hymnal. Find the link at the bottom of the article.)

A bit more about the Hanby family should be of interest. And another  secular song by Benjamin Hanby will give you a something of a picture of the man.

Benjamin Hanby’s father, Bishop William Hanby (United Brethren in Christ) was active in the underground railway, as was his son. They sought to help enslaved African Americans to escape to freedom in the north, and up into Canada.

One of the son’s most famous songs was not this hymn, but a sad ballad called My Darling Nellie Gray. It told the true story of Nellie, the beloved of a slave named Joseph Selby (or Shelby). Joseph was a slave in Kentucky, but he heard that Nellie had been sold south into Georgia, where the treatment was notoriously harsher.

One night I went to see her but she’s gone, the neighbours say,
And the white man had bound her with his chain;
They have taken her to Georgia for to wear her life away,
As she toils in the cotton and the cane.

Oh, my darling Nellie Gray, they have taken you away
I’ll never see my darling anymore;
They have taken you to Georgia, for to work your life away,
And you’re gone from that old Kentucky shore.

Benjamin wrote the lyrics in 1856, and his sister composed the melody. Though it might be dismissed as merely a sentimental ballad, it does represent the heartbreak of slavery, and the song made it more real and poignant to all who heard and sang it. Bishop Handby was trying to raise money to buy Nellie’s freedom, and this music was a powerful weapon for that, and the fight against slavery in general.

Benjamin Hanby became a clergyman in the same denomination as his father. But he seems to have had some progressive ideas that alienated his denomination. He left the ministry and became more active in writing and publishing music. He died of tuberculosis at the age of thirty-four.

Though his hymn is sometimes listed with Christmas carols, because of the first two lines, Who Is He in Yonder Stall? covers all of the life of Christ from His birth to His resurrection. Unfortunately, the tune is monotonously repetitious, since the melody of the first line is the same as that of the second–which means it gets repeated ten times!

To relieve the monotony, you might try having part of the congregation sing one line of a stanza, and another part of the congregation respond with the other. Then all could join in singing the chorus. It would also work to have two soloists sing the stanzas, and the congregation answer with the refrain.

The song is not without merit, in spite of this problem. It takes us through the life of Jesus and emphasizes His identity with the refrain. He is the Lord, “the King of glory,” worthy of our humble worship. Hanby’s repeated contrast of the pain and distress Christ suffered, with the love and kindness He showed to those around Him, is striking. This is even more stark and grievous when we are reminded over and over that this One is the Lord of glory.

(1) Who is He in yonder stall
At whose feet the shepherds fall?
Who is He in deep distress,
Fasting in the wilderness?

‘Tis the Lord! O wondrous story!
‘Tis the Lord! the King of glory!
At His feet we humbly fall,
Crown Him! crown Him, Lord of all!

(4) Lo! at midnight, who is He
Prays in dark Gethsemane?
Who is He on yonder tree
Dies in grief and agony?

(5) Who is He that from the grave
Comes to succour, help, and save?
Who is He that from His throne
Rules through all the world alone?

Questions:

  1. What other hymns come to mind that contrast who the Lord Jesus is with the shameful way He was treated?
  2. What other hymns can you think of that cover more than one period or aspect of the life of Christ?

Links:

A Thousand Years Have Come and Gone

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Words: Thomas Toke Lynch (b. July 5, 1818; d. May 9, 1871)
Music: Noel, a traditional tune arranged by Arthur Seymour Sullivan (b. May 13, 1842; d. Nov. 22, 1900)

Note: Because the hymn was published in 1868, the opening line is correct for the time. It wasn’t quite two thousand years since the birth of Christ. However, twenty-first-century congregations can update the line by rendering it: “A thousand years have come and gone, and still a thousand more.”

Sir Arthur Sullivan’s tune is also used sometimes with the carol It Came Upon the Midnight Clear, and it can be used with Edmund Sears other Christmas hymn, Calm on the Listening Ear of Night.

Eminent hymn historian, John Julian, in his Dictionary of Hymnology, calls Pastor Lynch’s hymns “a valuable contribution to cultured sacred song,” and says this about his poetical style:

“Lynch’s hymns are marked by intense individuality, gracefulness and felicity of diction, picturesqueness, spiritual freshness, and the sadness of a powerful soul struggling with a weak and emaciated body.”

Dictionary of Hymnology pg. 706

There is certainly a quaint charm in many phrases found in this hymn. For example, the author gives us: “happier light from heaven…a joy most joyful stirred” (1); “angels on their starry way…meek mercy’s rising light” (C2); and “on wintry earth a summer change began” (3).

Thomas Lynch’s influence reached far beyond his own small congregation, not only because of his hymns and other writings, but because of his preaching. Many visited his church to sit under his ministry and witnessed to the freshness and spiritual power of his sermons. However, as Julian notes, he was troubled by ill health. From 1856 to 1859 he had to withdraw from ministry because of this, but resumed his pastoral duties in 1860 and continued this until his death in 1871 at the age of fifty-three.

(Stanza numbers in brackets below refer to the stanza number in The Cyber Hymnal. Find the link at the bottom of the article.)

The hymn draws our attention to the two millennia that have passed since the coming of Christ. (This is mentioned again in (4)). We can roughly mark the two thousand years before His coming with two key events: the birth of Abraham around 2000 BC, and the birth of David around 1000 BC–both of whom are prominent in the earthly ancestry of the Saviour (Matt. 1:1).

The birth of Christ thus becomes a great dividing line in the midst of these four millennia. And Thomas Lynch notes the transforming power of the incarnation, and makes it both a focus both of joyful praise and hopeful promise.

(1) A thousand years have come and gone, and near a thousand more,
Since happier light from heaven shone than ever shone before:
And in the hearts of old and young a joy most joyful stirred.
That sent such news from tongue to tongue as ears had never heard.

(2) Then angels on their starry way felt bliss unfelt before,
For news that men should be as they to darkened earth they bore;
So toiling men and spirits bright a first communion had,
And in meek mercy’s rising light were each exceeding glad.

By “news that men should be as they” Lynch is not suggesting that we’ll all turn into angels. Angels are spirit beings, while humans are a unique combination of the material and the spiritual. The author may be speaking of our incorruptible resurrection bodies, of the day when we’ll be like Christ, and perfected in holiness (I Cor. 15:42-44; I Jn. 3:2; Rev. 22:11).

(3) And we are glad, and we will sing, as in the days of yore;
Come all, and hearts made ready bring, to welcome back once more
The day when first on wintry earth a summer change began,
And, dawning in a lowly birth uprose the Light of man.

With the birth of Christ “the Light of the world” appeared (Jn. 8:12), and with His ascension back into heaven we have One, seated at the Father’s right hand, who is able to sympathize with our weaknesses, since He shared in our experiences, though without sin (Heb. 4:15). What a great witness will be borne, not only through the years of time, but for all eternity, praising God for deliverance from sin (Rev. 5:9-10; 13).

(4) For trouble such as men must bear from childhood to fourscore,
He shared with us, that we might share His joy forevermore;
And twice a thousand years of grief of conflict, and of sin,
May tell how large the harvest sheaf His patient love shall win.

This stanza calls to mind (3) in Edmund Sears’ carol It Came Upon the Midnight Clear:

Yet with the woes of sin and strife
The world has suffered long;
Beneath the angel strain have rolled
Two thousand years of wrong;
And man, at war with man, hears not
The lovesong which they bring;
O hush the noise, ye men of strife
And hear the angels sing.

It’s unfortunate that many are unfamiliar with Pastor Lynch’s hymn. It appears in very few non-denominational hymn books. A Thousand Years Have Come and Gone is a different kind of Christmas carol. It looks at the big picture, and the reason for Christ’s coming, rather than simply focusing on those long-ago events.

Questions:

  1. What other carols best help us to see God’s purpose in the birth of Christ?
  2. How would this kind of emphasis help to make our praise at Christmas more meaningful?

Links:

Somthing Missing

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Note: This post was originally written on the 16th of December 2012.

Several events have been juxtaposed recently that have me thinking. In a city near us, a man wrote a letter of protest because some city buses posted the words “Merry Christmas.” Apparently it conflicted with his own religious views. But so what? Nobody was asking him to change what he believes. Predictably and thankfully, many citizens contacted city hall, telling the powers that be to leave the greetings right where they are.

Far more seriously, I know of a funeral taking place this afternoon. Called a “Gathering” (what we used to call a wake), it simply involves family and friends visiting with one another, sharing remembrances of the departed loved one. Nothing wrong with that, of course. But for me there’s something missing. As far as I know, there will be no message of comfort from the Word of God, no encouragement from the great hymns of the faith, no prayer. Just conversation. That was the choice of the immediate family, and the choice was theirs to make. But how sad it is.

These events, one more trivial (except in its implications), the other more significant in my view, come on the heels of the horrific massacre this week, at the elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut. A deranged gunman took the lives of twenty children and six adults, including his own mother, before shooting himself.

Understandably there was an outpouring of grief, not only by those immediately involved, but by commentators and politicians and more. But there was something else. Repeated calls for prayer to be offered for the sorrowing. And prayer vigils, where hymns were sung. Today being Sunday, I know there will be church services where believers call upon God to give comfort and wisdom, healing and hope, and earnest pastors will open the Scriptures to share what the Lord has to say to them.

Whether it’s trying to do away with any remembrance of the birth of our Saviour, or determining to strip a time of deep need of anything that might be of spiritual benefit, the loss is beyond reckoning. If God is not in our lives, if we have no incarnate Saviour, we have no hope (Eph. 2:12).

I awoke in the night with Thomas Moore’s beautiful hymn running through my mind.

Come, ye disconsolate, where’er ye languish,
Come to the mercy seat, fervently kneel.
Here bring your wounded hearts, here tell your anguish;
Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal.

Joy of the desolate, light of the straying,
Hope of the penitent, fadeless and pure!
Here speaks the Comforter, tenderly saying,
“Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot cure.”

We are spiritual creatures, whether we’re willing to admit it or not. And through God’s Son, our Saviour, and through the ministrations of His Holy Spirit our heavenly Father has provided grace for our times of need, grace and mercy for the asking (Heb. 4:14-16).

“Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal.” That will be fulfilled in the ultimate and eternal sense when the saints are called into His presence. In the heavenly city there will be no more tears or sorrow, no more pain or death (Rev. 21:4).

But it’s true in the immediate sense as well. There is help available today and every day. In and through Christ, “Our God and Father…has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace” (II Thess. 2:16). If we are “walking in the fear of the Lord,” we will also experience “the comfort of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 9:31). Oh, please! Don’t miss out! “Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you” (Ps. 55:22).

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