Dear Listening Friends!
We are entering the season of Advent. Welcome to our program 愛的凱歌Adore Him. I am Judy. For the third Sunday of Advent, we are featuring "The King Is Coming Prelude," a song from Christy Nockels' Christmas album The Thrill of Hope, released in 2016. We recorded this song after first translating its lyrics into Chinese. If you are interested, we invite you to sing along with us. You may find the Chinese translation of the lyrics shown below.
Christy Nockels is one of my favorite songwriters of contemporary Christian music and an American gospel singer who is one of the lead members of the band Watermark. As the first song in the album The Thrill of Hope, "The King Is Coming Prelude" plays a significant role, explicitly offering a plea, inviting all people worldwide to respond to the King's coming.
I wonder what the image of the word "king" is in your mind. A few years ago, a government officer visited my countryside community. Almost everyone in the neighborhood came out to see him with curiosity and expectation, waiting to shake hands and take photos with him. However, he only stayed for a few minutes and quickly moved on to his following tight schedule. After his departure, the streets of our community became quiet again, and it seemed that the officer's visit was not actual but an illusion. This event made me ponder: "Do any kings in the world matter to me (us)?"
According to the Bible, how does it describe our savior, Jesus Christ, as a king? God said through the prophet Isaiah, "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9:6). Baptist John told us, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16). He also said, "Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God" (John 1:12). Apostle John in the book of Revelation said, "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me." (Revelation 3:20) It's amazing to think about how much God loves us and how much grace he gives us. This King loves us and is giving us eternal life. He's standing at the door of our hearts. Christy Nockles encourages all of us to respond to the King's divine invitation, as she says in "The King Is Coming Prelude:"
The king is coming.
Open up your eyes to see it.
Open up your ears to hear it.
The king is coming.
Open up your mind, believe it.
Open up your heart, receive it.
Thank you to everyone who helped produce this episode, including Priscilla Huang on voice and percussion, Fountain Lin on bass, Vivien Lin and Judy Lin on the keyboard, Judy Lin on translation, Vivien Lin on sound mixing, and Judy Lin on the cover photo.
We wish you all a blessed Advent season and a Merry Christmas!
We welcome your comments: https://open.firstory.me/story/clptoz9is07v401tugrc4bxbl?m=comment
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Hello 各位聽眾朋友們！歡迎收聽愛的凱歌(Adore Him)。在聖誕節期，進入待降節的第三個禮拜，今天要與您分享的詩歌是：「君王正前來」 (“The King Is Coming Prelude”)。這首詩歌收錄在Christy Nockels發行於2016年、以聖誕節為主題的專輯 The Thrill of Hope。Christy Nockels是美國當代基督教音樂的福音歌手，詩歌創作者，作家，以及Watermark樂團的主要成員之一。Christy Nockels 也是我個人蠻喜愛的一位詩歌創作者之一。
「君王正前來」(“The King is Coming Prelude”)這首詩歌，放在整張專輯The Thrill of Hope的第一首，正如這首詩歌的英文歌名企圖表達的，像是一個歌劇或話劇的序幕，或是像一個音樂作品中的序曲，藉由「君王正前來」這個序曲或序幕，Christy Nockels直接了當地，邀請我們來進入「耶穌基督降生，帶給人類救恩」的故事裡。歌詞中，她這麼描述：「君王正前來，打開你雙眼去注視，打開你雙耳去聆聽。君王正前來，打開你心門，當相信，打開你的心，當接受。」Christy Nockels以「君王」的形象來描述這位帶給我們人類救恩的耶穌基督。
不知道各位心目中對「君王」的形象或者印象是什麼呢？幾年前，在居住的鄉下社區，偶然遇到一位中央的高級官員來到地方巡視，社區居民大家爭先恐後地，要與這位官員握手、說話、拍照留念。整個街道人潮擁擠，交通堵塞，這位官員僅僅停留幾分鐘後，就匆忙趕著跑下一個行程。瞬時間，街道恢復以往的平靜，鄉下的野狗躺在街道中央，如同往常，再度佔地為王，而地上徒留一堆原本是宣傳單的垃圾。我思想著：世上的君王與我有什麼相干呢？世上的君王與人類有什麼關係呢？
聖經上是如何描述我們的救主耶穌基督這位君王呢？聖經以賽亞書9:6描述：「因有嬰孩為我們而生；有一子賜給我們。政權必擔在他的肩頭上；他名稱為奇妙策士、全能的神、永在的父、和平的君。」約翰福音3:16提到：「神愛世人，甚至將他的獨生子賜給他們，叫一切信祂的，不致滅亡，反得永生。」約翰福音1:12告訴我們：「凡接待他的，就是信他名的人，他就賜他們權柄作神的兒女」。啟示錄3:20曉諭我們：「看哪，我站在門外叩門，若有聽見我聲音就開門的，我要進到他那裡去，我與他，他與我一同坐席」。這是何等的稀奇！何等的奇妙！他站在門外叩門，憑著信心，凡真心樂意接受的，祂邀請我們與祂一同坐席。Christy Nockels以「君王正前來」這首詩歌當作整個專輯一開始的序曲，在歌詞中她邀請人們一同來回應這位愛我們、在我們門外叩門、賜給我們永生生命、使我們能成為祂兒女的這位君王。「君王正前來，打開你雙眼去注視，打開你雙耳去聆聽。君王正前來，打開你心門，當相信，打開你的心，當接受。」「有耳可聽的，就應當聽」！
現在，讓我們一起來聆聽這首詩歌：「君王正前來」(The King Is Coming Prelude)
下面有詩歌「君王正前來」(“The King Is Coming Prelude”)的中文歌詞翻譯，中、英文歌詞的對照，詩歌專輯連結網址，封面相片，以及錄製團隊等等相關資訊。
留言告訴我你對這一集的想法： https://open.firstory.me/user/clpko33470143010vfumkgdhr/comments
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★ 背景音樂 (Background Music)：
詩歌 Hymn: Wonderful , Merciful Savior
詞曲 Author: Dawn Rodgers & Eric Wyse
演奏者 Performer: Judy Lin
★ 君王正前來 "The King Is Coming Prelude"
Songwriter: Christy Nockels
Arrangement: Jeff Moore and Dan Galbraith
Orchestration: Dan Galbraith
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nJcPAPRSY-Paieg9dKauZb3GTfC6ckbg4
★ 中文翻譯歌詞＆英文歌詞對照 (Lyrics: English & Mandarin)
△ 譯者/ Translator: Judy Lin
△ 日期/ Date: Aug. 20, 2023
1 Intro
2 Chorus
The King is coming.
君王正前來，
Open up your eyes to see it.
打開你雙眼去注視，
Open up your ears to hear it.
打開你雙耳去聆聽。
The King is coming.
君王正前來，
Open up your mind, believe it.
打開你心門當相信，
Open up your heart, receive it.
打開你的心當接受。
3 Bridge
The King is coming.
君王正前來，
Open up your eyes to see it.
打開你雙眼去注視，
Open up your ears to hear it.
打開你雙耳去聆聽。
The King is coming.
君王正前來，
Open up your mind, believe it.
打開你心門當相信，
Open up your heart, receive it.
打開你的心當接受。
4 Chorus
The King is coming.
君王正前來，
Open up your eyes to see it.
打開你雙眼去注視，
Open up your ears to hear it.
打開你雙耳去聆聽。
The King is coming.
君王正前來，
Open up your mind, believe it.
打開你心門當相信，
Open up your heart, receive it.
打開你的心當接受。
★「君王正前來」(“The King Is Coming (Prelude)”)（中文版/ Mandarin Version）錄製團隊/ The Recording Team Information
人聲 (Vocals): Priscilla Huang
鼓手 (Percussion): Priscilla Huang
吉他 (Guitar ): Fountain Lin
鍵盤手 (Keyboard): Vivien Lin, Judy Lin
混音 (Sound Mixing): Vivien Lin
封面照片 (Cover Photo): Judy Lin
