MissionLawrence.org – Saint Andrew's Church

Advent: When Israel's Sins Lead Them To Captivity - The Messiah Must Come To Rescue!

Advent is a season of transition. We begin these 4 Lord’s Days before Christmas by remembering our Lord’s Second Coming or Advent when He comes to judge the living and the dead (Acts 17:30-31) and we read about the foretaste of that judgement in the Destruction of Jerusalem (Mark 13:1-27).

This time of considering Christ’s coming at the end of the Age follows naturally as the end of the previous year after reflecting on Jesus’ death, burial , resurrection, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit – and what these gifts mean for our lives.

The last two Lord’s Days of Advent turn our attention to our Lord’s First coming or advent. The sins of God’s ancient people which sent them into exile and Babylonian captivity (see Deuteronomy 28) finally brought judgement and the Old covenant to an end in AD 70 are the reason our Lord Himself must come to save us. The sins of mankind cannot be healed and the barrier between God and man cannot be overcome simply by sinful people receiving the Word of God as they did in the Old Testament (Romans 8:3-4).

Our Lord Himself must come! He comes in great humility and mercy in these days of salvation until the day when all His people are gathered in and His judgment is revealed in full (Phil 2: 5-11; 2 Peter 3:9)!

If you’ve ever cried yourself to sleep at night because of the brokenness and tragedy of your life… if your addictions and problems have you locked in chains you cannot break…If you see no way out… you know the sadness behind the hymn “O Come, O Come Emmanuel!”

Advent is when we are reminded that the saving Lord who stepped into History to save will do just that! Just as He stepped into History that first Christmas, He will come through His Word and Holy Spirit to deliver you, if you will call out to Him (see John 3:16)!

O come, O come, Emmanuel

Words: John M. Neale
Metre: L.M. with refrain

O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.

Refrain

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

O come, Thou Wisdom from on high,
Who orderest all things mightily;
To us the path of knowledge show,
And teach us in her ways to go.

Refrain

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan’s tyranny;
From depths of hell Thy people save,
And give them victory over the grave.

Refrain

O come, Thou Day-spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.

Refrain

O come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.

Refrain

O come, O come, great Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes on Sinai’s height
In ancient times once gave the law
In cloud and majesty and awe.

Refrain

O come, Thou Root of Jesse’s tree,
An ensign of Thy people be;
Before Thee rulers silent fall;
All peoples on Thy mercy call.

Refrain

O come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Bid Thou our sad divisions cease,
And be Thyself our King of Peace.

Refrain