Christmas Through Art: The Holly And The Ivy

 

The Holly and the Ivy,

When they are both full grown

Of all the trees in the wood,

The Holly bears the crown.

O the rising of the sun,

And the running of the deer,

The playing of the merry organ,

Sweet singing in the choir.

Madonna and Child

15th Century Painting

Unidentified Artist

Image courtesy/Barnes Foundation

The holly bears a blossom

As white as any flower,

And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ

To be our sweet Saviour.

The Holly bears a berry

As red as any blood;

And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ

To do poor sinners good.

O the rising of the sun,

And the running of the deer,

The playing of the merry organ,

Sweet singing in the choir.

The Holly bear a prickle

As sharp as any thorn;

And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ

For to redeem us all.

The Holly and the Ivy

Now both are full well grown;

Of all the trees are in the wood

The Holly bears the crown.

O the rising of the sun,

And the running of the deer,

The playing of the merry organ,

Sweet singing in the choir.

Fifteenth-century English carol

Sunday Night In Uncle Walt's Vault: The Postponed Wedding

 Dashing Don Diego (Guy Williams) comes to the rescue of the beautiful
  teen-aged Constancia de La Torre (Annette Funicello) after he learns of
 her engagement to a charming swindler, Miguel Serrano (Mark Damon),
  in Walt Disney's one-hour  Zorro special, "The Postponed Wedding".

The Postponed Wedding

(1961)

Walt Disney Presents

Keeping Walt In Disney

Prophetic Message: Birth Of A King - Zev Porat And Carl Gallups On TV

 

A special Christmas message from Messianic Rabbi Zev Porat
and Pastor Carl Gallups.

Birth Of A King

Zev Porat and Carl Gallups On TV

messiah ofisrael

(December 24, 2023)

It Came Upon A Midnight Clear

For to us a Child s born, to us a Son is given; and the government shall be
 upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called, Wonderful Counselor,
Mighty God, Everlasting Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace.
(Isaiah 9:6)

Image courtesy/Patrick Oben Ministries

It came upon the midnight clear

That glorious song of old

From angels bending near the earth

To touch their harps of gold.

Peace on the earth, good will to men,

From heaven's all-gracious King

The world in solemn stillness lay

To hear the angels sing.

Still through the cloven skies they come

With peaceful wings unfurled,

And still their heavenly music floats

O'er all the weary world.

Above its sad and lowly plains,

They bend on hovering wing,

And ever o'er its Babel sounds

The blessed angels sing.

And ye, beneath life's crushing load,

Whose forms are bending low,

Who toil along the climbing way

With painful steps and slow.

Look now! for glad and golden hours

Come swiftly on the wing,

O rest beside the weary road

And hear the angels sing!

For lo, the days are hast'ning on

By prophets seen of old

When with the ever-circling years

Shall come the time foretold.

When the new heav'n and earth shall own

The Prince of Peace, their King

And the whole world send back the song

Which now the angels sing.

"It Came Upon A Midnight Clear"
(1849)
Edmund Hamilton Sears
(1810-1876)
American minister and hymnwriter

Flashback Friday: The Little Drummer Boy

 "What can I give Him, poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;
If I were a wise man, I would do my part;
Yet what can I give Him?
Give Him my heart."
-Christina Rossetti

One of the best memories of my childhood was watching the
story of "The Little Drummer Boy" on television at Christmastime.
Like Linus' re-telling of the Nativity story in "A Charlie Brown Christmas"
 the gift of the heartbroken Aaron playing his drum for the Baby Jesus
 in the manger always makes me tear up. I think it is sad that they
no longer air these classic Christmas cartoons on network television.

"The Little Drummer Boy" was the number one Christmas song
 in America this week in December, 1964.

The Little Drummer Boy

(1964)

The Harry Simeone Choral

Make A Joyful Noise

"Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth;
 break forth and sing for joy, yes, sing praises!"
(Psalm 98:4)

Away In A Manger

Bill Bell

Image courtesy/Pinterest

Joy to the world, the Lord is come!

Let earth receive her King!

Let every heart prepare Him room

And heaven and nature sing,

And heaven and nature sing,

And heaven and nature sing!

Joy to the world, the Savior reigns!

Let men their songs employ,

While fields and flocks, 

rocks, hills and plains

Repeat the sounding joy,

Repeat the sounding joy,

Repeat the sounding joy!

No more let sins and sorrows grow

Nor thorns infest the ground

He comes to make His blessings flow

Far as the curse is found,

Far as the curse is found,

Far as the curse is found!

He rules the world with truth and grace

And makes the nations prove

The glories of His righteousness

And wonders of His love,

And wonders of His love,

And wonders of His love!

Image courtesy/Mary Evans Picture Library

Fine Art America

"Joy To The World"
(1719)
Isaac Watts
(1674-1748)
English congregational minister,
hymn writer, theologian, and logician.
Known as the "Father of English hymnody"

The Story Behind The Song

In the late 1600's most worship music sung in the churches in Europe
were Old Testament Psalms.  A young man with an extraordinary talent
for writing hymns by the name of Isaac Watts thought that the songs sung
 sounded stilted and unnatural, not to mention "atrocious" for worship services.   

"To see the dull indifference, the negligent and thoughtless air that
sits upon the faces of the whole assembly, while the psalm is upon
their lips, might even tempt a charitable observer to suspect the
fervency of their inward religion," he observed.

When a church deacon, who also happened to be his father,
challenged him, saying, "Give us something better young man."
Isaac, who loved to read and to study the Bible, went home
and penned his very first hymn.

In his later life, Isaac Watts took inspiration from the words of the
98th psalm, a declaration of praise and singing to the Lord, Who,
"has made known His salvation; His righteousness has He openly
shown in the sight of the nations."
 (Psalm 98:2, Luke 2: 30, 31)

The end result was a song which reflects earth's rejoicing
  over the birth of the Messiah, Who came to rule with true
 justice, truth, and grace, and from Whom all blessings flow.

"Joy To The World" has since become one of the most
well-known and beloved Christmas carols of all time.

Thursday's Thoughts: Fear Not, O Zion!

"When Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed;
 and when he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed."
(Exodus: 17:11)

When Moses lifted up his hands in prayer Israel prevailed over her enemies.

Image courtesy/Pinterest

"In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear not, O Zion.
Let not your hands sink down or be slow and listless.

The Lord your God is in the midst of you, a Mighty One, a Savior, Who saves!
He will rejoice over you with joy; He will rest in silent satisfaction and in His love
He will be silent and make no mention of past sins, or even recall them;
He will exult over you with singing.

I will gather those belonging to you, the Israelites in captivity, who yearn
and grieve for the solemn assembly and the festivals, on whom their exile
and inability to attend services at Jerusalem have brought derision and
the reproach of it is a burden.

Behold, at that time I will deal with all those who afflict you; I will save
the limping ones and gather the outcasts and will make them a praise and
a name in every land of their shame.

At that time I will bring you in; yes, at that time I will gather you, for I
will make you a name and a praise among all the nations of the earth
when I reverse your captivity before your eyes, says the Lord."

(Zephaniah 3:17-20)

Israel behold your God!   Maranatha!