Deuteronomy 1-3 - Wanderings in the Wilderness

John MacArthur Bible Introductions - Deuteronomy

Israel from Seir to Kadesh-barnea

Deu 1:2 LSB - [2] It is eleven days' [journey] from Horeb by the way of Mount Seir to Kadesh-barnea.

Deu 1:5 LSB - [5] Across the Jordan in the land of Moab, Moses undertook to expound this law, saying,

Deu 1:34-36 LSB - [34] "Then Yahweh heard the sound of your words, and He was angry and swore [an oath], saying, [35] 'Not one of these men, this evil generation, shall see the good land which I swore to give your fathers, [36] except Caleb the son of Jephunneh; he shall see it, and to him and to his sons I will give the land on which he has set foot, because he has followed Yahweh fully.'

Deu 1:43-44 LSB - [43] "So I spoke to you, but you would not listen. Instead you rebelled against the command of Yahweh and acted presumptuously and went up into the hill country. [44] "And the Amorites who lived in that hill country came out to meet you and pursued you as bees do and crushed you from Seir to Hormah.

Wanderings in the Wilderness

Deu 2:7 LSB - [7] "For Yahweh your God has blessed you in all the work of your hand; He has known your wanderings through this great wilderness. These forty years Yahweh your God has been with you; you have not lacked a thing."'

Deu 2:14-15 LSB - [14] "Now the time that it took for us to come from Kadesh-barnea until we crossed over the brook Zered was thirty-eight years, until all the generation of the men of war came to an end from within the camp, as Yahweh had sworn to them. [15] "Moreover the hand of Yahweh was against them, to bring them into confusion from within the camp until they all came to an end.

Deu 2:30 LSB - [30] "But Sihon king of Heshbon was not willing for us to pass through his land, for Yahweh your God stiffened his spirit and made his heart obstinate, in order to give him over into your hand, as [he is] today.

I Want Jesus to Walk with Me

1. I want Jesus to walk with me.

I want Jesus to walk with me.

All along my pilgrim journey,

I want Jesus to walk with me.

2. In my trials, walk with me.

In my trials, walk with me.

When the shades of life are falling,

I want Jesus to walk with me.

3. In my sorrows, walk with me.

In my sorrows, walk with me.

When my heart within is aching.

I want Jesus to walk with me.

4. In my troubles, walk with me.

In my troubles, walk with me.

When my life becomes a burden,

I want Jesus to walk with me.

Israel Takes Possession of the Land

Deu 3:21-22 LSB - [21] "And I commanded Joshua at that time, saying, 'Your eyes have seen all that Yahweh your God has done to these two kings; so Yahweh shall do to all the kingdoms into which you are about to cross. [22] 'Do not fear them, for Yahweh your God is the one fighting for you.'

Moses Pleads to Cross the Jordan

Deu 3:24-26 LSB - [24] 'O Lord Yahweh, You have begun to show Your slave Your greatness and Your strong hand; for what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do such works and mighty acts as Yours? [25] 'Let me, I pray, cross over and see the good land that is beyond the Jordan, that good hill country and Lebanon.' [26] "But Yahweh was angry with me on your account and would not listen to me; and Yahweh said to me, 'Enough! Speak to Me no more of this matter.

1 Thessalonians 1-5 - The Dead in Christ Will Rise

Thanksgiving

1Th 1:2-5 LSB -
[2] We give thanks to God always for all of you, making mention [of you] in our prayers;
[3] remembering without ceasing your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ before our God and Father,
[4] knowing, brothers beloved by God, your election,
[5] for our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full assurance; just as you know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake.

Entrusted with the Gospel

1Th 2:2 LSB - [2] but after we had already suffered and been mistreated in Philippi, as you know, we had the boldness in our God to speak to you the gospel of God amid much struggle.

1Th 2:13 LSB - [13] And for this reason we also thank God without ceasing that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted [it] not [as] the word of men, but [for] what it really is, the word of God, which also is at work in you who believe.

Timothy’s Good Report

1Th 3:2 LSB - [2] and we sent Timothy, our brother and God's fellow worker in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you as to your faith,

1Th 3:6-8 LSB - [6] But now that Timothy has come to us from you, and has brought us good news of your faith and love, and that you always remember us kindly, longing to see us just as we also long to see you, [7] for this reason, brothers, in all our distress and affliction we were comforted about you through your faith; [8] for now we [really] live, if you stand firm in the Lord.

1Th 3:9-10 LSB - [9] For what thanks can we render to God for you in return for all the joy with which we rejoice before our God because of you, [10] as we night and day keep praying most earnestly that we may see your face, and may complete what is lacking in your faith?

Sanctification and Love

1Th 4:7 LSB - [7] For God did not call us to impurity, but in sanctification.

1Th 4:9-10 LSB - [9] Now concerning love of the brothers, you have no need for [anyone] to write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another, [10] for indeed you do practice it toward all the brothers who are in all Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to excel still more,

The Dead in Christ Will Rise

1Th 4:16-17 LSB - [16] For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of [the] archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. [17] Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.

Take comfort, Christians, when your friends in Jesus fall asleep;

John Logan (1748-1788)

Take comfort, Christians, when your friends
in Jesus fall asleep;
their better being never ends;
why then dejected weep?

Why inconsolable, as those
to whom no hope is giv’n?
Death is the messenger of peace,
and calls the soul to heav’n.

As Jesus dy’d, and rose again
victorious from the dead;
so his disciples rise, and reign
with their triumphant Head.

The time draws nigh, when from the clouds
Christ shall with shouts descend,
and the last trumpet’s awful voice
the heavens and earth shall rend.

Then they who live shall changed be,
and they who sleep shall wake;
the graves shall yield their ancient charge,
and earth’s foundations shake.

The saints of God, from death set free,
with joy shall mount on high;
the heav’nly hosts with praises loud
shall meet them in the sky,

Together to their Father’s house
with joyful hearts they go;
and dwell for ever with the Lord,
beyond the reach of woe.

A few short years of evil past,
we reach the happy shore,
where death-divided friends at last
shall meet, to part no more.

The Day of the Lord

1Th 5:2 LSB - [2] For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night.

1Th 5:8-10 LSB - 

[8] But since we are of [the] day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation. 

[9] For God has not appointed us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, [10] who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him.

Admonishment and Instruction

1Th 5:16-19 LSB - [16] Rejoice always; [17] pray without ceasing; [18] in everything give thanks, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. [19] Do not quench the Spirit;

1Th 5:23 LSB - [23] Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely, and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Numbers 34-36 - Cities of Refuge

Apportioning Canaan

Num 34:1-3 LSB - [1] Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, [2] "Command the sons of Israel and say to them, 'When you enter the land of Canaan, this is the land that shall fall to you as an inheritance, [even the] land of Canaan according to its borders. [3] 'And your southern sector shall extend from the wilderness of Zin along the side of Edom, and your southern border shall extend from the end of the Salt Sea eastward.

Cities for the Levites

Num 35:2-3 LSB - [2] "Command the sons of Israel that they give to the Levites from the inheritance of their possession cities to live in; and you shall give to the Levites pasture lands around the cities. [3] "And the cities shall be theirs to live in; and their pasture lands shall be for their cattle and for their herds and for all their beasts.

Cities of Refuge

Num 35:6 LSB - [6] "And the cities which you shall give to the Levites [shall be] the six cities of refuge, which you shall give for the manslayer to flee to; and in addition to them you shall give forty-two cities.

Num 35:34 LSB - [34] 'And you shall not defile the land in which you live, in the midst of which I dwell; for I Yahweh am dwelling in the midst of the sons of Israel.'"

The City of Refuge

Author: Fanny J. Crosby

1. O, guilty one, haste to the city of refuge,

Where mercy awaits thee, so boundless and free;

O haste with thy burden of sin and of sorrow;

Thy loving Redeemer is waiting for thee.

Chorus:

O fly to the refuge!

To the refuge sure and free;

With thy sin and sorrow;

Jesus waits for thee.

2. O, guilty one, haste! for the day beams are fading,

Afar on the desert; say, why wilt thou roam?

The arms of the Saviour will gladly enfold thee;

He longs with forgiveness to welcome thee home. [Chorus]

3. O, weary one, haste! for the night clouds pursue thee;

How darkly they frown on the cold mountain's brow;

The voice of the tempest is wailing around thee,

And none but the Saviour can shelter thee now. [Chorus]

Inheritance Through Marriage

Num 36:8-9 LSB - [8] "And every daughter who comes into possession of an inheritance of any tribe of the sons of Israel shall be wife to one of the family of the tribe of her father, so that the sons of Israel each may possess the inheritance of his fathers. [9] "Thus no inheritance shall be transferred from one tribe to another tribe, for the tribes of the sons of Israel shall each hold to his own inheritance."

Numbers 31-33 - Statutes of Possessing the Land

Vengeance on Midian

Num 31:1-2 LSB - [1] Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, [2] "Take full vengeance for the sons of Israel on the Midianites; afterward you will be gathered to your people."

Num 25:17-18 LSB - [17] "Be hostile to the Midianites and strike them, [18] for they have been hostile to you with their deceptive tricks, with which they have deceived you in the affair of Peor and in the affair of Cozbi, the daughter of the leader of Midian, their sister who was slain on the day of the plague because of Peor."

 

Division of the Loot

Num 31:26-27 LSB - [26] "You and Eleazar the priest and the heads of the fathers' [households] of the congregation take a count of the loot that was captured, both of man and of animal; [27] and divide the loot between the warriors who went out to battle and all the congregation.

Num 31:28-29 LSB - [28] "And you shall exact a levy for Yahweh from the men of war who went out to battle, one in five hundred of the persons and of the cattle and of the donkeys and of the sheep; [29] take it from their half and give it to Eleazar the priest, as a contribution to Yahweh.

Num 31:30 LSB - [30] "And from the sons of Israel's half, you shall take one drawn out of every fifty of the persons, of the cattle, of the donkeys, and of the sheep, from all the animals, and give them to the Levites who keep charge of the tabernacle of Yahweh."

Reuben and Gad Possess Gilead

Num 32:5 LSB - [5] And they said, "If we have found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants as a possession; do not take us across the Jordan."

Num 32:29-30 LSB - [29] And Moses said to them, "If the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben, everyone who is armed for battle, will cross with you over the Jordan in the presence of Yahweh, and the land is subdued before you, then you shall give them the land of Gilead for a possession; [30] but if they will not cross over with you armed, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan."

The Journey from Egypt to Jordan

Num 33:1-2 LSB - [1] These are the journeys of the sons of Israel, by which they came out from the land of Egypt by their armies, by the hand of Moses and Aaron. [2] And Moses wrote down their starting places according to their journeys by the command of Yahweh, and these are their journeys according to their starting places.

Num 33:3-5 LSB - [3] They journeyed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the next day after the Passover the sons of Israel started out with a high hand in the sight of all the Egyptians, [4] but the Egyptians were burying all their firstborn whom Yahweh had struck down among them. Yahweh had also executed judgments on their gods. [5] Then the sons of Israel journeyed from Rameses and camped in Succoth.

Num 33:49 LSB - [49] They camped by the Jordan, from Beth-jeshimoth as far as Abel-shittim in the plains of Moab.

Statutes of Possessing the Land

Num 33:51-53 LSB - [51] "Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, 'When you cross over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, [52] then you shall dispossess all the inhabitants of the land from before you and destroy all their carved stones and destroy all their molten images and demolish all their high places; [53] and you shall take possession of the land and inhabit it, for I have given the land to you to possess it.

Num 33:55-56 LSB - [55] 'But if you do not dispossess the inhabitants of the land from before you, then it will be that those whom you let remain of them [will become] as pricks in your eyes and as thorns in your sides, and they will trouble you in the land which you inhabit. [56] 'And it will be as I plan to do to them, so I will do to you.'"

Numbers 28-30 - Take My Life, and Let It Be

Daily Offerings

Num 28:2-8 LSB - 

[2] "Command the sons of Israel and say to them, 'You shall be careful to bring near My offering, My food for My offerings by fire, of a soothing aroma to Me, at their appointed time.' 

[3] "And you shall say to them, 'This is the offering by fire which you shall bring near to Yahweh: two male lambs one year old without blemish [as] a continual burnt offering every day. 

[4] 'You shall offer the one lamb in the morning, and the other lamb you shall offer at twilight, 

[5] also a tenth of an ephah of fine flour for a grain offering, mixed with a fourth of a hin of beaten oil. [6] 'It is a continual burnt offering which was ordained in Mount Sinai as a soothing aroma, an offering by fire to Yahweh. 

[7] 'Then the drink offering with it [shall be] a fourth of a hin for each lamb, in the holy place you shall pour out a drink offering of strong drink to Yahweh. 

[8] 'And the other lamb you shall offer at twilight; as the grain offering of the morning and as its drink offering, you shall offer it, an offering by fire, a soothing aroma to Yahweh. 

1Th 5:16-18 LSB - [16] Rejoice always; [17] pray without ceasing; [18] in everything give thanks, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

Sabbath Offerings

Num 28:9 LSB - [9] 'Then on the sabbath day two male lambs one year old without blemish, and two-tenths [of an] [ephah] of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering, and its drink offering:

Monthly Offerings

Num 28:11 LSB - [11] 'Then at the beginning of each of your months you shall bring near a burnt offering to Yahweh: two bulls from the herd and one ram, seven male lambs one year old without blemish;

Passover Offerings

Num 28:16-19 LSB - [16] 'Then on the fourteenth day of the first month shall be the Passover of Yahweh. [17] 'And on the fifteenth day of this month [shall be] a feast; unleavened bread [shall be] eaten for seven days. [18] 'On the first day [shall be] a holy convocation; you shall do no laborious work. [19] 'And you shall bring near an offering by fire, a burnt offering to Yahweh: two bulls from the herd and one ram and seven male lambs one year old; they shall be for you without blemish.

Offerings for the Feast of Weeks

Num 28:26 LSB - [26] 'Also on the day of the first fruits, when you bring near a new grain offering to Yahweh in your [Feast of] Weeks, you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no laborious work.

Take My Life, and Let It Be

Author: Frances Ridley Havergal (1874)

1 Take my life and let it be
consecrated, Lord, to thee.
Take my moments and my days;
let them flow in endless praise,
let them flow in endless praise.

2 Take my hands and let them move
at the impulse of thy love.
Take my feet and let them be
swift and beautiful for thee,
swift and beautiful for thee.

3 Take my voice and let me sing

always, only, for my King.

Take my lips and let them be

filled with messages from thee,

filled with messages from thee.

4 Take my silver and my gold;

not a mite would I withhold.

Take my intellect and use

every power as thou shalt choose,

every power as thou shalt choose.

5 Take my will and make it thine;

it shall be no longer mine.

Take my heart it is thine own;

it shall be thy royal throne,

it shall be thy royal throne.

6 Take my love; my Lord, I pour

at thy feet its treasure store.

Take myself, and I will be

ever, only, all for thee,

ever, only, all for thee.

The Various Offerings of the Seventh Month

Num 29:1-2 LSB - [1] 'Now in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall also have a holy convocation; you shall do no laborious work. It will be to you a day for blowing trumpets. [2] 'And you shall offer a burnt offering as a soothing aroma to Yahweh: one bull from the herd, one ram, [and] seven male lambs one year old without blemish;

Num 29:7-8 LSB - [7] 'Then on the tenth day of this seventh month you shall have a holy convocation, and you shall humble yourselves; you shall not do any work. [8] 'And you shall bring near a burnt offering to Yahweh [as] a soothing aroma: one bull from the herd, one ram, seven male lambs one year old, having them without blemish;

Num 29:12-13 LSB - [12] 'Then on the fifteenth day of the seventh month you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no laborious work, and you shall celebrate a feast to Yahweh for seven days. [13] 'And you shall bring near a burnt offering, an offering by fire as a soothing aroma to Yahweh: thirteen bulls from the herd, two rams, fourteen male lambs one year old, which are without blemish;

Num 29:17 LSB - [17] 'Then on the second day: twelve bulls from the herd, two rams, fourteen male lambs one year old without blemish;

Num 29:20 LSB - [20] 'Then on the third day: eleven bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs one year old without blemish;

Num 29:23 LSB - [23] 'Then on the fourth day: ten bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs one year old without blemish;

Num 29:26 LSB - [26] 'Then on the fifth day: nine bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs one year old without blemish;

Num 29:29 LSB - [29] 'Then on the sixth day: eight bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs one year old without blemish;

Num 29:32 LSB - [32] 'Then on the seventh day: seven bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs one year old without blemish;

Num 29:35-36 LSB - [35] 'On the eighth day you shall have a solemn assembly; you shall do no laborious work. [36] 'But you shall bring near a burnt offering, an offering by fire, as a soothing aroma to Yahweh: one bull, one ram, seven male lambs one year old without blemish;

The Statutes for Vows

Num 30:2 LSB - [2] "If a man makes a vow to Yahweh or swears an oath to bind himself with a binding obligation, he shall not violate his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.

Num 30:5 LSB - [5] "But if her father should forbid her on the day he hears [of it], none of her vows or her obligations by which she has bound herself shall stand; and Yahweh will pardon her because her father had forbidden her.

Num 30:8 LSB - [8] "But if, on the day her husband hears [of it], he forbids her, then he shall annul her vow which she is under and the rash statement of her lips by which she has bound herself; and Yahweh will pardon her.

Num 30:9 LSB - [9] "But the vow of a widow or of a divorced woman, everything by which she has bound herself, shall stand against her.

Num 30:16 LSB - [16] These are the statutes which Yahweh commanded Moses, [as] between a man and his wife, [and as] between a father and his daughter, [while she is] in her youth in her father's house.

Numbers 25-27 - Jealous for his God

Israel Sacrifices to Baal

Num 25:3 LSB - [3] So Israel joined themselves to Baal of Peor, and the anger of Yahweh burned against Israel.

Hos 9:10 LSB - [10] I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the earliest fruit on the fig tree in its first [season]. [But] they came to Baal-peor and devoted themselves to shame, And they became as detestable as that which they loved.

Num 25:7-9 LSB - [7] And Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, so he arose from the midst of the congregation and took a spear in his hand, [8] and he went after the man of Israel into the tent and pierced both of them through, the man of Israel and the woman, through the body. Then the plague on the sons of Israel was checked. [9] So those who died by the plague were 24,000.

The Jealousy of Phinehas

Num 25:10-13 LSB - [10] Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, [11] "Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned away My wrath from the sons of Israel in that he was jealous with My jealousy among them, so that I did not consume the sons of Israel in My jealousy. [12] "Therefore say, 'Behold, I give him My covenant of peace; [13] and it shall be for him and his seed after him, a covenant of a perpetual priesthood, because he was jealous for his God and made atonement for the sons of Israel.'"

Census of the Sons of Israel

Num 26:9-11 LSB - [9] And the sons of Eliab: Nemuel and Dathan and Abiram. These are the Dathan and Abiram who were called [upon] by the congregation, who contended against Moses and against Aaron in the congregation of Korah, when they contended against Yahweh, [10] and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up along with Korah, when that congregation died, when the fire consumed 250 men, so that they became a warning. [11] The sons of Korah, however, did not die.

Psa 106:17 LSB - [17] The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, And covered up the company of Abiram.

Jde 1:4, 11 LSB - [4] For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. ... [11] Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, and for pay they have poured themselves into the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.

Psa 42:1 LSB - [1] For the choir director. A Maskil of the sons of Korah. As the deer pants for the water brooks, So my soul pants for You, O God.

Num 26:59 LSB - [59] And the name of Amram's wife was Jochebed, the daughter of Levi, who was born to Levi in Egypt; and she bore to Amram: Aaron and Moses and their sister Miriam.

The Daughters of Zelophehad

Num 27:6-7 LSB - [6] Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, [7] "The daughters of Zelophehad are right in [their] statements. You shall surely give them a possession for an inheritance among their father's brothers, and you shall have the inheritance of their father pass on to them.

Num 27:12-14 LSB - [12] Then Yahweh said to Moses, "Go up to this mountain of Abarim, and see the land which I have given to the sons of Israel. [13] "So [when] you have seen it, you too will be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother was, [14] for in the wilderness of Zin, during the strife of the congregation, you rebelled against My command to treat Me as holy before their eyes at the water." (These are the waters of Meribah of Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.)

Moses Commissions Joshua

Num 27:18-19 LSB - [18] So Yahweh said to Moses, "Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him; [19] and have him stand before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation, and commission him in their sight.

 

Numbers 22-24 - A star shall come forth from Jacob

Balak Sends for Balaam

Num 22:7 LSB - [7] So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian went away with the [fees for] divination in their hand; and they came to Balaam and spoke Balak's words to him.

Num 22:20-21 LSB - [20] And God came to Balaam at night and said to him, "If the men have come to call you, rise up [and] go with them; but only the word which I speak to you shall you do." [21] So Balaam arose in the morning and saddled his donkey and went with the leaders of Moab.

Balaam’s Donkey and the Angel

Num 22:22 LSB - [22] But God was angry because he was going, so the angel of Yahweh took his stand in the way as an adversary against him. Now he was riding on his donkey, and his two young men were with him.

Num 22:31 LSB - [31] Then Yahweh opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of Yahweh standing in the way with his drawn sword in his hand; and he bowed his head down and prostrated himself to the ground.

Num 22:41 LSB - [41] Then it happened in the morning that Balak took Balaam and brought him up to the high places of Baal, and he saw from there the end of [the camp] of the people.

Yahweh Speaks Through Balaam

Num 23:5 LSB - [5] Then Yahweh put a word in Balaam's mouth and said, "Return to Balak, and you shall speak thus."

Balaam’s Discourse

Num 23:16 LSB - [16] Then Yahweh met Balaam and put a word in his mouth and said, "Return to Balak, and thus you shall speak."

Spirit of God Comes upon Balaam

Num 24:1-2 LSB - [1] And Balaam saw that it was good in the eyes of Yahweh to bless Israel, so he did not go as at other times to encounter omens, but he set his face toward the wilderness. [2] And Balaam lifted up his eyes and saw Israel dwelling tribe by tribe; and the Spirit of God came upon him.

Oracle of Balaam

Num 24:17 LSB - [17] "I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near; A star shall come forth from Jacob, A scepter shall rise from Israel, And shall crush through the forehead of Moab, And tear down all the sons of Sheth.

What star is this, with beams so bright, More lovely than the noon-day light?

Translator: John Chandler; Author: Charles Coffin (1736)

1. What star is this, with beams so bright,

Which shame the sun’s less radiant light?

’Tis sent t’ announce a new-born King,

Glad tidings of our God to bring.

2. ’Tis now fulfilled what God decreed:

“From Jacob shall a star proceed”;

And lo! the eastern sages stand

To read in heav’n the Lord’s command.

3. While outward signs the star displays,

An inward light the Lord conveys,

And urges them, with force benign,

To seek the Giver of the sign.

4. Oh, while the star of heav’nly grace

Invites us, Lord, to seek thy face,

May we no more that grace repel,

Or quench that light, which shines so well!

5. To God the Father, God the Son,

And Holy Spirit, Three in One,

May every tongue and nation raise

An endless song of thankful praise!