Christmas Song #7: Wrong Made Right
Who is He in Yonder Stall? is a song of contrasts. We have a Baby in an animal’s feeding trough. We have a Man in the wilderness, weeping.
Then we have a Man who is sought after and admired for His compassion and gracious words.
But then He prays in the garden, and dies an agonizing death. So undeserved! Who is He?
The chorus is, of course, the contrast. But in the final verse, what has been wrong is made right. The suffering Man is no longer suffering. The misunderstood no longer misunderstood. The One who loves and heals takes the position that He deserves and we desire.
And it all starts when the dead comes to life:
Who is He that from the grave
Comes to heal and help and save?
Who is He that from His throne
Rules through all the world alone?
Some people have questioned whether or not the Baby really was “the Lord”, as the chorus says. After all, wasn’t He “exalted” after the cross (Philippians 2:5-11; Hebrews 1:1-4)?
Well, certainly, He took a new position as the gracious Saviour, the One who triumphed over death and ascended to the Father, later on. And we still await His complete unopposed rule on the earth.
But Hebrews 1 actually answers the question, by applying Psalm 102 to the Son. “You, Lord (Yahweh), in the beginning founded the earth, And the heavens are the works of Your hands” (Hebrews 1:10). He was already Lord at the dawn of time. He was Lord on the cross (1 Corinthians 2:7-8). He was Lord when He ascended, and He is Lord today.
And if anyone has any doubt, He will be seen as Lord in the future and forever.
What does it mean that He is Lord? It means that He was in charge and in control when there was no room in the Inn in Bethlehem. He was in charge and in control when He was murdered by sinful men on a cross. And He is still in charge and in control. Which means that history has meaning, and purpose. And the seemingly strange contrast of a gentle, suffering Man who is Lord will be seen as a further reflection of His eternal glory.
We don’t always see, today, the purpose in history. But God does share with us the great panorama of His grand plan. The author of Hebrews says it well:
…For in subjecting all things to him, He left nothing that is not subject to him. But now we do not yet see all things subjected to him. But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels—Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone. For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings.
Hebrews 2:8-10
Benjamin Hanby recognized that the important thing was the identity of this Man, His characteristics. Powerful and compassionate – and Lord of all! Let this song remind you of that this Christmas, and into the new year.
’Tis the Lord! O wondrous story!
’Tis the Lord! the King of glory!
At His feet we humbly fall,
Crown Him! crown Him, Lord of all!