See, Amid the Winter’s Snow

It has been said many times, many ways, that without the manger, the cross makes no sense. There can be no road to Jerusalem without the silent night in Bethlehem. No God-man could die for sins unless One was born for this. The atonement of God would be impossible without the incarnation of the Son. We can and should say these things many more times and in many more ways…

Here, in the refrain of “See, Amid the Winter’s Snow” is yet another wondrous way to sing the wondrous news:

“Hail, thou ever blessed morn!
Hail, redemption’s happy dawn!
Sing through all Jerusalem,
Christ is born in Bethlehem.”
(See, Amid the Winter’s Snow, Hymns of Faith #194)

Do you see the rising sun of the Messiah’s light, “the light [that] shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:5)? That light dawned, like the sun’s promise of a new day, when, promised from eternal years, the tender Lamb of God appears.

Amid the snow of this December, look out on a world like this - and let all the consequences of a sin-cursed world weigh on you for a moment. The wicked often seem to prosper (Psalm 73:3). Our own transgressions make fools of us (Psalm 39:8). Maybe you’ve even felt the sting of an evil man’s injustice (Psalm 64:1-6)! Then, when the bitter cold of a North Dakota wind starts to sting, sing:

“Sacred Infant, all divine,
What a tender love was Thine,
Thus to come from highest bliss
Down to such a world as this!” (Verse 5)

Jesus, knowing full well the depth and breadth of mankind’s evils (John 2:24-25), stepped into our world of woe. For no other reason than He (with the Father and Spirit in perfect Tri-Unity) had planned to do so from everlasting according to His great love.

Like a Shepherd come to rescue lost sheep, Christ was born in Bethlehem, the city of David. So that someday, David’s Son would be condemned to death in Jerusalem - to save His people from their sins.

Take heart, therefore, as you look upon winter’s snow - for the baby born in Bethlehem has conquered the world. “The Lamb promised from eternal years” will come again to make all things new; The blood of that Lamb now seals the promise while we await His appearing.