Christmas Eve. - “Our
Song”
Scripture – Psalm 77:5-15 and Psalm 103
I thought about the
former days, the years of long ago;
I remembered my songs in the night.
My heart meditated and my spirit asked:
“Will the Lord reject
forever?I remembered my songs in the night.
My heart meditated and my spirit asked:
Will he never show his favor again?
Has his unfailing love vanished forever?
Has his promise failed for all time?
Has God forgotten to be merciful?
Has he in anger withheld his compassion?”
Then I thought, “To this I will appeal:
the years when the Most High stretched out his right hand.
I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.
I will consider all your works
and meditate on all your mighty deeds.”
Your ways, God, are holy.
What god is as great as our God?
You are the God who performs miracles;
you display your power among the peoples.
With your mighty arm you redeemed your people,
the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.
Praise the Lord, my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the Lord, my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
The Lord works righteousness
and justice for all the oppressed.
He made known his ways to Moses,
his deeds to the people of Israel:
The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
He will not always accuse,
nor will he harbor his anger forever;
he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
As a father has compassion on his children,
so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;
for he knows how we are formed,
he remembers that we are dust.
The life of mortals is like grass,
they flourish like a flower of the field;
the wind blows over it and it is gone,
and its place remembers it no more.
But from everlasting to everlasting
the Lord’s love is with those who fear him,
and his righteousness with their children’s children—
with those who keep his covenant
and remember to obey his precepts.
The Lord has established his throne in heaven,
and his kingdom rules over all.
Praise the Lord, you his angels,
you mighty ones who do his bidding,
who obey his word.
Praise the Lord, all his heavenly hosts,
you his servants who do his will.
Praise the Lord, all his works
everywhere in his dominion.
Praise
the Lord, my soul.”
We hear many songs at this time of year, but these words ought to be our song every day of the year!
-
I
don’t want to assume that everyone was here through this entire Advent series,
so let’s start with a short summary of what we have learned. I began with
Zechariah’s song. Zechariah and Elizabeth were the parents of John the Baptist,
whom the angel said was to “prepare the way of the Lord.” The name Zechariah
means “God remembers” and the name Elizabeth means “His promise” or “promise of
God”… This was the very beginning of the Christmas story, and if you put them
together you have the main theme or point of this series “God remembers His
promise.”
-
After the birth of John, Zechariah bursts forth into a song of praise
and worship with the words “Praise be to the Lord, because He has come; he has redeemed his people; he has
raised up a horn of salvation; just as He said He would through the prophets of
long ago.”
Next came Mary’s song. Mary goes to visit Elizabeth, who was a relative,
and Elizabeth says “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you
will bear, and blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said will
be accomplished!” Then Mary bursts forth into a song of praise and worship with
the words “My soul glorifies the Lord! He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendents forever, just as He said to our fathers.”
Next comes the angel’s song. The angel’s appear to the shepherds and it
says they “praised God saying; “Glory to God in the highest”… The shepherds,
after finding the Christ child in the manger just as the angels said, returned
“glorifying and praising God”…”for the things they had heard and seen were just
as they had been told”.Then we heard Simeon’s song of praise and worship as he finally holds in his arms the promise of God… the song begins with the words “Sovereign God, as you have promised”… “my eyes have seen your salvation.”
And now, I want to ask two questions – “What is God’s promise to us?”...and, “What should our song be?”
It has to begin with the words of Jesus himself in Luke 14:1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And, if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me.” Let’s add to that – 1st Thesalonians 4:14 – “We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words.” My friends, God remembers His promise!
Then we read in 2 Peter 3:2 “Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking. I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Savior. First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water. By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”… In all that is going on in us, around us, to us, and through us, don’t forget God…who remembers His promise.
In Psalm 77:7-15 David thinks about a time in his life when he thought “Will the Lord reject forever? Will he never show his favor again? Has his unfailing love vanished forever? Has his promise failed for all time? Has God forgotten to be merciful? Has he in anger withheld his compassion?”
But then in verse 11 he says “I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will meditate on all your works and consider all your mighty deeds.
Your ways, O God, are holy. What god is so great as our God? You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples. With your mighty arm you redeemed your people, the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.”
We are about to enter a new year…and I ask; Will our song be “Will the Lord reject us forever?... Will he ever show His favor again?... Has His promise failed for all time?... Is He really, ever coming back?”… Or, will our song continue to be “Praise the Lord O my soul! And all that is within me bless His Holy name!” Will God remember His Word? Will He remember His promise? The recode of scripture; my faith; my knowledge; and experience give a resounding Yes! I don’t need an angel to appear; I don’t need the stars to fall from the sky or any other miraculous sign; I have all that I need in the Christmas story and fulfilled prophecy from God’s Word for my faith to be certain that God will remember His promise.
Hear again these words from Psalm 103 that I think ought to be “our song” this Christmas Eve. – “Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits—who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s… The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; Praise the LORD, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word. Praise the LORD, all his heavenly hosts, you his servants who do his will. Praise the LORD, all his works everywhere in his dominion. Praise the LORD, O my soul!”
Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord!
He remembers His Promise!
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