Advent (Day 28) Christmas Eve
O Holy Night
O holy night! The stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of our dear Saviour’s birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
‘Til He appear’d 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 angels’ voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born;
O night divine, O night, O night Divine.
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 come 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!
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 power and glory evermore proclaim.
His power and glory evermore proclaim.
Advent (Day 27)
“Lift up your heads, O you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is he, this King of glory? The Lord Almighty – he is the King of glory.”
Psalm 24:7-10
Advent (Day 26)
Advent, like life, is bittersweet. And this is as it should be. “In this world you will have trouble,” Jesus said.
Yet, he didn’t finish there. He continued: “But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
And that is the unadulterated sweetness of Christmas. He came to us. He overcame everything that troubles us.
This has been his song since the beginning. Unlike the ancients, we are privileged not to hope for it but to know it. We who live in the end times (and that is no prophetic prediction, only a reader’s observation that we are living neither in the beginning nor the middle of God’s great story), we are privileged to know how trustworthy his promises have always been. He promised us a Savior and an everlasting King, and he kept his promise.
And so we have no doubt that every promise he has made is a solid stone beneath our feet. We are unshaken. We have tasted, we have seen that the Lord is very good (Psalm 34:8).
“I am the Lord your God, who brought you up out of Egypt. Open wide your mouth and I will fill it. … with honey from the rock I [will] satisfy you.”
Psalm 81:10,16