LSB 375 Come, your hearts and voices raising
5 Oh, the joy beyond expressing
When by faith we grasp this blessing,
And to You we come confessing
That Your love has set us free.
6 Gracious Child, we pray, O hear us,
From Your lowly manger cheer us,
Gently lead us and be near us
Till we join Your choir above.
Public domain
If thou wilt foil thy foes with joy,
Then flit not from this heavenly boy.
Then flit not from this heavenly boy.
-Robert Southwell
I will put emnity between you (Satan) and the woman (Eve)
and between your offspring and her offspring
He shall crush your head, though you shall bruise His heel.
-The Lord God
The meekness, gentleness, humility, love, self-sacrifice - the very weakness of Christ - the cross is the power of God and the wisdom of God. The very method of turning the tables on the enemies of God, His Christ, and Humanity open God up for even more derision and yet He wins.
He Wins.
Every false start at establishing the Reign of God through force of arms denies the already outstretched mighty arm of the LORD. He weeps for us who cling to our self made fortresses and weapons. There certainly is an enemy. Satan is an enemy whose misery loves company, and he will stop at nothing to get it. But The LORD God had already announced the verdict: "He shall crush your head".
It is no accident that Jesus begins His work by confronting Satan in the wilderness and casting demons out of those suffering from oppression. The time of the Lord's favor has come.
God's people must never lose track of exactly who the enemy of the Kingdom of God is: Satan, the liar and the accuser. God's people must never leave their weapons behind when going into battle: Mo' JESUS!
In your mouth-His Body and Blood
In your mind-His Law and Gospel
Washing clean your Heart-His Water & Word
Real Presence-In Christ
Ephesians 3:17-19
so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Luke 1:68-71
“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
for he has visited and redeemed his people
and has raised up a horn of salvation for us
in the house of his servant David,
as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,
that we should be saved from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us;
Numbers 24:17
I see him, but not now;
I behold him, but not near:
a star shall come out of Jacob,
and a scepter shall rise out of Israel;
it shall crush the forehead of Moab
and break down all the sons of Sheth.
Revelation 22:16
“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”
1 John 3:8
Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.Hebrews 2:14
Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil,
Luke 4:18-21
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."
And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him.
And he began to say to them, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." (ESV)
Revelation 1:5
and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood
Revelation 7:17
For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd,
and he will guide them to springs of living water,
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
Similar Themes:
This Little Babe This Little Babe - musical setting by Benjamin Britten
This little Babe so few days old,
Is come to rifle Satan's fold;
All hell doth at his presence quake,
Though he himself for cold do shake;
For in this weak unarmed wise
The gates of hell he will surprise.
With tears he fights and wins the field,
His naked breast stands for a shield;
His battering shot are babish cries,
His arrows made of weeping eyes,
His martial ensigns cold and need,
And feeble flesh his warrior's steed.
His camp is pitched in a stall,
His bulwark but a broken wall;
The crib his trench, haystalks his stakes,
Of shepherds he his muster makes;
And thus as sure his foe to wound,
The Angels' trumps alarum sound.
My soul with Christ join thou in fight,
Stick to the tents that he hath pight;
Within his crib is surest ward,
This little Babe will be thy guard;
If thou wilt foil thy foes with joy,
Then flit not from this heavenly boy.
-Robert Southwell
Is come to rifle Satan's fold;
All hell doth at his presence quake,
Though he himself for cold do shake;
For in this weak unarmed wise
The gates of hell he will surprise.
With tears he fights and wins the field,
His naked breast stands for a shield;
His battering shot are babish cries,
His arrows made of weeping eyes,
His martial ensigns cold and need,
And feeble flesh his warrior's steed.
His camp is pitched in a stall,
His bulwark but a broken wall;
The crib his trench, haystalks his stakes,
Of shepherds he his muster makes;
And thus as sure his foe to wound,
The Angels' trumps alarum sound.
My soul with Christ join thou in fight,
Stick to the tents that he hath pight;
Within his crib is surest ward,
This little Babe will be thy guard;
If thou wilt foil thy foes with joy,
Then flit not from this heavenly boy.
-Robert Southwell
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