The Third Week of Awaiting His Advent
Perhaps the art of songwriting is lost today. Far be it from me to pass judgment upon any songwriter (I’ve never even tried the practice myself). However, when listening to the most popular music of the day…let’s say I’m not particularly impressed.
Aside from personal taste and influence from more educated musical historians (thank you, Ted Gioia), I truly do think that there is something missing in the somewhat lazy way that most of us approach songs, at least in America.
In Biblical times, things were far different. You find the Israelites crafting songs out of thin air all the time! Just consider Moses and Miriam when God parted the Red Sea (Exodus 15), Deborah and Barak when God helped them defeat the Canaanites (Judges 5), or the famous King David, who was called the “sweet psalmist of Israel” (2 Samuel 23:1).
The reason for such a high view of songs was not, I believe, that people had a high view of music (though I’m sure that was part of it). I think that it really had more to do with a high view of God.
Let’s look at the proof from our dear Christmas story.
The first two chapters of Luke’s Gospel are also rich with songs. I have no idea what—if any—tunes these songs were put to, but there’s no question that the minds of God’s people were ready to burst into song at the news of His salvation.
I won’t dig too deeply into these songs here, but I encourage you to read them deeply when you have the time.
We’ll start with the first recorded song, that of Jesus’ own mother, Mary.
And Mary said: “My soul magnifies the Lord, 47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. 48 For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed. 49 For He who is mighty has done great things for me, And holy is His name. 50 And His mercy is on those who fear Him From generation to generation. 51 He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. 52 He has put down the mighty from their thrones, And exalted the lowly. 53 He has filled the hungry with good things, And the rich He has sent away empty. 54 He has helped His servant Israel, In remembrance of His mercy, 55 As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and to his seed forever.”
When Mary received the news that she would bear God’s Son, she accepted it quietly. But when she received affirmation from her cousin, Elizabeth, her heart burst with song. She came together with others who understood her the burden (and delight) that was hers to bear and she broke forth in adoration of her God.
It’s clear that Mary knew the Scriptures—she quotes multiple verses in the Old Testament.
It’s also clear that Mary had no high view of herself. She knew she was nothing but a maidservant, one of the many Jews whom God had chosen to carry His message, even if it came for her in the form of a baby. Her main message in this song is simply that God is great, but He never forgets His children.
Next, we’ll look at the song of Zacharias at the birth of his son, John. John was to be the forerunner of Jesus. He was to live a hard life in the wilderness, calling people to repentance before Jesus came on the scene. He was to show people their need of a Savior until that Savior made Himself known.
Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:
68 “Blessed is the Lord God of Israel,
For He has visited and redeemed His people,
69 And has raised up a horn of salvation for us
In the house of His servant David,
70 As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets,
Who have been since the world began,
71 That we should be saved from our enemies
And from the hand of all who hate us,
72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers
And to remember His holy covenant,
73 The oath which He swore to our father Abraham:
74 To grant us that we,
Being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
Might serve Him without fear,
75 In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.
76 “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest;
For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways,
77 To give knowledge of salvation to His people
By the remission of their sins,
78 Through the tender mercy of our God,
With which the Dayspring from on high has visited us;
79 To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,
To guide our feet into the way of peace.”
Zacharias was silent for more than nine months. From the moment he learned his wife was to have a baby until the day of his son’s circumcision, he was unable to speak, or (probably) hear.
Zacharias was a priest. He and his wife lived blamelessly before God (Luke 1:6), though they had long been disappointed as God continually refused to give them a son. But now God had answered their prayers of years ago in a miraculous display of his power, giving Elizabeth a son well into her old age.
Despite how grateful Zacharias must have been, despite what excitement he must have felt at seeing the son he had longed for for so many years, his first words were to God. They were a song of praise because God had been speaking of salvation since the beginning of the world but had not, until now, acted upon His promise.
Zacharias understood that they were waiting for salvation from sin and darkness and he praised God for it. He knew his son would suffer…but He also knew that God’s Son would suffer even more.
Only through such suffering would God bring light and redemption so that His people could live with Him in peace forevermore.
Finally, let’s look at the much shorter and often overlooked song of Simeon. On the day of Jesus’ circumcision, the Spirit of God led Simeon into the temple to find Jesus, just an 8-day old baby at the time. There, before Mary and Joseph and everyone else around, he took Jesus in his arms and sang:
“Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, According to Your word; 30 For my eyes have seen Your salvation 31 Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, 32 A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of Your people Israel.”
Simeon’s song is shorter and, in some ways, more personal than all the others. He was an old man, but he believed the salvation of God was coming and God was gracious enough to allow him to see just a glimpse of the redemption He had promised.
Simeon’s goal in life seems to be nothing more than to see the face of God’s salvation. What would it be like if we, too, were to long so much for God’s redemption that that was all we wanted before we died?
Simeon very clearly speaks of Who Jesus is: “a light to bring revelation” and “the glory of …Israel.” He knew that Jesus was there fore the Gentiles and the Jews. Jesus was there, in fact, for the whole world.
Why don’t we make songs anymore? I am as guilty as any other. And there’s no question that many of us aren’t particularly musically talented. But there’s something to be said for breaking forth in words of praise rooted in Scripture, even if you don’t know how to put them to music.
Perhaps, if we were more like Mary and Zacharias and Simeon, spending our time in God’s Word, waiting for God’s promises to come true, perhaps then we would sing His praises more readily.
Perhaps, if we were with God more, we wouldn’t care so much for worldly music or the silly “goals” we have to do such-and-such before we die.
Perhaps, if we were to live near to God like Mary, Zacharias, and Simeon, we would break into song about His redemption too.
And even though we’ll never be recorded in the Bible, perhaps God would use us to say something—the only thing—worth saying to a world waiting in darkness: “God’s redemption has come!”
This post was originally published on my Substack, Writrix Unbound. Follow me there for more content!