Heaven Came Down: A Hymnology of Hope
Heaven Came Down: A Hymnology of Hope
Haggai 2, Isaiah 9, Ephesians 2
Advent December 14th 2026
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.
Biblical Hope is not wishful thinking it is a confident, steadfast expectation that God will fulfill all of His promises. Biblical hope is firmly anchored in God's character and faithfulness and keeps us steady in the ebbs and flows of life.
Stanza 1
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.
Jesus was born for a singular purpose… to set people free.
The promise of Christianity isn’t the ability to control our behavior, it is the opportunity to put to death the old nature and to ask God to resurrect a new nature. Discipleship then is the process of maturing into this new nature while leaving the old nature behind.
Christ is our freedom from fear and sin.
Stanza 2
Israel's strength and consolation, hope of all the earth thou art;
dear desire of every nation, joy of every longing heart.
Haggai 2:1-7 (NIV) 1 on the twenty-first day of the seventh month, the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai: 2 “Speak to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, to Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people. Ask them, 3 ‘Who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Does it not seem to you like nothing? 4 But now be strong, Zerubbabel,’ declares the Lord. ‘Be strong, Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land,’ declares the Lord, ‘and work. For I am with you,’ declares the Lord Almighty. 5 ‘This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt. And my Spirit remains among you. Do not fear.’ 6 “This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. 7 I will shake all nations, and what is desired by all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the Lord Almighty.
God’s judgement never comes without a redemptive promise.
The “work” of transformation is a shared work, a joint venture… “get back to work”.
Strength and peace are found in Christ, He is our Hope. The Hope we carry, people long for.
Stanza 3
Born thy people to deliver, born a child and yet a King,
born to reign in us forever, now thy gracious kingdom bring.
Isaiah 9:1-7 (NIV) Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan— 2 The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. 3 You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest, as warriors rejoice when dividing the plunder. 4 For as in the day of Midian’s defeat, you have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor. 5 Every warrior’s boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire. 6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.
“Nevertheless” means the former does not negate the latter. What preceded doesn’t cancel out what will proceed.
God will not sugar coat the impact of rejection and at the same time He never allows rejection to have the last word!
Not any child, not any son but one whose shoulders can take on the responsibility of ruling! He is…
Wonderful Counselor – someone with unmatched concern for us and a wisdom that captures our complete trust.
Mighty God – God’s Strong Hero!
Everlasting Father – A “forever, for all times and through anything” dad. No end and no interruption of His love and covering.
Prince of Peace – the very ruler of peace.
Isaiah 26:3-4 (NIV) 3 You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. 4 Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal.” Our hope rests on the Rock of Jesus – He is eternal!
Hope is found in the character and person of Jesus!
Stanza 4
By thine own eternal spirit rule in all our hearts alone;
by thine all sufficient merit, raise us to thy glorious throne.
Ephesians 2:1-10 (NIV)
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. This is who we used to be. We are no longer that person.
Ephesians 2:1-10 (NIV)
3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. This was of all of us, no exceptions.
Ephesians 2:1-10 (NIV)
4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. But = Nevertheless! God did this through Christ all by Himself. We can’t help, we can only receive.
Ephesians 2:1-10 (NIV)
6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. We sit with Christ in victory and in authority over the dark forces of this world/our life.
Ephesians 2:1-10 (NIV)
8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. We partner with Christ in carrying hope.
Charlies Wesley’s Hymnology of Hope
Jesus is our long-awaited hope. In Him we have freedom from sin and fear. By His power we rule and reign with Him, now and later. Jesus is our strength and comfort.
There are 3 things that impact hope.
Circumstances.
Timing.
Capacity.
1. Circumstances. Biblical hope is measured by an immeasurably more God. Jesus doesn’t go up and down like circumstances.
2. Timing. Biblical hope isn’t tied to timing. God’s timing is perfect. I can wait on God because I trust in God.
3. Capacity. The capacity of the promiser determines the level of hope. All the promises of God are “Yes and Amen” in Jesus.
Hope overcomes hard. Hope makes hard doable.