December 24, 2021

Friday

While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks

Ecclesiastes 3:12

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.”

Luke 2:8

Nahum Tate was born into the home of an Irish Puritan pastor in 1652. After studying at Trinity College, Nahum traveled to London to become a writer and playwright. It required hard work, but in 1692 he was named the Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom. Unfortunately, Nahum wasn’t good at handling money. Always tottering on the verge of bankruptcy, he died in an institution for debtors in 1715.

Yet Nahum Tate left a rich legacy. While studying the Bible one Christmas, he crafted Luke 2:8-18 into a poem describing the story of the shepherds watching over their flocks near Bethlehem. His poem became a carol you’ve probably sung this season:

While shepherds watched their flocks by night / All seated on the ground, / The angel of the Lord came down, / And glory shone all around….

A point to ponder…

Just like Tate, the shepherds were among the poorest of the land, but what a legacy they left. Our leverage and legacy doesn’t depend on silver or gold or fame or fortune, but on the joy of passing on the greatest message in history: For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord (Luke 2:11, KJV).

Read the Bible through in a year

1 John 1-5

I love you!!!

© 2000-2021 B. Michael Goerlich