tian hymn has it correctly:
I will set up thy seed after thee, that shall proceed out of thy body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever. And thy house and thy kingdom shall be made sure for ever before thee: Thy throne shall be established for ever.” Isaiah 7:14: “ Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” Isaiah 9:6: “ For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsel lor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” And Isaiah 9:7: “ Of the increase of his government and of peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David [mark this carefully], and upon his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from henceforth even for ever.” The priest: Psalm 110:4: “ The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent: Thou art a priest for ever After the order of Melchizedek." The ruler from Bethlehem: Micah 5:2: “ But thou, Bethlehem Ephrathah, which art little to be among the thousands of Judah, out of thee shall one come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth are from old, from everlasting.” All these glowing promises were fu l filled and realized in Jesus of Naza reth, born of the virgin Mary. Hear the words of the angel Gabriel (Luke 1:32, 33) concerning Him: “ He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High: 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 king dom there shall be no end.” And the virgin Mary in her exultation exclaims of her God: (Luke 1:54, 55) “ He hath given help to Israel his servant, That he might remem ber mercy (As he spake unto our fathers) Toward Abraham and his seed for ever.” She is speaking of the blessed promises we have just heard, and rejoices that God has fulfilled them for ever. The Chris- DECEMBER, 1970
This Christmas season, celebrat ing the coming of Jesus the Mes siah into the world, should mean to every godly Jew the world over, lastly, The Provision of The Saviour. The angel said to Joseph: (Matt. 1:21) “ And she shall bring forth a son; and thou shalt call his name Jesus; for it is he that shall save his people from their sins.” An angel proclaimed to the shepherds in the field: (Luke 2:10, 11): “ Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all the people: for there is born to you this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord.” The way of peace, pardon, and forgiveness was now to be opened for all. The serpent, Satan, was to have his head bruised. The captives would now be liberated. Israel’s greatest need, and that of the world, and your need now too, dear Jewish reader, was being met in the birth of the Saviour, the Re deemer, the Ransomer, the Sin- bearer, the Sacrifice. A woman in India had learned that she was a sinner, and that God is holy and cannot pass by sin. She often said, “ I need some great prince to stand between my soul and God.” After a while she learned that the Bible contained an account of a Saviour who had died for sinners. So she asked a learned man (a Pundit) to read the Bible to her. He began at the first chap ter of Matthew, and as he read the list of names in the genealogy of the Messiah, the woman thought, “ What a wonderful Prince this Je sus must be to have such a long line of ancestors.” And when the Pundit read, “ Thou shalt call his name Jesus; for he shall save his people from their sins,” the woman cried out, “ Ah, this is the Prince I want! This is the Prince I want! The Prince who is also a Saviour!” Dear friend, this Saviour can meet your greatest need now and save you eternally. Trust Him, son of Israel, and then you will know the true meaning of Christmas for time and eternity. KB 19
“ 0 little town of Bethlehem, How still we see thee lie; Above thy deep and dreamless sleep The silent stars go by; Yet in thy dark streets shineth The everlasting Light; The hopes and fears of all the years Are met in thee to-night.” The birth of the Messiah into the world should mean to every son of Abraham, secondly, What joy it should be to every godly Israelite that he has a God who keeps His covenants. He de lights to make them and to fu lfill them. How often Israel has had oc casion in recent years to hear the promises of friendly nations, only to find that they were empty and never to be realized. Disappoint ment after d is a p p o in tm e n t has been her lot. Thank God, our God never disappoints our hopes placed in His promises and covenants. Listen to Him: Isaiah 14:24, 27: “ Surely, as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have pur posed so shall it stand” and “ The Lord of Hosts hath purposed, and who shall annul it?” Isaiah 46:10, 11: “ My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure” . . . “ yea, I have spoken, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed, I will also do it.” A celebrated minister in his auto biography tells of an old Scotch member of his church who was a strange mixture of good will and foolishness. The lawyer who drew his will, after writing down several legacies of $2,500 to one person, a $5,000 legacy to another, and so on, at last said: “ But sir, I don’t believe you have all that money to leave.” The answer came back, “ Oh, I know that as well as you; but I just want to show them my good w ill.” But God’s good will and promises are not mere pre tense. God means every word He says. The Assurance of A Covenant-Keeping God.
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