O Come Thou DaySpring - Emily Woodard




My New Testament professor introduced the study of the Gospels with this phrase from 2 Corinthians 4:6, “the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” It is a fitting description of what we have in those four books that narrate for us the life and ministry of Jesus who is God’s full and final revelation and “the radiance of His glory” (Heb. 1:1). In 2 Corinthians 4, Paul is writing about his ministry of proclaiming the gospel. He contrasts the work of the god of this world, who has blinded the minds of unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel, with that of God, who has caused light to shine in the hearts of believers so that they might see “the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”In doing so, Paul connects the action of God at creation, he "who said ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’” with his work in the new creation (2 Cor. 5:17) of the hearts of those who have been brought to faith, or to use Peter’s phrase, those who have been called “out of darkness [and] into… marvelous light” (1 Pet. 2:9). This is what was promised in the prophets (e.g. Isaiah 42:16), and what Jesus himself said he came to do: “I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness” (John 12:46).

​Isaiah looked forward to the day when those “who walked in darkness have seen a great light; and those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone” (Isaiah 9:2). Zechariah, too, anticipated the fulfillment of these words as hespoke of the salvation soon to be revealed (the way for which his son John would prepare), “the sunrise shall visit us from on highto give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace” (Luke 1:78-79). In addition to Isaiah, Zechariah may have been reflecting the words of Malachi who wrote of the rising of the sun of righteousness. I first encountered Malachi 4:2 in the lyrics of a song that was playing on the background of a slideshow from a mission trip: “But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall.” The song was folksy and memorable (“But for You Who Fear My Name” by The Welcome Wagon) but since I didn’t grow up around livestock, I was curious about the imagery of the verse. The internet came through wonderfully to satisfy my curiosity. If you, too, are somewhat agriculturally ignorant, please take a minute to search “young calves going out for spring” on YouTube (posted by The Funky Farmer). What a contrast the soft, green grass and open, spring air is from a musty, cramped stall in a barn. The delight that the young calves experience as they leap and bound about is palpable. And, that picture it is meant to tell us something of the joy and wonder that will accompany the day of the Lord for those who fear his name.

​Malachi’s “sun of righteousness” and Zechariah’s “sunrise” (or, “dayspring” in the King James) seem to serve as the background for a verse of the familiar Advent hymn, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.” 

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.

The arrival of Jesus changes everything, in the same way that the rising sun cuts through the darkness of night. “Hail redemption’s happy dawn… Christ is born in Bethlehem!” (from “See, amid the Winter’s Snow”). 

The New Testament’s usage of light doesn’t stop with the announcement of the arrival of the Sun/Son of Righteousness. If God has shone on our hearts with the knowledge of Christ and we have recognized Jesus as the light of the world, then we too are “light in the Lord… children of light” (Eph. 5:8). Believing in the light, we have become “sons of light” (John 12:36). Paul reminds the Colossians through his prayer for them, that we are to live in thankfulness to the Father, “who has qualified [us] to share in the inheritance of the saints in light” (Col. 1:12). In Philippians 2, he connects our doing things without grumbling or complaining to our shining as lights in the world (vv. 14-15). 1 Thessalonians 5 exhorts those who are “children of light, children of the day” to “keep awake and be sober…having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation” (vv. 5-8). 

In the midst of all the gloom and darkness around us in this world (and there is a lot) let us not forget that in Jesus, a light shines. The Sun of Righteousness rises with healing in his wings, and the God who spoke light at creation is still at work making new creations, calling children out of darkness and into his marvelous light. What a wonderful time of year to reflect in thankfulness upon our own journey from darkness to light and to remember our calling to live as children of the light. 

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

 

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Make Our Worship Spaces Presbyterian Again by Rev. Benjamin Glaser

Image
We’ve all heard the jokes about Presbyterian’s being anti-fun, the so-called frozen chosen. The seen, but not heard denomination. The post you are about to read is going to sound like it came from the official spokesman of the “Presbyterians against anything nice” coalition. Maybe it’s true, maybe I am the grumpiest Presbyterian alive, but my goal here today is not to get hits or cause trouble. Rabble rousers are boring people. Men who seek out controversy don’t have enough to do and they aren’t really seeking to win converts to their position. They just like to see the fight.  At the end of the day I’m really a harmless little fuzzball who just wants Presbyterians to be Presbyterians, Baptists to be Baptists, and Anglicans to be Anglicans. Good fences make good neighbors. If you know where the other person stands it makes it easier to know where you stand. The topic I’d like to get into today is about the meeting space. Some call it the “sanctuary”, others the “preaching hall”, ...
Read more

What Does the ARP Confess About the Civil Government? by Rev. Benjamin Glaser

Image
A common problem in our conservative Presbyterian circles is that some members of the PCA believe they not only invented American presbyterianism, but that they and the OPC are the only actual members of the party. One way their aloofness shows itself is through an unwillingness to recognize that not all of us descend from the 1729 Adopting Act nor gauge our history through Francis Makemie or the Philadelphia Assembly of 1789. When Makemie established the first presbytery in the American colonies in 1709 some of us were still in Scotland, both in and out of the revolution settlement CoS. Ebenezer Erskine was a spry twenty-nine years old and Alexander Moncrieff was fourteen. The years 1782 and 1803 are relevant to our history in ways the other dates are not. We are not overly concerned with what the mainliners were up to in those days. We’ve been blessedly free from that mess for two hundred twenty plus years. The reason why I bring that up is because the folks who think they hung the m...
Read more

Ralph Erskine and Mental Images by Rev. Benjamin Glaser

Image
  One of the most common exceptions taken in the ARP (and the PCA  et al ) by newly ordained men and those taking transfer exams in presbytery is without a doubt a certain clause in the explanation to Westminster Larger Catechism #109. This mainly concerns the prohibition against making mental images of the Godhead, especially the Second Person, in accordance with the catechism’s teaching on the Second Commandment. I will post the question below: Q. 109.  What sins are forbidden in the second commandment? A. The sins forbidden in the second commandment are, all devising, counseling, commanding, using, and any wise approving, any religious worship not instituted by God himself; the making any representation of God, of all or of any of the three persons, either inwardly in our mind, or outwardly in any kind of image or likeness of any creature whatsoever; all worshiping of it, or God in it or by it; the making of any representation of feigned deities, and all worship of the...
Read more