Thou Didst Leave Thy Throne

     Emily Elliott had a special concern for those who
were sick. She wrote many poems and hymn texts
especially for the infirm, publishing forty-eight of them
in a little book called Under the Pillow. She may have
been influenced by her aunt, Charlotte Elliott, who
wrote "Just As I Am". Charlotte was a prolific poet
and was sickly for much of her life.

     This particular hymn was written for children, to
teach them about Jesus' birth. It has a simple construc-
tion--each of the first four stanzas presents a contrast
with the word but. Given the first two lines of each
stanza, you might expect the world to welcome Christ,
but no--it had no room for Him. The chorus is a natural
response to the predicament, something that even a child
could understand. Though the world had no room for the
Lord, we have room for Him in our hearts.
   
     The last stanza provides a stirring conclusion. The
Lord, once rejected and displaced, will soon come in
victory--and we should all be waiting.
                                       --Wm. J. & Randy Petersen

Thou Didst Leave Thy Throne

Thou didst leave Thy throne and Thy kingly
  crown
When Thou camest to earth for me;
But in Bethlehem's home was there found no
  room
For thy holy nativity.

  O Come to my heart, Lord Jesus--
  There is room in my heart for Thee!

Heaven's arches rang when the angels sang,
Proclaiming Thy royal decree;
But of lowly birth didst Thou come to earth,
And in great humility.

The foxes found rest, and the birds their nest
In the shade of the forest tree;
But Thy couch was the sod, O Thou Son of
  God,
In the deserts of Galilee.

Thou camest, O Lord, with the living Word
That should set Thy people free;
But with mocking scorn and with crown of
  thorn
They bore Thee to Calvary.

When the heav'ns shall ring and the angels
  sing
At Thy coming to victory,
Let Thy voice call me home, saying, "Yet there
  is room--
There is room at My side for thee."

  My heart shall rejoice, Lord Jesus,
  When thou comest and callest for me!

   --Emily Elizabeth Steele Elliott (1836-1879)

Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus

     Prolific hymnwriter Charles Wesley penned eighteen Christmas
songs, but he was never happy with simply painting the picture of the
manger scene. In this hymn he begins by alluding to scriptural proph-
ecies of Christ. Moving on to personal application, he continues:
Christ is not only the "desire of every nation"; He is the "joy of every
 longing heart." He is not only the child born with the "government...
on his shoulders" (Isaiah 9:6); He is "born to reign in us forever."

     Such personal application was a hallmark of the Wesleys' ministry.
Charles and his brother John challenged the staid Anglican traditions
of their time. The church of their day had great scholarship; its theol-
ogy was orthodox. Christians sang hymns straight from Scripture.
But the Wesleys seemed to ask, "Does this mean anything to you?
Is the biblical story about long-ago events or about what is going on
in your life?" They urged people to meet Christ personally and to
 include Him in every part of their lives--even their hymn singing.

Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus

Come, Thou long-expected Jesus,
Born to set Thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us;
Let us find our rest in Thee.
Israel's strength and consolation,
Hope of all the earth Thou art;
Dear desire of every nation,
Joy of every longing heart.

Born Thy people to deliver,
Born a child and yet a King,
Born to reign in us forever,
Now Thy gracious kingdom bring.
By Thine own eternal Spirit
Rule in all our hearts alone;
By Thine all sufficient merit,
Raise us to Thy glorious throne.

--Charles Wesley (1707-1788)

The One Year Book of Hymns,
Robert K. Brown & Mark R. Norton, Eds.
Wm. J. Petersen & Randy Petersen, Devotion

Hymn of the Week

"For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it." --Exodus 20:11

I Sing the Mighty Power of God

I sing the mighty power of God,
That made the mountains rise,
That spread the flowing seas abroad,
And built the lofty skies.
I sing the wisdom that ordained
The sun to rule the day;
The moon shines full at His command,
And all the stars obey.

I sing the goodness of the LORD,
That filled the earth with food;
He formed the creatures with His word,
And then pronounced them good.
LORD, how Thy wonders are displayed,
Where'er I turn my eye:
If I survey the ground I tread,
Or gaze upon the sky!

There's not a plant or flower below,
But makes Thy glories known;
And clouds arise, and tempests blow,
By order from Thy throne,
While all that borrows life from Thee
Is ever in Thy care,
And everywhere that man can be,
Thou, God, art present there.
--Isaac Watts (1784)