God Rest Ye Merry: A Sabbath Song At Christmas (Extended)

“God Rest Ye Merry”

You may recognize the first phrase of a popular Christmas carol “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen”

This phrase is not wishing rest to band of happy gents.

“God rest ye merry” is an Old English idiom.

The phrase functions as a conventional blessing or wish for well-being

Something like, “Peace be with you”

The song “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen” might well be translated in a modern dialect as the new Christmas carol, “Peace, bro.”

The force of the song is to declare that this commonly used phrase is more than a polite farewell, it is secured blessing available to all humankind because God became flesh and made it so.

I am reminded of this Christmas hymn each time I read the words of Isaiah 9

Isaiah 9:2–6 (ESV)

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.

You have multiplied the nation; you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil.

For the yoke of his burden, and the staff for his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian.

For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire.

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

I want to speak for just few moments from this subject: God Rest Ye Merry: A Song of Peace At Christmas

PRAYER

Isaiah’s prophecy is an oracle of a dramatic turnaround

Light pierces deep darkness

Joy and gladness replace oppression and despair

Peace and tranquility enter where violence and suffering used to be.

But, what is truly gripping about this prophecy…even more than sharp improvement of circumstances… is the agent of this change.

Surely, this kind of massive improvement would be the work of a legion of angels or at least an army of men.

But, there is no army to the rescue.

And if a single individual, surely it would be a great warrior…a might king.

But instead of a massive man, we experience a kind of rhetorical whiplash as the prophet declares that catalyst for this national revival is birth of child.

YEH-led

Child, boy; denotes young offspring, emphasizing dependency and vulnerability

We’re talking about a baby.

Doing big things with small things seems to be God’s preferred method of bringing a blessing.

He whittle Gideon’s army down from 32,000 to 300 men.

He chose little David to be king instead all the big, strong brothers.

He tells Zerubabel the Governor through Zechariah the prophet, not to despise the day of small beginnings.

The Kingdom of God, Christ taught, is like a mustard seed…it starts small, but eventually takes over the garden.

And Paul says that He choses the weak and foolish things of the world shame the strong and the wise.

But even if you’re not a bible buff and can’t remember all of the scriptural evidence, remember the baby.

When God took on flesh, He took on the flesh of an infant.

Let that remind you always, that there is a lot of promise in your little, if God gets in it.

But, this prophecy is actually not about Jesus. At least not directly.

Isaiah prophesied judgement in time of Ahaz the King who led God’s people into sin and rejection of the covenant.

Isaiah’s prophecy was considered to have come to pass with the birth and eventual ascension to the throne of King Hezekiah.

The titles we read in Isaiah remind of Jesus the Messiah, but it was not uncommon to talk about royalty in this way.

It was simply the use of poetic license…rhetorical flourish…political theater

But, it would not have been considered sacrilegious or out of line.

Wonderful counselor means that the king is wise

Everlasting Father is something along the lines of “long live the king”

Mighty God includes the name Elohim, which is translated God, but does not carry the weight of the name of Jehovah…it simply means “sovereign ruler”…Mighty God is “strong ruler”

Prince of Peace suggests a reign like Hezekiah’s reign…one marked by tranquility and prosperity

But, as it so often is with the prophetic, God was doing something greater than either the prophet or the subject of the prophesy understood at the moment.

While Isaiah did not recognize it at the time, his prophecy looks forward to a day when his words would not be hyperbole and bombast.

His words looked forward to a day when somebody greater than Hezekiah would come along.

When there would be the birth of one who

Was not just a wise king, but the all-knowing God

Not just powerful royalty, but omnipotent deity

Not simply a man of generational impact, but the one who called time into being

More than a ruler whose team could bring back the economy, but a Master whose word can cast out demons and calm the raging sea.

Isaiah did not know it, but he prophesied of the Christ-child who would be born savior of the world.

Beloved, you and I know something that Prophet Isaiah did not know. We know the Christmas story.

We know that someone greater than any king was born in Bethlehem…

that Jesus was wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger.

We know that a birth birth took place that did not simply change the corse of a nation, but brought hope to the world.

And so the exhortation is to receive all the blessings of Christmas with utmost sincerity.

Joy to the world is more than just a happy song. It is a prophetic declaration.

Peace on earth is not Hallmark greeting card, but an unfolding reality.

The warmth and the magic of the season have been co-opted by the consumer economy, but beloved, they were created by a genuine miracle that unlocks actual hope.

Isaiah had in view something powerful, but ultimately temporal. We have the opportunity to hope in something better and more lasting.

Beloved, we all have Hezekiah’s in our lives…those things which provide us comfort and seem to secure our rest.

Good job.

A particular relationship.

But before Hezekiah rises in our lives and long after the Hezekiah have faded from the scene, there is one who wins for us a peace that no other power can win and which no one can ever take away.

God rest ye merry, Ambassador Church

For behold, I bring you good news of great joy that shall be to all people. For unto us is born this day, in the City of David, a savior who is Christ the Lord.

RESPOND

If you are hear and you don’t know today, what would happen to your soul if it were to leave your body today.

God rest ye merry…don’t live your life having worry about that.

Trust Jesus…the baby who was born to save the world…

You are trusting Jesus with your eternity, but you are not trusting Him with your days.

Can I pray for you?

Pray a prayer of peace.

You need to be a part of a community that means it when we say, “Peace be with you”…we pray for it and live toward these words.