December 17: Let the Earth Open and Bring Forth a Savior
♫ Music:
WEEK THREE INTRODUCTION
December 17–23
TITLE: THE GLORY OF THE LORD
Professor Christopher Morgan defines glory as “the magnification, worth, loveliness, and grandeur of [God’s] many perfections.” The prophet and patriarch Moses pleaded with God, “Show me Your glory” (Exodus 33:18, NKJV). God told Moses, “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live” (v. 20). Yet, while receiving the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai, Moses was allowed to glimpse a small, muted portion of God’s wonder and majesty: “Now the Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there and proclaimed the name of the Lord” (Exodus 34:5, NKJV). God revealed himself to Moses, and in turn to his chosen people, as a personal, covenantal God. Moses responded by bowing low and worshiping.
The Old Testament begins with the grand narrative of a creative God bringing into being the universe, then the earth and everything contained in it. David proclaims, “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork” (Psalm 19:1, NKJV). God is the Lord of all creation—a mind-boggling, continually unfolding work that, without interruption, reflects back to him his glorious attributes and marvelous wonders.
God’s felt and seen glory was present in both the tabernacle as well as the temple. “Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle” (Exodus 40:34, NKJV). “As soon as Solomon finished his prayer, fire descended from heaven and burned up the burnt offerings and sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the Temple. The priests could not enter into the Temple because the glory of the Lord had filled the Lord’s Temple. When all of the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the Lord resting on the Temple, they bowed down with their faces to the ground on the pavement, worshiped, and gave thanks to the Lord” (2 Chronicles 7:1–3a). Isaiah 6, one of the most well-known passages in the book, describes the prophet’s own encounter with the glory of God. “I saw the Lord sitting upon his throne, high and exalted. The train of his robe filled the Temple. The seraphim stood above him. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he was flying. They kept on calling to each other: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of the Heavenly Armies! The whole earth is full of his glory!’ The foundations of the thresholds quaked at the sound of those who kept calling out, and the Temple was filled with smoke” (Isaiah 6:1–4).
God’s glory is too awesome and powerful to be fully experienced by mere mortals. What a paradoxical, dumbfounding experience it must have been for the shepherds to slowly realize what was going on and then to witness for the first time a new manifestation of God’s glory as it was revealed to them (ordinary people like you and me) in the person of Jesus Christ. As Emmanuel and Redeemer, Jesus Christ is the dwelling place of God’s glory (Colossians 2:9), and for thirty-three years the presence of God on earth. Author Mark Ballenger writes, “The glory of God occurs when the invisible qualities of God are made visible or knowable for people to see or understand. You can see the glory of God through creation, through God's law, through humans, through Jesus, and through the gospel of Jesus Christ.” We ponder the glory of God this week as we prepare once more to greet the King of Glory.
Day 15 - Sunday, December 17
Title: LET THE EARTH OPEN AND BRING FORTH A SAVIOR
Scripture #1: Isaiah 45:6–8 (NKJV)
“‘That they may know from the rising of the sun to its setting that there is none besides Me. I am the Lord, and there is no other; I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create calamity; I, the Lord, do all these things.’ Rain down, you heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness; let the earth open, let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together. I, the Lord, have created it.”
Scripture #2: Isaiah 64:1a (NKJV)
Oh, that You would rend the heavens! That You would come down!
Poetry & Poet:
“Sonnet (1)”
by Frederick Goddard Tuckerman
The starry flower, the flower-like stars that fade
And brighten with the daylight and the dark, —
The bluet in the green I faintly mark,
And glimmering crags with laurel overlaid,
Even to the Lord of light, the Lamp of shade,
Shine one to me, — the least, still glorious made
As crowned moon, or heaven's great hierarch.
And, so, dim grassy flower, and night-lit spark,
Still move me on and upward for the True;
Seeking through change, growth, death, in
new and old.
The full in few, the statelier in the less,
With patient pain; always remembering this, —
His hand, who touched the sod with showers
of gold,
Stippled Orion on the midnight blue.
CREATION CALLS YOU TO COME
One midnight in late July, I hiked with a group of Torrey students to the brink of the Lower Falls in Yellowstone. A book we discussed on this trip had lamented the loss of night through increasing light pollution, so without headlamps we made our way slowly but also more attentively through the stretches of darkness interspersed with dimness. The canyon opened before us. Its vastness, the cold moonlight on the cliffs, and the thunder of the waterfall that we approached with a certain apprehensive delight unknown to us in the daytime, all seemed to call for a specific response from us, one of spirit and action, that would be in conformity with the whole. Thus, in awe and solemnity we sang the doxology and then laid on our backs on the rock looking upward in silence at the stars.
Creation calls for its Maker to come, the Savior who will right all wrongs. In his incarnation, Christ did rend the heavens and came down, bringing us salvation. He has forgiven our transgressions. However, the wholeness is not yet complete. We join creation in groaning for his final return and our full redemption. The musical selections for today reveal this yearning. The “Rorate caeli” echoes Isaiah 45:8, imploring “let the skies pour down righteousness.” James Block sings from Isaiah 64:1, reminding us that “we need saving” and that we are waiting to see what God has prepared for us.
Creation not only draws us to yearning for Christ, but also moves us to devotion. Frederick Tuckerman’s sonnet mentions the unity of creation in all its parts, both great and small, from “the starry flower” to “the flower-like stars,” which encourage us to move “on and upward for the True.” In Christ’s incarnation, our discord with the rest of creation is returned to harmony and we join its songs of praise.
As we inhabit this middle time, between the nativity and Christ’s return, he has not left us alone. His Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and we are given other constant and tangible reminders of his presence. A night hike in Yellowstone reminded me to desire and worship. In the same way, the return of the Advent season and the celebration of Christ’s birth can help us remember our constant need for him to come down to us. May we long for him, asking him to come to us anew each morning. May we wake with a renewed sense of our fellowship with him and walk each moment so that attitude and behavior are consistent with that joy. May righteousness spring up in our lives today in response to the call of creation.
Prayer:
O Lord, oor ain father an’ saviour, the day ye hae sent’s has arrived bonnie an’ gran’, an’ we bless ye for sen’in’ ’t; but eh, oor father, we need mair the licht that shines i’ the darker place. We need the dawn o’ a spiritual day inside’s, or the bonnie day ootside winna gang for muckle.
–––George MacDonald
Dr. Laurie Wilson
Assistant Professor
Torrey Honors College
Biola University
For more information about the artwork, music, and poetry selected for this day, we have provided resources under the “About” tab located next to the “Devotional” tab.
About the Art:
The Rain Room - Installation
Hannes Koch and Florian Ortkrass/Random International
2015–2017
Motion sensors and 3D tracking cameras
2,500 liters of water
Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)
Los Angeles, California
Rain Room is a 2012 experiential artwork by Hannes Koch and Florian Ortkrass of Random International which found its first permanent installation in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, in 2018. Rain Room allows visitors to walk through a downpour of rain without getting wet. Motion sensors detect visitors' movements as they navigate through the darkened space thereby becoming "performers in this intersection of art, technology and nature.” This site-specific sound-and-light installation uses 2,500 liters of self-cleaning recycled water, controlled through a system of 3D tracking cameras placed around the ceiling. The cameras detect a visitor's movement and signal groups of the water nozzles in the ceiling, stopping the flow of water in a roughly six-foot radius around the person. The work was previously shown at the Barbican, London (2012); MoMA, New York (2013); Yuz Museum, Shanghai (2015); LACMA, Los Angeles (2015–2017); and MoCA Busan, Busan (2019).
About the Artists:
Founded in 2005, Random International is a London-based collaborative studio for experimental and digital practice within contemporary art. Their work, which includes sculpture, performance, and large-scale architectural installations, reflects the relationship between man and machine and centers on audience interaction.
About the Music #1:
“Rorate Caeli” from the album Advent Sessions: From Darkness to Light
Lyrics #1:
Sung in Latin:
Rorate caeli desuper,
et nubes pluant justum:
aperiatur terra,
et germinet salvatorem.
Benedixisti, Domine,
terram tuam:
avertisti captivitatem Jacob.
Gloria Patri, et Filio,
et Spiritui Sancto.
Sicut erat in principio,
et nunc, et semper,
et in saecula saeculorum.
Amen.
English Translation:
Drop down ye heavens,
from above,
and let the skies pour
down righteousness:
Let the earth open and bring forth a Savior.
Lord, thou hast blessed thy land:
Thou hast turned away the captivity of Jacob.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Ghost.
As it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
About the Composer #1:
William Byrd (c. 1540–1623) was an English composer of late Renaissance music. Considered among the greatest composers of the Renaissance, he had a profound influence on composers both from his native England and on the continent. He is often coupled with John Dunstaple and Henry Purcell as England's most important early music composers. He wrote in many of the forms current in England at the time, including various types of sacred and secular polyphony, keyboard (the so-called Virginalist school), and consort music. Although he produced sacred music for Anglican services, sometime during the 1570s he became a Roman Catholic and wrote Catholic sacred music later in his life. Byrd's output of about 470 compositions amply justifies his reputation as one of the great masters of European Renaissance music. Perhaps his most impressive achievement as a composer was his ability to transform so many of the main musical forms of his day and stamp them with his own identity.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Byrd
About the Performers #1:
The Gesualdo Six directed by Owain Park
The Gesualdo Six is an award-winning British vocal ensemble comprising some of the UK’s finest consort singers, directed by Owain Park. Praised for their imaginative programming and impeccable blend, the ensemble formed in 2014 for a performance of Gesualdo’s Tenebrae Responsories in Cambridge and has gone on to perform at numerous major festivals across the UK, Europe, North America, and Australia. The ensemble integrates educational work into its activities by regularly holding workshops for young musicians and composers. The Gesualdo Six has curated two composition competitions, with the 2019 edition attracting entries from over three hundred composers around the world.
https://www.thegesualdosix.co.uk/
Owain Park (b. 1993) was born in Bristol, UK. His compositions are published by Novello, and have been performed internationally by ensembles including the Tallis Scholars and the Aurora Orchestra. As a conductor, he maintains a busy schedule of projects with ensembles including the BBC Singers, the Academy of Ancient Music, London Mozart Players, Cappella Cracoviensis, and Cambridge Chorale. His own vocal consort, The Gesualdo Six, tours extensively around the world and has been lauded for their interpretation of Renaissance and contemporary music. Owain is a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists (FRCO), and was awarded the Dixon Prize for improvisation, having been Senior Organ Scholar at Wells Cathedral and Trinity College Cambridge. He holds a master’s degree in composition and regularly appears as a singer with ensembles including Tenebrae, Gabrieli Consort, The Sixteen, and Polyphony.
https://www.owainpark.co.uk/
About the Music #2:
“Rend the Heavens (Isaiah 64)” from the album Breath of Yah
Lyrics #2:
Oh, that You would rend the heavens,
And come down. (3x)
Let the mountains shake,
Let the earth be moved,
That the nations may tremble at
Your presence.
Let Your fire burn,
Let the waters boil.
Let Your name be known
to this generation.
And come down.
Oh, that You would rend the heavens,
And come down. (2x)
Will You restrain Yourself
Any longer.
Don’t hide Your face
in Your anger.
When Jersuleum
Is oppressed by the nations.
The place of Your throne,
A desolation.
Come down.
Oh, that You would rend the heavens,
And come down. (2x)
There will be thunder
In Yerushalayim.
Like a lion you will roar.
Indeed You're angry,
For the sake of Zion.
And all the nations they will know,
When You come down,
When You come down.
Oh, that You would rend the heavens,
And come down. (2x)
Oh, come down.
Indeed we have sinned,
And we need saving.
All our righteousness is rags.
No eye has seen.
No ear has heard.
What You have prepared.
For those who wait.
When You come down.
About the Lyricist/Composer #2:
Originally from Canada, singer-songwriter James Block now makes his home in Israel. He says of his work, “My passion is to see the Psalms and other Scriptures restored back into our personal and congregational worship as it was in the time of King David. I believe that music is a very powerful way to strengthen our spirits and also to influence our thinking so that our minds and emotions are lining up with truth.”
https://www.youtube.com/@JamesBlock/about
https://www.selahmusic.org/
About the Performers #2:
James Block and Violinist Elisheva Ruf
Elisheva Ruf is a viola player.
https://landofhoneyblog.blogspot.com/2015/04/interview-with-james-block.html
About the Poetry and Poet:
Frederick Goddard Tuckerman (1821–1873) was an American poet, remembered mostly for his sonnet series. Apart from the 1860 publication of his book Poems, which included approximately two-fifths of his lifetime sonnet output and other poetic works in a variety of forms, the remainder of his poetry was published posthumously in the twentieth century. Attempts by several twentieth-century scholars and critics to spark wider interest in his life and works have met with some success and Tuckerman is now included in several important anthologies of American poetry. Though his works appear in nineteenth-century anthologies of American poetry and sonnets, this reclusive contemporary of Emily Dickinson, sometime correspondent of Nathaniel Hawthorne, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and acquaintance of Alfred, Lord Tennyson, remains in relative obscurity.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Goddard_Tuckerman
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/frederick-goddard-tuckerman
About the Devotion Author:
Dr. Laurie Wilson
Assistant Professor
Torrey Honors College
Biola University
Laurie Wilson, an assistant professor in the Torrey Honors College at Biola University, received her master’s degree in Greek and Latin and her doctoral degree in classics from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, where she was an H. B. Earhart Foundation fellow and a postgraduate fellow in the James Wilson Programme for Constitutional Studies. This background reflects her passion for classical studies and for her interdisciplinary research, which has focused on Augustine, Cicero, and writings from the American founders.