Sing: What Child is This?
This feels like such a climatic point of our journey. They babe has been born, and now an army of heavenly hosts break through the darkness of night glorifying God in the highest! Truth us, although we can feel the darkness break it is just the beginning. This journey will continue to the foot of a cross and to the empty grave. How marvelous in deed.
My mind goes directly to John 1 "The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it." In the night, a light burst forth. It was not just night as the time but had been a night over man kind as they awaited the Messiah.
J.C. Ryle writes this, " The spiritual darkness which had covered the earth for four thousand years, was about to be rolled away. the way to pardon and peace with God was about to be thrown open to all mankind. The head of Satan was about to be bruised. Liberty was about to be proclaimed to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind. The mighty truth was about to be proclaimed that God could be just, and yet, for Christ's sake, justify the ungodly. Salvation was no longer to be seen through types and figures, but openly face to face. The knowledge of God was no longer to be confined to the Jews, but to be offered to the whole Gentile world. The days of heathenism were numbered. The first stone of God's kingdom was about to be set up (pg. 44)."
"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. John 1:14." Absolutely remarkable. As we sing this morning, what child is this? May we proclaim with the hymn and with the angels yet again, this is Christ the Lord.
Noteworthy to that point, is the proclamation of the angels to the title of the Son. These titles reveal the nature of the work. Reformation Study Bible notes, "Jesus is only called Savior twice in the gospels. Christ means, Messiah, and Lord is used commonly in the Septuagint as God's covenant name.
"Glory to God in the Highest! the song begins. Now is come the highest degree of glory to God, by the appearing of His Son Jesus Christ in the world. He by His life and death on the cross will glorify God's attributes,-justice, holiness, mercy and wisdom,-as they were never glorified before. Creation glorified God, but not so much as redemption (Ryle, pg45)."
May we too, today, and as this Advent season draws close, make haste like our shepherd friends of long ago, to share the good news of glad tidings and to worship Christ the Lord.
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