5 U R ^ C H R I S T M A S E M EfgP o m ' s t
E m m a n u e l
T h e C h r i s t m a s P r o c l a m a t i o n
“ They shall call his name Emmanuel . . . God with us” (Matt. 1:23). “ God with us,” now and evermore; This life of weakness and of woe; His love, His power, and His strength, With us, wherever we may go, Since He hath come to earth to dwell, And he for aye Emmanuel. No weary days, no starless nights, No sorrow deep, no trial sore, But we can feel His presence near, “ God with us,” now and evermore; Since He hath come to earth to dwell, Whose name is still Emmanuel. — Annie Johnson Flint C h r i s t m a s No sheep in the folds, No star in the west, No Babe lulled to sleep On His young mother’s breast. But sheep of God’s flock Straying far from His love,
They tell me Jesus was not bom on Christmas Day. And Christmas trees were just a pagan rite they say, That decorations were idolatry, a work of art, Not symbols of the adoration of a heart That worships Christ as Son of God apart. It may be that the world is blind— Is worshipping mere trifles of this kind, And some folks blinded by the glare of ’cus- tomed gift W ill miss the star and see not in earth’s clouds a rift. But to the Christian this does symbols mean: In every Christmas tree he sees a gleam, For dates and signs are lost in Christmas story, “ His advent” and “ the hope of glory.” He came, He came, the fact and not the time, Proclaimed in carols, and the truth sublime Is sounded through the earth on Christmas Day, And the Light of all the world shines on the way. What though a fantasy on earth is reached If through the mist the Son of God is preached? Though still in sinful pleasure men are found, Yet once a year they pause to hear the sound. That Christ may still be known, let carols ring, And trees and lights their age old message bring Of God’s great love and all redeeming grace, His gift unspeakable to all the human race. — Annie E. Hitt o f C h r i s t m a s “ Christmas” begins with Christ, the virgin-born Christ-child, our Saviour. The Babe of Bethlehem was not merely a remarkable child but the Son of God who in His infinite grace was conceived by the Holy Spirit and bom into this world as a man, yet one who never ceased to be God. “ Every spirit that con- fesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God” (1 John 4 :2 ). Jesus Christ in His infinite love did not begin when He was bom in a stable and laid in a manger; He left heaven’s best to come to this world to be the Sav iour of mankind. He was offered as a free gift, for “ God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son” (John 3:16). T h e M e a n i n g
And a glorified Man Interceding above. Apart from the Christ— No joy at his birth, Though merry and gay And the feasting on earth; The candles bum out, And the feasting is done, But the Glory of Heaven Shines forth in God’s Son.
— Betty Scott Stam
(Mrs. Stam and her husband John were martyred by communists in China in 1934.)
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THE KING'S BUSINESS
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