A Baby Is A Harmless Thing

A baby is a harmless thing
And wins our hearts with one accord,
And Flower of Babies was their King,
Jesus Christ our Lord:
Lily of lilies He
Upon His Mother’s knee;
Rose of roses, soon to be
Crowned with thorns on leafless tree.

A lamb is innocent and mild
And merry on the soft green sod;
And Jesus Christ, the Undefiled,
Is the Lamb of God:
Only spotless He
Upon his Mother’s knee;
White and ruddy, soon to be
Sacrificed for you and me.

Nay, lamb is not so sweet a word,
Nor lily half so pure a name;
Another name our hearts hath stirred,
Kindling them to flame:
‘Jesus’ certainly
Is music and melody:
Heart with heart in harmony
Carol we and worship we.

—Christina Rossetti

Sunday's Hymn: Infant Holy, Infant Lowly

Infant holy, Infant lowly, for His bed a cattle stall;
Oxen lowing, little knowing, Christ the Babe is Lord of all.
Swift are winging angels singing, noels ringing, tidings bringing:
Christ the Babe is Lord of all.

Flocks were sleeping, shepherds keeping vigil till the morning new
Saw the glory, heard the story, tidings of a Gospel true.
Thus rejoicing, free from sorrow, praises voicing, greet the morrow:
Christ the Babe was born for you.

Other hymns, worship songs, sermons etc. posted today:

• Update: While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks at Rosemary at Home
• Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming at Jam and Books
• All My Heart This Night Rejoices at Hiraeth
• Jesus, Your Name at Daily On My Way to Heaven
• All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name at Whatever Things
• Joy Bells Are Ringing at The Happy Wonderer
• While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks by Night at Fieldstone Cottage
• Behold! The Grace Appears at Tried With Fire 
• Lord’s Day 51, 2011 at The Thirsty Theologian
• Voices From the Past - December 18, 2011
• Update: Your Weekly Dose of Spurgeon at Pyromaniacs: Have a Merry Christmas

Have you posted a hymn (or sermon, sermon notes, prayer, etc.) today and I missed it? Let me know by leaving a link in the comments or by contacting me using the contact form linked above, and I’ll add your post to the list. 

Round the Sphere Again: Seasonal

Paintings
Brandon Watson comments on a few nativity scenes:

• The Nativity in Paintings 1
• The Nativity in Paintings 2
• The Nativity in Paintings 3
• The Nativity in Paintings 4

Doctrines
Becky Pliego writes:

During this Advent season, we want to invite you to join us in considering and celebrating the excellencies of the names of our Lord. We want to see Him fully, closer as if to say; we long to know Him better, to worship and love Him more.

To help us do that, Becky has posted a series of pieces on the names of Christ, including posts from guest bloggers. You’ll find the posts in this series (so far) here. (I plan to contribute a post to the series, too. The next thing on my to-do list is to work on it.)