A Hymn that Teaches the Faith
St. John's Lutheran Church & Atonement Lutheran Church
First Wednesday in Advent
Sermon on “Savior of the Nations, Come” (LSB 332)
In the Name of the Father and of the ☩ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
When I was a kid, I did not understand what Hymns, the song we sing in Church, are. Are they popular Christian songs? Are they just songs to make us feel good and lift us up when we feel sad? Or are Hymns God’s divine truth set to music? A Hymn can be all three, like the Hymn that is used as the basis for our meditation today, “Savior of the Nations, Come”.
The story of this Hymn, and its writer, the Church Father St. Ambrose of Milan, is fascinating. The Hymn dates back to the 4th century, and it's probably one of the oldest hymns we have in our current hymnal. The Hymn was written in Latin, and the purpose of the Hymn was to combat heresy that was influencing the Church. The Hymn contains eight verses and was used as a Christmas Hymn. After 1300 years, in 1524, Martian Luther translated it into German without the 4th stanza of the Hymn, as it was omitted from the Roman Catholic order of servers – also known as a Breviary. During this time the Hymn began to be used as and Advent hymn. Then in the 19th Century the Hymn was translated into English from German and made its way into The Lutheran Hymnal (TLH) with the 4th stanza still omitted. When the Hymn was added to the Lutheran Service Book (LSB), our current hymnal; the 4th stanza was added back, along with new English translations that “modernized” and cleared up the language and words choices that were used in older hymnals, while keeping the hymns poetic style.
This is all fascinating information, if you are a person who likes Hymnology, the study, history, and the science of hymns. What I want to speak on is the Hymn writer and the Theological significance of the Hymn.
In 374 AD, St. Ambrose of Milan was serving as a Roman Governor, whose headquarters were in Milan. The Bishop of Milan just died, and an election was taking place to elect a new Bishop of Milan. There was tension between two religious groups, the Nicene Christians – who believed in the Trinity – and Arian Christians – who hold to a heretical belief that Jesus was not the true Son of God, but a created being like an angel. Ambrose went to the church where the election was taking place, to talk with the crowd to prevent a riot from breaking out. Ambrose, who was well-regarded for his integrity and fairness, was a new Christian who had not yet been baptized. Soon as he began speaking to the people, calls came from the crowd shouted “Ambrose, Bishop”, the crowed was calling to make Ambrose the new Bishop of Milan. At first, St. Ambrose refused this but eventually relented, as even his friend supported the idea of Ambrose being the new Bishop of Milan. In rapid succession Ambrose was baptized, trained, ordained and consecrated as the new the Bishop of Milan.
St. Ambrose devoted the rest of his life to the Church. Defending the Church from Heretical views – like Arianism – and affirming the Nicene Creed. St. Ambrose emphasizing Doctrine and the clear teach of the Gospel. And guiding and mentored others into the church, notably St. Augustine of Hippo, another Church Father.
Among St. Ambrose many contributions and influence on the Church, was with the writing and use of music in the church service. If you like singing hymns in the Church service, you can thank St. Ambrose of Milan.
St. Ambrose had three requirements for Hymns in the church. Hymns need to 1) Teach the faith, 2) Doctrinally sound, and 3) to be easy and/or simple for the members of the congregation to understand and sing. St. Ambrose’s hymn “Savior of the Nations, Come” exemplifies these three requirements.
Throughout most of human history, the average person did not know how to read or write, or only had the base skill to read and possibly write their own name – the average person did not read for fun or education. Paper, papyrus, and vellum were expense and time-consuming to make. Only the wealthy to afford to buy objects like books and scrolls, made from them. So, most education for the average person was done through hands-on experience or verbal repetition. And when words are placed with music, it is easier for a person to remember the words. I am sure you have experienced a simple jingle, from like a commercial, getting stuck in your head or how about reciting the lyrics to a song that you really enjoyed. So, teaching the Faith can be, and is, done in a similar way.
The Hymn “Savior of the Nations, Come” tells the entire Christian story. Stanza 1 teaches of Gods people longing for and our desire for the Savior, Jesus Christ.
“Savior of the nations, come, Virgin’s Son, make here Your home!”.
Stanza 2-3 teaches us of His coming to use through the incarnation, that the Word of God made flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary, and for God humbling himself to be one of use through the Virgin Birth.
“Not by human flesh and blood,
By the Spirit of our God,
Was the Word of God made flesh—
Woman’s offspring, pure and fresh.
Here a maid was found with child,
Yet remained a virgin mild.
In her womb this truth was shown:
God was there upon His throne.”.
Stanza 4-5 teaches us the truth that Jesus was Fully God and Fully, outrightly rejecting the Arian view of Jesus of just being a created being and not God. Jesus was with God from the being and went back to God after His sacrificial work on the cross was done.
“Then stepped forth the Lord of all
From His pure and kingly hall;
God of God, yet fully man,
His heroic course began.
God the Father was His source,
Back to God He ran His course.
Into hell His road went down,
Back then to His throne and crown.”.
Stanza 6 teaches us the victory we have, through Christ victory over the Sin and death, and through Christ victory, are we made right with God and all our sins are forgiven through Christ victory.
“For You are the Father’s Son
Who in flesh the vict’ry won.
By Your mighty pow’r make whole
All our ills of flesh and soul.”.
Stanza 7 teaches that with Christ is in our heart, our new light, Christ banishes the darkness from heart, that Christ is now our goal, our guiding light, to live a life full of praise and glory to God.
“From the manger newborn light
Shines in glory through the night.
Darkness there no more resides;
In this light faith now abides.”.
This hymn not only teaches the faith but is Doctrinally sound when doing so. What I mean is the principles that the hymn teaches are principles that are found in the Bible and can be referred to scriptural. Take for example the first part of stanza 1 “Savior of the nations, come, Virgin’s Son, make here Your home!” You can find this principle in Isaiah 64:1, “Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains might quake at your presence”, and Isaiah 7:14, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”.
Stanza 2, reference Luke 1:35 where the Angel Gabriel speaks to the Virgin Mary, favored on of God, that the Holy Spirit will come upon Mary, and she will become with child, our Savior Jesus Christ. Stanza 4, reference John 16:28, “I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.” Stanza 5 refers to John1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” This is a clear and biblical support that Christ was from the beginning God, not a created being, like the angles, but the Godhead, another term for the Trinity. God in three-person – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We confess this very fact in the words of the Nicene Creed.
Stanza 7 reference Simeon in Luke 2:30-32, “for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.” A clear stamen from Simeon that Jesus is the Christ, the Anointed one of God, to save His people, all people, from their sins and through Christ sacrificial work.
St. Ambrose’s third requirement for a Hymn was that it would be easy for the congregation to understand and to sing. When Luther translated the hymn from Latin to German, the hymns meter – the musical pattern – was also changed. This was due to the difference in pronunciation of words between the two languages. This, however, did not change how easy the song could be played, chanted, or sung. Like that simple jingle from a commercial, the simplicity of this hymn allows the words of this hymn to remain with us, long after the hymn is over.
The Hymn is not just easy to sing but is also easy to understand. The words are poetic yet not filled with complicated words that are hard to pronounce. The words chosen are simple and easy to understand. For someone new and just learning the Faith, this is the kind of language you would want to use, to avoid any misunderstanding. The words of this hymn leave no doubt about what we are confessing, what we are proclaiming. Jesus Christ is the Son of God, fully Man and fully God, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered our sins on the cross, overcame sin, death, and the grave, to give us victory over Sin and death. We have a New Life in Jesus Christ. His light banishes the darkness in our heart, and He gives us His Peace.
May you now look at this Hymn, and all Hymns, in a new way. Not just hymns the left up our souls, but also a way to teaching the Faith to us and others.
Amen.
