This morning we read Psalm 22, and at a first glance, it does not seem to fit well with the cheery, heartwarming tones
of Advent to which we are accustomed. Yet somehow this nativity picture and the solemn tones of Psalm 22 fit hand in
hand. This infant, whose arrival we celebrate, came to fulfill the promise God made with Adam and Eve in the garden.
For years the Israelites longed for a deliverer. Now, in the silent streets of Bethlehem, the fulfillment of God’s
trustworthy promise lay swaddled in a manger. There lay the fulfillment of the hopes and fears of all the years. The
King of kings brought salvation and lived with the poor and mean and lowly. Nails and spear pierced Him through,
and He bore the cross for us. As we long for our victorious Deliverer’s second coming, we adore Him along with the
angels singing: “Alleluia!” “Hail redemption’s happy dawn!” “Christ the babe is Lord of all!” —Emma Marsh
