Songs of the Incarnation: Christmas Songs You May Not Know Pt. 4 - The Nunc Dimittis

Nunc Dimittis
Luke 2:21-40
 

This is the fourth and final installment in our series on Songs of the Incarnation. We are looking at "Christmas" or more accurately Advent songs from the Gospel of Luke.

21 And when eight days had passed, before His circumcision, His name was then called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb. 22 And when the days for their purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”), 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what was said in the Law of the Lord, “A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.” Luke 2:21-24

There are many amazing ironies that weave their way through the story of Jesus’ birth. For example:

• A tiny infant’s frame contains the expanse of deity.
• Divinity’s lungs first breath is filled with barnyard dust.
• Shabby shepherds stand in for angelic hosts.
• The long-awaited Messiah is laid in a manger instead of a royal crib.

But to me one of the greatest ironies was that Jesus, as a Jew, placed Himself under the law which He had created.

Paul said in Galatians 4:4-5

4 But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law,

Why did He place Himself under bondage to His own law?

5 so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.

Jesus redeemed us from the law’s judgment, not by getting rid of the law, but by meeting its demands. He Himself said (Matthew 5:17).

17 “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.

As we look at the story of His presentation we will see how, even in His infancy He fulfilled every aspect of the law. Thanks to the faithfulness of Mary and Joseph. In fact, the law is mentioned five times in this section of Luke. In addition to fulfilling the law, this section affirms that Jesus is indeed the one true Messiah – the Redeemer.

Songs of the Incarnation: Christmas Songs You May Not Know Pt.3 - The Gloria In Altissmus

THE GLORIA IN ALTISSIMUS

 

We have been looking at the Songs of the Incarnation from the Gospel of Luke. These are songs that revolve around the birth of the Savior and they point to God’s grace and mercy in His redemptive plan.

So far we have looked at the...

• The Magnificat of Mary – Luke 1:46-56 “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
• The Benedictus of Zechariah – Luke 1:67-79 “Blessed is the Lord God of Israel for He has visited and redeemed His people.”

In this post we are going to look at the song of the Angelic Hosts in what has been called The Gloria in Altissimus or “Glory to God in the Highest.” As has been the case over the last few weeks in order to appreciate the content of the song, we need to first establish some background and set the context of the passage.

Luke 2:1-5 “Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth. 2 This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city. 4 Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, 5 in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child.”

The song is set in the context of Mary and Joseph traveling to Bethlehem in order to register there for a Census. The census is important because it was the vehicle that God used to move Mary and Joseph from Nazareth to Bethlehem. Little did Caesar Augustus know that the Sovereign God of the universe was going to use his (Caesar’s) imperial edict to fulfill His (God’s) word.

Paul says in Titus 1:2-3a - “In hope of eternal life, which God who cannot lie, promised before the world began; but hath in due times (proper times) manifested His word.” Also, in Galatians 4:4 - “And when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth His Son - made of a woman.”

At this moment in time, God was bringing together people, places and circumstances to fulfill His prophetic word.

Songs of the Incarnation: Christmas Songs You May Not Know Pt. 2 - The Benedictus

The Benedictus

Luke 1:57-80

 

We are continuing our series on Songs of the Incarnation: Christmas Songs you May not Know.

 

Dr. E.J. Sullivan once said: “The greatest forces in the world are not the earthquakes and the thunderbolts - the greatest forces in the world are babies.” And indeed, when it comes to the story of God’s redemption of man, he was right. As we come to the first two chapters of the Gospel of Luke we have recorded for us the story of two babies, two babies who would someday grow into two of the greatest forces in the world. John the Baptist and Jesus the Messiah

John - A man, has his birth announced in Luke 1:5-25 – He would be the forerunner, the one who prepared the way, a prophet of the Most High.

Jesus - God in the flesh, has his birth announced in Luke 1:26-38 – He would be the Messiah of God - the one who would accomplish redemption for mankind - the Son of the Highest.

John would be “great in the sight of the Lord.” Jesus would be “great” without qualification - the embodiment of absolute greatness.

Now as Luke tells the story of these two babies, he weaves a masterful narrative that switches back and forth between the birth of John and the birth of Jesus. He also includes in this narrative several songs of praise, songs of praise to God for what He was going to do for mankind through these two babies. I call these songs, “Songs of the Incarnation” because they are entirely related to the fact that God has sent his Son Jesus Christ into the world to save the world.

Songs of the Incarnation: Christmas Songs You May Not Know Pt. 1 - The Magnificat

I want to share with you a Christmas series on the “Songs of the Incarnation: Christmas songs you might not know.” In it, we are going to look at four Christmas Songs from the Gospel of Luke.

1. The Magnificat of Mary - Luke 1:46-55
2. The Benedictus of Zechariah - Luke 67-79
3. The Nunc Dimittis of Simeon - Luke 2:28-35
4. The Gloria in Altissimus of the Angelic Host - Luke 2:10-14 

Each of these “Christmas songs” gives us unique insight into the Incarnation and what it really means to us. The incarnation speaks of God the Son, becoming a man (John 1:1,14; Phil. 2:5-8) so that He (Jesus), might humble himself and die for our sins (1 Pet. 3:18).

What I love about each of these “Christmas songs” is that they glorify God in a way that most songs do not. The first song of the incarnation that I am sharing with you is called “The Magnificat.” The Magnificat comes from the lips of none other than Mary herself.

Now before we look at The Magnificat itself we need to set the stage for her great Christmas song by establishing some background and setting the context from Luke 1:26-45. This young woman had recently experienced an amazing event. An Angel had appeared to her and told her that she, a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, had found favor with God.

 

Rush Countdown - Pt. 3

In honor of Rush's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame I am posting a countdown of my personal top-twenty favorite Rush songs. In addition, I am ranking all 20 Rush albums in reverse order. Albums and songs 20-16 can be found here. Albums and songs 15-11 can be found here.

Albums 10-6

Album #10 - Snakes & Arrows - It's no secret to most Rush fans that Neil Peart has issues with organized religion. There is no better example of that than Snakes and Arrows. Throughout the album, Peart's lyrics are focused on the worst parts of religion. The album seems foreboding in some ways, not only in its words but in its music. Yet, despite its sometimes darker subject matter and sound, I actually like this album a great deal. There are three instrumentals on the album as well, and in my opinion they are some of the band's best.

Album #9 - Permanent Waves - This was Rush's first album of the 80s. As the band started in its second decade of music, Permanent Waves was a clear departure from what preceded. Moving away from the Sci-Fi themed epic pieces of the 70s, this album delivers more commercially accessible music. Specifically, the first two songs on the album, The Spirit of the Radio and Freewill would become radio mainstays on the Rush playlist.