Nearly Two Thousand Years Ago
(an unfinished ballad)
Nearly two thousand years ago
To Mary did the angel appear,
His countenance was aglow
When he said to her "Do not fear!"
"God has sent me to you today
And good tidings I bring:
In your womb shall He a child lay
Who shall give Israel her spring".
Joseph, Mary's husband to be
Very nearly lost his mind;
God's plan he could not see,
In Mary's state, unwind.
"Joseph" Call'd the angel Gabriel,
"The child your wife will hold
Shall be the salvation of Israel;
He's the one the prophets foretold".
Call his name Jesus, the Emmanuel,
For he, from sin shall save
His people, and all will be well
O'er the throne of his father Dave.
In Bethlehem the child was born,
In a manger full of hay;
Swaddling clothes to keep him warm
His mother over him did lay.
Shepherds to the manger came
To adore the heavenly child,
Who laid amidst beasts tame,
Little infant so meek and mild.
From the East came the Kings,
Prophetic gifts they brought,
They were looking for the one thing
Money can't buy - For Peace they sought.
A Peace that passes understanding,
Given to those he came to call.
To them belong this blessing -
To his people, and not to all.
The child grew in stature
Before God and men too
Preparing himself to endure
The final test of love so true.
And it came to pass one day
That to Jordan's banks he did come
To fulfill the law that of old says,
"A new creation you must become".
To prepare him for his predicted end,
And to show that evil is not lord.
Unto the desert did the Spirit send
He, whose weapon was God's Holy Word.
And from the desert he came,
Victorious over the devil
And taught that in his name
We can resist any evil.
The rest of his life was spent
In teaching God's own way,
And his disciples were sent
To his people, far away.
To teach them how to live
In God's law from day to day;
To show them what to believe,
What to do and how to pray.
But the enemy, always alert,
Cunning, malicious and vile,
Masters of deceit, in torture expert,
Sought to trick him with their guile.
They questioned him in diver places,
To trap him was their intent;
With hate in their hearts and faces
On his demise they were bent.
Yet, he, being Truth personified,
Exposed their true intentions
And would not be vilified
By their arguments and contentions.
Unable to refute the charges
He leveled against their race
They sought with lies so large
His life on earth to erase.