"Blessed Is He"

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

“Oh, that You would rend the heavens and come down... that the nations might tremble at Your presence!” (Isaiah 64:1, 2). Oh, that the Lord would indeed come! The whole earth groans in travail as it awaits the coming of the Lord of Hosts. Would that He come quickly, come now, and come to us! O Lord, we need you now more than ever!

Sometimes it seems like this is the extent of the world's prayers to whatever god might hear. When things are off track, when people are depressed, when money is short, there is a god for that. Everyone wants a savior, whether you want to put it that way or not. Just look around you today.

For the lack of, or suppression of, talk about God and religion in American politics and culture, there sure is a great deal of desire and talk about the need for a savior. But from what do you want to be saved? College students and recent graduates want to be saved from their student debt. Those in troubled marriages want to be saved either from divorce or from the stupid choices they made. The poor want to be saved from homelessness and starvation. The sick want to be saved from sickness and death. The rich want to be saved from taxes. Christians want to be saved from Islam. Muslims want to be saved from Christianity.

Everyone wants to be saved from what ails you, but more often than not, you want to be saved according to your plans and ideas for what the world should be. Your idea of perfection is different that what your neighbor thinks. The protestors on Wall Street want totally different outcomes than the farmers of Iowa. The Jews want a radically different Messiah than the Samaritans. But who is the Savior to whom Isaiah cries? Alas, “there is no one who calls upon Your name, who rouses himself to take hold of You” (Is. 64:7).

The Savior indeed shall come. He shall rend the heavens and come down, and He will save His people from their bondage and oppression. But He will come according to His plan and purpose. The Lord who created the heavens and the earth, who stretched out the skies like a tent and placed the mountains and the seas, He is God – and you are not. You, like all mankind must confess with the prophet, “But now, O LORD, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand” (Is. 64:8).

The Lord God has promised to give His gifts to all, even to all evil people. He even does so without direction from you. Consider the works of His hands in creation. He makes water. He makes light. He makes motion. He makes warmth. He makes your eyes, ears, and all your members, your reason and all your senses. All that you are and have comes from and by His gracious will and command. You are the clay and He is the potter. You do nothing apart from His will. He has made you what you are, and His providence upholds you in your way.

According to His fatherly, divine goodness and mercy, the Lord has created the markets, good government, the United States of America, and everything else that makes up our society. He knows how best to govern, even though He acts through sinful and foolish men and women. The sky is not falling, because His hand holds it up. As the poet Robert Burns said, “The best laid schemes o' mice an' men Gang aft agley,” but the plans of the Lord never fail. The Word of the Lord stands forever.

Therefore, repent. Repent of your seeking after a false savior. Repent of your desiring to be saved by the works of men. Repent of your hand-wringing and fear-mongering. Repent, and let the true savior come and save you from the true enemy.

Instead, cry out with the throng of Jerusalem: “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!” The Lord has listened to the cries of His people! The Father has honored the prayers of His children! The Messiah comes to save us! Hosanna – Save now! He has rent the heavens and come down. He has made known His mighty deeds to the children of Israel.

The King of Glory has come down to dwell among man, and He comes today to enter His courts with praise. See your King coming to you. But how does He come? He comes in low estate, humble and riding on a donkey. The King of creation does not come as a man of war, thundering in on a mighty steed, with a train of chariots and warriors ready to vanquish His foes. The King shall come, but He comes first as a baby boy, born in a stable in Bethlehem. He comes as the flesh and blood of a virgin, the King of Kings enthroned upon the breast of Mary.

This is not the King the people of God expect. Indeed, He is the incarnation of the kingdom of father David. He is the One who comes in the name of the Lord. He is the one who will save them. But He will save them not from the Romans or from poverty or from taxation or from politicians. He will save them from their sins. He will save you from your sins as well. The King who comes amid fanfare and adulation is the sheep who will be sacrificed upon the cross.

“See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles. And they will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him. And after three days he will rise.” (Mk. 10:33-34) It is for this reason, and no other, that the Son of David has come into the city of His fathers. The Messiah comes not to overthrow, but to be handed over. He comes not to vanquish the rulers, but to be killed. The King comes not to the place of the throne, but to the Place of the Skull.

The King comes into His own so that He might give Himself to His people. He shall rend the heavens and come down so that He might be lifted up. His birth will be unremarkable, but His death will be unmistakeable. He empties Himself of His glory in birth, that He might be glorified in death and resurrection. He gives Himself that you might be saved from your sins, from the bondage of sin, death, and the devil. He comes to you, so that you might become worthy to approach the Father in heaven. He will be killed, and you will live. He will rise, and you shall rise with Him. He shall again rend the heavens and come down, and you shall then enter with Him into the house of His Father.

Until then, “you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ”
(1 Corinthians 1:7-8). The Lord has rent the heavens and come down, and He has given to you His gifts. He continues to give His gifts, whether you see them or not.

Now, in this season, we look forward to His nativity, when He shall be born of a virgin and enter our human sphere. We eagerly await the celebration of His blessed Incarnation, and ponder the wonder and mystery that God has been made man. The Lord shall rend the heavens and come down, and He shall take up humanity into the Godhead. The flesh of David shall occupy the throne of heaven.

The One who comes in the name of the Lord shall come, and He shall save you from your ills and woes. He shall shed His blood over you and wash you with the flood from His pierced side. He shall fill you with thanksgiving for His death on your behalf as He pours Himself across your lips for the forgiveness of your sins. He shall work repentance and faith in you, that you may receive Him as He comes. He shall fill you with His Spirit and His gifts, that you never lack for anything.

The savior of the nations will come and rend the heavens and unbar the gates of heaven. He will show you the way to the Father's house, where He has prepared for you a place. He will come and lift you up from this vale of tears, from this valley of sorrow. In the midst of your darkness, the light shall shine and the morning shall dawn. The Light that is the life of men shall be your life, and no darkness shall overcome it. God is become flesh, and we shall behold His glory, full of grace and truth.

The King shall come when morning dawns,

And light and beauty brings.

Hail, Christ the Lord! Your people pray:

Come quickly, King of Kings!

In the Name of Jesus. Amen.