Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”
Matthew 2:1-2
O Holy Night
Recorded at Grace Baptist Church, Cape Coral Christmas Eve Candlelight Service December 24, 2012
O holy night, the stars are brightly shining It is the night of the dear Savior’s birth Long lay the world in sin and error pining ‘Til He appeared and the soul felt its worth A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn Fall on your knees O hear the angel voices O night divine O night when Christ was born O night—O holy night, O night divine!
So when they were come again into the house and supper as yet was not ready, Christiana again desired that the Interpreter would either show or tell of some other things that are profitable.
Then the Interpreter began, and said, “The fatter the sow is, the more she desires the mire; the fatter the ox is, the more gamesomely he goes to the slaughter; and the more healthy the lusty man is, the more prone he is unto evil.
“There is a desire in women to go neat and fine; and it’s a comely thing to be adorned with that which in God’s sight is of great price.
“‘Tis easier watching a night or two, than to sit up a whole year together: so ’tis easier for one to begin to profess well, than to hold out as he should to the end.
“Every shipmaster, when in a storm, will willingly cast that overboard that is of the smallest value in the vessel. But who will throw the best out first? none but he that fears not God.
“One leak will sink a ship: and one sin will destroy a sinner.
“He that forgets his friend, is ungrateful unto him: but he that forgets his Savior, is unmerciful to himself.
“He that lives in sin, and looks for happiness hereafter, is like him that sows cockle, and thinks to fill his barn with wheat or barley.
“If a man would live well, let him fetch his last day to him, and make it always his company keeper.
“Whispering and change of thoughts, prove that sin is in the world.
“If the world, which God sets light by, is counted a thing of that worth with men; what is heaven, which God commends!
“If the life that is attended with so many troubles is so loath to be let go by us, what is the life above!
“Everybody will cry up the goodness of men; but who is there that is, as he should be, affected with the goodness of God?
“We seldom sit down to meat, but we eat and leave; so there is in Jesus Christ more merit and righteousness than the whole world has need of.”
Notes and Commentary
The House of the Interpreter represents the Word of God as it interpreted and made profitable for us by the Holy Spirit. As the pilgrims return to the house, Bunyan again emphasizes the value of God’s Word and the priority it should have in our lives. The pilgrims have arrived hungry and in need of nourishment to continue on their journey. Supper is being prepared, but before they sit down for a meal together, they desire first to feed their souls. Christiana demonstrates once again that her hunger is for the Word of God. Earlier she had asked of the Interpreter, “pray let us see some more.” Now she is eager to keep learning.
Then, as they were coming in from abroad, they espied a little robin with a great spider in his mouth. So the Interpreter said, “Look here.” So they looked; and Mercy wondered. But Christiana said, “What a disparagement is it to such a pretty little bird as the robin redbreast is; he being also a bird above many, that loves to maintain a kind of sociableness with man! I had thought they had lived upon crumbs of bread, or upon other such harmless matter. I like him worse than I did.”
The Interpreter then replied, “This robin is an emblem very apt to set forth some professors by; for to sight they are as this robin, pretty of note, color, and carriage; they seem also to have a very great love for professors that are sincere; and above all other, to desire to sociate with and to be in their company, as if they could live upon the good man’s crumbs. They pretend also, that therefore it is that they frequent the house of the godly, and the appointments of the Lord; but when they are by themselves as the robin, they can catch and gobble up spiders, they can change their diet, drink iniquity, and swallow down sin like water.”
Notes and Commentary
Before returning to the house for supper, the Interpreter draws another spiritual lesson from nature. The pilgrims see “a little robin with a great spider in his mouth.” They are familiar with robins. Its recognizable color is a welcome sight and its cheerful song is a delight to hear. Robins are beloved and associated with happiness and glad tidings. The sighting of a robin is often believed to be a sign of the passing of winter and the arrival of spring. Robins are friendly, willing to be around people and feed on bread crumbs.
Yet here the pilgrims see the robin’s true nature. While it can easily feed on berries and bread crumbs, its diet is more instinctively insects, worms, spiders, and even small snakes. Christiana is taken aback to see such a beautiful, sociable bird feasting on such a meal!
Again, he had them into his field, which he had sowed with wheat and corn; but when they beheld, the tops of all were cut off, only the straw remained. He said again, “This ground was dunged, and ploughed, and sowed; but what shall we do with the crop?” Then said Christiana, “Burn some, and make muck of the rest.” Then said the Interpreter again, “Fruit you see, is that thing you look for; and for want of that you condemn it to the fire, and to be trodden under foot of men. Beware that in this you condemn not yourselves.”
Notes and Commentary
The Interpreter then shows the pilgrims his field. The field is in sharp contrast to the garden. Whereas the garden is lush and vibrant, the field is dry and barren. Though the ground was at one time well prepared and sown with good seed, all that remains are stalks and chaff. Like the garden, the field is another representation of a church. But this is a church that has imbibed the world and lost its spiritual vitality. Though it once may have born fruit and produced a harvest, now it stands dry and dead.
After this, he led them into his garden, where was great variety of flowers. And he said, “Do you see all these?” So Christiana said, “Yes.” Then said he again, “Behold the flowers are diverse in stature, in quality, in color, and smell, and virtue, and some are better than others. Also, where the gardener has set them, there they stand; and quarrel not one with another.”
Notes and Commentary
For the next lesson, the Interpreter leads the pilgrims into his garden. There they see a “great variety of flowers.” This imagery comes from Song of Solomon 4 where the Beloved sings a love song to his bride. In verse 4 he compares her beauty to an “enclosed” (protected and nurtured) garden.
A garden enclosed Is my sister, my spouse, A spring shut up, A fountain sealed. Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates With pleasant fruits, Fragrant henna with spikenard, Spikenard and saffron, Calamus and cinnamon, With all trees of frankincense, Myrrh and aloes, With all the chief spices— A fountain of gardens, A well of living waters, And streams from Lebanon. (Song of Solomon 4:12–15)
Many commentators have recognized the parallel in the Song of Solomon between the Beloved’s love for his bride and Christ’s love for His church. Bunyan uses this imagery here in his allegory. The Garden represents the local church. The “great variety of flowers” signifies Christians, individual members of each church. Christ is the Gardener, and it is He who places each flower where He wills.
Life is filled with many perplexing realities. It seems all too brief. It is tainted by sin. It is marred with suffering. Along with joy, there is sorrow. Contentment is ever being challenged with longing.
We know that God is good and always does good. He created both time and space as a canvas to display His glory. He made the heavens and the earth and declared them to be “very good” (Genesis 1:31). He crafted the world with beauty and wonder.
Yet, as we look at the world around us, we see trials and troubles. We experience sorrow and pain. We know that God is not the author of sin, but why would He allow sin and suffering to enter His “very good” creation? How could the presence of evil (and its final defeat) possibly bring about, in God’s design and purpose, the fullness of His glory and our greatest good?
This hymn wrestles with such questions and points toward a vital truth. This world is not all there is. This life is fleeting. We were made for much more. We were made for glory.
Listen and download a recording of “Made for Glory” from Bandcamp:
Made for Glory
“And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4).
We journey through this life As pilgrims here on earth; Some live for years, some weeks or days, Some never see their birth. But when our journey ends, Our moments, days, or years Will all seem like a vapor when God wipes away our tears.
How short the time we have, How briefly we exist. Compared to all eternity, This life’s a fleeting mist. For glory we were made An everlasting soul, Not just the time this life affords With bodies that grow old.
Why is our time so short And stained with sin and strife? How could a loving God allow Such suff’ring in this life? In kindness God keeps short Our sorrows in this place, Yet through our pain and suffering We come to know His grace
As time moves quickly on, We must not waste a day, But bring our broken, sinful lives To Christ without delay. In Him each day find rest, Refreshment for the soul. For through His suff’ring we are healed, Forgiven, and made whole.
Though heartaches overwhelm And fill our souls with grief, Remember we are sojourners, Our journey will be brief. In glory one day soon We will look back and say: Our faithful God has brought us home, Our tears He’s wiped away
Yes, one day we will be In glory and can say: Our faithful God, He’s brought us home, Our tears He’s wiped away.
So he had them into the slaughter house, where a butcher was killing a sheep. And behold the sheep was quiet, and took her death patiently. Then said the Interpreter, “You must learn of this sheep to suffer and to put up wrongs without murmurings and complaints. Behold how quietly she takes her death; and without objecting, she suffers her skin to be pulled over her ears. Your King doth call you his sheep.”
Notes and Commentary
The Interpreter continues to instruct the pilgrims by taking them into the slaughter house. There they saw a sheep being butchered, yet “the sheep was quiet, and took her death patiently.” The sheep signifies several important truths from God’s Word.
1. The sheep signifies Christ.
Jesus came to suffer and die for His people, “to give His life a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28). He is the “Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:8). When Isaiah prophecies of Christ’s crucifixion in the Old Testament, he compares Christ to a lamb being led to the slaughter. He faced His suffering willingly, without murmurings or complaints. He was oppressed, afflicted, and stricken, “yet He opened not His mouth.”
He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment, And who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people He was stricken. (Isaiah 53:7–8)
“Lord, make me to know my end, And what is the measure of my days, That I may know how frail I am. Indeed, You have made my days as handbreadths, And my age is as nothing before You; Certainly every man at his best state is but vapor.” (Psalm 39:4–5)
Behold, O Lord, My Days
1. Behold, O Lord, my days are made A handbreadth as their span. Before the noon, my flow’r must fade, The end of ev’ry man.
2. So teach me Lord, to know my end And know that I am frail. To heav’n let all my thoughts ascend And let not earth prevail.
3. What love of earth can keep me here? I hope in You alone. When will You open glory’s gates And call me to Your throne?
4. A stranger in this land am I, A pilgrim far from rest. O be not silent to my cry, My yearning soul’s request.
5. Though I’m exiled from glory’s land, I dwell with glory’s King. My God is ever near at hand; He wakes my voice to sing.
I just added more titles to the growing collection of Hymns for Classical Guitar. New hymn transcriptions include:
To God Be the Glory
This Is My Father’s World
Grace Greater Than Our Sin
Sing Praise to God Who Reigns Above
These Hymns for Classical Guitar are arranged to be concise, accessible, and useful for several occasions including preludes and offertories, accompanying congregational singing, or simply playing for your own enjoyment. The sheet music for each hymn is available as a free PDF download.
You are welcome to copy and share these hymns with friends and fellow guitar enthusiasts. Please copy the full page of sheet music with the website address and the “Used by Permission” notice at the bottom (see Permissions).
He had them then into another room where was a hen and chickens, and bid them to observe awhile. So one of the chickens went to the trough to drink; and every time she drank, she lifted up her head and her eyes towards heaven. “See,” said he, “what this little chick doth; and learn of her to acknowledge whence your mercies come, by receiving them with looking up. Yet again, said he, “observe and look.” So they gave heed, and perceived that the hen did walk in a fourfold method towards her chickens.
1. She had a common call; and that she has all day long.
2. She had a special call; and that she had but sometimes.
3. She had a brooding note.
And, 4. She had an outcry.
Interpreter: “Now,” said he, “compare this hen to your King, and these chickens to his obedient ones. For answerable to her, himself has his methods, which he walks in towards his people. By his common call, he gives nothing; by his special call, he always has something to give; he has also a brooding voice for them that are under his wing; and he has an outcry, to give the alarm when he sees the enemy come. I choose, my darlings, to lead you into the room where such things are, because you are women, and they are easy for you.”
Christiana: “And, sir,” said Christiana, “pray let us see some more.”
Notes and Commentary
Now the Interpreter shows the pilgrims a room in which they see a hen and her chicks. They watch awhile and observe how the hen calls and cares for her brood. Unlike the previous room, where the meaning of the lesson was not immediately apparent, this room offers a lesson that is “easy” for the pilgrims to understand. Christiana is a mother with children of her own. Mercy has joined the family to help them on the journey. They readily understand the need for watchfulness, nurture, and care.
The room with the hen and her chicks teaches us how God sends forth His mercies as well as how we are to receive His mercies. God’s mercies come to us through His Word—His written Word (the Scriptures) and the incarnate Word (the Lord Jesus, to whom the written Word points as the only Way of salvation).
