An advent meditation (yes, I know it's Lent!)

189 How Proper It Is

How proper it is that Christmas should follow Advent.
-For him who looks toward the future, the Manger is situated on Golgotha, and the Cross has already been raised in Bethlehem.—Dag Hammarskjöld Hymns for the Family of God

The People That in Darkness Sat

361 The People That in Darkness Sat

1 The people that in darkness sat
   A glorious light have seen;
   The light has shined on them who long
   In shades of death have been.

2 For unto us a Child is born,
   To us a Son is given,
   And on His shoulder ever rests
   All power in earth and heaven.

3 is name shall be the Prince of Peace,
   Forevermore adored,
   The Wonderful, the Counselor.
   The great and mighty Lord.

4 His righteous government and power
   Shall over all extend;
   On judgment and on justice based,
   His reign shall have no end.
                         John Morison
                         The Methodist Hymnal, 1964 edition

<idle musing>
For a hymn only occurring in around 200 hymnals, this one sure has a lot of variations. I couldn't find a single one that aligned with this hymnal. There are also a bunch more verses:

2 To hail Thee, Sun of Righteousness,
   The gath'ring nations come;
   They joy as when the reapers bear
   Their harvest treasures home.

3 For Thou their burden dost remove
   And break the tyrant's rod
   As in the day when Midian fell
   Before the sword of God.

7 Lord Jesus, reign in us, we pray,
   And make us Thine alone,
   Who with the Father ever art
   And Holy Spirit, one.

</idle musing>

Watchman, Tell Us of the Night

358 Watchman, Tell Us of the Night

1 Watchman, tell us of the night,
   what its signs of promise are.
   Traveler, what a wondrous sight:
   see that glory-beaming star.
   Watchman, does its beauteous ray
   news of joy or hope foretell?
   Traveler, yes; it brings the day,
   promised day of Israel.

2 Watchman, tell us of the night;
   higher yet that star ascends.
   Traveler, blessedness and light,
   peace and truth its course portends.
   Watchman, will its beams alone
   gild the spot that gave them birth?
   Traveler, ages are its own;
   see, it bursts o’er all the earth.

3 Watchman, tell us of the night,
   for the morning seems to dawn.
   Traveler, shadows take their flight;
   doubt and terror are withdrawn.
   Watchman, you may go your way;
   hasten to your quiet home.
   Traveler, we rejoice today,
   for Emmanuel has come!
                         John Bowring
                         The Methodist Hymnal, 1964 edition

<idle musing>
Another Advent hymn, this one occurs in more than 850 hymnals. It's a pity that Advent hymns have been overwhelmed by Christmas carols and songs. There's something special about the lead-up to Christmas that we've lost.

Just an
</idle musing>

Of the Father's Love Begotten

357 Of the Father's Love Begotten

1. Of the Father's love begotten,
   Ere the worlds began to be,
   He is Alpha and Omega,
   He the source, the ending He.
   Of the things that are, that have been,
   And that future years shall see,
   Evermore and evermore!

2. O ye heights of heaven adore Him;
   Angel hosts, His praises sing;
   Powers, dominions, bow before Him,
   And extol our God and King;
   Let no tongue on earth be silent,
   Every voice in concert ring,
   Evermore and evermore!

3. Christ, to Thee with God the Father,
   And, O Holy Ghost, to Thee,
   Hymn and chant and high thanksgiving
   And unwearied praises be:
   Honor, glory, and dominion,
   And eternal victory,
   Evermore and evermore!
                         Aurelius Clemens Prudentius (348–c. 413)
                         Trans. by John M. Neale
                         and Henry W. Baker
                         The Methodist Hymnal, 1964 edition

<idle musing>
An old hymn, and as expected there are quite a few additional verses:

2. At His Word the worlds were framed; He commanded; it was done:
   Heaven and earth and depths of ocean in their threefold order one;
   All that grows beneath the shining
   Of the moon and burning sun, evermore and evermore!

3. He is found in human fashion, death and sorrow here to know,
   That the race of Adam’s children doomed by law to endless woe,
   May not henceforth die and perish
   In the dreadful gulf below, evermore and evermore!

4. O that birth forever blessed, when the virgin, full of grace,
   By the Holy Ghost conceiving, bare the Savior of our race;
   And the Babe, the world’s Redeemer,
   First revealed His sacred face, evermore and evermore!

5. This is He whom seers in old time chanted of with one accord;
   Whom the voices of the prophets promised in their faithful word;
   Now He shines, the long expected,
   Let creation praise its Lord, evermore and evermore!

7. Righteous judge of souls departed, righteous King of them that live,
   On the Father’s throne exalted none in might with Thee may strive;
   Who at last in vengeance coming
   Sinners from Thy face shalt drive, evermore and evermore!

8. Thee let old men, thee let young men, thee let boys in chorus sing;
   Matrons, virgins, little maidens, with glad voices answering:
   Let their guileless songs re-echo,
   And the heart its music bring, evermore and evermore!

</idle musing>

The King Shall Come

353 The King Shall Come

1 The King shall come when morning dawns
   and light triumphant breaks,
   when beauty gilds the eastern hills
   and life to joy awakes.

2 Not as of old a little child,
   to bear, and fight, and die,
   but crowned with glory like the sun
   that lights the morning sky.

3 O brighter than the rising morn
   when He, victorious, rose
   and left the lonesome place of death,
   despite the rage of foes.

4 O brighter than that glorious morn
   shall this fair morning be,
   when Christ, our King, in beauty comes,
   and we His face shall see.

5 The King shall come when morning dawns
   and earth's dark night is past;
   O haste the rising of that morn,
   the day that aye shall last.
                         Anonymous Greek
                         Trans. by John Brownlie
                         The Methodist Hymnal, 1964 edition

<idle musing>
Not a very popular hymn; it only occurs in about 95 hymnals. I don't recall ever singing it. The translator translated and wrote quite a few other hymns, none of which has more than a few occurrences. Hymnary.org adds two verses:

6 And let the endless bliss begin,
   by weary saints foretold,
   when right shall triumph over wrong,
   and truth shall be extolled.

7 The King shall come when morning dawns,
   and light and beauty brings;
   "Hail, Christ the Lord!" Thy people pray,
   come quickly, King of kings!

</idle musing>

An Advent hymn

118 C. M.
Design and object of His advent.

HARK, the glad sound! the Saviour comes,——
   The Saviour, promised long;
   Let every heart prepare a throne,
   And every voice a song.

2 He comes, the pris’ner to release.
   In Satan’s bondage held;
   The gates of brass before him burst,
   The iron fetters yield.

3 He comes, from thickest films of vice
   To clear the mental ray,
   And on the eyes oppress’d with night
   To pour celestial day.

4 He comes, the broken heart to bind,
   The wounded soul to cure,
   And, with the treasures of his grace,
   To’ enrich the humble poor.

5 Our glad hosannas, Prince of peace,
   Thy welcome shall proclaim,
   And heaven’s eternal arches ring
   With thy beloved name.
                    by Philip Doddridge
                    from the 1870 Hymns for the Methodist Episcopal Church

Advent

Advent Sunday! Christmas has pretty much taken over the Advent season; it used to be a preparation time for the coming of the "Long-Expected Jesus." Now, it's rare to hear an advent song; you mostly hear Christmas carols. Don't get me wrong; I love Christmas carols! But I would love to hear more Advent songs. Here's one that is probably the best known: O Come, O Come, Immanuel (various spellings of Immanuel; I prefer Emanuel myself). I didn't know the back story on this until I read about it on The Anxious Bench the other day. Fascinating! Anyway, here's the hymn, and please, do yourself a favor and look through a hymnal at some of the other Advent hymns an reacquaint yourself with the build up to the arrival of Messiah!

1 O come, O come, Immanuel,
   and ransom captive Israel
   that mourns in lonely exile here
   until the Son of God appear.

Refrain:
Rejoice! Rejoice! Immanuel
shall come to you, O Israel.

2 O come, O Wisdom from on high,
   who ordered all things mightily;
   to us the path of knowledge show
   and teach us in its ways to go. Refrain

3 O come, O come, great Lord of might,
   who to your tribes on Sinai's height
   in ancient times did give the law
   in cloud and majesty and awe. Refrain

4 O come, O Branch of Jesse's stem,
   unto your own and rescue them!
   From depths of hell your people save,
   and give them victory o'er the grave. Refrain

5 O come, O Key of David, come
   and open wide our heavenly home.
   Make safe for us the heavenward road
   and bar the way to death's abode. Refrain

6 O come, O Bright and Morning Star,
   and bring us comfort from afar!
   Dispel the shadows of the night
   and turn our darkness into light. Refrain

7 O come, O King of nations, bind
   in one the hearts of all mankind.
   Bid all our sad divisions cease
   and be yourself our King of Peace. Refrain

Waiting for lightning

There was a song way back in the day by Stephen Curtis Chapman (remember him?) entitled "Waiting for Lightning." The refrain goes in part:

Waiting for lightning
A sign that it's time for a change
You're listening for thunder
While He quietly whispers your name

Advent is somewhat like that and Brian Zahnd catches that nicely. Here's a good snippet, but read the whole thing (just ignore the misrepresentation of the Magi):

We have been seduced by an idolatry that deceives us into thinking that God is mostly found in the big and loud, when in fact, God is almost never found in the big and loud. The ways of God are predominantly small and quiet. The ways of God are about as loud as seed falling on the ground or bread rising in an oven. The ways of God are almost never found in the shouts of the crowd; the ways of God are more often found in trickling tears and whispered prayers. We want God to do a big thing, while God is planning to do a small thing. We are impressed by the big and loud. God is not. We are in a hurry. God is not. We want God to act fast, but Godspeed is almost always slow.

So we are waiting for God to act, but I would suggest that we are not so much waiting for God to act as we are waiting to become contemplative enough to discern what God is doing. God is always acting, because God is always loving his creation. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are always inviting us into their house of love. But when we are consumed by anger, harried by anxiety, and driven by impatience, we are blind and deaf to what God is actually doing in the present moment.

<idle musing>
Ain't it the truth! And busyness is a form of idolatry. We need to learn to rest in God. Mind you, this is a hyperactive, always doing something—or more likely multiple things!—person speaking here. But we need to learn to relax and listen. God is at work; God is alive and active in the world, and in my life and yours. Learn to hear him and respond in love.

Just an
</idle musing>