A Promise to be Kept

Last week, we sang the familiar Christmas time carol at church – O Come All Ye Faithful. The end of the Carol we sang added a musical bridge which celebrated the Lord by the words of Isaiah in (Isaiah 9:6-7):

“For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
and the government will be upon His shoulder.

And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end,

Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.”

I love this section for many reasons the greatest of which is the fact that Jesus Christ IS the fulfillment of the words of the prophet. At Christmas time we celebrate the birth, not because we KNOW that He was born on December the 25th (we are not certain of that) but because we KNOW that Jesus Christ the eternal “took upon Himself flesh” (John 1:14, Phil. 2:7) and that He was sent, literally given (John 3:16) by God (Luke 1:34-35) to Israel and through them to us to “save” those who would believe (Matt1:21).

Jesus is the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophesies calling for a Savior to come from God not only in the first advent but also in the second. The FACT that “His name shall be ‘Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace;'” points to His return reminds us that Jesus is coming again not to die or resurrect from the dead but to reign as King. As (Revelation 5) shines the spotlight on Jesus so the prophet Isaiah points to and celebrates the FACT that hope is found in Christ alone!

The section is punctuated by the words: “The ZEAL of the Lord of hosts WILL perform this!” (all emphasis mine) Jesus HAS come and Jesus will come again. Hope is with Him. Forgiveness is with Him. Peace with God is with Him. Joy is with Him. The undeserved mercy and grace of God toward us is with Him! God always keeps His promises – He alone is truly most faithful!

“O come, let us adore Him! O come, let us adore Him! O come let us adore Him – Christ the Lord!“

Celebrating His coming and looking forward to His return, I wish you a Merry Christmas and pray that you receive God’s greatest gift today.