A CHRISTMAS PRAYER

O Source of all good,
What shall I render to you for the gift of gifts,
your own dear Son?

Herein is wonder of wonders:
he came below to raise me above,
was born like me that I might become like him.

Herein is love;
when I cannot rise to him
he draws near on wings of grace,
o raise me to himself.

Herein is power;
when Deity and humanity were infinitely apart,
he united them in indissoluble unity,
the uncreate and the created.

Herein is wisdom;
when I was undone, with no will to return to him,
and no intellect to devise recovery,
he came, God-incarnate, to save me to the uttermost,
as man to die my death,
to shed satisfying blood on my behalf,
to work out a perfect righteousness for me!

O God, take me in spirit to the watchful shepherd,
and enlarge my mind!

Let me hear good tidings of great joy,
and hearing, believe, rejoice, praise, adore,
my conscience bathed in an ocean of repose,
my eyes uplifted to a reconciled Father!

Place me with ox, donkey, camel, goat,
to look with them upon my Redeemer's face,
and in him account myself delivered from sin!

Let me with Simeon clasp the newborn child to my heart,
embrace him with undying faith,
exulting that he is mine and I am his!

In him you have given me so much that heaven can give no more.

—from Valley of Vision

OUR LONG-AWAITED KING

“Behold, the days are coming,” declares Yahweh,
“When I will raise up for David a righteous Branch;
And He will reign as king and prosper
And do justice and righteousness in the land.
— Jeremiah 23:5

How should God’s people respond to the wickedness of their leaders?  Should they collapse in a heap owing to dejection and despair because “nothing seems to change”? Should they follow suit in glee, with an attitude of “if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em”? Or should they try and follow “a middle path” where attempts at righteous living mingle with convenient compromise because “nobody’s perfect”?

As we go through our study of 1 & 2 Kings, we come face to face with a society, not unlike ours, where leadership has all but abandoned its moral moorings. Objective truth has been co-opted by subjective experience and tradition (1 Ki 22:6). What once were vices are now celebrated as virtues; what once were virtues are regarded as vices (Isa 5:20).As a result, evildoers are feted (Mal 3:15) and justice is perverted (Hab 1:4).

Nevertheless, in the midst of this gloom, God’s Word brings hope. This is not a grassroots revolution caused by men that will change things from the bottom up. Instead, this is a top down effect caused by God’s sovereign intervention despite what men may think or do. He promises to send His Anointed One who will reinstate righteousness and peace so that justice will reign.

We can be sure that this will happen, because the Anointed One, Jesus Christ, has indeed come. This incarnation of God taking on human flesh is what we will celebrate at Christmas. Nevertheless, as we remember His first advent as the suffering Servant, let us look forward to His return as the King of kings to fully realise the prophecies about Him. May this hope of a glorious future motivate us to faithful perseverance in the present.

— Contributed by Peter Rufus

OUR LIVES AS A TRIBUTE

Ascribe to Yahweh the glory of His name;
Lift up an offering and come into His courts.
— Psalm 96:8

Throughout scripture we see numerous instances of highly valuable gifts being given by one person to another. Abraham and Melchizedek (Gen 14:20b). The Queen of Sheba and Solomon (1 Kings 10:2). Ben Hadad and Elisha (2 Kings 8:9). The Magi and Jesus (Matt 2:11b). We may be tempted to look upon this practice with the mild contempt usually reserved for quaint and antiquated traditions. Nevertheless, humanly speaking, there is a pattern here. And if not a pattern, then at least a principle: that to come bearing gifts is a sign of the giver’s respect for the recipient. That the worth of the gift communicates how highly the giver esteems them. This is what Ps 96:8 is telling us.

Baked into this principle is the idea of authority; specifically, the gift is the giver’s way of acknowledging that the recipient has authority over them.

What kind of tribute are we bringing before our King? This is not merely financial (though that is important); but it is a matter of our heart. True, money can buy expensive and lavish gifts; and yet no price can be put on a life that is wholly and solely devoted to the King of kings (Romans 12:1). What is our tribute saying about how much we esteem Him? May we determine to acknowledge His authority by giving Him the place of priority in our lives.

Praise, my soul, the King of heaven;
To His feet Thy tribute bring.
Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven,
Evermore His praises sing.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Praise the everlasting King!
— Henry Francis Lyte (1834)

— Contributed by Peter Rufus

ANSWERING THE ACCUSER

But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. — Romans 3:21

Understanding the Gospel is vital. So that we can preach it to ourselves when our conscience (or even Satan) accuses us. Not by minimising the reality of our sin. But by countering it with another great reality: the sacrificial atonement of Jesus Christ on our behalf.

In his book ‘The Discipline of Grace’, Jerry Bridges gives us 7 components of the Gospel (based on Romans 3:19-26) that we should all internalise:
• Nobody is declared righteous by observing the law (v19-21)
• The righteousness of God is apart from the law (v21)
• The righteousness from God is received through faith in Jesus Christ (v22)
• This righteousness is available to all because all have sinned (v22-23)
• All who put their faith in Christ are justified freely by God’s grace (v24)
• This justification is through the redemption of Christ (v24)
• God the Father is satisfied with the atonement made by His Son (v25)

This is how we silence the screams of our conscience. This is how we shut the mouth of the accuser. We counter the truth of our sin with the full and sufficient payment that was made for it at the cross. The Gospel brings us peace. May we ever cling to it.

When Satan tempts me to despair,
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look, and see Him there
Who made an end of all my sin.
Because the sinless Saviour died,
My sinful soul is counted free;
For God, the Just, is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me.
— Charity Lees Bancroft (1863)

— Contributed by Peter Rufus

PRAISE AND THANKSGIVING

Thou fairest, greatest, first of all objects,
my heart admires, adores, loves thee,
for my little vessel is as full as it can be,
and I would pour out all that fullness before thee
in ceaseless flow.
When I think upon and converse with thee
ten thousand delightful thoughts spring up,
ten thousand sources of pleasure are unsealed,
ten thousand refreshing joys spread over my heart,
crowding into every moment of happiness.
I bless thee for the soul thou hast created,
for adorning it, sanctifying it,
though it is fixed in barren soil;
for the body thou hast given me,
for preserving its strength and vigour,
for providing senses to enjoy delights,
for the ease and freedom of my limbs,
for hands, eyes, ears that do thy bidding;
for thy royal bounty providing my daily support,
for a full table and overflowing cup,
for appetite, taste, sweetness,
for social joys of relatives and friends,
for ability to serve others,
for a heart that feels sorrows and necessities,
for a mind to care for my fellow-men,
for opportunities of spreading happiness around,
for loved ones in the joys of heaven,
for my own expectation of seeing thee clearly.
I love thee above the powers of language to express,
for what thou art to thy creatures.

Increase my love, O my God, through time and eternity.

From: The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers