Go Tell It on the Mountains

 

Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise from the end of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and all that fills it, the coastlands and their inhabitants. Let the desert and its cities lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar inhabits; let the habitants of Sela sing for joy, let them shout from the top of the mountains. Let them give glory to the LORD, and declare his praise in the coastlands. The LORD goes out like a mighty man, like a man of war he stirs up his zeal; he cries out, he shouts aloud, he shows himself mighty against his foes. (Isaiah 42:10-13 ESV).

 

I know it’s different for every new parent; however, for Mary and I with each of our sons we wanted to wait until they were born before alerting anyone that Mary was in labor. So, after the birth of each our children, we spent bit of time on the phone (landlines, of course) calling various family and friends to tell them the good news that our baby had been born. While we were interested in having others there during the births we certainly wanted to let everyone know as quickly as possible, sharing our good news. It is much easier to accomplish this today with technology as it is.

 

Whenever anyone has good news, they want to share it with as many people as possible. The prophet Isaiah spoke about the servant of the Lord who would come in faithfulness to bring justice and restoration. And at his coming, the people are called to sing a new song of praise, to go out and “raise their voices” and “shout from the mountaintops.” On the day of Jesus’ birth, God’s people are given news of the greatest gift, the gift of salvation. As we hear the good news of Jesus, we respond with great joy, sharing it wherever we go.

 

“Go, Tell It on the Mountain” may not be one of your “traditional” Christmas carols; however, it calls us to hear the good news of the birth of Jesus and to respond with shouts of joy! We can go out and share this news with everyone we can imagine. One of the wonderful privileges we have is being able to share this great good news with others. Take advantage of that opportunity in all the circumstances you find yourself in this Christmas season!