You can click to hear my daughters sing this old Negro Spiritual.

Because I felt that the words “Now when I was a seeker, I sought both night and day / I asked the Lord to help me and He showed me the way / He made me a watchman upon the city wall / And though I am a Christian, I am the least of all” was vague, I wrote another set of verses.

The first verse is about how, mankind so desperately needed a Saviour to redeem us from the sin that separated us from a holy God. The only atonement that was acceptable (and we do not know the reasons for this) was the death of a sinless man. But no such man was found among our race. God’s love solved this problem.

Verse 1: A sinless man was needed
To bear our sins away
So God came down Incarnate
And in a manger lay

If there is one major reason why we must be careful in our Christmas celebrations, it lies in the projection of Jesus as a helpless babe.

So the second verse is about how this Baby did not stay as a helpless baby; He grew up to be a Man. One day, He fulfilled what He had come to do. He died on a Roman cross. The Bible says: He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; he was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. This healing does not refer to physical healing, but to spiritual healing.

Verse 2: Jesus Man of Sorrows
Was stricken for our sin
The chastisement for our peace
And healing was on Him

The gospel, in its purity, is horrifying to Satan who will go to any extent to stop people from understanding it. As a result, he has ingeniously come up with many strange gospels. But those who have understood the situation must strive to share the true gospel with as many as possible.

Verse 3: Satan tries to stop men
From listening to the truth
So take the sword of God’s word
As warriors, and go forth