salvation, through thy atoning blood, to all who repent and believe: thy Spirit strives with sinners by powerful convictions: and still they withstand these workings of thy love. And had not thy grace been as omnipotent, as it is sovereign, I should even now have been in arms against thee. But O! the mighty, the almighty power of Love: thou didst graciously draw me to Thyself, and shed abroad in my heart the kindly influences of thy Spirit. Jesus, thou Friend of sinners, thou Physician of souls, how can I sufficiently adore and praise thee. As thou hadst compassion on the leper, the paralytic, the deaf, the dumb, the maimed, and the blind, so hast thou had pity on me. Yea, as thou didst raise Lazarus from the dead, so hast thou bid me LIVE. O! that I may live to thy glory while on earth; and live with thee in glory, when time shall be no more. The anniversary of the birth of Christ, should be a season of rejoicing, not of carnal feasting; a season for spiritual delight, not to pamper the appetites, like heathens in their idol-temples; a season to exalt the soul by divine meditations, and to console it by the assurance of pardoning grace. O! that I may thus rejoice with holy joy, and feel every emotion alive to gratitude and praise. I want to feel my heart full of holy rapture, while I meditate upon the wonders of this day. But I must examine myself whether I be in the faith ;-whether I have received Christ as offered to me in the gospel. Have I any interest in this redemption? Jesus is the Saviour of the world. He came to seek and to save that which is lost. I am lost; therefore he came to seek me. But will all be saved? Alas? no. And why? because "all men have not faith."* Here, then, is the all-important question-Do I believe in the Son of God with the heart unto righteousness? If I do believe, through grace, though by nature a child of wrath, I am among the saved in Christ Jesus; for "God so loved the world, that he gave his only * 2 Thess. iii. 2. begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."* O! what a declaration of grace is this! Truly this is the gospel of my salvation. "Whosoever believeth." Here is my warrant to hope. "Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief." Give me a stronger and a stronger faith, that it may grow into the assurance of hope. "Whosoever believeth." O! what a word of consolation. The word "whosoever," in its full meaning, as expressed by our divine Redeemer, extends to the utmost bounds of the human family, whether in time or space. All, from Adam to the last man born into the world, would be saved, if believers in Jesus; for the word is, "Whosoever." No nation, nor age, is exempted from this blessing, so long as "Whosoever believeth" is recorded in the word of Truth. No sins, however aggravated, shall prevent the participation of this salvation, if there be only true faith in the heart of the sinner, accompanied, as it ever will be, with sincere repentance, love, and obedience; for Jesus hath said, that "Whosoever," (let him be what he may; or where he may; or have lived when he may ;) "Whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” The same blessed truth was declared by our Lord in his last commission to his Apostles: "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to EVERY CREATURE. He that believeth, and is baptised, shall be saved."+ + O what mercy and grace is this! Surely none need now despair, who feel an earnest desire after salvation. Every thing connected with the redemption of mankind, bears the impress of the divine goodness. The Son of the Virgin was to be called "JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins."S A mere man could not do this; therefore he is, "Emmanuel; which being interpreted, is, God with us." || : *John iii. 16. + Mark ix. 24. Mark xvi. 15, 16. || Matt. i. 23. Jesus was born in Bethlehem, the city of David. How mysterious his character. He was the root and offspring of David. David's Son, and David's Lord. These names are full of meaning. David signifies, beloved. Jesus, when baptised by John in the river Jordan, was declared by a voice from heaven, to be the beloved of the Father: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."* And St. Paul exhorts the Colossians to give thanks unto the Father, who "hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son."+ Bethlehem, the birth-place of Christ, is a name of rich import. Bethlehem signifies the house of bread. How suitable is this for him who declared: "I am the bread of life." "I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world."‡ O! that my soul may be nourished and sustained by this "true bread from heaven." Lord, evermore give me this bread. Do thou dwell in me, and I in thee. May I daily feed upon thee, by faith, in my heart with thanksgiving. Bethlehem signifies also the house of war. How remarkable this. Jesus, when lying in the manger, was announced to the shepherds, as "Christ the Lord," the Anointed One, Messiah, the Prince. To Mary, before her conception, the angel said: "Thou shalt bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end."|| To Adam, in Paradise, the promise was given, that the Seed of the woman should bruise the serpent's * Matt. iii. 17.; Mark i. 11.; Luke iii. 22. John vi. 35, 51. + Col i. 13. Luke i. 31-33. head.* This implies conflict and conquest. Christ was foretold by Isaiah as a mighty conqueror: "Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save."† David, in the spirit of prophecy, beautifully describes the glory and majesty of Christ. "He shall have dominion from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth. They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; and his enemies shall lick the dust."+ Jesus, by his Spirit in David, thus speaks of himself: "The Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel."§ St. Paul in his Epistle to the Hebrews declares, “that through death, Christ destroyed him that had the power of death, that is, the devil." Thus fulfilling the first prediction: Satan bruised the heel of the promised seed, when Jesus suffered on the cross; and Christ, by his death, bruised the head, the kingdom of the power of darkness. "For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil."** Believers, then, must endure hardness as good soldiers of Jesus Christ, knowing that the Captain of their salvation was made perfect through suffering.++ Spiritual armour is provided for the Christian warrior, the girdle of truth, the breast-plate of righteousness, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. The command is given : "Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong."SS * Gen. iii. 15. § Psa. ii. 7-9. + Isa. lxiii. 1. Psa. lxxii. 8, 9. **] John iii. 8. §§ 1 Cor. xvi. 13. A A The view of the conquering Saviour is vouchsafed, to animate his soldiers to the fight. St. John, in prophetic vision, saw Jesus going forth "conquering, and to conquer.' "'* "He was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.......Out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron; and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS."+ "The armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean." Well might Moses sing: "The Lord is a man of war: Jehovah is his name."§ I would now remember my baptismal engagement. It was no idle, no unmeaning ceremony, when the minister held me in his arms, a helpless infant, and in the presence of God, uttered these solemn words: "We receive this child into the congregation of Christ's flock, and do sign him with the sign of the cross, in token that hereafter he shall not be ashamed to confess the faith of Christ crucified, and manfully to fight under his banner against sin, the world, and the devil; and to continue Christ's faithful soldier and servant unto his life's end. Amen." Let me thus live; let me not be ashamed of Christ; let me fight manfully under his banners; let me continue his faithful soldier and servant; and what will be the consequence? By multitudes of baptised Christians, I shall be derided as an enthusiast; I shall be shunned, as a fanatic! And yet, these scoffers and deriders are to be considered as regenerated persons! St. Paul, with fearless heart, through the power and grace of Christ, led his converts on, to conflict and to victory. To the Corinthians he declared: "We do not war after the flesh: (for the weapons of * Rev. vi. 2, + Rev. xix. 13-15. § Exod. xv. 3. Rev. xix. 14. |