SCRIP-BITS

Luke 2:14.      Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

My dear friends, it’s another Sunday in the life; albeit, a dark and rainy one! (smile) In fact, this is the penultimate Sunday before the big day of Christmas. Next weekend will indeed be a big one; Christmas Eve is on Sunday, then we go straight into Christmas Day on Monday, then Boxing day on Tuesday! Wow! 

That means, many of us won’t be working from Friday until Tuesday. That will truly be what we term a long weekend, as well as a spectacular one! And as we move merrily into the Advent and Christmas Seasons, we sing some special songs, that recreate some aspect of Christ’s birth, and today we’ll open our fellowship gathering with this golden oldie titled ‘O Come All Ye Faithful,’ an adaptation of a Latin hymn Adeste Fidelis, meaning “come you faithful ones.” 

The exact origins of the original hymn are not known, and several authors have been credited for it, but in modern English hymnals, the text is usually credited to John Francis Wade, whose name appears on the earliest printed versions. Apparently, Wade, an English Catholic, lived in exile in France and made a living as a copyist of musical manuscripts which he found in libraries and often signed his copies. In 1751 he published a printed compilation of his manuscript copies, including Adeste Fidelis. This is the first printed source for Adeste Fidelis. However, down through the years, there have been several additions and subtractions from the original, as people took poetic license with it. (smile) 

Today though, we’re going to sing what we believe are the four original verses. But before we sing it, listen to the words of this interesting commentary on the hymn. ‘This popular Christmas Hymn harkens to the biblical story of the birth of Christ. It is considered a reference to the shepherds, after hearing the angels singing, coming to Bethlehem to adore their new-born Saviour. Today this hymn signifies and celebrates our coming together in worship to adore the LOVING blessing of Jesus, as He sacrificed himself for our salvation.’ 

And that’s exactly what we’re doing today; coming together to worship and adore Jesus who sacrificed His sinless body and soul for our salvation. So, in full voice, with joyful and sincere hearts and souls, let’s offer up our sacrifices of praise to high heaven. Singing: ‘O come, all ye faithful, Joyful and triumphant, O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem. Come and behold Him, Born the King of Angels! (Chorus: O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.) God of God, light of light, Lo, he abhors not the Virgin’s womb; True God, begotten, not created: (Chorus) 

O Sing, choirs of angels; sing in exultation O sing, all ye citizens of heav’n above. Give to our Father, Glory in the highest! (Chorus) Yea, Lord, we greet Thee, Born this happy morning; Jesus, to Thee be the glory giv’n; Word of the Father, Now in the flesh appearing, O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.’ 

And we most certainly ought to do that because He gave us the best present ever; the gift of salvation through His selfless sacrifice! In this evil and ungodly world, there’s no greater gift that can be given. And, like all other gifts, we have to accept it, but unfortunately many of us unwisely choose to refuse it, and for that will suffer serious consequences at a later time. But we’re not here to day to chasten the unbeliever but to celebrate the birth of our wonderful Saviour. So, let’s read the scriptures that the song so beautifully describes. 

Luke writes in his gospel: ‘And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them (stood before them), and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore (greatly) afraid). And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes (cloths), lying in a manger (feed trough). And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.’ (Luke 2:8-14) 

Oh friends, what a scary experience to have in the middle of the night out in the fields trying to keep your flocks safe, when, instead of earthly predators, heavenly angels suddenly appear and begin singing up a storm about this newborn baby – a Saviour Christ the Lord! But are we ever happy that those angels came to earth and announced the birth of Christ, because it was one of the most momentous days in the annals of man. And the scriptures continue the story thus: ‘And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even into Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. 

And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered (marvelled) at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.’ Luke 2:15-20) 

Oh my fellow believers, that’s exactly what we’re doing right now; praising and glorifying our great and wonderful God for the awesome Christmas present He gave to us some two thousand years ago. A present which has so drastically and dramatically changed the world, that it’s never been the same since, and will never be the same again! So, as we prepare for the big weekend next week, let’s not forget the awesome and magnificent reason for the Christmas Season, the birth of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour. 

And it’s only fitting that we go home with these uplifting words from this commentary. It says: ‘The encouragement to “come, all ye faithful, . . . to Bethlehem” situates the singer both among the shepherds who rushed to see Christ and in the great continuation of the “faithful” that have travelled to Bethlehem in a spiritual nature for over 2,000 years. Although today, we cannot actually witness Jesus in the manger, we can come to Bethlehem in a symbolic sense. We can be there in our imaginations as we allow the Christmas story to hearten our spirits.’ 

Yes friends, please, let’s allow the Christmas story to comfort and reassure us of God’s goodness, grace, mercy and His undying LOVE for us, His most important and cherished creation! Much LOVE!

…O come all ye faithful…joyful and triumphant…with glad tidings… 

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