Joy To The World!

Have you been singing this classic Christmas carol yet this year?  Our church did this morning.  It seems we make a point of singing this song, a declaration of the Good News that would follow the birth of Christ, as our opening salvo on the hurts and depression which would otherwise swallow us whole.  It was God's statement, delivered through His angel, of the relief and delight soon to be revealed to all mankind!

"JOY TO THE WORLD, THE LORD HAS COME!"

...we sing in the first verse, and we celebrate this great promise, but I really noticed the fourth verse today.

He rules the world with truth and grace,And makes the nations prove

The glories of His righteousness,

And wonders of His love,

And wonders of His love,

And wonders, wonders, of His love.

What is this about He "makes the nations prove the glories of His righteousness"?  I think it means that no matter what we human beings do or do not do, whether individually or nationally, the only thing we really accomplish is in "proving" that God is both glorious and righteous!  (I take glorious, by the way, to mean "weighty" or important; the extreme degree of relevant, if you will)

When we ignore God's ways and violate the rule of law we find written on our hearts (when we sin), we prove through the terrible (heavy) consequences suffered that His warnings were correct.  And when we trust Him enough to try His ways and commit to follow Him faithfully, we again prove that His righteousness is good and pleasing to the soul.   

I comment frequently on Facebook on the political issues of the day.  I think I see the serious consequences of some of our societal and political decisions that may be coming, and I hope to redirect a few of those leanings.  Don't we all?  But I am comforted today by the assurance summarized in this song.  God will out.  Sooner or later, all of our viewpoints will be aligned with His.  Mine and yours will all be corrected by His impregnable truth and we will only stand before Him and attest that He is both seriously vital, and absolutely correct.

Here is a different take on the song by Jason Gray.  I hope you like it, but please consider the idea that our soft opinions about God are really meaningless.  It is His "glory" and "righteousness" that will stand proven.

The Willing

Last week at Bethany, Pastor Kurt introduced a new old song to the congregation. During the "pre-worship" time, we sang "Come, All Ye Pining, Hungry Poor." Tomorrow we will incorporate this beautiful hymn into our worship time.

You might go here and play Red Mountain Music singing this classic as you consider the lyrics below.

1 Lord, we adore thy boundless grace,

The heights and depths unknown,

Of pardon, life, and joy, and peace,

In thy beloved Son.

Chorus: Come, all ye pining, hungry poor,

The Saviour’s bounty taste;

Behold a never-failing store

For every willing guest.

2 O wondrous gifts of love divine,

Dear Source of every good;

Jesus, in thee what glories shine!

How rich thy flowing blood!

3 Here shall your numerous wants receive

A free, a full supply;

He has unmeasured bliss to give,

And joys that never die.

I like to note the subject or subjects, in a song.  In the first verse the singer is addressing God the Father.  Praising Him for his loving nature, His unique quality of infinite scope, and then lists four of the marvelous particulars He has given us through His Son.

The chorus is directed to the lost.  It seems to be particularly aimed at the "pining, hungry" lost, making a distinction between these seekers and those who are otherwise content with their spiritual status quo.  But I suspect that the writer allows for no such separation.  At least I would not.  Hopefully, I am agreeing with God when I would assert that all unbelievers--all who have not yet received Christ as their Savior--are in fact "pining" and "hungry."  Many either do not recognize their ongoing quests in life as a "pining" for that which only God can supply, or they do not admit they have exhausted all hope of finding satisfaction elsewhere.

Verse 2 is addressed to Jesus and all that flows with His presence.  Innumerable and amazing aspects of His love. all things "good", indescribable "glories" (meaning: importance, power and relevance), and the verse ends with reference to the very point and focus of His coming: To shed the saving blood of the Lamb of God for the covering of our sin.

The chorus again reflects the desire of those saved to share what they have found. "We too, were poor and pining.  We have discovered a bountiful supply of all we truly need.  We want you to know you are also invited in!

The third verse is addressed directly to the hungry, with the continuing empathy of those already fulfilled.  In prose, it might read more like this:  "Beyond saving your soul from hell, Christ will meet all your needs and provide everything your heart really wants.  There is no limit to His generosity or his provision.  The happiness you will find in Christ is both abounding, and eternally enduring!"

As the chorus is repeated, I think the focus is on the most delicate challenge one can offer. There is no evangelistic "shoving down the throat"  but only a holding out of an open hand; a beckoning "to taste," and the invitation to be "a willing guest."

Amazing Love

Today, at our annual Good Friday service where three local churches join together to commemorate Christ's sacrifice on the cross, one of the songs our joint worship team sang was Amazing Love.  This simple song makes some very personal statements regarding the outcome of Jesus' work.

I'm Forgiven...

I'm accepted...

I'm alive and well...

Each of these statements is juxtaposed with elements of His gift.  Respectively:

...because you were forsaken!

...You were condemned!

...Your Spirit is within me, because you died and rose again!!

And the chorus goes on to elaborate on just how "Amazing" God's love for us is.

This is one of my favorite songs in our worship team's repertoire.  I like the way we do it, actually, better than Chris Tomlin's original.  I think we put a little more "umph" into the very strong statements made in this powerful song.  Anyway, I hope you listen to, and enjoy, Chris's inferior version.  LOL

Welcome to MILLERSHIPS!

If you haven't noticed by now, all of my blogs are Miller(ActionVerb) formatted.  So far all of the action verbs have been single syllable words (MILLERWRITES, MILLERVENTS and MILLERPOINTS) so to maintain the pattern, this blog could only contain half the vital word.  By itself, however, "ship" is a real word so all is well in my little blogging world.  Anyway the whole word is WORSHIP; a very important word to the Church, and one that carries a lot of import.  We who love the Lord believe it is a serious and worthy duty to tell Him so in many ways, and often.

My goal here is to comment on the songs we sing, the hymns we love, and the goals and aims of the worship service, in the hope that the hearts we turn to Him on Sunday morning, or on a Tuesday afternoon for that matter, do properly worship Him as Jesus said "in spirit and in truth".


"Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”   John 4:23,24


Thanks for stopping by, and I hope we grow together in loving Him!