December, 1939
T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
457
.Wherever Jesus walked, In dusty highway, -by Galilee’s shores, up moun tain slopes or on city pavements, His were the footprints of God. When He spoke, whether in teaching as "one that had authority, and not as the scribes” or in wooing love that drew sinners to Him, or in rebuke, or in flaming and righteous wrath when His every sen tence was a flash and flare of verbal lightning, His was the voice of God. When His hand touched the loathsome leper or. blind eyes or deaf eardrums or crippled limbs, or the brow hot with fever fires or the hand cold with the ice of death, the touch of His hand Was the touch of God. Ip His connection with man in this world, He spake as never man spake, and He wrought mighty miracles. In His connection with man’s life He was, in His character, heaven’s bread for earth’s hunger, heaven’s water for earth’s thirst, heaven’s light for earth’s darkness, heaven’s glory for earth’s shame, heaven’s grace for earth’s giiilt. In life He never lifted a finger, never took a step, never breathed a word to injure any. , His life record was the record of One who welcomed to His love the most neglected of the outcast, the poorest of the poor, the dullest of the dull, the saddest of the sad, the vilest of the vile-—inviting them all to His holy and happy home in heaven. With these thoughts of His cradle connections with the life of man, let us remember that III. Christ’s Cradle Was Connected with Calvary’s Cross When Christ was “made of a woman,” “made a curse,’’ "made under the law,” He was the predicted Agent of atone ment. With what design was God mani fest in the flesh? "Thou Shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins.” “And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.” Let us say tenderly, yet frankly, that Christmas is deception without the cross. The day of His death was foretold from the time despair pitched his black pavil ions over man’s sterile and blasted es tate in Eden’s garden. To what end— let us ask again—was Jesus born, and for what cause did He come into the world? He answers: “To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth.” What truth? The whole truth of the plan of salvation. And how did He bear witness to it? Not only by His teaching and not only by His life and^miracles, but, more par ticularly, by His sufferings and death. At Calvary, surrounded by foes, sus pended between thieves, overshadowed with supernatural gloom, He did that for which He lay in the cradle*—He died. And, happier (because of the joy set before Him) than Pilate and Herod on their thrones, happier than the High Priest in his palace, happier than the
Sanhedrin in the temple, He cried from the accursed tree: “It is finished.” And—He died. He exhausted the preci ous treasure of His invaluable blood to pay our debts. And we rejoice, at this Christmas sea son, to know that for all the blind in sin, for all the deaf in sin, for all the crippled in sin, for all those loathsome with the leprosy of sin, for all ithose impure with the harlotry of sin, fo» all those dead in trespasses and sin, there is salvation through Jesus Christ. “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ-Jesus came into the world to ' . save -sinners” (1 Tim. 1:15). “For unto you is born this day in the city.of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord” (Lk. 2:11). B ORN this day”! Is there any- t l i i n g remarkable in that? Why, every day s.ome one is born! . “Bo^n thiaday” ! Who? Listen! “A Saviour, wliMi is Christ the Lord.” If this is true, and there are a thousand experimental reasons for believing it, then it is the grandest news the uni verse ever heard proclaimed; and it is of inexhaustible interest to us all. Yes, a Saviour was born this day, The world needs a Saviour; and you and I need a Saviour; and that need of men has been met in Christ. “Be hold, thou shalt . . . bring forth a
“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom. 6:23). “Thanks be unto God for his un speakable gift” (2 Cor. 9:15). At this Christmas season, we may not bring Him as costly a present as the Magi brought, but we can bring to His feet and cradle the frankincense of our joy, the pearls of our tears, the kiss of our love, the prostration of our worship, move some one to faith in Him—and give testimony that Jesus, our Saviour, our Lord, is Son- of man without sin,- Son-of God with power and glory, whose name is ceaseless music at the throne which overlooks the world! son, and shalt call his name Jesus,” said the Angel Gabriel to Mary. What does the name “Jesus” mean? “Thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins.” Oh, what a wonderful Saviour He is! He saves people of all ages. I emphasize that word “all” because I share a good deal of the fear that Charles Haddon Spurgeon used to have in his closing years. He thought there was rather too much said about young people as being the only ones likely to be saved. The Lord Jesus Christ can save people of any age, and no one is too old to be saved. “For unto you is born this day in- the city of David a Saviour.” It was a wonderful b i r t h . Wonders cluster about it. Remember, too, that it was a prophesied birth. He was “the Sav iour p r o m i s e d long”1; and He was not only promised, but He was a I s o predicted most vividly. We should study prophecy more than we do. And, mark you, this prophecy is one of the greatest arguments for the inspiration of the Bible. It was a miraculous birth; I do not hesitate to make that statement in the most emphatic tones. There are some people who say that they cannot ac cept the Bible story of the virgin birth, i But the more I ' study it, the more I feel it to be philosophically justifiable. Can you think of God’s being born into the World apart from a miraculous- birth ? I accept the virgin birth and its miraculous e l e m e n t vhole-heartedly. Furthermore, I submit this, that no one has a right to reject it if it is in the Bible. It is all God’s Book, and those who choose to reject certain portions of it do so at their^ peril. Let me point out, further, that this miraculous birth was declared from heaven. The angels burst the mystic
The Glory of Christ's Birth By the late DINSDALE T. YOUNG
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