O Holy Night...
"O holy night, the stars are brightly shining;
It is the night of the dear Savior’s birth!
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope, the weary soul rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn."
"Fall on your knees, O hear the angel voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born!
O night, O holy night, O night divine!"
"Led by the light of faith serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.
So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming,
Here came the wise men from Orient land.
The King of kings lay thus in lowly manger,
In all our trials born to be our friend!"
"Fall on your knees, O hear the angel voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born!
O night, O holy night, O night divine!"
"Truly He taught us to love one another;
His law is love and His Gospel is peace.
Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother
And in His Name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
Let all within us praise His holy Name!"
"Fall on your knees, O hear the angel voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born!
O night, O holy night, O night divine!"
A few lines that really stand out and hit me are "Long lay the world in sin and error pining. Til He appeared and the soul felt it's worth. A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices." - How true that we all lay in our own sin and error, and feel worthless, downcast, unloved...Yet Christ comes into the middle of our worthlessness and sick, and makes our soul feel it's worth. To spark hope and rejoicing within us! "Truly He taught us to love one another. His law is love and His gospel is peace." - Love God love others. All the law and all the commandments hang on this.
"Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother, and in His name all opression shall cease." - I can't even begin to describe how deeply this hits me. The call of Christ to seek justice, to love mercy, to look after orphans, widows, the poor, the sick... Not only did Chist come to free us from those things, but to invite you and I into the work of that. When can we as Christians stop judging the sinner, and focus on showing them the one who can free them from the chains and opressions that hold them back from living the full, abundant life that Christ came to give us...
LET ALL WITHIN US PRAISE HIS HOLY NAME!
In the light of his love, mercy, grace, freedom, how could we do anything less....
