1 Lo! He comes with clouds descending,
Once for ev’ry sinner slain;
Thousand thousand saints attending
Swell the triumph of His train;
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
Christ the Lord returns to reign.
2 Ev’ry eye shall now behold Him
Robed in glorious majesty;
Those who set at naught and sold Him,
Pierced and nailed Him to the tree,
Deeply wailing, deeply wailing, deeply wailing,
Shall their true Messiah see.
3 Those dear tokens of His passion
Still His dazzling body bears,
Cause of endless exultation
To His ransomed worshipers.
With what rapture, with what rapture, with what rapture
Gaze we on those glorious scars!
4 Yea, amen, let all adore Thee,
High on Thine eternal throne;
Savior, take the pow’r and glory,
Claim the kingdom as Thine own.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
Thou shalt reign, and Thou alone!
Populus Zion-the Second Sunday in Advent
The Day on which our Lord will return is a “great and dreadful Day” (Mal 4:1-6). For He will come in a cloud with great power and glory. To the wicked and the proud, it will be a Day of judgment that will “burn them up.” The signs preceding this Day will bring them fear and fainting. But to those who believe, who fear the name of the Lord, this Day is one to look forward to and rejoice in. “Look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near” (Lk 21:25-36) Christ our Redeemer is coming; the Sun of Righteousness is bringing healing in His wings. Let us, then, give attention to the words of the Lord, which do not pass away. Let us through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures (Rom 15:4-13) be strengthened in our hope by the Holy Spirit and watch diligently for Jesus’ coming. Then, by God’s grace, we shall escape all these things that will come to pass and stand before the Son of Man.
INTROIT: Antiphon:(Isaiah 62:11b; 30:30, 29) Psalm: (Psalm 80:1, 3, 14, 17)
Pastor: Say to the daughter of Zion, “Behold, your salvation comes;
Congregation: The LORD will cause his majestic voice to be heard, and you shall have gladness of heart.
P: Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, You who lead Joseph like a flock.
You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth.
C: Restore us, O God; let Your face shine, that we may be saved!
P: Turn again, O God of Hosts! Look down from heaven and see.
C: But let Your hand be on the Man of Your right hand,
the Son of Man whom You made strong for Yourself.
All: Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning, Is now, and will be forever. Amen.
P: Say to the daughter of Zion, “Behold, your salvation comes;
C: The LORD will cause his majestic voice to be heard, and you shall have gladness of heart.
(Note: The Gloria In Exclesis is not sung during Advent.)
Collect of The Day
Stir up our hearts, O Lord, to make ready the way of Your only-begotten Son, that by His coming we may be enabled to serve You with pure minds; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
+Lighting Of The Advent Wreath+
P: We light two Advent candles remembering Jesus who came in history.
He came into a world of sin and death.
C: We remember Jesus who came as the promised Messiah.
John the Baptist prepared the way of the Lord.
P: We hear his call to repent.
C: We light two Advent candles as a sign of our repentance desiring renewal.
P: Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest.
C: Through your Word and Spirit may our souls be blessed. (Two Advent candles are lit.)
+Malachi 4:1-6+
“For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the LORD of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. (2) But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. (3) And you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day when I act, says the LORD of hosts. (4) “Remember the law of my servant Moses, the statutes and rules that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel. (5) “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. (6) And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.”
Gradual:(Psalm 50:2,3a,5.)
Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God | shines forth:*
Our God comes; He does not keep | silence..
‘Gather to Me My | faithful ones,*
who have made a covenant with Me by | sacrifice !”.
+Romans 15:4-13+
For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. (5) May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, (6) that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. (7) Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. (8) For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, (9) and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, “Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles, and sing to your name.” (10) And again it is said, “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.” (11) And again, “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples extol him.” (12) And again Isaiah says, “The root of Jesse will come, even he who arises to rule the Gentiles; in him will the Gentiles hope.” (13) May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
Lutheran Confessions Responsive Reading: The Augsburg Confession (1530)
P: What do we believe, teach, and confess about Original Sin (Article II)?
C: Our churches teach that since the fall of Adam [Romans 5:12], all who are naturally born are born with sin [Psalm 51:5], that is, without the fear of God, without trust in God, and with the inclination to sin, called concupiscence. Concupiscence is a disease and original vice that is truly sin. It damns and brings eternal death on those who are not born anew through Baptism and the Holy Spirit [John 3:5].
P: Our churches condemn the Pelagians and others who deny that original depravity is sin, thus obscuring the glory of Christ’s merit and benefits. Pelagians argue that a person can be justified before God by his own strength and reason.
Verse: (Luke 21:26-27)
P: Alleluia. The powers of the heavens will be shaken.
C: And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Alleluia!
+Luke 21:25-36+
“And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, (26) people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. (27) And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. (28) Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” (29) And he told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. (30) As soon as they come out in leaf, you see for yourselves and know that the summer is already near. (31) So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. (32) Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all has taken place. (33) Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. (34) “But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap. (35) For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. (36) But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
