Comfort, Comfort Ye My People

Rev. Andy Wright, pastor at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Topeka, KS, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Lutheran Service Book #347, “Comfort, Comfort, Ye My People.”

This beautiful Advent hymn summarizes the Word of God from Isaiah 40 to give us Christian comfort. God sends His messengers to proclaim peace to us in the midst of our sorrows and sins. This peace comes from the fact that God forgives our sins for the sake of Christ and covers us with His righteousness. God works this great reversal for us to take us from temporary sadness to eternal gladness. For that reason, we must listen to the preachers God sends to call us to repentance so that nothing stands in the way of His coming as our King. In that humble repentance, we find our rest in the promises of God, because we know that His Word will never fail.

“The Hymns of Advent'' is a series on Sharper Iron that looks at a variety of the hymns found in the Advent section Lutheran Service Book. The season of Advent prepares us for Christ’s coming. The hymns of Advent teach that this is more than getting ready for Christmas; the Word of the Lord sung in hymnody helps us to receive Christ as He comes to us now in the means of grace and when He comes again in glory on the Last Day.