Arise and Shine in Splendor - Bible Study

Arise and Shine in Splendor

Isaiah 60:1–6; Colossians 1:13; Isaiah 9:2; Acts 26:17–18

Text: Martin Opitz (1597-1639)

(Lutheran Service Book 396)

Arise and shine in splendor;

Let night to day surrender.

            Your light is drawing near.

Above, the day is beaming,

In matchless beauty gleaming;

            The glory of the Lord is here.

See earth in darkness lying,

The heathen nations dying

            In hopeless gloom and night.

To you the Lord of heaven—

Your life, your hope—has given

            Great glory, honor, and delight.

The world’s remotest races,

Upon whose weary faces

            The sun looks from the sky,

Shall run with zeal untiring,

With joy Your light desiring

            That breaks upon them from on high.

Lift up your eyes in wonder—

See, nations gather yonder

            From sin to be set free.

The world has heard Your story;

Her sons come to Your glory;

            Her daughters haste Your light to see.

Your heart will leap for gladness

When from the realms of sadness

            They come from near and far.

Your eyes will wake from slumber

As people without number

            Rejoice to see the Morning Star.

© 1941 Concordia Publishing House

 

Martin Opitz

“Arise and Shine in Splendor” was composed by Martin Opitz who is widely considered as the most influential German poet of his generation. One of his key achievements was to establish the German language as a fit language for poetry. Before Opitz, when Germans wrote poetry, they would imitate poets from other languages. “Opitz's poems, written during the Thirty Years War, reflect shifting religious and worldly loyalties.” I can find no direct reference to his religious leanings however, based on the places he worked, it seems likely he was Roman Catholic. He died of the plague. This hymn first appeared in our hymnals with The Lutheran Hymnal. The original has six verses. Our hymnals have always published five of them.

Light and darkness is a traditional Epiphany theme, and Opitz picks up on it. Light represents God, gospel, Christ, life and the like. Darkness represents the devil, law, sin, death, and the like. This is a use of the light/dark metaphor that was established in Scriptures.

Through His Old Testament prophets, God promised that the Messiah was not just for Jews, but for all. The hymn starts by drawing inspiration from one of those prophecies, Isaiah 60:1-6.

^60:1        Arise, shine, for your light has come,

                        and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.

²           For behold, darkness shall cover the earth,

                        and thick darkness the peoples;

            but the Lord will arise upon you,

                        and his glory will be seen upon you.

³           And nations shall come to your light,

                        and kings to the brightness of your rising.

⁴           Lift up your eyes all around, and see;

                        they all gather together, they come to you;

            your sons shall come from afar,

                        and your daughters shall be carried on the hip.

⁵           Then you shall see and be radiant;

                        your heart shall thrill and exult,

            because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you,

                        the wealth of the nations shall come to you.

⁶           A multitude of camels shall cover you,

                        the young camels of Midian and Ephah;

                        all those from Sheba shall come.

            They shall bring gold and frankincense,

                        and shall bring good news, the praises of the Lord.

(Isaiah 60:1-6)

The light/darkness metaphor is easily seen in Isaiah. Isaiah speaks of nations and kings coming to the brightness of the Messiah in verse 3. In verse 6 he speaks of camels arriving carrying gold and frankincense. The fulfillment of this verse can easily been seen in the Magi who visited the Christ-child.

In the hymn we sing of the world’s “remotest races” and the “heathen nations dying” as they lye in darkness seeing the light of the gospel. This again reflects the reading from Isaiah for, while Isaiah’s words can certainly be applied to the Magi, they are not limited to those visitors to Bethlehem. Wherever the Gospel goes it brings the saving light into a sin-darkened world.

Isaiah saw what would happen when the Messiah came and wrote about it in chapter 9.

             The people who walked in darkness

                        have seen a great light;

            those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,

                        on them has light shone.

(Isaiah 9:2)

Again we find the light/darkness metaphor used also in our hymn. This great light comes from Galilee (Isaiah 9:1), pointing us to Jesus. Jesus himself picks up on this light imagery when he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). Jesus identifies himself as the Light of which Isaiah spoke and of which we sing in the hymn.

Saul, a former Pharisee and scholar of the Old Testament, was a persecutor of Christians. He became the great Christian missionary to the Gentiles and faced the same persecution he once dealt out. At one time he was arrested and appeared before King Agrippa. At that time Saul/Paul told the king how the resurrected Jesus appeared to him.

¹⁷“… delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending you ¹⁸to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me’” (Acts 26:17-18).

Jesus told Saul that He had appointed him to be His servant and witness, specifically to the Gentiles. Again the Gospel light is not to be restricted to any one race or nation. Again our hymn reflects the global reach of the Gospel over and over again.

Paul was to “open the eyes” of those to whom he was sent. He was to proclaim Jesus’ teachings, which includes both Law and Gospel. The “Law” part might not jump out right away, but every reference to “darkness” is Law. To remove the metaphor a bit, we are sinners who need to “see” our sins and our need for a Savior. The Gospel is all that Jesus has done and does to earn and deliver to us our forgiveness and salvation. The Holy Spirit works through these truths and opens the eyes of sinners to see and know their Savior. Through faith in Him, their sins would be forgiven and they would be sanctified.

At Pentecost the Holy Spirit made it possible for believers to speak in foreign languages—opening the way to reach the Gentiles. In less than thirty years, the Gospel was being proclaimed throughout the Roman Empire. Paul wrote about this advancement of the Gospel to the Colossians:

He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son (Colossians 1:13)

Notice that Paul uses the word “us” when speaking of being delivered from darkness and being brought into the kingdom of “His beloved Son.” The nations for whom the Gospel is intended includes the descendants of Abraham. However Paul is writing to Gentiles, and includes them in the word “us.” We have been delivered, all of us, both Jew and Gentile, all who have come to faith in Christ. To put that another way, all baptized believers in the Triune God, who have faith in Jesus as the Savior, are included in the word “us.” So, as we sing of the nations in the hymn, we are singing about Mexico, South Africa, Nigeria, China, France, Puerto Rico, Russia, the Philippines, and the USA, to name a few. We are singing about “us.”

To Jordan Came the Christ, Our Lord - Bible Study

“To Jordan Came the Christ, Our Lord”

Luke 3:21–22; Acts 2:38; Galatians 3:26–27; Matthew 28:19–20

(Lutheran Service Book 406, 407)

Text: Martin Luther

To Jordan came the Christ, our Lord,

            To do His Father’s pleasure;

Baptized by John, the Father’s Word

            Was given us to treasure,

This heav’nly washing now shall be

            A cleansing from transgression

And by His blood and agony

            Release from death’s oppression.

A new life now awaits us.

O hear and mark the message well,

            For God Himself has spoken.

Let faith, not doubt, among us dwell

            And so receive this token.

Our Lord here with His Word endows

            Pure water, freely flowing.

God’s Holy Spirit here avows

            Our kinship while bestowing

The Baptism of His blessing.

These truths on Jordan’s banks were shown

            By mighty word and wonder.

The Father’s voice from heav’n came down,

            Which we do well to ponder:

“This man is My beloved Son,

            In whom My heart has pleasure.

Him you must hear, and Him alone,

            And trust in fullest measure

The word that He has spoken.”

There stood the Son of God in love,

            His grace to us extending;

The Holy Spirit like a dove

            Upon the scene descending;

The triune God assuring us,

            With promises compelling,

That in our Baptism He will thus

            Among us find a dwelling

To comfort and sustain us.

To His disciples spoke the Lord,

            “Go out to ev’ry nation,

And bring to them the living Word

            And this My invitation:

Let ev’ryone abandon sin

            And come in true contrition

To be baptized and thereby win

            Full pardon and remission

And heav’nly bliss inherit.”

But woe to those who cast aside

            This grace so freely given;

They shall in sin and shame abide

            And to despair be driven.

For born in sin, their works must fail,

            Their striving saves them never;

Their pious acts do not avail,

            And they are lost forever,

Eternal death their portion.

All that the mortal eye beholds

            Is water as we pour it.

Before the eye of faith unfolds

            The pow’r of Jesus’ merit.

For here it sees the crimson flood

            To all our ills bring healing;

The wonders of His precious blood

            The love of God revealing,

Assuring His own pardon.

As I have said elsewhere, if Martin Luther had done nothing but write hymns he would still be remembered today. Of course there was a great need for new hymns in his day because the Reformation brought an accent on congregational singing, but songs for the congregation were few and far between. So Luther, and others, set about writing hymns. The first hymnal for congregational use was a Lutheran hymnal, published in Luther’s lifetime.

In this hymn, Luther uses Jesus’ Baptism to show the blessings of our own Baptisms. Jesus, the sinless Son of God, didn’t need to be baptized, but He was. “For our sake He (the Father) made Him (the Son) to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Jesus’ Baptism was another way that He identified with us. Baptism becomes a two-way street. Jesus identifies with us poor sinners and we are clothed in His righteousness and become God’s children (Galatians 3:26–27).

Jesus began His ministry with His Baptism in the Jordan River. Some might say that he began his ministry after his temptation, and a case can be made for that. However his baptism was his first public action. In Luke 3:21–22 we see that John the Baptist baptized many, not just Jesus. However there were some key differences, aside from that fact that Jesus was without sin (Hebrews 4:15). Luke 3:21-22 tells us about one that was very obvious. At his baptism the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus like a dove, and the Father said, “This is My beloved Son; with whom I am well pleased.” Luther catches this event in verses three and four.

In Matthew 28:1-20 we find the “Great Commission.” In it, of course, we find Christ’s command to baptize all nations in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. This command from our Savior instituted the Sacrament of Baptism, through which God forgives sins by water and the Word (Ephesians 5:26). This is caught in verse six of Luther’s hymn. Christian baptism, while not identical with John the Baptist’s baptism, still has some strong parallels. This is one of them. In Mark 1:4 we read, “John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” Notice that John doesn’t proclaim repentance, forgiveness of sins and then baptism. Somehow, through a miracle very similar to Christian baptism, John’s baptism granted and worked repentance and forgiveness of sins.

Going back to Galatians 3:26-27, we find that, in Christ, we are all “sons of God.” God removed our sins in baptism and clothed us with “Christ,” or more specifically, Christ’s righteousness. Our human eyes may only see water, but we are connected to the death of Jesus, caught in the final verse of the hymn (Romans 6:3).

Peter confronted the Jews with their role in crucifying the Messiah. Many were shaken and wanted to know what to do. Peter answered, Peter said, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). The saving gift of the Holy Spirit is faith (and the continuation of that faith), which comes through the Word, Baptism, and the Lord’s Supper. Notice here that repentance comes before baptism. So we have the pattern established that the Church follows to this day. If the non-Christian we are dealing with is an adult, you instruct until they repent and come to faith in Jesus, then you baptize. However not everyone can receive instruction. An infant, for example, still needs to be saved by grace through faith, but can’t understand a sermon. In such a case we baptize first and instruct as the child grows. The baptism works the repentance and faith. How can baptism do this? Well look at Peter’s words. Baptism grants the Holy Spirit, and it is the Spirit who “calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies us in the one true Christian Faith.” Bottom line, it is always the Holy Spirit who brings us to faith. It doesn’t matter what age we are when He does this.

Enjoy this recording of “To Jordan Came the Christ, Our Lord.” 

Just As I Am

Saturday after Pentecost 17
October 3, 2009

The Lord be with you

Charlotte Elliott was born in 1789. At the age of 32 she became a invalid and had to live with her brother, who was a pastor. One evening in 1834 her brother and his family were busy preparing for a bazaar to raise money to build a college where the daughters of poorer clergy could be educated at low expense. Charlotte, who was blessed with an excellent education herself, was haunted by a sense of her helplessness. She could do nothing to assist. She tossed about that night, racing through her mind were many conflicts and doubts. The next day, Charlotte could not go. Charlotte could never go because her health restricted her to the home.

Though her body was weak, Charlotte’s faith was strong. One way she expressed her faith was with her writing. While the family was gone she wrote a hymn that you know.

Just as I am, without one plea
But that Thy blood was shed for me
And that Thou bidd’st me come to Thee,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am and waiting not
To rid my soul of one dark blot,
To Thee, whose blood can cleanse each spot,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, though tossed about
With many a conflict, many a doubt,
Fightings and fears within, without
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, poor, wretched, blind;
Sight, riches, healing of the mind,
Yea, all I need, in Thee to find,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, Thou wilt receive,
Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve;
Because Thy promise I believe,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am; Thy love unknown
Has broken ev’ry barrier down;
Now to be Thine, yea, Thine alone,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come. (LSB 570)

The hymn was first published in The Invalid’s Hymnal, along with 114 other hymns by Charlotte. Her brother once said of this hymn, “In the course of a long ministry I hope I have been permitted to see some fruit of my labor, but I feel that far more has been done by a single hymn of my sister’s.”

Now in my gut I “know” that Rev Henry Elliott was correct. However I don’t have any stories to corroborate his evaluation of Charlotte’s hymn. If Just As I Am has been a blessing to you, would you please leave me a comment and let me know about it. The comment can be as simple as “This hymn has been a blessing to me.” However, if you can include a story about how it has been a blessing - that would be great!

Blessings in Christ
Pastor John Rickert