He is born, the Christ of God!
He is born, the Christ of God!
A Christmas hymn from Horatius Bonar.
On this Christmas Day, I’d like to share the words of a hymn penned by renowned Scottish churchman, Horatius Bonar. I don’t have to tell you how fond I am of Bonar’s writing. But, perhaps, his most everlasting contribution to Christendom remains the myriad of hymns he authored. This one, entitled, “A Bethlehem Hymn,” excellently captures the “reason for the season,” that the “Christ of God” has come!
He has come! the Christ of God;—
Left for us his glad abode;
Stooping from his throne of bliss,
To this darksome wilderness.
He has come! the Prince of Peace;—
Come to bid our sorrows cease;
Come to scatter, with his light,
All the shadows of our night.
He the mighty King has come!
Making this poor earth his home;
Come to bear sin’s sad load;—
Son of David, Son of God.
He has come, whose name of grace
Speaks deliverance to our race;
Left for us his glad abode;
Son of Mary, Son of God!
Unto us a child is born!
Ne’er has earth beheld a morn
Among all the morns of time,
Half so glorious in its prime.
Unto us a Son is given!
He has come from God’s own heaven;
Bringing with him from above,
Holy peace and holy love.
(160–61)
Merry Christmas, friends! May your day be filled with the warmth, faith, and truth of God’s Incarnate Son, who left his throne in heaven to take on all our wretchedness as his own. He who spoke creation into being has shouldered your sin and mine — and it all began in a lowly cattle stall all those centuries ago. “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace” (Isa. 9:6). Amen.
Works cited:
Horatius Bonar, Hymns of Faith and Hope (New York: Robert Carter & Bros., 1866).