30. Thursday after Fourth Sunday in Advent.
Lord, let our faith have its foundation
in thy word. Amen.
Micah 5, 2-5. But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth; then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel. And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God; and they shall abide; for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth. And this man shall be the peace, when the Assyrian shall come into our land; and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise against him seven shepherds, and eight principal men.
❦
He is born in Bethlehem, but is from everlasting. The prophet here teaches, what the church confesses, that Jesus Christ is God and man in one person. Concerning this, the greatest of all wonders in heaven and on earth, the scriptures testify with clearness and emphasis. He who lies in the manger, this poor, little child, is the eternal God, who owns all things and upholds all things by the word of his power. He is wisdom itself, which gives to all angels and men all that they have of thought and understanding; yet he is become a child in swaddling clothes; his mind, like that of all other children, grows and develops from the dormant state to conscious knowledge. He is the Living One forevermore, but dies on the cross and is laid in the grave. In truth, his name is “Wonderful” and transcends all our wisdom. But such a Lord and Savior we were to have according to the gracious will and counsel of God. He was to be a man; for man had sinned, and the blood of man must of necessity be sacrificed in death for our atonement. He was to be true God, in order that the redeeming power of his death and blood might be without limit. The shepherd king David came out of Bethlehem; and in Bethlehem is to be born the shepherd of the soul and the true king of Israel, he who is David and Solomon and Melchizedek and Aaron, all in one person. The name Bethlehem means the house of bread. Out of it comes our Joseph with the bread of eternal life, which he gives to his brethren without price, — he who is degraded to the meanest prison, but also exalted to the right hand of the King, and is great unto the ends of the earth. Truly, out of Bethlehem comes the Shepherd who feeds his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
The scriptures call him “everlasting God,” “the only begotten Son of the Father,” “God over all, blessed for ever,” “the true God and eternal life;” they declare that he is eternal and almighty and omniscient and holy; they inform us that all things were made by him and subsist by him. They call him the Lord over all things, to whom we shall pray and in whom we shall believe. Himself says: “I and my Father are one,” “to me is given all power in heaven and on earth,” “I am that Son of God.” He died as the only begotten Son of God; he rose again and reigns as the only begotten Son of God. Verily, the Second Article of our creed is certain and sure; he that does not see this is blinded by sin and falsehood.
Give me, Lord Jesus, a heart that is obedient to the truth, so that I may believe on thee alway and rejoice in thy glory and grace. Amen.*
From highest heaven to earth I come
To bear good news to every home;
Glad tidings of great joy I bring,
Whereof I now will say and sing:
To you this night is born a Child
Of Mary, chosen virgin mild;
This little child of lowly birth
Shall be the joy of all the earth.
’Tis Christ, our God and Lord, is born,
To comfort those who weep and mourn;
He will himself your Savior be,
From all your sins will set you free.
[TLH 85, LSB 358, ELH 123/124; listen here]
* Here the head of the family says a short morning or evening prayer in his own words, and closes with the Lord’s Prayer and the Benediction. This is to be done every day. If the stanzas are not sung, they may be read in their proper place before the impromptu petition and the Lord’s Prayer.