Opression Shall Cease

“Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother

And in His name all oppression shall cease.”

                                        Christmas Carol O Holy Night

I have lost an argument with my son, who insists every Christmas season that “O Holy Night” is the best hymn ever written.

Not just the best Christmas carol ever written, but the best hymn ever composed on any subject for any season. The combination of tune and lyrics, says he, are unmatched in Christendom.

And so tonight we got out the guitars and sang this tune again, and I admit that I consistently look forward to singing “In His name all oppression shall cease.”

That name, the only name greater than oppression, is the only name capable of deliverance from oppression. And that is because all other competitors are part of the problem, not the solution.

Think about it: What other name is trustworthy enough to embrace freedom, the opposite of oppression?

There is no other name. Christ has built the bridge between sinful man and a holy God. All other names either support that name or attack it.

But why do we see so much oppression, and so little freedom? It’s because the lie of worshipping self, the created, looks better than the truth of worshipping God, the Creator.

When did oppression begin? It began in the Garden of Eden, when the tempter told Eve that freedom was to be found in rejecting the law of God. His message was that God’s commands were oppressive and harsh, but that if Eve would only listen to herself, freedom could be hers.

And so began the cycle and history of oppression and death, challenged by the law of God, and broken by the coming of Christ. Yes, there have been (and will continue to be) many promises of freedom apart from Christ, but don’t believe them; just ask Eve.

I may change my mind in the future, and and my son and I may take up our argument again. So while there may be better hymns, there is no other name.

~ Joel Saint