“Saved, Saved at Last” 9/18/16 Scripture: Jeremiah 31:7-14, John 1:6-14a by Rev. Laurie Williams
Oliver Cooper, living from the latter part of the 19th to the mid-20th centuries, wrote the hymn Saved, Saved at Last the first line of which is “Love divine is mine.” That pretty much sums up our passages for today during this Rally-Around worship service. The ancient Israeli people wondered when their salvation would come. They yearned for the Messiah God had promised their ancestors long ago. Salvation by their hundreds of commandments just wasn’t cutting mustard. No one could keep them all perfectly. They were anxious for the promised coming Messiah to free them from the heavy burden of the Law. That Law, all the commandments in the books of Exodus, Leviticus and Deuteronomy given by Moses, was necessary to their salvation. Yet, it seemed to become too onerous a thing to bear, at least as far as their salvation was concerned. “Saved, saved at last” were not words the ancient people of Israel sang often. […]