Deus Misereatur

Below are the links to all five installments for this Advent series. V. 1:  “ O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel, that mourns in lonely exile here, until the Son of God appear. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel .” V. 2:  “ O come, O come, thou Lord of might, who to thy tribes, on Sinai's height, in ancient times didst give the law, in cloud and majesty and awe. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel .” V. 3:  “ O come, thou Rod of Jesse, free / Thine own from Satan's tyranny; From depths of hell thy people save, And give them victory o'er the grave. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel .” V. 4:  “ O come, thou Dayspring from on high And cheer us by thy drawing nigh; Disperse the gloomy clouds of night, And death's dark shadows put to flight. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel .” V. 5:  “ O come, thou Key of David, come And open wide our heav'nly home; Mak...

(The audio file is here ) O Come, O Come, Emmanuel Pt 5 Isaiah 35.1-10 (Revelation 3.7-13) O LORD, raise up your power, we pray, and come among us, and with great might aid us; that whereas, through our own sins and wickedness we are sorely impeded and hindered in running the race that is set before us, may your bountiful grace and mercy speedily help and deliver us; through the satisfaction of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. There are at least two dangerous directions people take when looking at a passage like Isaiah 35. First, there are those who see these promises and think, “Aha! Utopia! We can advance the kingdom of God and bring heaven on earth!” Most Utopian movements—Whether Marxist-Leninism, social justice advocacy, or Christian America-ism—have this sense behind them. But history has taught us (and God through history) that every attempt at Utopia only ends in Dystopia and desolation! Second, there are those who go to the other direction and say, “Wel...

(If you would like to listen to the sermon you can go here ) O Come, O Come, Emmanuel Pt 4 Isaiah 8.11-9.7 (Luke 1.67-80) O LORD Jesus Christ, who at your first coming did send your messenger to prepare your way before you; Grant that the ministers and stewards of your mysteries may likewise so prepare and make ready your way, by turning the hearts of the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, that at your second coming to judge the world we may be found an acceptable people in your sight. Amen. There’s a proverbial phrase we sometimes use: “ The darkest hour is just before dawn ”. It was made popular by the Mamas and the Papas in the 1960s and Emmylou Harris in 1980. It’s been around since a preacher used it in the 16 th century. It found its way into Irish ballads, and is the idea behind the title of the Winston Churchill biographical movie.   Something like that phrase, “ The darkest hour is just before dawn, ” is being played out here in Isaiah 8.11-9.7, which ...

(If you would rather listen to the sermon you can go here ) O Come, O Come, Emmanuel Pt 3 Isaiah 11.1-10 (Luke 1.30-55) BLESSED Lord, who has caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning; Grant that we may in such wise hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that by patience and comfort of your holy Word, we may embrace, and ever hold fast, the blessed hope of everlasting life, which you hast given us in our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen. Joshua Wehe’s Eagle Project tree… Today we come at the major Scripture behind the 3 rd verse of “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel”: “ O come, thou Rod of Jesse, free / Thine own from Satan's tyranny; From depths of hell thy people save, And give them victory o'er the grave. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel .” As we sing this verse we can clearly see how it bleeds Bible and glistens Gospel! The main passage driving this verse is Isaiah 11.1-10, where we hear of the Spirit of Christ, the ...

(If you would rather listen to the sermon, go here ) O Come, O Come, Emmanuel Pt 2 Isaiah 2.1-5 (Jude 1-5) ALMIGHTY God, give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness, and put upon us the armour of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the quick and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. We heard last week how “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” (TH 194) was an 8 th century composition. This reminds us that every time we sing it we are adding our voices to millions who have sung these words for over a millennia and a half. We also learned that a different verse was sung each night from 16-23 December, and so, appropriately, we’re going to approach this Advent carol one verse per Sunday. Today we tangle with the ...

[If you would like to listen to the sermon, you can go here ] O Come, O Come, Emmanuel Pt 1 Isaiah 7.10-17 (Matthew 1.18-25) O dear desire of every nation, joy of every longing heart: come and set thy people free, from our fears and sins release us, let us find our rest in thee! And as we meditate on the ancient Carol, Veni Emmanuel, fill our hearts and joys with your very self. Amen. “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” is a beautiful carol, sung by hordes of people every year. It’s ancient, we know for certain that the stanzas are at least an 8 th century in composition (though there are hints it might be even older), and has long centuries behind it. Originally it had seven verses all beginning with “O” and was called the “O Antiphons”. A portion was sung each night from 16-23 December, one line each night. Then somewhere around the 11 th or 12 th century, the lines were coddled together into a kind of hymn. The tune we sing these words with surfaced in a breviary for nuns ...