Isaiah 12:2 tells us that the Lord is our Song. That first Christmas night, God the Father chose to proclaim the birth of His Son with a Heavenly song-the first Christmas Carol. A Lullaby.
This song was a Proclaimation. The above verse in Luke 2 is the carol the angels sang to the Shepherds. This was a birth announcement like no other! None of the royalty in the world has had such a herald as this! The KIng of KIngs, and Lord of Lords, sent a song to proclaim the Prince of Peace had come! But, this announcment was not just for the shepherds-it was for the whole world! "For God so loved the WORLD..." JOHN 3:16, "For unto US a Child is born, unto US a Son is given..." Isaiah 9:6. Goodwill and peace on Earth was sent to everyone-not just a select few! His Son came to bring Salvation , life, joy, and peace! Only His Song could fill the void in our hearts then and now when we receive Him as Saviour! He brings His Song of Salvation to our hearts that will NEVER LEAVE US! It is eternal because HE IS!
This Carol brought Pondering. "And all they that heard it wondered at those things which the shepherds told them. But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart." Luke 2:18 & 19. No doubt Mary had been thinking that night about the visit she received from the angel Gabriel. She had no idea then when he told her she would give birth to the Messiah that it would have unfolded in this manner! The King of Kings being born in a stable? Questions of Why? How? and What? were probably going through her mind. Most mothers remember every detail of their children's birth, especially their first born. Mary was not an exception. She was taking in all of the events of that night, making mental notes of each one. She did not pass off the shepherds words as idle tales, but committed them to heart and pondered over them in her mind. She did not even have what we would consider a clean, decent blanket for Baby Jesus, and she may not have understood why at that time either. She could have well complained about the situation, but she did not! It was ALL PART OF GOD'S PLAN and every detail fulfilled prophecy! Amazed by what they told, she soaked in every word of the Carol the shepherds repeated to her. She KNEW WHO JESUS WAS and was marvelling at this birth announcement as no other!
This song also brought Praise! " And the shepherds returned glorifying, and praising God for all the things which they had heard and seen, as it WAS TOLD UNTO THEM." LUKE 2: 20. The carol that sent the shepherds running toward Bethlehem brought praise from the shepherds when they arrived to see its herald right before their very eyes!! But, have you ever noticed that in the words spoken by the first lone angel, there was NEVER an instruction to actually GO TO BETHLEHEM? They were told the details of where the Saviour lay because God the Father KNEW the faithfulness of the shepherds and that they had been looking for the coming of the Messiah. He fulfilled the desire of these shepherds in choosing them to be His messengers! He chose those faithfully serving Him to proclaim the Song from the angels and bring praise and glory to God!
Lastly, it brought Peace to all that heard it! It brought peace to the Baby in the manger. How? The Lord Jesus was 100% God and 100% man! The Lord-side of Him could hear the Song AS IT WAS BEING SUNG out in the fields, in His ever listening ear. This brought peace and comfort to His human side! Do we not sing to our crying babies to do the same? Although SOME say Jesus didn't cry as a baby, He did. If not, at what point did He start? He cried when overlooking the city of Jerusalem and when he saw all of the people weeping at Lazarus' grave. A mother KNOWS THE DIFFERENCE between a cry for a need, and a temper tantrum. Just because a baby cries, DOES NOT MEAN IT IS SIN! IT is its only mode of vocalizing its need when it can't speak! Are we not instructed to CRY OUT TO GOD in our time of need when we can"t find the words to say? Tears are a language God understands. God the Father sent His
Son a loving Lullaby to strengthen Him physically and encourage Him in the work He had come to do. Did He not do the same in the wildnerness after Jesus was tempted, and in the Garden of Gethsemane, when angels were sent to minister
to Him? No doubt they brought Him "a word from Home" to strenghthen and encourage Him!
The Song brought PEACE to Mary in that it calmed all fears and questions she may have had that night. Momas: Think back to your first child. Remember all of the 'fears' and careful choices made, keeping other people away from the baby, keeping them spotless? Can you imagine how Mary felt wrapping the Lord in swaddling clothes and laying him in hay in the manger, in a barn, full of animals? What grace the Lord gave her as a mother! It confirmed to her that all of the happenings of His Birth had gone according to the Father's Will and were not mistakes. God had kept His Promise to her.
It also brought peace to the shepherds in knowing that the long awaited Messiah had come and they could literally SEE THEIR SALVATION! Verse 20 says they glorified and praised God for all the things they had seen and heard that night! It was a PERSONAL song to them!
Just as the angels sang so long ago, God's goodwill and peace are still ringing forth today! Jesus, OUR SALAVTION AND SONG, STILL SPEAKS PEACE to all who will hear Him. Do you have Him as the Carol of your heart this Christmas? If not, you can. Listen to that still, small voice singing to your heart. Accept His message of forgiveness and peace, and receive HIS GIFT OF SALVATION this Christmas! If you already have this Song, herald forth His praises today, just as the shepherds did so long ago! May the Lord bless you with a Merry Christmas!
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