How suddenly a baby cries and all forever change
As shepherds leave the angel song to find this holy place
Where in her young and trembling arms a virgin holds her Son
And in this Child of breath divine our Light has finally come
She ponders how the Magi kneel before Emmanuel
With gold and frankincense and myrrh Christ’s sacrifice they tell
A dream would help them flee a king whose pride would cruelly destroy
As mothers weep God’s mercy meets the hunger for His joy
What wonder still that Anna filled with praise should bless the Lord
Her aging eyes now looking on the Savior of the world
For night and day her prayers had filled the temple of our God
Her heart could tell His saving hand within this gift of love
Hear Simeon who had waited long draw near to hold the child
To speak of Him who would reveal the many thoughts we hide
That hearts would rise to know His grace but many fall away
A sword would pierce His mother’s soul upon redemption day
How suddenly a baby cried and all forever changed
Through history soul by soul have come to find His healing grace
He filled my troubled heart with peace, with hope of endless worth
My voice will join the song of praise that tells Messiah’s birth
Written and sung along with Keith Getty and Fionán de Barra
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A baby’s first cry gets the attention of everyone around, yes? At the very moment of birth, all in attendance pause to hear a baby’s first cry—expectant parents, other relatives and loved ones, the nurses, doctors, and other caregivers—and then sigh with joy, with relief, and with thankfulness at that wonderful sound! When the baby Jesus was born, His cry, too, brought great joy to his parents, Joseph and Mary. Think of the setting:
And while they were there, the time came for her delivery,
And she gave birth to her Son, her Firstborn;
and she wrapped Him in swaddling clothes and laid Him in a manger,
because there was no room or place for them in the inn.
Luke 2:6 and 7
Joseph and Mary had traveled many, many miles to come to Bethlehem to register in the census. Upon their arrival, there was nowhere for them to stay but in a stable…and this is where Mary birthed her firstborn, Jesus, God’s Son. Not the best surroundings! So I would think baby Jesus’ first cry meant oh-so-very much to them!
But…both Joseph and Mary were fully aware of just Who this tiny baby was! Both had been told of the significance of this baby’s life by angels. (Read the records here: Luke 1:26-38; and Matthew 1:18-25 .) Don’t you think they each had contemplated for the entire duration of Mary’s pregnancy the magnitude and awesome, eternal implications of just Who their Son would be! Think for a moment…place yourself in their sandals: when the baby was birthed and took His first breath and released a cry, can you only imagine the praises that must have welled up out of their hearts? Can you imagine the look they must have exchanged as they realized that the promises that the angel had made to each of them came forth into fruition? That initial cry of baby Jesus truly changed the world! Perhaps Mary remembered the words she spoke when she was visiting her cousin Elizabeth:
“Oh, how my soul praises the Lord.
How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!
…because the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and His name is holy.
His mercy is from generation to generation on those who fear Him.”
Luke 1: 46-47 and 49-50
And so we, too, do also exclaim and praise! Even now, don’t we love to sing these beautiful carols and anthems and songs that tell of Jesus’ coming and His birth. We are reminded of all that first little cry meant as it sounded out that the Savior was born! He had come…just as promised throughout the ages! As the words of this beautiful song say,
“How suddenly a baby cried and all forever changed
Through history soul by soul have come to find His healing grace
He filled my troubled heart with peace, with hope of endless worth
My voice will join the song of praise that tells Messiah’s birth”
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May our voices rise up in praise and thankfulness to our heavenly Father! Because of His great love for us (you and me!), He sent His Son to redeem and save us; to rescue us and make available to us a relationship with Him for all eternity.
Never—don’t EVER—doubt His love!
For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers,
nor things present nor things to come, nor powers,
nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation,
will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.Romans 8:38 and 39
Thankful Heart
My open hands receive blessings You pour out on me
Your tender care restores my soul
Your faithfulness endures, as mercy covers all my sin
Your perfect love has made me whole
Beyond the words I’m searching for
I long to give You something more
Here’s my thankful heart, thankful heart
Offered up in gratitude for all You’ve done for me
Here’s my thankful heart, thankful heart
Offered up in praise to You
I’m unworthy of the gift of Your unfailing love
But You embrace me as I am
You provide my needs, and raise a harvest from the seeds I sow in vain
I bless Your Name
Beyond the words I’m searching for
I long to give You so much more
From the raising of the sun
‘Til it’s going down
The name of the Lord be praised
Written by Gary Forsythe
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We can offer up our thankful hearts to our ABBA Father at any time; while
The vital point is THAT we DO give praise to Him out of the abundance of our thankful hearts!!!
Listening to this sweet song, this is my oh-so-very-favorite part:
Beyond the words I’m searching for I long to give You so much more….
How about you…do you ever find yourself exclaiming similar thoughts to God? Oh, I do! So often I am simply without adequate words to tell God all that is in my heart! (As if He does not already know!!!) But I am encouraged that He wants us (you and me!) to come to Him with all that is in our little hearts…what a kind, compassionate, loving Father!
Hear my prayer, O Lord; let my cry come to You!
Psalm 102:1
Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out Your heart before Him;
God is a refuge for us. Selah
Psalm 62:8
…Unto You will I sing praises with the lyre, O Holy One of Israel.
My lips shall shout for joy when I sing praises to You,
And my inner being, which You have redeemed.
My tongue also shall talk of Your righteousness all the day long….
Psalms 71:22-24
A big key to heartfelt praise and thanksgiving is to recognize where we were before God saved us through His grace and love. Truly we were in a desperate situation. You could not save yourself from God’s righteous judgment. But God sent His Son, to save you—to save all mankind!—by His grace. Because now you have experienced His great love and grace, you delight in Him and His great salvation and you can’t help but sing for joy! May I encourage you, friends, to never hesitate…never hold back…never deny yourself the joy of singing praises to our Almighty God!
Sing for joy in the Lord, O you righteous ones;
Praise is becoming to the upright.
Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre;
Sing praises to Him with a harp of ten strings.
Sing to Him a new song;
Play skillfully with a shout of joy.
For the word of the Lord is upright,
And all His work is done in faithfulness.
He loves righteousness and justice;
The earth is full of the lovingkindness of the Lord.
Psalms 33:1-5
While studying through Psalm 33, I read Matthew Henry’s Commentary. Here is a portion of what he wrote, “What a pity it is that this earth, which is so full of God’s goodness <verse 5>, should be so empty of His praises, and that of the multitudes that live upon His bounty there are so few that live to His glory!”
I hope that will not be said of us. As God’s “righteous ones,” let’s be all about offering up our thankful hearts through our praise and songs of joy. Our lives are the proof that He delivers our souls from death. Our response should be to praise Him with thankful hearts.
Remember that line of this song that I shared I just love so much—Beyond the words I’m searching for I long to give You so much more—perhaps the words of the psalmist in Psalm 138 can help to express them. These are my prayer; maybe yours, too.