WEDNESDAY December 18th
The Redemption Hymnal has a hymn in the section called ‘His Incarnation’ which is found in the ‘His Character and Tiles’ section in Making Melody. I don’t have access to a collection of Carols as I prepare this devotion to see if it is included, but it is a hymn that is rich in theology concerning the incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ and it is this and evidently based upon John chapter 1 ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God . . . And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father.’
Thou art the Everlasting Word,
The Father’s only Son;
God, manifestly seen and heard,
And heaven’s beloved One.
In Thee, most perfectly expressed,
The Father’s glories shine;
Of the full deity possessed;
Eternally divine.
But the high myst’ries of Thy name
An angel’s grasp transcend:
The Father’s only—glorious claim—
The Son can comprehend.
Yet, loving Thee, on whom His love
Ineffable doth rest,
Thy glorious worshippers above,
As one with Thee are blest.
Worthy, O Lamb of God art Thou,
That every knee to Thee should bow.
The chorus of this powerful hymn leads us to a place of worship, where in our seeing who Jesus really is, we cry out ‘Worthy, O Lamb of God art thou’ and we willingly, now, in the present, bow the knee before him.
In the nativity, those who saw the baby Jesus or the boy child Jesus came to a place of worship! Even before he had gone to Calvary and died for them, and it is because they saw him not just as a child but as the Christ, as the One born to be the Saviour of the world.
Luke tells us concerning the shepherds that after seeing the Word who had become flesh, they returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen’ and why? Because it was as it had been told them. Matthew tells us that when the wise men saw him, they fell down and worshiped him.
Well, we will enjoy so many different aspects of the Christmas celebrations but let us make sure that we place priority to the place of worship. In the words of a couple of other carols, ‘O come let us adore him’ and ‘Come and worship Christ, the newborn King’ for, ‘Worthy, O Lamb of God art Thou, That every knee to Thee should bow.’