I wrote this a few years ago as the first reading in the choir Christmas program at church, to be read right before the congregational hymn Come Thou Long Expected Jesus. Since I posted the words to that hymn today, I’ve decided to repost this piece right above it.
In eternity past, prior to his first creative command, God had a plan for the history of his creation. At the very centre of his plan was His own Son, foreordained to redeem humankind from the ruinous results of sin. That God’s own Son would come as Redeemer was at the heart of God’s purposeful will—the plan that he invariably works in all things to accomplish.
It was a glorious plan, but a plan not yet revealed and a plan not yet unfolded in history. And then, piece by piece, God’s word revealed his purpose, and piece by piece, his command brought it to pass.
We have a hint of God’s redemptive plan in the curse of the serpent: “He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” The plan is there, too, in his promise to Abraham: “In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” Piece by piece, God’s word is revealing his purpose, and piece by piece, his command is bringing it to pass.
It was according to his plan that God brought his people into captivity in Egypt and then raised up Moses as God’s agent of redemption to bring them out from slavery, foreshadowing—anticipating—the greater Redeemer to come. The plan is there, too, when God gave the law—the perfect law written in stone; the perfect law that no one could keep; the perfect law that held people captive under a curse. It was this perfect law that showed the need for the great Redeemer to come. In all this, piece by piece, God’s word is revealing his purpose, and piece by piece, his command is bringing it to pass.
The prophets of old spoke, not according to their own will, but according to God’s plan, carried along by the disclosing work of the Holy Spirit, and moved by him to record those prophecies for us. God’s perfect plan raised up Isaiah, who prophesied of a virgin who would conceive a son whose name would be “God is with us.” God’s Spirit set Jeremiah apart from his mother’s womb to be a prophet to the nations, to reveal the coming new covenant when God’s perfect law would be written on his people’s hearts. These prophets, too, were pieces of the plan, teaching God’s people to expect the day when their great Redeemer would come. Yes, piece by piece, God’s word is revealing his purpose, and piece by piece his command is bringing it to pass.
And now the counsel of his will calls for the fulfillment of his promise. It is the right time according to his purposeful plan; it is the perfect time for everything to change.
It is the fullness of time.