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Christmas Song #7: But – Look!

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Even those unfamiliar with the Authorized Version (King James) of the Bible might know this archaic word. After all, even today many people know the story of the angels and shepherds in Old English:

Look! Behold! Lo!

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

Luke 2:8-9 (AV)

Lo! Another translation of the word has carried over into some modern translations, because it’s hard to find a more contemporary word that is as accurate – Behold!

“Lo!” may actually be a short form of “look!”. The idea is just that – “Look!” “Pay attention to this!” “Unbelievable, but true…”

The word appears often in the Christmas story. Here’s just a sample:

  • “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.” (Luke 1:31)
  • “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.” (Matthew 1:23)
  • “But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people…'” (Luke 2:10)
  • “Now after hearing the king, they went their way; and behold, the star, which they had seen in the east, was going on before them until it came and stood over the place where the Child was.” (Matthew 2:9)

But the word also appears at the end of the story. When the resurrection happens, of course. But before that, when Jesus is talking about the cross. The fact that He, the Lord, would be betrayed and bound and crucified was in many ways “unbelievable but true”.

And He came the third time, and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? It is enough; the hour has come; behold, the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners…”

Mark 14:41

Hanby has been writing about the humility of the Saviour, the compassion of the Saviour. But – wait! Look! Sorrow, and pain – so undeserved.

Lo! at mid­night, who is He
Prays in dark Geth­se­ma­ne?
Who is He on yon­der tree
Dies in grief and ago­ny?

The first shock of the song was that Jesus was born in humble circumstances. The second shock is that He dies in grief.

Often in New Testament Greek the cross is referred to as the “tree”. Some English translations make this clear, but others do not. A tree was a place of testing in the Garden of Eden. The Tree of Life was taken away because of the curse. (Genesis 3) The tree became a place of curse (Deuteronomy 21:22-23). Jesus became a curse for us on a tree (Galatians 3:13). Because of His death on a tree, the Tree of Life is restored to us (Revelation 2:7).

Now the tree represents new life for us. But most did not understand at the time, when Jesus was hung up on the “tree”, that this was the great “Lo!” of history – the moment that all must look to – the cursing that brought blessing. The grief that brought eternal joy (Hebrews 12:2).

And His obedience in His death leads to eternal worship.

Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing.

Revelation 5:12

“At His feet we hum­bly fall!”

Retro: Community Centre and Belgium Cookies

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10 years ago today I had the privilege of sharing the gospel at our community centre closing program for the semester. The main theme was the message of the angels to the shepherds, but I started out talking about some Mexican and Canadian Christmas traditions. And, a big family tradition – belgium cookies!

Belgium Cookies and a message at the community centre!

Haven’t Seen Our November Newsletter?

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Well, most of you probably know why you haven’t seen our November newsletter yet. It’s because Canada Post has been on strike for almost four weeks now!

If you normally get our newsletter, I tried sending you a note today – if you didn’t even get my email, that means we don’t have your current email address. So please drop us a line with your current one!

Now that that business is out of the way, you can read our newsletter online right here.

As I mention in the letter, we have a new project to raise funds for a place for our church to meet. As of this afternoon, we have the project all set up with Avant (our mission). Go to the normal donation page for your country, and you’ll find specific instructions about how to give to projects, as well as to our general ministry fund.

Thanks so much for your support! Here’s a picture of a Sunday morning, meeting under the tarps. We’re pretty packed in – a good problem to have, but still a problem! 🙂

Sunday morning under the tarps

Christmas Song #7: Tears and Triumph

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When Who is He in Yonder Stall? was first published, every verse was a couplet of its own, making 10 verses, almost all starting with “Who is He”. 90 years later, in 1956, in the Worship and Service Hymnal, Donald Hustad combined two couplets for each stanza, giving the song the form it has today.

My Dad found the song rather repetitive, and gave this suggestion for congregational singing:

To relieve the monotony, you might try having part of the congregation sing one line of a stanza, and another part of the congregation respond with the other. Then all could join in singing the chorus. It would also work to have two soloists sing the stanzas, and the congregation answer with the refrain.

Robert Cottrill

This change in the form of the song is worth remembering, because the two couplets are not necessarily meant to come as a pair. Nevertheless, here’s the next section that we’re looking at –

Who is He that stands and weeps
At the grave where La­za­rus sleeps?
Who is He the ga­ther­ing throng
Greet with loud tri­um­phant song?

The resurrection of Lazarus was, of course, one reason for the crowds that came to see Jesus at His triumphal entry into Jerusalem. People had come to Lazarus’ home out of curiosity (in Bethany – John 12:9) and continued to talk about the event in Jerusalem (John 12:17).

Jesus’ compassion is on display again at the tomb of Lazarus, both in His tears and in His power to bring life. The story has been a comfort to believers ever since, because it’s a sign pointing to the future resurrection of all believers.

Last time we talked about Hanby’s famous song Darling Nelly Gray. Nelly was a real person.

Benjamin Hanby’s father was involved in the Underground Railroad, a network aiming to secretly get slaves to freedom in Canada. One former slave passed through the Hanby household – a man named Joseph Selby. Selby told the story of his lost love (Nelly), and his desire to go to Canada to earn enough to buy her freedom.

Nelly Gray - George Brenneman
1892 edition of Nelly Gray, illustrated by George Brenneman

Benjamin’s father went into action to try to raise money for Selby. But, sadly, the escaping slave soon died of pneumonia, without ever seeing his love again. Nelly’s fate is unknown.

In this song, the resurrection of Lazarus is not mentioned – just Jesus’ tears. The real triumph of Christ comes later in the song. But in this verse – and in many ways still today – Jesus is as often misunderstood as He is praised.

And yet, Jesus is present in the suffering. The King is there by the grave. And we wait for a better day.

The slave in Hanby’s song looks forward to something better too:

Oh! my darling Nelly Gray, up in heaven there they say,
That they’ll never take you from me any more,
I’m a-coming — coming — coming, as the angels clear the way
Farewell to the old Kentucky shore.

Whatever the current circumstance, however long we must wait for perfect justice and peace, Jesus’ identity is the same, as the chorus always reminds us. There is no doubt that the better day is coming, because of who Jesus is.

’Tis the Lord! O won­drous sto­ry!
’Tis the Lord! the King of glo­ry!
At His feet we hum­bly fall,
Crown Him! crown Him, Lord of all!

Christmas Song #7: Lord of Compassion

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Benjamin Russell Hanby’s 1866 song starts with a Baby in a stall. But we watch as the Baby becomes a Man. What kind of a Man is He?

Who is He the peo­ple bless
For His words of gen­tle­ness?
Who is He to whom they bring
All the sick and sor­row­ing?

broken shackles

I don’t know what Hanby had in mind when he wrote about Jesus’ “words of gentleness”. In the Bible, the word gentleness is related to Jesus’ humility. He is long-suffering and patient with our faults and sins.

Gentleness is, of course, part of the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22). Jesus described Himself as gentle or meek in Matthew 11:29 –

Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Matthew 11:28-29

The people knew that Jesus was compassionate – which is one reason why they brought the sick to Him. We read in Matthew 14:14, “And when He went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and felt compassion for them and healed their sick.”

Early in Jesus’ life, he was teaching in a synagogue. The people called His teaching “gracious”. Maybe this is the story Hanby had in mind. Jesus had just read from the Isaiah scroll:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor.
He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives,
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set free those who are oppressed,
To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.”

Luke 4:18-19

Jesus then started to teach: “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luke 4:21)

Jesus Himself came to bring freedom.

It’s interesting to note here the other song that Hanby is famous for. Not a Christmas song, not a religious song, but a ballad entitled Darling Nelly Gray.

The song is written from the point of view of a man longing for his darling, who has been “taken away”. As the song goes on, you discover what has actually happened:

I went to see her, but “she’s gone!” the neighbors say
The white man bound her with his chain;
They have taken her to Georgia for to wear her life away,
As she toils in the cotton and the cane.

It was a love ballad that was also an anti-slavery song. Hanby looked to the freedom promised in Christ, and saw the evils in his own time, and wanted to do something about it. His father, a pastor, also wanted to see an end to slavery in the United States.

Darling Nelly Gray was written ten years before Who Is He in Yonder Stall?. We can look to Christ and His teaching as the answer to the oppression in this world.

But there is more to the story, because Nelly was a real person. We’ll learn more about her in a future post.

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