Hope and a Weary World Rejoicing

It is the beginning of December! What a wonderful time of year this is!!! As Christmas is upon us there are 2 things that are constantly on my mind: Hope and the line from O Holy Night "a weary world rejoicing."

Understanding Hope... from Psalm 33

Shout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous!
    Praise befits the upright.
² Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre;
    make melody to him with the harp of ten strings!
³ Sing to him a new song;
    play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.

⁴ For the word of the Lord is upright,
    and all his work is done in faithfulness.
⁵ He loves righteousness and justice;
    the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.

⁶ By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
    and by the breath of his mouth all their host.
⁷ He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap;
    he puts the deeps in storehouses.

⁸ Let all the earth fear the Lord;
    let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!
⁹ For he spoke, and it came to be;
    he commanded, and it stood firm.

¹⁰ The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;
    he frustrates the plans of the peoples.
¹¹ The counsel of the Lord stands forever,
    the plans of his heart to all generations.
¹² Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
    the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!

¹³ The Lord looks down from heaven;
    he sees all the children of man;
¹⁴ from where he sits enthroned he looks out
    on all the inhabitants of the earth,
¹⁵ he who fashions the hearts of them all
    and observes all their deeds.
¹⁶ The king is not saved by his great army;
    a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.
¹⁷ The war horse is a false hope for salvation,
    and by its great might it cannot rescue.

¹⁸ Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him,
    on those who hope in his steadfast love,
¹⁹ that he may deliver their soul from death
    and keep them alive in famine.

²⁰ Our soul waits for the Lord;
    he is our help and our shield.
²¹ For our heart is glad in him,
    because we trust in his holy name.
²² Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us,
    even as we hope in you.

This Psalm was read at church this Sunday as we began the Advent season. Since then I cannot keep myself from reading it and studying it. Each line is full of truth (as is all of God's word) and there is such depth that every time I have read it something new stands out to me. This morning in particular vs. 17 and 20-22 have been on my mind. And the question that keeps coming up that I find truly convicting is "where does your hope lie?". The war horse, a symbol of strength and victory in times of war, is a false hope for salvation and it cannot rescue anyone with its strength. And while I do not have hope in a war horse....I know that I to often find hope in other things that claim to promise a salvation that it cannot give. What is my "war horse"? If my hope is not in the Lord and in his strength, might, and wisdom then I am surely lost. Each year we have the opportunity at Christmas to allow God to remind us that our hope comes from Him- in the coming of His Son, Jesus, to take our sin and restore us to a right relationship with Him. This truth, this hope, brings life to one of my favorite Christmas songs "O Holy Night".

Long lay the world in sin and error pining

Till He appeared and our soul felt its worth

A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices

For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn!

It seems to me that these lyrics go so well with Psalm 33:20-22. Our soul waits for the Lord and in His appearance on this earth we have felt our worth. This weary world rejoices in His steadfast love as we hope in Him.