{"id":10396,"date":"2020-12-09T18:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-12-10T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cottrillcompass.com\/blog\/?p=10396"},"modified":"2020-11-30T12:20:44","modified_gmt":"2020-11-30T18:20:44","slug":"christmas-song-3-two-thousand-years-of-wrong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cottrillcompass.com\/blog\/2020\/christmas-song-3-two-thousand-years-of-wrong.html","title":{"rendered":"Christmas Song #3 – “Two thousand years of wrong”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n <\/div>\n\n\n\n

Last time we talked about Edmund Sears, and his longing for peace during a particularly turbulent time in history. The “peace on earth” that the angels speak of – is it a promise? a declaration? – is in stark contrast to the “Babel sounds” of a world addicted to sin and strife.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Shattered<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The third verse of this carol, “It Came Upon the Midnight Clear”, further develops the idea, and reminds us of a well-known command of God in the Old Testament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet with the woes of sin and strife
The world has suffered long;
Beneath the angel strain have rolled
Two thousand years of wrong;
And man, at war with man, hears not
The love-song which they bring;
O hush the noise, ye men of strife
And hear the angels sing.<\/em><\/p>Edmund Hamilton Sears<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Beautiful poetic language, but a dark reality – year after year rolls on, with no peace. Although the angels’ words still echo throughout the earth (vs. 2), they are not “heard”. Apparently no one is paying attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sears describes the angels’ words as a “love-song”. After giving glory to God, the angels say, “on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased”<\/strong><\/em>. Certainly an expression of love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An aside – the difference<\/a> between this quote and the Authorized (King James) Version is the difference of one letter in the Greek, the AV having “good will toward men”. Either phrase can, in my opinion, have the same meaning. It does not mean that men should have “good will” around Christmas, although certainly they should reflect the love that God has for us. It does<\/em> mean that God is giving peace to those with whom He is pleased. Is He pleased with everyone? That’s a question that the rest of the Bible takes up. But here it does sound like a specific group that God is pleased with. In Philip W. Comfort’s New Testament Text and Translation Commentary<\/em><\/a>, he comments:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The entire clause means that peace is given on earth to those in whom God takes pleasure. Another way to say this is that God’s peace rests on those whom he has chosen..<\/p>Philip W. Comfort<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The Sons of Korah wrote a well known Psalm in which they look to God in unstable times:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble at its swelling.<\/p>Psalm 46:1-3<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

They continue expressing their confidence in a God who will care for Jerusalem. “The nations rage, the kingdoms totter”<\/em> (Psalm 46:6), but God is in control, and He is our place of safety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God stops wars in Psalm 46 – but He actually stops them with His own violent power. After all, the nations are “raging” against His people. So the writers of the Psalm use phrases like “he utters his voice, the earth melts” “he has brought desolations on the earth” “he breaks the bow and shatters the spear” “he burns the chariots with fire”<\/em>. God’s people are not moved, because God crashes down from heaven upon the armies that surround them!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And this is where a familiar phrase comes in – and based on the context, I think we often use it in a wrong way. “Be still, and know that I am God!” <\/strong><\/em>(Psalm 46:10) God is not asking for some quiet meditation, where we will somehow feel God’s presence. There’s nothing wrong with meditating on who God is, of course. But God is speaking to Israel and the nations around her – in other words, the whole world – in the context of His forceful entrance onto the scene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact – pardon the language – but I think you could translate “Be still!” as “Shut up!” “Stop all this noise!” As Sears writes, “Oh hush the noise, ye men of strife!”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Listen to the phrase in its context, and I think you’ll see what I mean:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBe still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!\u201d<\/p>Psalm 46:10<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

You may rage and plot, but it is all in vain (Psalm 2:1)!<\/strong> As God rips the swords out of the hands of rebellious men, He commands them to be still<\/em>, and recognize that He will bring peace, He will be the only King, whether they like it or not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God will bring peace. Listen to the angel’s song. It will be real peace – peace with God, and peace on earth. Will you be one who seeks that peace? Or one who will be silenced by God’s judgement?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe someone will hear a carol this Christmas – and finally seek the God who brings us peace through Jesus Christ, instead of looking for peace in a thousand other places.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last time we talked about Edmund Sears, and his longing for peace during a particularly turbulent time in history. The “peace on earth” that the angels speak of – is it a promise? a declaration? – is in stark contrast to the “Babel sounds” of a world addicted to sin and strife. The third verse […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[2010,2017,974,2236,2237,1345],"class_list":["post-10396","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-devotional-and-bible","tag-angels","tag-christmas-carol","tag-history","tag-it-came-upon-the-midnight-clear","tag-philip-w-comfort","tag-psalms","has-post-title","has-post-date","has-post-category","has-post-tag","has-post-comment","has-post-author",""],"yoast_head":"\nChristmas Song #3 - "Two thousand years of wrong" - Finding direction<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cottrillcompass.com\/blog\/2020\/christmas-song-3-two-thousand-years-of-wrong.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Christmas Song #3 - "Two thousand years of wrong" - Finding direction\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Last time we talked about Edmund Sears, and his longing for peace during a particularly turbulent time in history. 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