Thou Didst Thy Throne

Thou didst leave thy throne and thy kingly crown when thou camest to earth for me,
But in Bethlehem’s home was there found no room For Thy holy nativity:
O come to my heart Lord Jesus; There is room in my heart for thee!

Heaven’s arches rang when the angels sang proclaiming Thy royal degree;
But of lowly birth cam’st Thou, Lord, on earth, And in great humility;
O come to my heart Lord Jesus; There is room in my heart for thee!

The foxes found rest and the bird its nest in the shade of the forest tree;
But Thy couch was the sod, O Thou Son of God, In the deserts of Galilee:
O come to my heart Lord Jesus; There is room in my heart for thee!

Thou camest, O Lord, With the living word, that should set Thy people free;
But, with mocking scorn, and with crown of thorn, They bore Thee to Calvary:
O come to my heart Lord Jesus; Thy Cross is my only plea!

When heaven’s arches shall ring; And her choirs shall sing at Thy coming to victory,
Let they voice call me home, Saying, ‘Yet there is room- There is room at My side for thee!’
And my heart shall rejoice, Lord Jesus, When Thou camest and callest for me.

This is not necessarily one of the more famous Christmas carols we tend to sing this time of year.  Personally, I have a fondness for it for a couple of reasons.  It has some of the Old English language that I love.  It is also one of those hymns that tie together the importance of Christ’s Advent (His Coming) with Christ’s Death and Resurrection, and His Return.  Finally, the last thing about this hymn is that, for me, it reminds me of certain aspects of Christ’s life on earth that I can relate to.  Although I hate to admit it, I can see myself as the innkeeper in Bethlehem who tells Mary and Joseph – “Sorry, no room” not realizing that I was telling God’s only Son, “I don’t have room for you.”  What regret I would have felt if I later found out I had told the Creator of the Universe and the only person who could save my soul – “No vacancy.”  Those thoughts are convicting, but my prayer is that I can continually say, like this great hymn, “There is room in my heart for thee.”

Couple of comments on the lyrics of this hymn:

• “Thy throne and thy Kingly Crown” – Do you know of famous people or politicians who were on top of the world, and then for whatever reason, lost it all?  Some look and see the tragedy in those situations.  Others see it, and say “Well, he probably got what he deserved.”  Now, think of Christ leaving the glories of Heaven.  The King and Creator on His throne coming down to this world to take on human flesh and all that came along with it.  He did this, not because He “got what He deserved,” but because He loved us so much He didn’t want us to get what we deserved.  What a wonderful picture of His merch and His Grace!

• “Lowly birth” –  When you hear the phrase “lowly birth,” what does that mean to you?  Does it mean the humiliation of being born in a manager in a dirty stable in Bethlehem?  Does it mean being born into poverty – to young parents who had no financial wherewithal?   In Philippians 2, Paul gives us some details about the “lowly birth” when he describes the mind of Christ – “Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. “  When I think about lowly, I think about Christ coming to earth as a man.  Leaving the glory of Heaven to become God in the flesh, and dwelling among us.  Surrounding Himself with sinners like me. What a lowly birth it truly was in order that we might be lifted up with Him one day in Heaven!

“NO VACANCY” – Although not used much anymore at hotels and motels around the country, this kind of signage used to be the common way of letting travelers know that a hotel had no more rooms available.  This hymn reminded me of that phrase because the night of Christ’s birth there was “no vacancy” in the inn.  I like to think that I would never tell the Lord that there is no room for Him in my heart.  I hope that each of you could echo that same sentiment.  But, I did want to challenge you with some questions about the “vacancy” in your own heart:

• Is your heart like a 100-room hotel where you have made only a few rooms available to the Lord?  Maybe you think “Lord you can have my Sunday mornings, but I work Monday-Friday, Saturday’s are for college football and are off-limit, and my Sunday nights are for “rest”. Or maybe, “Lord, you can have 10% of my income, but the rest of the 90% is mine to do whatever I want.”

• Is your heart like the 30 story downtown, luxury hotel?  You make available several floors to the Lord, but keep the best suites for yourself.  Maybe you think “Lord, I realize I need to help at the Church so I will sign up for the activity that requires the least amount of effort and/or time commitment.   You understand that I have a lot going on, don’t you?  I really love coaching my kid’s football team, working out, being involved with my kids activities…..” 

• Or, is your heart like the Motel 6?  You have “left the light on,” but your heart isn’t really open to letting Christ to come in and dwell.  Maybe you think “Lord, if you knock long enough, and loud enough, on the door of my heart, I will eventually get the message and let you in, but you may have to ring the bell a few times to get my attention.”

Unfortunately, at one time or another, I think we all try to compartmentalize our heart, and think that we can make only certain “rooms” available to the Lord.  That is not what Jesus is wanting.  I hope that this hymn doesn’t leave you with the impression that Jesus just needs just a little “room” in your heart to come in.  His desire is to take up residence.  Jesus said in John 14:23 “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” The Greek word for make our home essentially means to “make one’s abode” or “take up residence.”  God wants to have access to everything.  To have you serve Him wholeheartedly.  Deuteronomy 6:5 commands us to “Love the Lord with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”  My prayer is that I will open all of my heart to Him, and make more room for Him.  To allow Him to take up residence.  To unlock the doors and move out the clutter, and let Him have my all.  I hope I am not like the Innkeeper that said, “No room,” and I hope that is your prayer this Christmas too.