December 3: Let the Earth Keep Silent
Thursday, December 3
Scripture: Habakkuk 2:20
But the Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him.
LET THE EARTH KEEP SILENT
Twenty-seven-hundred years ago, a man named Habakkuk came before the Lord God, covenant-maker and covenant-keeper with the Kingdom of Judah. His purpose? To complain.
“God, you see the violence, sin, misery and destruction, the moral and spiritual iniquity of this people. Why do you allow injustice to abound? Why don’t you do something about the evil that surrounds us?”
Though 2700 years ago, Habakkuk's prayer echoes through the ages and into this very day.
“Lord, why do you allow ISIS to commit wanton murder? Why do you allow people to be driven from their homelands—from Syria, Kosovo, and Somalia—by those seeking more power? Lord, why do you allow the evil in our hearts to continue to be manifest in racial tension and violence across the United States? Why do you allow injustice to abound? Why don’t you do something about the evil that surrounds us?”
And God responds to Habakkuk's complaint: in sharp contrast to idols, prevalent in that day and having wood for ears and stones for eyes, God answers. He sees, He hears, He knows, and He is present. God articulates for Habakuk five woes that will be visited upon the evils of the day.
Then God offers this reminder of his sovereignty: “The Lord is in his Holy Temple. Let all the earth be silent before him.”
No one has to wake the Lord God up to the realities of the day: He sees, He hears, and He knows. But for Habakkuk and often for us, God’s justice seems so very slow. Yet, when it comes, it is all-encompassing. It turns out that God’s justice, His ultimate response to the problem of evil run rampant doesn’t look like we thought it might. God’s response brings into view a grander purpose. Though seemingly so slow, His response addresses something deeper and wider than the visible acts of evil and injustice we encounter day-to-day, or the systems of power and oppression that allow evil to exist. God’s response addresses the human heart.
God’s response comes as a baby. “Christ our God to earth decendeth.” God—the Lord Most High, seated in the Holy of Holies, flanked by six-winged seraphim sitting at his feet, and surrounded by cherubim praising him with “ceaseless voice”—came to earth, “that the powers of hell may vanish as the darkness clears away.” God’s response to the problem of evil is Jesus. The magnificence and majesty of God’s holiness was made manifest to us in the form of a little child. It is a juxtaposition that hardly makes sense, an act that seems almost irreverent.
As we contemplate the grandeur of God’s holiness come close to us in the form of a baby, as we consider Jesus as the answer to the evil that surrounds us, what is our response? Perhaps it is worship rendered as awestruck silence.
PRAYER
Lord, I lay my complaints before you—You see, You hear, You know. In response to our evil, You have sent Jesus. The grandeur and majesty of Your holiness has come to be with us as a child.
Give me pause this day to respond in the worship of awestruck silence.
Amen.
Lisa Igram, Associate Dean of Spiritual Development
“Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silent”
CCCA Video with Stained Glass
About the Video
In an attempt to echo the holiness and reverence of the ancient hymn, “Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silent,” images of stained glass windows were chosen to reflect Christ’s descent from heaven to earth. Stained glass is a medium most often associated with cathedrals and churches. Stained glass craftsmen working in churches strive to visually transport the viewer into the transcendent realm. These windows take on a new dimension when illuminated with light, making them an appropriate vehicle to contemplate the incarnation.
About the Music
“Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence”
Lyrics
Let all mortal flesh keep silence, and with fear and trembling stand;
Ponder nothing earthly minded, for with blessing is His hand,
Christ our God to earth descendeth, our full homage to demand.
King of Kings, yet born of Mary, as of old earth He stood,
Lord of Lords, in human vesture, in the body and the blood;
He will give to all the faithful His own self for heavenly food.
Rank on rank the host of heaven spreads its vanguard on the way,
As Light of light descendeth from the realms of endless day,
That the powers of hell may vanish as the darkness clears away.
At His feet the six-winged seraph, Cherubim, With sleepless eye,
Veil their faces to His presence as with ceaseless voice they cry:
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Lord Most High!
About the Origins
“Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence” is an ancient chant based on the text of Habakkuk 2:20: "Let all the earth keep silence before Him.” It was composed in Greek as a Cherubic Hymn for worship in the 4th century, with local churches adopting arrangements in Syriac. Ralph Vaughan Williams’ (1872-1958) arrangement of a translation from the Greek to the tune of Picardy, a French medieval folk melody, popularized the hymn among Christian congregations.
About the Performer
Fernando Ortega (b. 1957) is an evangelical Christian singer-songwriter and worship leader, heavily influenced by traditional hymns as well as his family’s heritage in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Much of his current inspiration comes from the North American Anglican liturgy. From the late-70s to the mid-90s, he served in music ministry at a number of churches in New Mexico and Southern California. From 1993 to the present, Ortega has worked as a concert and recording artist, and has released 14 albums. “Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence” is from his album Christmas Songs, released in 2008.
Website: www.fernandoortega.com