North Park union., 1905-12-29

l
Crit. Com. And the glory OF the
Lord" The angelic form is bright
and luminous. throwing all around
them sort OF heavenly halo. In
which even the lustrous Syrian stars
grow dim. This radiant brightness In
all ages has been the best symbol and
manifestation of Gods nature. express
ing wisdom. love. power. purity. mys-
terry. eternity. omnipresence. The
glory showed that the angel was an
authorized messenger from God. And
they were sore afraid" The univer-
sal consciousness OF sin and of unit
ness for the eternal world makes all
mankind afraid OF any unexpected dis.
closure OF the spiritual world or rcve.
latlon OF the nearness OF God.'-Ab-
bott.
10. Good tidings" The word from
which our word gospel comes. They
announced the best news the world
had ever heard. the news of the Saw
iour who would NIL the whole world
with heavenly glory. Ike that then
shining on the field OF Bethlehem. "To
all people, To all ages. all nations.
all classes. all colors. The Gospel is
the universal religion. as broad as
the human race. and the Joy Is more
Intense to each one because 1t is for
all
il. For unto you is born
a Saviour" One who should save
them from their sins. their worst and
most dangerous enemies.
10, And this shall lie sign unto
YOU" that the words spoken were
d. true; and guiding sign. Ike the sign
TO the wise men. showing how they
might know what child was the one re-
ferrcd to.
VI The Chorus OF Angels and
Their Song.-Vs. -. 10. with
tho angel a multitude" The whole
host of heaven was praising God. not
merely that portion of 1t which was
visible to the shepherds. Int. Crit.
Com
Glory to God" For the coming OF
Jesus was the highest expression rf
Gods glory. the fulncss OF his natU.e.
his love. his goodness. which paEsd ID
before Moses when he asked to see
Gods glory. In the highest" In the
highest heavens. in the highest rank,
In the highest strains. In the highest
degree.
Gods is the glory, TOR he is the
source OF all the good that Jesus
brought to men. And the hearts that
worship God. and love to praise him
are the ones which both receive and
carry to men the peace and good will.
And on earth peace" Peace with
God; peace with nature by life In
harmony with Its laws: peace with
other men: peace In the individual
soul. all It's faculties and powers work
ing together in perfect harmony;
peace with conscience by forgiven sin
perfect victory over sin which Is the
destroyer OF peace. 1t includes all that
makes heaven be heaven In outward
and inward joy. This peace Is the
! fruit of the Gospel In each sould that
receives It. and the ultimate result OF
the Gospel in all the world. Good
will toward men," That was nothing
new. 1t was commonplace even
! among the heather. What the world
needed to know was that God had
good will. a gracious purpose. toward
all men; that the holy God loved this
sinful. rebellious, unworthy world, ly'
ing in darkness and the shadow OF
death: that the Father loved his wan.
dering. prodigal children. all dehled
with sin. To bring this message. to
publish the glad tidlnrs that God so
loved the world that he gave his only
berotten Son that whatsoever believ-
eth in him should not perish. but
have eternal life" this was worthy OF
the whole host of angel messengers TO
! bring to man.
VII. The Shepherds Find the King.
VS.. 1920. 10. Let us now GO" At
once, without delay. So should we
ever seek the Savior. The shepherds
had so much faith in the angels mes
sage that they proceeded to investi-
gate and see for themselves.
16. They came with haste" Show
ing their zeal and ardor. as well as
faith. We can never find the Savior
too soon. "And found" everything just
as the angels had told them: and they
then knew that the angels message
was true-the Savior had come.
II. They made known abroad
Whosoever has truly found the Savior
burns to proclaim to all around what
Savior they have found"
is. "All they that heard 1t won
dered" 1t was indeed marvellous
news. so good that many find 1t hard
to believe that 1t is true.
10. But Mary" in contrast with
the others, kept all these things" In
her memory. They were treasures
whose value the following years re-
vealed to her. "Pondered them" Kept
revolving them. comparing them with
the promises OF the Old Testament,
and what had been announced to her.
20. "The shepherds returned" To
their duty as shepherds. but with a
new life and blessing in all their daily
work. Feeding sheep could never
again be commonplace toll to them.
After our hottest communion with
God, our views from the Pisgahs OF
life. our insight into the Word and
heaven on the mounts OF transhgura-
ton, we must return to our daily du-
ties, but with n new life in them. a
new blessing on them. "Glorifying"
expresses the feeling of the greatness
OF the work. "Praising' refers to the
goodness displayed in 1t.
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The VIII Wanted.
Sometimes We are disturbed be-
cause we have no devout feelings: but
what we want is devout will. We