When Christmas Was Born...

The Baby Gives A Blessing.

For this small hand in mine I take
Shall never grow to grasp a sword ;

But build the house we could not make
Fit for the living Lord.

And where we dared not follow Truth
But paltered with the word and pen,

The sudden lightning of your youth
Shall blaze a path for men.

O heart of hope, O little child,
Fulfillment of the grace we lack,

Lift up the trust we have defiled,
Give us our glory back. 

       That war will end is the testimony of Prophecy. Among the blessings to which Israel looks forward in the Messianic time none is more emphasized than peace. The covenant which God made with the fathers at the first, and for the fulfillment of which the prophets confidently look, is a covenant of peace. The messenger who brings tidings of the coming salvation is one who publishes peace. The Messiah Himself is the Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end. In His days the righteous shall flourish, and abundance of peace till the moon be no more. Psalmist and prophet alike are full of pictures of the time when Yahweh shall bless His people with peace; when the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in the abundance of peace; when peace shall be within the walls of Jerusalem; in the temple; when men shall go in with joy and be led forth with peace; when the very officers shall be peace and the exactors righteousness; when peace shall extend to Jerusalem like a river and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream; nay, when God shall speak peace to the very Gentiles. Even Jeremiah, bitter in his denunciations of those who cry peace when there is no peace, and prophesy before the time, is firm in his belief that a time is coming when God will reveal to His people abundance of peace and truth.
       The prophets recognized a divine purpose in the wars of the nations but they also believed that when God should truly reign wars will cease, that "the work of righteousness shall be peace and the effect of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever. "Dominated by faith in the final triumph of God's justice, the desire for peace, not only in Israel but also among the nations, became the dream of their life and created a passion for bringing about peaceful relations among men. The vision of universal peace was ever before them, even in days of darkest despair. While they looked forward to it as something to be fully consummated in the future, yet this ideal also had a practical bearing upon their mission and gave to it aim and direction.  James Hastings

Matt Maher sings "Born On That Day"