Advent Midweek
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Tomorrow night is the longest night,
The winter solstice,
Thirteen hours of darkness.
On this eve of the winter solstice,
Perhaps you’re in the middle of trouble and dark—
Your life feels like the longest night.
People tell you,
“Stop being so glum; it’s Christmas!
But having a positive attitude,
trying for that Christmas spirit,
can’t chase away your darkness.
This sermon is a compilation of poetry that reflects the teaching and thoughts behind Psalm 42-43. Because of the formatting, I have posted the sermon using Google's Docs and Spreadsheets function. You can view the sermon by clicking here.
Compilation by Pastor Benjamin C. Squires. © 2006
All text in handwriting font by Pastor Benjamin C. Squires. © 2006
Sources
Irving Berlin, “White Christmas,” © 1942 Irving Berlin.
Richard E. Bryd, Alone, New York: Putnam, 1938, pp. 104,280.
William Cowper, “O for a Closer Walk with God,” in Conyer’s Col¬lect¬ion of Psalms and Hymns, 1772.
Emily Dickinson, Poems by Emily Dickinson, Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1957, pp. 174,195,217.
English Standard Version, © 2000; 2001 by Crossway Bibles. All Rights Reserved.
F.B.P., “Jerusalem, My Happy Home,” as appears in Lutheran Service Book, St. Louis: Concordia, 2006.
Peter S. Hawkins, “A Howl of Despair (Psalm 42),” The Christian Century, June 6-13, 2001, p. 12. © The Christian Century Foundation.
Billy Hayes and Jay Johnson, “Blue Christmas,” © 1948, J. Albert & Son.
Gerard Manley Hopkins, “I wake and feel the fell of dark, not day,” Poems of Gerard Manley Hopkins, London: Humphrey Milford, 1918.
Gordon Jackson, The Lincoln Psalter, London: Carcanet, 1997.
John Henry Jowett C.H., M.A., D.D, Arthur Proitt, New York: George H. Doran, 1924, p. 290.
John MacArthur, The MacArthur Bible Commentary, © 2005, Nashville: Thomas Nelson, Inc., p. 626.
Reynolds Price, A Palpable God, New York: Atheneum, 1978, p. 14.
Ray C. Stedman, “A Song of Confidence,” from Folksongs of Faith, © 1969 (as at www.pbc.org).
Nahum Tate and Nicholas Brady, “Psalm 42,” New Version of the Psalms of David, 1698.
Arie Uittenbogaard, “Psalm 42:7,” Abraim Publications’ Bible Commentary, www.abarim-publications.com.
Ann Weems, Kneeling in Bethlehem, “Yesterday’s Pain,” “In December Darkness,” “The Christmas Spirit,” “Into This Silent Night,” Philadelphia: Westminster, 1987, pp. 14,15,51,52.
Eldon Weisheit, 150 Psalms for Teens, St. Louis: Concordia, 2002.
Richard Wilbur, “Ballade for the Duke of Orléans,” New and Collected Poems, Harcourt Brace, 1988.
Philip Yancey, Reaching for the Invisible God, Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2000, pp. 87.
Art
“03-Assurance”, Lament Sequence, © Steven Koster, www.leadingwithlight.com. Used by permission.
#223 and #232 from the Lament Collection, © 2006 David Sweeney. www.davidsweeneyart.com. All rights reserved. Used by permission.