Upper Room Daily Reflections of Nashville, Tennessee, United States - daily words of wisdom and faith “A Time to Fill In the Blanks" for Thursday, 1 January 2015

Upper Room Daily Reflections of Nashville, Tennessee, United States - daily words of wisdom and faith “A Time to Fill In the Blanks" for Thursday, 1 January 2015
Today’s Reflection:
SOMETHING ABOUT A new calendar book brimming with clean blank pages excites me. Or in this digital age, perhaps a smartphone date book with no entries brings joy. Either way, we choose how we will fill the blanks. The new year affords us an opportune time to take responsibility for ourselves. After all, it’s our voice that says yes and our hand that writes on the calendar.
The new year becomes a good time to quit agreeing to a flurry of activities and then blaming others for putting too much on us. We can take time for deliberate consideration of what brings life to us and others.[Linda Douty, Rhythms of Growth]
From page 24 of Rhythms of Growth: 365 Meditations to Nurture the Soul by Linda Douty. Copyright © 2014 by Linda Douty. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Upper Room Books. http://bookstore.upperroom.org/ Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s Question:
Find time to rest today and anticipate blessings to come.
Today’s Scripture:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love.[Ephesians 1:3-4, NRSV]

This Week: pray for those who serve the poor.
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Did You Know?
In need of prayer? The Upper Room Living Prayer Center is a 7-day-a-week intercessory prayer ministry staffed by trained volunteers, call 1-800-251-2468.
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Saints, Inc.
This week we remember:
Melania the Younger (December 31).
Melania the Younger (named for her grandmother, Melania the Elder) was born to a wealthy Christian family in Rome in 383. She was a pious child who only wanted to give herself to God, but was married when she was thirteen to Pinianus. When their second child died, Melania convinced her husband of her vocation as a celibate. Pinianus and her widowed mother joined her in giving away their riches, setting free slaves, and working with the poor.
Melania, her mother and Pinianus left Rome around 406, traveling to Italy and North Africa. Melania and Pinianus met many Christian leaders such as St. Augustine, St. Paula and St. Jerome. She founded a monastery for women, and another for men in Numibia before continuing her pilgrimage to Jerusalem where she worked in a hospice for pilgrims. After contact with the Desert Fathers and Mothers, she wanted to live a quiet life of prayer, so lived many years at a hermitage on the Mount of Olives.
Melania the Younger was fifty-six years old when she died on December 31, 439.
If Melania the Younger had taken the Spiritual Types Test, she probably would have been a Sage. Melania the Younger is remembered on December 31.
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Lectionary Readings
(Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library)
Lectionary Scriptures:
Jeremiah 31:7-14
Psalm 147:12-20
Ephesians 1:3-14
John 1:(1-9), 10-18
Jeremiah 31:7 Oh yes, God says so:
“Shout for joy at the top of your lungs for Jacob!
    Announce the good news to the number-one nation!
Raise cheers! Sing praises. Say,
    ‘God has saved his people,
    saved the core of Israel.’
8 “Watch what comes next:
“I’ll bring my people back
    from the north country
And gather them up from the ends of the earth,
    gather those who’ve gone blind
And those who are lame and limping,
    gather pregnant women,
Even the mothers whose birth pangs have started,
    bring them all back, a huge crowd!
9 “Watch them come! They’ll come weeping for joy
    as I take their hands and lead them,
Lead them to fresh flowing brooks,
    lead them along smooth, uncluttered paths.
Yes, it’s because I’m Israel’s Father
    and Ephraim’s my firstborn son!
10-14 “Hear this, nations! God’s Message!
    Broadcast this all over the world!
Tell them, ‘The One who scattered Israel
    will gather them together again.
From now on he’ll keep a careful eye on them,
    like a shepherd with his flock.’
I, God, will pay a stiff ransom price for Jacob;
    I’ll free him from the grip of the Babylonian bully.
The people will climb up Zion’s slopes shouting with joy,
    their faces beaming because of God’s bounty—
Grain and wine and oil,
    flocks of sheep, herds of cattle.
Their lives will be like a well-watered garden,
    never again left to dry up.
Young women will dance and be happy,
    young men and old men will join in.
I’ll convert their weeping into laughter,
    lavishing comfort, invading their grief with joy.
I’ll make sure that their priests get three square meals a day
    and that my people have more than enough.’” God’s Decree.
Psalm 147:12-18 Jerusalem, worship God!
    Zion, praise your God!
He made your city secure,
    he blessed your children among you.
He keeps the peace at your borders,
    he puts the best bread on your tables.
He launches his promises earthward—
    how swift and sure they come!
He spreads snow like a white fleece,
    he scatters frost like ashes,
He broadcasts hail like birdseed—
    who can survive his winter?
Then he gives the command and it all melts;
    he breathes on winter—suddenly it’s spring!
19-20 He speaks the same way to Jacob,
    speaks words that work to Israel.
He never did this to the other nations;
    they never heard such commands.
Hallelujah!
Ephesians 1: The God of Glory
3-6 How blessed is God! And what a blessing he is! He’s the Father of our Master, Jesus Christ, and takes us to the high places of blessing in him. Long before he laid down earth’s foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love. Long, long ago he decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure he took in planning this!) He wanted us to enter into the celebration of his lavish gift-giving by the hand of his beloved Son.
7-10 Because of the sacrifice of the Messiah, his blood poured out on the altar of the Cross, we’re a free people—free of penalties and punishments chalked up by all our misdeeds. And not just barely free, either. Abundantly free! He thought of everything, provided for everything we could possibly need, letting us in on the plans he took such delight in making. He set it all out before us in Christ, a long-range plan in which everything would be brought together and summed up in him, everything in deepest heaven, everything on planet earth.
11-12 It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone.
13-14 It’s in Christ that you, once you heard the truth and believed it (this Message of your salvation), found yourselves home free—signed, sealed, and delivered by the Holy Spirit. This signet from God is the first installment on what’s coming, a reminder that we’ll get everything God has planned for us, a praising and glorious life.
John 1: The Life-Light
1-2 The Word was first,
the Word present to God,
    God present to the Word.
The Word was God,
    in readiness for God from day one.
3-5 Everything was created through him;
    nothing—not one thing!—
    came into being without him.
What came into existence was Life,
    and the Life was Light to live by.
The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness;
    the darkness couldn’t put it out.
6-8 There once was a man, his name John, sent by God to point out the way to the Life-Light. He came to show everyone where to look, who to believe in. John was not himself the Light; he was there to show the way to the Light.
9-13 The Life-Light was the real thing:
    Every person entering Life
    he brings into Light.
He was in the world,
    the world was there through him,
    and yet the world didn’t even notice.
He came to his own people,
    but they didn’t want him.
But whoever did want him,
    who believed he was who he claimed
    and would do what he said,
He made to be their true selves,
    their child-of-God selves.
These are the God-begotten,
    not blood-begotten,
    not flesh-begotten,
    not sex-begotten.
14 The Word became flesh and blood,
    and moved into the neighborhood.
We saw the glory with our own eyes,
    the one-of-a-kind glory,
    like Father, like Son,
Generous inside and out,
    true from start to finish.
15 John pointed him out and called, “This is the One! The One I told you was coming after me but in fact was ahead of me. He has always been ahead of me, has always had the first word.”
16-18 We all live off his generous bounty,
        gift after gift after gift.
    We got the basics from Moses,
        and then this exuberant giving and receiving,
    This endless knowing and understanding—
        all this came through Jesus, the Messiah.
    No one has ever seen God,
        not so much as a glimpse.
    This one-of-a-kind God-Expression,
        who exists at the very heart of the Father,
        has made him plain as day.
John Wesley's Notes-Commentary:
Jeremiah 31:7-14
Verse 9
[9] They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.
With weeping — Some think that it had been better translated, they went weeping; for though the verb be the future tense in the Hebrew, yet that tense has often the signification of the preterperfect tense, thus it answereth, Psalms 126:5,6. He that goeth forth weeping, bearing precious seed, shalt doubtless come again rejoicing. There is a weeping for joy, as well as for sorrow, and thus the text corresponds with that, Zechariah 12:10. I will pour upon them the spirit of grace and supplications, and they shall look upon him whom they have pierced, and mourn.
By rivers — And they shall have no want as they had when they came out of Egypt, through the wilderness, where they often wanted water.
Verse 11
[11] For the LORD hath redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he.
Hath redeemed — God will as certainly do it, as if he had already done it. In their deliverance as well from Babylon as Egypt, they were types of the deliverance of God's people, by Christ; as well as in their entering into Canaan, they were types of the saints, entering into heaven.
Verse 12
[12] Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the LORD, for wheat, and for wine, and for oil, and for the young of the flock and of the herd: and their soul shall be as a watered garden; and they shall not sorrow any more at all.
And sing — All the phrases in this verse signify one thing, the happy state of the Jews, after their return from captivity. The height of Zion means the temple.
A watered garden — They shall be a beautiful, flourishing, and growing people. Soul seems here to be taken for the whole man.
Not sorrow — In that manner they have been. But under these expressions is also promised the spiritual joy which the true Israel of God will have under the gospel, and the eternal joy they shall have in heaven.
Psalm 147:12-20
Verse 13
[13] For he hath strengthened the bars of thy gates; he hath blessed thy children within thee.
Thy gates — Thy strength consists not in thy walls, and gates, and bars, but in his protection.
Verse 14
[14] He maketh peace in thy borders, and filleth thee with the finest of the wheat.
Borders — In all thy land, even to its utmost borders.
Verse 15
[15] He sendeth forth his commandment upon earth: his word runneth very swiftly.
Commandment — Which is sufficient without any instruments to execute whatsoever pleaseth him.
Swiftly — The thing is done without delay.
Verse 16
[16] He giveth snow like wool: he scattereth the hoarfrost like ashes.
Like wool — Not only in colour and shape, and softness, but also in use, keeping the fruits of the earth warm.
Ashes — In colour and smallness of parts, as also in its burning quality.
Verse 17
[17] He casteth forth his ice like morsels: who can stand before his cold?
Ice — Great hail-stones, which are of an icy nature, and are cast forth out of the clouds, like morsels or fragments.
Ephesians 1:3-14
Verse 3
[3] Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us — God's blessing us is his bestowing all spiritual and heavenly blessings upon us. Our blessing God is the paying him our solemn and grateful acknowledgments, both on account of his own essential blessedness, and of the blessings which he bestows upon us. He is the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, as man and Mediator: he is his Father, primarily, with respect to his divine nature, as his only begotten Son; and, secondarily, with respect to his human nature, as that is personally united to the divine.
With all spiritual blessings in heavenly things — With all manner of spiritual blessings, which are heavenly in their nature, original, and tendency, and shall be completed in heaven: far different from the external privileges of the Jews, and the earthly blessings they expected from the Messiah.
Verse 4
[4] According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
As he hath chosen us — Both Jews and gentiles, whom he foreknew as believing in Christ, 1 Peter 1:2.
Verse 5
[5] Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
Having predestinated us to the adoption of sons — Having foreordained that all who afterwards believed should enjoy the dignity of being sons of God, and joint-heirs with Christ.
According to the good pleasure of his will — According to his free, fixed, unalterable purpose to confer this blessing on all those who should believe in Christ, and those only.
Verse 6
[6] To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
To the praise of the glory of his grace — His glorious, free love without any desert on our part.
Verse 7
[7] In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
By whom we — Who believe.
Have — From the moment we believe.
Redemption — From the guilt and power of sin.
Through his blood — Through what he hath done and suffered for us.
According to the riches of his grace — According to the abundant overflowings of his free mercy and favour.
Verse 8
[8] Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;
In all wisdom — Manifested by God in the whole scheme of our salvation.
And prudence — Which be hath wrought in us, that we may know and do all his acceptable and perfect will.
Verse 9
[9] Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
Having made known to us — By his word and by his Spirit.
The mystery of his will — The gracious scheme of salvation by faith, which depends on his own sovereign will alone. This was but darkly discovered under the law; is now totally hid from unbelievers; and has heights and depths which surpass all the knowledge even of true believers.
Verse 10
[10] That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
That in the dispensation of the fullness of the times — In this last administration of God's fullest grace, which took place when the time appointed was fully come.
He might gather together into one in Christ — Might recapitulate, re-unite, and place in order again under Christ, their common Head.
All things which are in heaven, and on earth — All angels and men, whether living or dead, in the Lord.
Verse 11
[11] In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
Through whom we — Jews.
Also have obtained an inheritance — The glorious inheritance of the heavenly Canaan, to which, when believers, we were predestinated according to the purpose of him that worketh all things after the counsel of his own will - The unalterable decree, "He that believeth shall be delivered;" which will is not an arbitrary will, but flowing from the rectitude of his nature, else, what security would there be that it would be his will to keep his word even with the elect?
Verse 12
[12] That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
That we — Jews.
Who first believed — Before the gentiles. So did some of them in every place. Here is another branch of the true gospel predestination: he that believes is not only elected to salvation, (if he endures to the end,) but is fore-appointed of God to walk in holiness, to the praise of his glory.
Verse 13
[13] In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
In whom ye — Gentiles.
Likewise believed, after ye had heard the gospel — Which God made the means of your salvation; in whom after ye had believed - Probably some time after their first believing.
Ye were sealed by that Holy Spirit of promise — Holy both in his nature and in his operations, and promised to all the children of God. The sealing seems to imply, 1. A full impression of the image of God on their souls. 2. A full assurance of receiving all the promises, whether relating to time or eternity.
Verse 14
[14] Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
Who, thus sealing us, is an earnest - Both a pledge and a foretaste of our inheritance.
Till the redemption of the purchased possession — Till the church, which he has purchased with his own blood, shall be fully delivered from all sin and sorrow, and advanced to everlasting glory.
To the praise of his glory — Of his glorious wisdom, power, and mercy.
John 1:1-18
Verse 1
[1] In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
In the beginning — (Referring to Genesis 1:1, and Proverbs 8:23.) When all things began to be made by the Word: in the beginning of heaven and earth, and this whole frame of created beings, the Word existed, without any beginning. He was when all things began to be, whatsoever had a beginning.
The Word — So termed Psalms 33:6, and frequently by the seventy, and in the Chaldee paraphrase. So that St. John did not borrow this expression from Philo, or any heathen writer. He was not yet named Jesus, or Christ. He is the Word whom the Father begat or spoke from eternity; by whom the Father speaking, maketh all things; who speaketh the Father to us. We have, in John 1:18, both a real description of the Word, and the reason why he is so called. He is the only begotten Son of the Father, who is in the bosom of the Father, and hath declared him. And the Word was with God - Therefore distinct from God the Father. The word rendered with, denotes a perpetual tendency as it were of the Son to the Father, in unity of essence. He was with God alone; because nothing beside God had then any being.
And the Word was God — Supreme, eternal, independent. There was no creature, in respect of which he could be styled God in a relative sense. Therefore he is styled so in the absolute sense. The Godhead of the Messiah being clearly revealed in the Old Testament, ( Jeremiah 23:7; Hosea 1:6; Psalms 23:1,) the other evangelists aim at this, to prove that Jesus, a true man, was the Messiah. But when, at length, some from hence began to doubt of his Godhead, then St. John expressly asserted it, and wrote in this book as it were a supplement to the Gospels, as in the Revelation to the prophets.
Verse 2
[2] The same was in the beginning with God.
The same was in the beginning with God — This verse repeats and contracts into one the three points mentioned before. As if he had said, This Word, who was God, was in the beginning, and was with God.
Verse 3
[3] All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
All things beside God were made, and all things which were made, were made by the Word. In John 1:1,2 is described the state of things before the creation: John 1:3, In the creation: John 1:4, In the time of man's innocency: John 1:5, In the time of man's corruption.
Verse 4
[4] In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
In him was life — He was the foundation of life to every living thing, as well as of being to all that is.
And the life was the light of men — He who is essential life, and the giver of life to all that liveth, was also the light of men; the fountain of wisdom, holiness, and happiness, to man in his original state.
Verse 5
[5] And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
And the light shineth in darkness — Shines even on fallen man; but the darkness - Dark, sinful man, perceiveth it not.
Verse 6
[6] There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
There was a man — The evangelist now proceeds to him who testified of the light, which he had spoken of in the five preceding verses.
Verse 7
[7] The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.
The same came for (that is, in order to give) a testimony - The evangelist, with the most strong and tender affection, interweaves his own testimony with that of John, by noble digressions, wherein he explains the office of the Baptist; partly premises and partly subjoins a farther explication to his short sentences. What St. Matthew, Mark, and Luke term the Gospel, in respect of the promise going before, St. John usually terms the testimony, intimating the certain knowledge of the relator; to testify of the light - Of Christ.
Verse 9
[9] That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
Who lighteth every man — By what is vulgarly termed natural conscience, pointing out at least the general lines of good and evil. And this light, if man did not hinder, would shine more and more to the perfect day.
Verse 10
[10] He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
He was in the world — Even from the creation.
Verse 11
[11] He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
He came — In the fulness of time, to his own - Country, city, temple: And his own - People, received him not.
Verse 12
[12] But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
But as many as received him — Jews or Gentiles; that believe on his name - That is, on him. The moment they believe, they are sons; and because they are sons, God sendeth forth the Spirit of his Son into their hearts, crying, Abba, Father.
Verse 13
[13] Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
Who were born — Who became the sons of God, not of blood - Not by descent from Abraham, nor by the will of the flesh - By natural generation, nor by the will of man - Adopting them, but of God - By his Spirit.
Verse 14
[14] And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
Flesh sometimes signifies corrupt nature; sometimes the body; sometimes, as here, the whole man.
We beheld his glory — We his apostles, particularly Peter, James, and John, Luke 9:32.
Grace and truth — We are all by nature liars and children of wrath, to whom both grace and truth are unknown. But we are made partakers of them, when we are accepted through the Beloved. The whole verse might be paraphrased thus: And in order to raise us to this dignity and happiness, the eternal Word, by a most amazing condescension, was made flesh, united himself to our miserable nature, with all its innocent infirmities. And he did not make us a transient visit, but tabernacled among us on earth, displaying his glory in a more eminent manner, than even of old in the tabernacle of Moses. And we who are now recording these things beheld his glory with so strict an attention, that we can testify, it was in every respect such a glory as became the only begotten of the Father. For it shone forth not only in his transfiguration, and in his continual miracles, but in all his tempers, ministrations, and conduct through the whole series of his life. In all he appeared full of grace and truth: he was himself most benevolent and upright; made those ample discoveries of pardon to sinners, which the Mosaic dispensation could not do: and really exhibited the most substantial blessings, whereas that was but a shadow of good things to come.
Verse 15
[15] John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me.
John cried — With joy and confidence; This is he of whom I said - John had said this before our Lord's baptism, although he then knew him not in person: he knew him first at his baptism, and afterward cried, This is he of whom I said. etc.
He is preferred before me — in his office: for he was before me - in his nature.
Verse 16
[16] And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.
And — Here the apostle confirms the Baptist's words: as if he had said, He is indeed preferred before thee: so we have experienced: We all - That believe: have received - All that we enjoy out of his fulness: and in the particular, grace upon grace - One blessing upon another, immeasurable grace and love.
Verse 17
[17] For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
The law — Working wrath and containing shadows: was given - No philosopher, poet, or orator, ever chose his words so accurately as St. John. The law, saith he, was given by Moses: grace was by Jesus Christ. Observe the reason for placing each word thus: The law of Moses was not his own. The grace of Christ was. His grace was opposite to the wrath, his truth to the shadowy ceremonies of the law.
Jesus — St. John having once mentioned the incarnation { John 1:14,) no more uses that name, the Word, in all his book.
Verse 18
[18] No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
No man hath seen God — With bodily eyes: yet believers see him with the eye of faith.
Who is in the bosom of the Father — The expression denotes the highest unity, and the most intimate knowledge.
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Lectionary Readings
(Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library)
Lectionary Scriptures:
Sunday, 4 January 2015
Epiphany Sunday
Isaiah 60:1-6
Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14
Ephesians 3:1-12
Matthew 2:1-12
Isaiah 60: People Returning for the Reunion
1-7 “Get out of bed, Jerusalem!
    Wake up. Put your face in the sunlight.
    God’s bright glory has risen for you.
The whole earth is wrapped in darkness,
    all people sunk in deep darkness,
But God rises on you,
    his sunrise glory breaks over you.
Nations will come to your light,
    kings to your sunburst brightness.
Look up! Look around!
    Watch as they gather, watch as they approach you:
Your sons coming from great distances,
    your daughters carried by their nannies.
When you see them coming you’ll smile—big smiles!
    Your heart will swell and, yes, burst!
All those people returning by sea for the reunion,
    a rich harvest of exiles gathered in from the nations!
And then streams of camel caravans as far as the eye can see,
    young camels of nomads in Midian and Ephah,
Pouring in from the south from Sheba,
    loaded with gold and frankincense,
    preaching the praises of God.
And yes, a great roundup
    of flocks from the nomads in Kedar and Nebaioth,
Welcome gifts for worship at my altar
    as I bathe my glorious Temple in splendor.
Psalm 72:1 A Solomon Psalm
1-8 Give the gift of wise rule to the king, O God,
    the gift of just rule to the crown prince.
May he judge your people rightly,
    be honorable to your meek and lowly.
Let the mountains give exuberant witness;
    shape the hills with the contours of right living.
Please stand up for the poor,
    help the children of the needy,
    come down hard on the cruel tyrants.
Outlast the sun, outlive the moon—
    age after age after age.
Be rainfall on cut grass,
    earth-refreshing rain showers.
Let righteousness burst into blossom
    and peace abound until the moon fades to nothing.
Rule from sea to sea,
    from the River to the Rim.
9-14 Foes will fall on their knees before God,
    his enemies lick the dust.
Kings remote and legendary will pay homage,
    kings rich and resplendent will turn over their wealth.
All kings will fall down and worship,
    and godless nations sign up to serve him,
Because he rescues the poor at the first sign of need,
    the destitute who have run out of luck.
He opens a place in his heart for the down-and-out,
    he restores the wretched of the earth.
He frees them from tyranny and torture—
    when they bleed, he bleeds;
    when they die, he dies.
Ephesians 3: The Secret Plan of God
1-3 This is why I, Paul, am in jail for Christ, having taken up the cause of you outsiders, so-called. I take it that you’re familiar with the part I was given in God’s plan for including everybody. I got the inside story on this from God himself, as I just wrote you in brief.
4-6 As you read over what I have written to you, you’ll be able to see for yourselves into the mystery of Christ. None of our ancestors understood this. Only in our time has it been made clear by God’s Spirit through his holy apostles and prophets of this new order. The mystery is that people who have never heard of God and those who have heard of him all their lives (what I’ve been calling outsiders and insiders) stand on the same ground before God. They get the same offer, same help, same promises in Christ Jesus. The Message is accessible and welcoming to everyone, across the board.
7-8 This is my life work: helping people understand and respond to this Message. It came as a sheer gift to me, a real surprise, God handling all the details. When it came to presenting the Message to people who had no background in God’s way, I was the least qualified of any of the available Christians. God saw to it that I was equipped, but you can be sure that it had nothing to do with my natural abilities.
8-10 And so here I am, preaching and writing about things that are way over my head, the inexhaustible riches and generosity of Christ. My task is to bring out in the open and make plain what God, who created all this in the first place, has been doing in secret and behind the scenes all along. Through followers of Jesus like yourselves gathered in churches, this extraordinary plan of God is becoming known and talked about even among the angels!
11-13 All this is proceeding along lines planned all along by God and then executed in Christ Jesus. When we trust in him, we’re free to say whatever needs to be said, bold to go wherever we need to go. So don’t let my present trouble on your behalf get you down. Be proud!
Matthew 2: Scholars from the East
1-2 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem village, Judah territory— this was during Herod’s kingship—a band of scholars arrived in Jerusalem from the East. They asked around, “Where can we find and pay homage to the newborn King of the Jews? We observed a star in the eastern sky that signaled his birth. We’re on pilgrimage to worship him.”
3-4 When word of their inquiry got to Herod, he was terrified—and not Herod alone, but most of Jerusalem as well. Herod lost no time. He gathered all the high priests and religion scholars in the city together and asked, “Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?”
5-6 They told him, “Bethlehem, Judah territory. The prophet Micah wrote it plainly:
It’s you, Bethlehem, in Judah’s land,
    no longer bringing up the rear.
From you will come the leader
    who will shepherd-rule my people, my Israel.”
7-8 Herod then arranged a secret meeting with the scholars from the East. Pretending to be as devout as they were, he got them to tell him exactly when the birth-announcement star appeared. Then he told them the prophecy about Bethlehem, and said, “Go find this child. Leave no stone unturned. As soon as you find him, send word and I’ll join you at once in your worship.”
9-10 Instructed by the king, they set off. Then the star appeared again, the same star they had seen in the eastern skies. It led them on until it hovered over the place of the child. They could hardly contain themselves: They were in the right place! They had arrived at the right time!
11 They entered the house and saw the child in the arms of Mary, his mother. Overcome, they kneeled and worshiped him. Then they opened their luggage and presented gifts: gold, frankincense, myrrh.
12 In a dream, they were warned not to report back to Herod. So they worked out another route, left the territory without being seen, and returned to their own country.
John Wesley's Notes-Commentary for
Isaiah 60:1-6
Verse 1
[1] Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.
Arise — A word of encouragement accommodated to the Jewish, or Hebrew style, wherein, as by lying down, is described a servile and calamitous condition, chap. 47:1, so by rising, and standing up, a recovery out of it, into a free, and prosperous one, as may be seen frequently; Rouze up, intimating her deliverance to be at hand. Here under a type, of Jerusalem's restoration, is displayed the flourishing state of the Gentile - church, under the Messiah.
Thy light — Thy flourishing and prosperous state.
Verse 2
[2] For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.
The darkness — All kinds of errors.
The Lord — Christ.
Shall be seen — Shall be conspicuous; as the Lord's arising, to the darkness covering the earth, so the glory being seen, answers to that gross darkness.
Verse 3
[3] And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.
The Gentiles — A plain prophecy of the calling of the Gentiles.
Verse 5
[5] Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee.
See — With delight the multitudes of thy children running to thee.
Flow — They shall flock together to behold such an amazing sight.
Fear — Or stand amazed.
Enlarged — Both with joy, and love.
The abundance — The islands of the sea, the nations, shall turn to thee in religion, and affection.
The forces — Or wealth.
Verse 6
[6] The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring gold and incense; and they shall shew forth the praises of the LORD.
The multitude — The treasure, that is brought upon camels. By these, and such like figurative expressions in several verses of this chapter is implied the coming in of all nations to Christ, and therefore they are brought in as presenting the chief commodities of their respective countries.
Dromedaries — A smaller sort of camel.
Ephah — The Midianites, and Ephahites dwelt beyond Arabia.
Sheba — A country in Arabia Felix, whose queen it was, that came to visit Solomon, and her bringing gifts might be a type of this, Solomon being a type of Christ.
Gold — The principal commodities with which this country abounded, by which we are to understand whatever is precious.
Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14
Verse 1
[1] Give the king thy judgments, O God, and thy righteousness unto the king's son.
Judgments — He saith judgments in the plural number, because though the office of judging and ruling was but one, yet there were divers parts and branches, of it; in all which he begs that Solomon may be directed to do as God would have him to do.
Verse 2
[2] He shall judge thy people with righteousness, and thy poor with judgment.
Thy afflicted ones — For such are thine in a special manner, thou art their judge and patron.
Verse 3
[3] The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills, by righteousness.
The mountains — Which are so dangerous to passengers, in regard of robbers and wild beasts. Hereby it is implied, that other places should do so too, and that it should be common and universal.
Verse 4
[4] He shall judge the poor of the people, he shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor.
Judge — Vindicate them from their oppressors.
Verse 5
[5] They shall fear thee as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout all generations.
Thee — Thee, O God, this shall be another blessed fruit of this righteous government, that together with peace, true religion shall be established, and that throughout all generations, which was begun in Solomon's days, but not fully accomplished 'till Christ came.
Verse 6
[6] He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass: as showers that water the earth.
He shall come — Christ did come down from heaven, and brought or sent down from heaven his doctrine, (which is often compared to rain) and the sweet and powerful influences of his spirit.
Verse 10
[10] The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts.
The sea — Of remote countries, to which they used to go from Canaan by sea; which are frequently called isles in scripture; the kings that rule by sea or by land.
Verse 11
[11] Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him.
All nations — Which cannot be said of Solomon with any truth or colour, but was unquestionably verified in Christ,
Verse 14
[14] He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence: and precious shall their blood be in his sight.
Deceit and violence — The two ways whereby the lives of men are usually destroyed.
Precious — He will not be prodigal of the lives of his subjects, but like a true father of his people, will tenderly preserve them, and severely avenge their blood upon those who shall shed it.
Ephesians 3:1-12
Verse 1
[1] For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles,
For this cause — That ye may be so "built together," I am a prisoner for you gentiles - For your advantage, and for asserting your right to these blessings. This it was which so enraged the Jews against him.
Verse 2
[2] If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward:
The dispensation of the grace of God given me in your behalf — That is, the commission to dispense the gracious gospel; to you gentiles in particular. This they had heard from his own mouth.
Verse 3
[3] How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words,
The mystery — Of salvation by Christ alone, and that both to Jews and gentiles.
As I wrote before — Namely, Ephesians 1:9,10; the very words of which passage he here repeats.
Verse 5
[5] Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;
Which in other — In former, ages was not so clearly or fully made known to the sons of men - To any man, no, not to Ezekiel, so often styled, "son of man;" nor to any of the ancient prophets. Those here spoken of are New Testament prophets.
Verse 6
[6] That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:
That the gentiles are joint-heirs — Of God.
And of the same body — Under Christ the head.
And joint-partakers of his promise — The communion of the Holy Ghost.
Verse 7
[7] Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power.
According to the gift of the grace of God — That is, the apostle - ship which he hath graciously given me, and which he hath qualified me for.
By the effectual working of his power — In me and by me.
Verse 8
[8] Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;
Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given — Here are the noblest strains of eloquence to paint the exceeding low opinion the apostle had of himself, and the fulness of unfathomable blessings which are treasured up in Christ.
Verse 9
[9] And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
What is the fellowship of the mystery — What those mysterious blessings are whereof all believers jointly partake. Which was, in a great measure, hidden from eternity by God, who, to make way for the free exercise of his love, created all things - This is the foundation of all his dispensations.
Verse 10
[10] To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,
That the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church — By what is done in the church, which is the theatre of the divine wisdom.
Verse 12
[12] In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.
By whom we have free access — Such as those petitioners have, who are introduced to the royal presence by some distinguished favourite.
And boldness — Unrestrained liberty of speech, such as children use in addressing an indulgent father, when, without fear of offending, they disclose all their wants, and make known all their requests.
Matthew 2:1-12
Verse 2
[2] Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.
To do him homage — To pay him that honour, by bowing to the earth before him, which the eastern nations used to pay to their monarchs.
Verse 4
[4] And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.
The chief priests — That is, not only the high priest and his deputy, with those who formerly had borne that office: but also the chief man in each of those twenty-four courses, into which the body of priests were divided, 1 Chronicles 24:6-19. The scribes were those whose peculiar business it was to explain the Scriptures to the people. They were the public preachers, or expounders of the law of Moses. Whence the chief of them were called doctors of the law.
Verse 6
[6] And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.
Thou art in nowise the least among the princes of Judah — That is, among the cities belonging to the princes or heads of thousands in Judah. When this and several other quotations from the Old Testament are compared with the original, it plainly appears, the apostles did not always think it necessary exactly to transcribe the passages they cited, but contented themselves with giving the general sense, though with some diversity of language. The words of Micah, which we render, Though thou be little, may be rendered, Art thou little? And then the difference which seems to be here between the prophet and the evangelist vanishes away. Micah 5:2.
Verse 8
[8] And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.
And if ye find him, bring me word - Probably Herod did not believe he was born; otherwise would not so suspicious a prince have tried to make sure work at once?
Verse 10
[10] When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.
Seeing the star — Standing over where the child was.
Verse 11
[11] And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.
They presented to him gifts — It was customary to offer some present to any eminent person whom they visited. And so it is, as travellers observe, in the eastern countries to this day.
Gold, frankincense, and myrrh — Probably these were the best things their country afforded; and the presents ordinarily made to great persons. This was a most seasonable, providential assistance for a long and expensive journey into Egypt, a country where they were entirely strangers, and were to stay for a considerable time.
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