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43 Days – A Quick Look Back

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Volcanic ash (outside)

It’s been almost 43 days since we got home, and I haven’t been reporting much! So let me give you a bit of a summary of what’s been going on…

We’ve been settling back in, and cleaning up the volcanic ash inside and out that has accumulated (in spite of the fact that friends did some cleaning while we were gone – it builds up fast!). But also the van had to be verified (the day we returned), and we needed to make sure we had all the basics – gas for the house, water, food – it all took some time!

We’ve enjoyed some time with our church family. I had the privilege to preach on Christmas Eve. I finally got to join some others for a time of evangelism at a local hospital. We’ve also had some extra time to chat with everyone. Shari has been connecting with a couple of the women about Sunday School and women’s ministries. There’s a lot to catch up on! Lord willing I’ll be with some of the leaders on Saturday to talk about the upcoming months!

Oscar, Josué and Jim


A lady we knew who is the mother/grandmother of some of the people in our church passed away in December. Along with other church leaders, I had the opportunity to share the gospel at the funeral. Please pray for those who still don’t know the Lord.

Over the holidays we were able to spend quite a bit of time with one another and with family from various parts of the world! And some board games very likely were a part of the rest time. 🙂 We also enjoyed time with the Lord, reflecting on the miracle of His coming.

Speaking of games, we were able to get together with our Avant mission team as well. It was a good time to get updated on how to pray for one another. And we introduced the team to Flick ’em Up…

Playing Flick 'em Up in Puebla


Our coworkers Rod and Mayra are back for three weeks – you can get an update from Rod here.

At the first Sunday morning service of the year, our friend Oscar took a picture of us all (well, his camera took it – he’s in the photo!) – just click on it for a larger version:

Path of Life Bible Church Las Palmas January 2024


Well, there are just a few of the things that have been happening over the last 43 days! Thanks for your prayers!

A Look Back at 2023

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At the end of the year I like to take a look back via blog posts . . . so here was 2023, all in chronological order…

Part 1 – Services and Studies

Part 2 – Special Times and Events

Part 3 – From Canada

Christmas Song #6 – Index and Resources

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Thanks for joining me for a deep look at another Christmas carol! Here’s the complete index for Angels from the Realms of Glory:

Angels from the Realms of Glory

Selected Resources

Christmas Song #6: The Eternal One

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We started by singing about the creation of the world. The angels that marvelled at God’s creative work later call us to worship the Baby in the manger.

Angels from the Realms of Glory - Chorus


Finally, we saw the One through whom the world was made ruling the nations, unchallenged, in His Kingdom. Yet another reason to worship!

In 1986, Jack W. Hayford took the Christmas hymn and wrote new words – making it a Resurrection Sunday hymn (Worship Christ the Risen King):

Rise, O Church, and life your voices;
Christ has conquered death and hell.
Sing as all the earth rejoices;
Resurrection anthems swell.
Come and worship, come and worship;
Worship Christ the risen King!

Once we had a Christmas-Easter service at our church (something my Dad had done) halfway between the two dates – it would have been interesting to combine the two versions, or sing one at the beginning of the service and one at the end! Why not try it one Sunday in February?

But the final verse of Angels from the Realms of Glory, one not often sung, is pure praise:

All cre­ation, join in prais­ing
God, the Fa­ther, Spir­it, Son,
Evermore your voic­es rais­ing
To th’eter­nal Three in One.
Come and wor­ship, come and wor­ship,
Worship Christ, the new­born king.

Certainly a fitting ending to a song either about creation, incarnation, or resurrection!

The Baby in the manger was God incarnate, God the Son (Isaiah 9:6; Colossians 2:9). The Father sent Him (John 17:25), the Spirit brought Him into the world (Matthew 1:18), and He accomplished the salvation of His people as a man (Matthew 1:21). Three Persons, One God, bringing salvation to a lost world. A Triune act of love.

The missions-minded author, James Montgomery, gives us a carol that in fact leads us through the Great Commission to the fulfillment of all things in the eternal Kingdom.

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

Matthew 28:18-20

With all His disciples worldwide we wait for His return. And we do what the first disciples did, after they had watched Him ascend into Heaven: “While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him…“ (Luke 24:51 (emphasis mine)).

So as you sing or listen to this Christmas carol – may you do the same! Come and worship! Worship Christ, eternal King!

Christmas Song #6: Eyes of Faith

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My grandfather was an organist, and even composed a hymn tune himself (called “Garside” after his church). Our Christmas carol got its most famous tune from another organist, published 42 years after the words were written.

Leeds Town Hall organ, designed by Henry Smart
Leeds Town Hall Organ (courtesy Reinhold Behringer)

The man was Henry Thomas Smart, an organist from London. Not only an organist, Smart was a recognized expert on organs, designing several organs himself. (Incidentally, you can see one of the organs he designed in the Leeds Town Hall. It’s currently being restored, and you can even “adopt a pipe” if you want to help!) He was also a well-known composer, and like Thomas Cotterill he promoted the use of both Psalms and hymns by editing hymnals himself.

In 1864, at the age of 52, he went completely blind. But he continued his work, and it was three years later that he composed “Regent Square”, the best-known tune for Angels from the Realms of Glory.

Perhaps it’s appropriate that a blind man wrote the tune for a song that looks back to history and then forward in faith. The next verse of the carol puts it this way:

Though an infant now we view Him,
He shall fill His Fa­ther’s throne,
Gather all the na­tions to Him;
Every knee shall then bow down:
Come and wor­ship, come and wor­ship,
Worship Christ, the new­born king.

Looking back at the wonderful miracle of the incarnation of Christ, we must always keep in mind the future – as King of all people, He will one day be truly worshipped by all. Not only that, He will “gather all nations to Him”. Not only will some from all nations become believers, someday all nations will be directly under His rule, instead of the rebellion we see now (Psalm 2:1-3).

This should be a great comfort to us, as it was to those “coming out of the great tribulation” in Revelation 7:

…the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.

Revelation 7:17

Philippians echoes the promise of God from Isaiah 45:22-24, proclaiming that Jesus Himself is Yahweh, to whom all will bow…

Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Philippians 2:9-11

“Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth!” says Yahweh in Isaiah. “Come and worship!” repeats our Christmas carol. Join those from every tribe and language and people and nation who will recognize the One born in Bethlehem as the One who is worthy of all honour and praise (Revelation 5:9).

Check out organist Craig Williams playing this rendition of Angels from the Realms of Glory on a pipe organ in New York.

Christmas Song #6: Broken Chains

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Angels from the Realms of Glory links Old Testament promises with New Testament fulfillment, and even looks to the future.

Psalms and Hymns, Edited by Thomas Cotterill

This kind of explicit singing about Christ in the New Testament wasn’t very common when this carol was written. In fact, the singing of songs that were not Psalms was a matter of great controversy.

James Montgomery crossed paths with another songwriter who believed that both Psalms and newer hymns should be sung as a part of public worship, often making use of the New Testament revelation of Christ. Also in Sheffield for part of his life, the other man was Thomas Cotterill (quite possibly a relation of mine, but the specific connection is unknown. The general area of England is certainly right, but there were many Cottrills with all the variant spellings.)

Cotterill published some of Montgomery’s songs, and was editor of Selection of Psalms and Hymns, adapted to the Festivals of the Church of England. The songbook went through several editions, again, often amid great opposition. But in the end, this hymnbook would have a great influence on the many hymnbooks that were to come in the English-speaking world.

But back to our carol, which does blend the OT and the NT. The next verse is a bit ambiguous in the context of the carol, though very scriptural:

Saints, be­fore the al­tar bend­ing,
Watching long in hope and fear;
Suddenly the Lord, des­cend­ing,
In His tem­ple shall a­ppear.

This verse seems to point to the future – or does it? The picture of the waiting saints is all throughout the Bible, of course – 1 Peter 1:10-11 is one example, speaking of the prophets of old that looked forward to Christ’s coming.

The Lord coming suddenly to His temple is a reference to Malachi 3 –

Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts.

Malachi 3:1

We immediately think of the messenger John the Baptist, and the first coming of Christ. In a sense, He did indeed suddenly come to His temple (suddenly in time, or unexpectedly). But while Jesus came in His first advent to save (John 3:17), the text in Malachi is looking forward to a time of judgement and condemnation of sinners. Sudden judgement is coming – and so now is the time for repentance.

Those who are waiting in faith will be rewarded. But there are still some who need to repent. This leads us to one of the most beautiful verses in the carol:

Sinners, wrung with true re­pent­ance,
Doomed for guilt to end­less pains,
Justice now re­vokes the sen­tence,
Mercy calls you; break your chains.

Malachi warns those who think that they want the Lord to come: “But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears?” (Malachi 3:2a) When God comes in judgement, who will be declared innocent? Who will stand with confidence before the Lord? Surely no one.

And yet, with the sacrifice of Christ in the picture, it is actually “justice” that revokes the sentence. Through Christ, the sinner can justly be forgiven, because the price has been paid. Mercy calls you – break your chains! Of course, it is God alone who can set us free, but the poetic language calls the believers to find freedom and forgiveness in Christ. Now we can look forward to His coming with joy, instead of dread.

The Psalms certainly speak of the forgiveness and mercy of God, and of a coming Messiah. But looking back at Jesus’ first coming, we sing with triumph of an accomplished work.

Montgomery and Cotterill both believed that we could sing with confidence of the Saviour who had appeared on the earth, singing both Psalms and newer songs of the Church – all for one purpose – worship!

Come and wor­ship, come and wor­ship,
Worship Christ, the new­born king.

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