Song Reflection #2 – Our Paschal Joy At Last is Here

“Our paschal joy at last is here!” Each of us have experienced the brutal nature of desperation and weariness. Perhaps you have felt the mundane essence of hopelessness, or perhaps you have forgotten what your faith is for. And it’s not just you – we have all arrived at such a place living in this broken, unfulfilled world in which we wonder “will my Jesus ever come?”

Have we paid close attention to our weariness? Not only that, but have we paid attention to what we are doing with it? Or rather, *whom* we are taking it to? Let’s examine Job; a devoted believer in God who was met, time and time again, with horrible tragedy. Heaps of devastation piled atop of Job; the loss of his property, his beloved family, every ounce of joy. But one thing he held onto indefinitely, amidst and despite discouragement and mockery from his three friends, was his belief in the Lord’s deliverance. 

Job waited tirelessly on the Lord; submerged in the darkest shadow, drenched by the heaviest of rains, and in total weariness. But Job waited. And His Lord, *our* Lord, delivered Job; blessing him with far more than he had ever hoped for or imagined.

This hymn is a proclamation to the coming of Jesus; the deliverance by our faithful and blameless savior in which we are instructed to wait on with intention. “O risen Lord! Grant us to rise, as Thou hast done, in joyful wise.” 

He knows the weariness you carry. What does it mean to cast our burdens on Jesus? Peter says it plainly and best; “cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you,” (1 Peter 5:7).

He cares for you. Jesus, who surrendered His life on the cross and for the life of the fragmented world, cares for you. We wait on the Lord not with weariness, but with intention, with hope and with a joy that comes solely from our strength in the Lord. 

And we do so by feeding on God’s heavenly bread; “I believe the present suffering is nothing compared to the coming of glory that is going to be revealed to us,” (Romans 8:18). He cares for you, friend. Your circumstances will not outlive the faithfulness of God. Brothers and sisters, casting our burdens always on our heavenly Father, let us wait expectantly on Him.

Our Paschal Joy At Last Is Here

Our Paschal joy at last is here!

We praise Thee, Christ, Redeemer dear:

From death Thy servants Thou dost save,

Thyself arising from  the grave.

We praise Thee, Jesus; for Thy hand

Hath freed us from corruption’s band:

Our weary thraldom now is o’er;

We bow beneath the Law no more.

True Paschal Lamb, for sinners slain,

Christ, free from blemish, pure from stain,

Be Thou our Strength, our Food, our Life,

In all our need, in all our strife.

Thou Who hast conquered hell in fight,

We can do all things through Thy might,

Set free the slaves to give Thee laud,

And bring them to the land of God.

The Tree of Life its Fruit hath borne,

The Tree where Thou wast hung in scorn,

Whereon Thy rosy Blood was shed,

And now we feed on Heavenly Bread.

on Heavenly,  on Heavenly

on Heavenly,  on Heavenly heavenly Bread.

O risen Lord! grant us to rise,

As Thou hast done, in joyful wise,

First for Thy work, from error’s gloom;

Then, on the last day, from the tomb.

We praise Thee, who from Death’s fierce hold

The carnal, under evil sold,

Hast freed, and pointed out the way

Hast freed, and pointed out the way

Where we must tread to live for aye.

By Liv Lowe