Morning “Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name
Immanuel.” / Isaiah 7:14
Let us today go down to Bethlehem, and in company with wondering shepherds and
adoring Magi, let us see him who was born King of the Jews, for we by faith
can claim an interest in him, and can sing, “Unto us a child is born, unto us
a son is given.” Jesus is Jehovah incarnate, our Lord and our God, and yet our
brother and friend; let us adore and admire. Let us notice at the very first
glance his miraculous conception. It was a thing unheard of before, and
unparalleled since, that a virgin should conceive and bear a Son. The first
promise ran thus, “The seed of the woman,” not the offspring of the man. Since
venturous woman led the way in the sin which brought forth Paradise lost, she,
and she alone, ushers in the Regainer of Paradise. Our Saviour, although truly
man, was as to his human nature the Holy One of God. Let us reverently bow
before the holy Child whose innocence restores to manhood its ancient glory;
and let us pray that he may be formed in us, the hope of glory. Fail not to
note his humble parentage. His mother has been described simply as “a virgin,”
not a princess, or prophetess, nor a matron of large estate. True the blood of
kings ran in her veins; nor was her mind a weak and untaught one, for she
could sing most sweetly a song of praise; but yet how humble her position, how
poor the man to whom she stood affianced, and how miserable the accommodation
afforded to the new-born King!
Immanuel, God with us in our nature, in our sorrow, in our lifework, in our
punishment, in our grave, and now with us, or rather we with him, in
resurrection, ascension, triumph, and Second Advent splendour.
Evening “And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent
and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt
offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my
sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.” /
Job 1:5
What the patriarch did early in the morning, after the family festivities, it
will be well for the believer to do for himself ere he rests tonight. Amid the
cheerfulness of household gatherings it is easy to slide into sinful levities,
and to forget our avowed character as Christians. It ought not to be so, but
so it is, that our days of feasting are very seldom days of sanctified
enjoyment, but too frequently degenerate into unhallowed mirth. There is a way
of joy as pure and sanctifying as though one bathed in the rivers of Eden:
holy gratitude should be quite as purifying an element as grief. Alas! for our
poor hearts, that facts prove that the house of mourning is better than the
house of feasting. Come, believer, in what have you sinned today? Have you
been forgetful of your high calling? Have you been even as others in idle
words and loose speeches? Then confess the sin, and fly to the sacrifice. The
sacrifice sanctifies. The precious blood of the Lamb slain removes the guilt,
and purges away the defilement of our sins of ignorance and carelessness. This
is the best ending of a Christmas-day–to wash anew in the cleansing fountain.
Believer, come to this sacrifice continually; if it be so good tonight, it is
good every night. To live at the altar is the privilege of the royal
priesthood; to them sin, great as it is, is nevertheless no cause for despair,
since they draw near yet again to the sin-atoning victim, and their conscience
is purged from dead works.
Gladly I close this festive day,
Grasping the altar’s hallow’d horn;
My slips and faults are washed away,
The Lamb has all my trespass borne.
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