Monday Prior to Christmas 2

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Psalm 147:1, 5, 11-12 - The Antiphon, is taken from John 1:14, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen His glory the glory of the One and only who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” — During this season of Christmas we see the full impact of Christ’s coming into this world. The Word existed before He became a man. Yet He comes to make His dwelling with us. He literally “tabernacles” with us. In Exodus 40:34-35 the Tent of Meeting was filled with the glory of God. Now He comes to dwell with us.

This Psalm is another of the last five psalms that have no title in the Hebrew text, but each of these last five begins and ends with Hallelujah or Praise the LORD!

A. Praising God for His protection and preservation.

1. (1) The goodness of hallelujah.

Praise the LORD!

For it is good to sing praises to our God;

For it is pleasant, and praise is beautiful.

a. Praise the LORD: These words are both a declaration and an encouragement of praise to Yahweh. We are encouraged to praise Yahweh with the psalmist.

i. “There is no heaven, either in this world, or the world to come, for people who do not praise God. If you do not enter into the spirit and worship of heaven, how should the spirit and joy of heaven enter into you?”

b. It is good to sing praises to our God: It was right for the psalmist to tell himself and others to praise the LORD, and he assumed that God’s people would do it with singing. The goodness of praise comes from the truth that it is, in itself, pleasant and beautiful.

i. Psalm 33:1 says praise from the upright is beautiful. True praise is beautiful to God, to His people as a community, and to the individual worshipper.

ii. Praise is pleasant and beautiful for humanity. “It is decent, befitting, and proper that every intelligent creature should acknowledge the Supreme Being: and as he does nothing but good to the children of men, so they should speak good of his name.” (Clarke)

iii. Since praise is beautiful, “…an unthankful man is an ugly, ill-favored spectacle.”[2]

Because of the calendar, Christmas 2 is not often observed. By the second Sunday after Christmas many of the decorations are already down, the festivities are over, the gifts have been put away, and Christmas is over and almost forgotten. Now that the hub-bub is over, we can get down to a serious consideration of the meaning of the Incarnation of Jesus Christ. In Christ God blesses us with spiritual blessings and has made us sons and daughters through grace. We pray for wisdom as we enter a new year. The Savior entered time and space at Christmas. He will continue to guide our path and direct our steps throughout this New Year.  Thus we are moved to pray, “Almighty God, You have filled us with the new light of the Word who became flesh and lived among us. Let the light of our faith shine in all that we do.”

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[1] Jesus in the Temple, Schnorr von Carolsfeld, woodcuts copyright © WELS Permission to use these copyrighted items is limited to personal and congregational use.

[2] https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/psalm-147/