Justin Taylor's Blog, page 176

Gather ‘Round, Ye Children, Come

Andrew Peterson, from Behold the Lamb of God:

It Was Not a Silent Night

Jill Phillips, “Labor of Love”:

So Long, Moses

Andrew Peterson, from Behold the Lamb of God:

God Became Man: Do You Believe This?

Infinite and yet an infant.

Eternal and yet born of a woman.

Almighty, and yet nursing at a woman’s breast.

Supporting a universe, and yet needing to be carried in a mother’s arms.

Heir of all things, and yet the carpenter’s despised son.

—Charles Haddon Spurgeon

That man should be made in God’s image is a wonder,

but that God should be made in man’s image is a greater wonder.

That the Ancient of Days would be born.

That He who thunders in the heavens should cry in the cradle?

—Thomas Watson

Man’s Maker was made man

that the Bread might be hungry,

the Fountain thirst,

the Light sleep,

the Way be tired from the journey;

that Strength might be made weak,

that Life might die.

—Augustine

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us,

and we have seen his glory,

glory as of the only Son from the Father,

full of grace and truth.”

(John 1:14)

Advent: God with Us

Isaac Wimberely of the Village Church on “Advent: God with Us.”

Odd Thomas on the Incarnation

A spoken word from Odd Thomas:

New Free Class on Romans with Douglas Moo

Thanks to the great site BiblicalTraining.org, you can now register to watch and/or listen to 40+ lectures by Douglas Moo on the book of Romans.

The Joy and Gravity of Adoption

Your past does not define you. Nothing you can buy will ever give you satisfaction. Lots of wisdom here:

HT: Challies and Z

Have You Thanked God Today for Moe Bergeron?

This is moving for me, since I have been benefiting from the Desiring God website since its beginning in the mid 90s. But there is also a lesson here about the way God loves to work to make things like this happen.

The Original “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day”

The Casting Crowns version:

The lyrics originate from the poem “Christmas Bells” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, written on Christmas day in 1863. But the original was not a feel-good song but one born in grief. Longfellow’s wife had died in a fire in 1860. And on December 1, 1863, the widower received the news that his eldest son, 19-year-old Charley, had been nearly paralyzed by a gunshot wound fighting for the Union in the Civil War. It was with that background that he penned this poem about the dissonance between the Christmas bells, the singing of “peace on earth,” and the world around him of injustice and violence—ending with the hope for eschatological peace.

I heard the bells on Christmas Day

Their old, familiar carols play,

and wild and sweet
The words repeat

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And thought how, as the day had come,

The belfries of all Christendom

Had rolled along
The unbroken song

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Till ringing, singing on its way,

The world revolved from night to day,

A voice, a chime,
A chant sublime

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Then from each black, accursed mouth

The cannon thundered in the South,

And with the sound
The carols drowned

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

It was as if an earthquake rent

The hearth-stones of a continent,

And made forlorn
The households born

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And in despair I bowed my head;

“There is no peace on earth,” I said;

“For hate is strong,
And mocks the song

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!”

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:

“God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;

The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,

With peace on the earth, good-will to men.”