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Show bang- ft WHAT an interest centered in that Cahe, wrapped in swad-dlinsrdi.it swad-dlinsrdi.it lies, 1 v in in a manger man-ger at Bethlehem! Prophet 3 were interested, angels were interested, the ages luive In on most deeply interested in-terested since. The shepherd had perhaps some premonition. The. seventy weeks of Daniel's prophecy were ahout fulfilled. It m;iy he at that very time they were talking of the coming of Christ. Suddenly their attention was arrested ar-rested hy a strange sight in the heavens. It grew brighter and took the form of an angel, and then they heard a voice announcing the birth of Christ as glad tidings tor all people, peo-ple, not to the Jews only. Then suddenly the air was filled with angels an-gels singing as if they had come right ont "from the air. We know not their wonderful song, but part came to mortal ears, "Glory to God in the highest," etc. "We know not who those angels were, but we fancy they were the redeemed. redeem-ed. Adam was there; Eve was there. Eve, who in her maternal earnestness declared at the birth of her firstborn, "I have got a man from the Lord," hoping that that was he who should bruise the serpent's ser-pent's head. Now, in the fullnes9 of time she had come to witness the birth of the babe who was to be the Saviour of her race. David, Elijah, Moses, the patriarchs, we belieTr, were with the heavenly host. This song reveals three thirtg First. The glorification of Oofl through the incarnation. God has glory through his vast work in n ture, his providence building up ami casting down nations, etc, ' In the incarnation there was special spe-cial glory. It was glory to God in the highest highest, in that it was above all other glory, in that it extended ex-tended to all time and in that it wrought such wondrous good. Second. The great results to the 'earth-. Jc cr.ld ;eut in "peace." Strifes, th otds and thistles were abounding. The earth was torn and "bleeding by constant contention. With Christ came peace. The result would be universal peace. Third. The effect on the individual individ-ual man. "Good will toward men," ,from one another, from God. Out of this good will would finally spring peace on earth and glory to God in the highest. Dr. Matthew Simpson. |
