T HE K I N G ’S B U S I N E S S
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King of Glory. He is both Son of God and son of man. As He is on the throne forever, He will reign not only over Is rael but over all men. TUESDAY, Dec. 16. Luke 2 :1 -1 4 . The Angel And The Shepherds. The announcem ent of th e Saviour’s b irth was not given in th e royal palace of Herod or to those who sit in the seats of the m ighty, b u t to humble shepherds guarding th e ir flocks by night. “F ear n o t” is th e u sual preface when God speaks to man. I t is an exhortation occurring more th a n fifty tim es in the Bible. The word “ Gospel” comes from “Good-spell” and means good tidings or news. I t is for all nations in all ages and produces g reat joy. It came to the Jews first, Is. 9:6, bu t its blessings are for all mankind. The city of David is Bethlehem th u s literally fulfilling Micah 5:2. They would recognize th e child Je sus from His clothing and location. There was nothing su p e rn a tu ral about th e sign of th e swaddling clothes. In th e E ast it is a custom both then and now, to w rap an in fan t from neck to heels in a long strip of cloth several inches wide. WEDNESDAY, Dec. 17. Luke 2 :15 -20 . Shepherds Seeking Christ. The antipodes of th e hum an race met a t th e manger. The first to recognize and bow before th e holy child were the humble shepherds. Then followed the Sages, those wise men from th e E ast who may stand for th e intellect of the world which m ust bow beneath the scepter of Christ. May th is not be a picture and prophecy of His universal s\vay? Only under th e dominion of Christ can the peace of th is world be es tablished and m aintained. A rmaments can not secure it. The league of nations can not create it. Only by acknowledg ing th e sovereignty of Christ can the nations of th e world become Christian. All o ther re stra in ts and b arriers are
ready spokesman, gave another prompt and splendid confession of the Saviour’s Deity, saying “Lord, to whom shall we go? Thoù h ast th e words of etern al life, and we believe and are su re th a t Thou a r t th a t Christ th e Son of th e living God.” MONDAY, Dec. 14. P salm 4 6 :1 -11 . Help In Trouble. This is a song of trium ph celebrating some h istorical victory for Israel like th e deliverance of Hezekiah or the Berachah victory of Jehosaphat. The three-fold Selah divides the Psalm into th ree parts. The first p a rt shows God H imself to be th e present help of His people. The second p a rt expresses g rati tude. God is a riv er broad and deep, flowing calmly on, bringing peace to all who tru s t Him. There are - precious names applied to God. H annah first calls God ' ‘Jehovah of hosts.” 1 Sam. 1 : 1 1 . The name is found seven tim es in th e P salter. The “ God of Jacob” is used th irte en tim es to express th e tru s t of th e w riter. This especially ap peals to us as we th in k of Jacob at B ethel and Peniel. The th ird p a rt of the Psalm is a paean of praise. The storm has passed. The victory is won. God alone is exalted among th e nations of the earth . MONDAY, Dec. 15. Isaiah 11 :1 -10 . The P rince Of P eace. The prophet speaks of th e royal line of Jud ah as being cut off, as a tree is cut down, and a shoot is springing forth from its roots. Christ was to come from th e fam ily of David. Matthew’s genealogy makes th is clear. Isaiah has left us a more complete prophecy of the coming, n atu re and m ission of th e Mes siah th a n any other prophet. .Through H is virgin mother, His ancestry is traced to Ju d a h on th e one hand and Levi on th e other, th u s uniting th e kingly and priestly lines of trib a l d esce n t He is no t only th e P rince of Peace b u t the
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