Christmas Hymn

Amy Grant's carol moves through the whole gospel story in five short verses rather than stopping at the manger: "praise to God whose love was shown, who sent his Son to earth, Jesus left his rightful throne, became a man by birth."

"Still a higher call had He, deliverance from our sins, come to set all people free from Satan's hold within" names the purpose behind the birth directly — Paul's language of Christ emptying himself of his rightful throne to take on human form sits behind these lines almost exactly.

"He crushed the power of hell, death we fear no more" echoes Hebrews' claim that Christ shared in flesh and blood specifically to break the power death held, and the carol's final verse jumps straight past the manger to Easter: "the Savior King is risen, Christ is Lord indeed." For a song titled simply "Christmas Hymn," it spends its last verse squarely on the resurrection.