The Birth of Jesus.


"_For unto you is born . . . a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord._"
--Luke ii. 11.

"_The firstborn among many brethren_."--Romans viii. 29.


The birth of Jesus is one of the great signs of His condescension; and, no
matter how we view it, is perhaps scarcely less wonderful than His death.
If the one manifests His glorious divinity, then the other exalts His
wonderful humanity. If Calvary and the Resurrection reveal His power, does
not Bethlehem make manifest His love? And did not both the former come out
of the latter? The infinite glory which belongs to the cross and the tomb
had its rise in the gloom of the stable. If the Babe had not been laid in
the manger, then the Man would not have been nailed to the tree, and the
Lamb that was slain would not have taken His place on the Everlasting
Throne.

I claim, therefore, a little more attention to the events which relate to
the Saviour's birth, and to the lessons which may be derived from them;
and though, perhaps, something of what I have to say will have already
occurred to some who will read this paper, I will venture to suggest one
or two thoughts as they have been presented to my own mind. Their very
simplicity has made them of service to me.



I.