Isaiah 9:6-7

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Prayers are taken from Evangelical Lutheran Worship (c) 2006, ELCA. Published by Augsburg Fortress. (#22745)

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Isaiah 9:6-7

George Friderich Handel debuted his masterpiece, Messiah, in Dublin, Ireland, in 1742. He chose to set this portion of Isaiah’s text as part of the Christmas section of Messiah. The music is joyful, bouncy, and full of delight as the singers bubble, “For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given.” I hope you will take time to listen to a recording or a performance this Christmas season. Listen to the way Handel paints each word: “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah isn’t just offering a list of superlatives. In verse 2 he writes, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.” Who is that light? The baby -- the baby who gets the biggest title of all: Prince of Peace.

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace: we have seen a great light! We join the prophets and saints and angels above in proclaiming your praises. Watch over us, and give us the courage to allow our joy to overflow. For, unto us a child is born, to us a son is given. Amen.

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Psalm 84

1 How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD Almighty!

2 My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.

3 Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young - a place near your altar, O LORD Almighty, my King and my God.

4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you.

5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.

6 As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools.

7 They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.

8 Hear my prayer, O LORD God Almighty; listen to me, O God of Jacob.

9 Look upon our shield, O God; look with favor on your anointed one.

10 Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.

11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.

12 O LORD Almighty, blessed is the one who trusts in you.

(The scripture quotations contained herein are from the NRSV Bible (c) 1989, by the Div. of Christian Ed. of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved.)

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Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Isaiah 9:6-7

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