Come Thou Long-Expected Jesus
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Advent 2015 – Come Thou Long-Expected Jesus
Various Verses
1. Introduction – I make no apologies for my love of Christmas. I love lights, I’d leave mine up all year if it didn’t cost so much in hydro.
a. I love putting the tree up, I love cheesy Christmas movies, Christmas gatherings. I love it all.
i. I especially love Christmas music. I love Christmas carols.
1. I think that some of the best words and some of the best melodies were reserved for Christmas carols.
b. Growing up in the family I did is probably why I love Christmas carols so much.
i. I have sung them my whole life. I have a lot of them memorized.
1. And even now, the more I sing them, the more they move me.
a. After all, these carols remind us and tell us the greatest story ever told. They tell us the story of the beginning of God’s salvation plan in earnest. These carols tell us of God coming to earth like never before.
c. This Advent – 2015 – we are going to study the Christmas story as told by hymn writers.
i. Yes, we’ll read and study the Bible, but we are going to also study how this story is preserved in the great carols of Christmas.
ii. This season we’ll look at…
1. The hope and expectation of the Messiah’s arrival in the hymn “Come Thou Long-Expected Jesus.”
a. We’ll look at the setting and location of this event as told in the carol “O Little Town of Bethlehem.”
i. We’ll study the Angels’ announcement by studying the hymn, “Hark! The Herald Angels’ Sing.”
1. And we’ll study the grander meaning and the grander story beyond Bethlehem by studying the hymn, “Who is He in Yonder Stall?”
iii. These are all wonderful carols that tell us some portion of the greatest story ever to unfold.
2. This Morning’s Carol – We just sang this morning’s carol – a wonderful Advent hymn, Come thou long-expected Jesus.
a. This hymn was written by Charles Wesley. He was a prolific hymn writer; it’s said that he wrote over 6500 hymns in his lifetime.
i. Wesley was a Methodist Pastor, but he was also an itinerant preacher – making his way on horseback from town to town preacher.
1. He was a key figure in the Great Awakening.
a. And he wrote some of the most famous hymns of our faith – many of which we still sing today.
i. And Can It Be, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, Love Divine All Loves Excelling, and this one.
b. If you study the language of Wesley’s hymns, this one is perhaps the deepest, the most poetic hymn he wrote.
i. It’s full of important theological truths, it’s full of important words and themes.
1. Let’s read the words of this hymn together. We sang it earlier, now I want us to take time to ponder the words of this carol.
a. Verse 1 – look at the words and the themes that are introduced.
i. Verse 2 – look at the words and themes here.
1. This whole carol is built around longing; you can hear it in the words. This hymn longs to see Jesus, the Messiah, come to earth.
c. All morning we’ve been singing about this coming. Many Christmas carols are built around this word “Come.”
i. O Come All Ye Faithful – we sang earlier.
1. O Come, O Come Emmanuel – another hymn that vividly depicts the anxiousness and anticipation Israel felt.
a. And this hymn, Come Thou Long-Expected Jesus.
i. The themes of coming and the feeling of longing are very important Christmas and Advent themes.
d. But we recognize that over time, the longing for Jesus’ coming has taken on different forms.
i. In the years before Jesus came to earth the first time…
1. Israel was longing for a warrior who would restore them to power, what they got was radically different.
ii. Today, our longing has taken on a much different tone.
1. We hope and long for God’s Messiah to come – to come back, to come again.
a. We too long for the long-expected Jesus to come – we long for his second and final coming.
e. So this morning I want us to explore the longing for Jesus coming.
i. We’ll look at Jesus’ 1st coming from a historical perspective. What was Israel anticipating? What were the times like leading up to Jesus’ first coming?
1. We’ll look at Jesus’ coming from a present-day perspective. What is our world like now? What are we anticipating
a. And we’ll study the certainty of Jesus’ return based on the promises that he made.
i. And we’ll see how all three of these perspective are summed up in our hymn of the morning.
3. Historical – If you study history at all, especially biblical history, you’ll know that Israel longed for and hoped for the coming of God’s promised Messiah.
a. You’ll see that the years leading up to Jesus’ birth were filled with signs and the people of Israel were ready – or at least they thought they were ready – to receive God’s promised one.
i. They’ve waited, and Paul says that in the fullness of time, when the time was just right, God sent his Son.
b. But just how long had Israel been waiting? Well, in all honesty, they’ve been waiting since Eden.
i. Ever since Adam and Eve sinned against God, Israel was waiting for God to send a deliverer.
1. And the thing is, God promised Adam and Eve that he would send a deliverer – and he never backed down on the promise.
a. In fact, he kept making more promises. Israel was waiting for God’s Messiah to come ever since Abraham.
i. God promised Abraham that through him would come a great nation and through that nation the whole world would blessed.
2. The promise got ramped up even more when Jacob, before his death blessed his sons – and he said to his son Judah…
i. The scepter will not depart from you…
c. Israel was longing for a deliverer ever since God promised David in 2 Samuel 7:12-13.
12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.
13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
i. God said he would establish a ruler from David’s line and his kingdom would last forever.
1. And ever since that promise, after centuries of terrible and ungodly kings – after a split in the kingdom, the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah – were longing for the coming of a David-like king.
a. They longed for a warrior like David, who would free them from the oppressive nations around them.
ii. In other words – for their whole history as a nation, Israel was waiting and longing for the coming of God’s promised deliverer.
1. This hymn could have been written by ancient Israel. Come thou long-expected Messiah.
d. But perhaps the anticipation and expectation rose to a fever pitch when Isaiah made this prophesy.
i. Isaiah 7:14. Now we have to understand when and why this prophesy was made.
14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
1. The kingdom of Judah was under siege and the king at the time – King Ahaz – wanted to enlist the help of the Assyrian army.
a. But God sent Isaiah to the king to remind him of God’s presence among them.
ii. Isaiah said – Put God to the test; he’ll give you a sign.
1. He’ll give a crazy sign of deliverance, a virgin will give birth to a son, and that baby is actually a visible representation of God being with us.
iii. But Ahaz didn’t heed Isaiah’s words. He thought that he could deny God’s presence in his kingdom.
1. He didn’t want God to come, so he got Assyria to help him, and together they defeated the encroaching armies.
a. The problem that king Ahaz had after that was the Assyrians stayed around and made life for the kingdom of Judah and king Ahaz absolutely miserable.
i. And that led Isaiah to make another prophesy in Isaiah 9:6-7.
6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
e. And apparently Israel was deaf to all of these prophesies – they didn’t understand that God’s Messiah would be different than they expected. That he would be born a helpless baby.
i. And even when Jesus was on earth and about his earthly ministry – the people were still looking for and longing for the coming of the Son of David.
1. They were looking for a David like warrior who would free them from oppression.
a. They did not realize that the man standing in front of them was the child of promise – born of a virgin.
i. That did not realize that this man Jesus was born to set his people free.
f. What ancient Israel did not realize is the freedom Jesus would bring, the freedom that God’s Messiah was always going to bring…
i. Was not physical freedom, deliverance and victory over enemies.
1. His was a freedom from fears, freedom from sin.
a. From our fears and sins release us, let us find our rest in thee.
g. The people walking in darkness longed for the coming of God’s light – and he came.
i. He came in the fullness of time, born a child and yet a king.
1. And he brought with him a deliverance and freedom greater than anyone could have ever dreamed of – and most of Israel missed it.
a. They long and they groaned – Come thou long-expected Jesus, and he came.
4. Present Day – And isn’t it true that he words of this carol still resonant with us?
a. Sure this carol helps us remember Christmas, but at the same time this song points us forward.
i. Because in the same way that Israel longed for their Messiah to come – we too are longing for the long-expected Jesus to come – to come again.
b. I think that’s the beauty of this hymn. It incorporates the longing of the ancient Israelites, their hope for God’s Messiah.
i. It beautifully describes their season of advent – their desire and waiting.
1. But at the same time this hymn describes our desires, our joy, our freedom, and our waiting and long in this period as we once again wait for the arrival of Jesus.
a. But since we are living on this side of Bethlehem and this side of Calvary – our longing is different.
ii. And once again, I think the sentiment and the hope of our longing is beautifully summed up in this hymn.
1. By Thine own eternal Spirit, rule in all our hearts alone.
a. What a great prayer.
i. We should pray that line every day. Rule my heart God. Rule my life God.
1. Let all the distractions and cares of this world fade away and may your rule in my heart – alone.
c. But the carol continues and goes on to tell us how that is accomplished.
i. By Thine all sufficient merit – if we think God’s ruling, God’s freedom and rest can come any other way – we are sadly mistaken.
1. It is only by God’s ruling, by the merit of Jesus Christ given to us – it is only by God’s ruling and working that we are able to have him rule in our hearts.
d. And finally, we come to the last line, Raise us to thy glorious throne.
i. And isn’t this a picture of our final victory. The greatest longing we should have in this life here on earth is to see Jesus come again.
1. To see the victory he brings
a. To see all things made new.
i. To see our Lord face to face.
1. Our greatest hope and desire should be to be raised to his glorious throne.
5. Jesus’ Promise – And we have this hope, we have this desire to see Jesus come again because Jesus himself promised he would.
a. John 14 – I am going to prepare a place for you. And if I go, I will come back again. This is the hope we are living with.
i. There are many parables that Jesus told telling of the certainty of his return. We studied one last week.
1. It showed us our need to be prepared for Jesus’ return because it could happen at any time.
b. And the very last scene, the very last paragraph, the very last recorded words of Jesus in the prophecy in Revelation 22 say, “Behold, I am coming soon!”
i. It is a promise directly from Jesus. I am coming soon.
6. Conclusion – this hymn, this beloved Christmas carol, speaks both of Christ’s first coming.
a. It beautifully portrays the hope of ancient Israel, who for most of their history were longing for God’s deliverer to come.
i. But this hymn also beautifully summarizes and portrays our hope.
1. It helps us remember Jesus’ first coming, his birth, the freedom he brought, and the benefits we receive.
a. And this great carol, when really studied, when really examined, helps us look forward…
i. When Jesus will raise us to his glorious throne.
1. When Jesus’ promise of coming back is finally fulfilled.
b. But until that day, we will continue to look back in gratitude for what has happened – what happened in Bethlehem and what happened at Calvary…
i. But we also keep our eyes to the future, longing and anticipating Jesus’ coming again.
1. And until that happens we will continue to sing, come thou long-expected Jesus. Come Lord Jesus.