2. Thou art the Son of the living God
Behold!
I bring you good tidings of great joy,
Which shall be to all people.
For unto you is born this day,
In the city of David, a Saviour,
Who is Christ the Lord (Luke 2:11).
Thus we are brought first to Jerusalem, for there Isaiah's prediction was uttered; then to Nazareth, for there the annunciation was given; and lastly to Bethlehem, where the child was born. In the mangercradle of that child what a history is contained, and what a revelation of the invisible God! O child of Bethlehem, what a story has been Thine, and what a story is yet to be Thine! for the history of the universe, past, present, and to come, revolves round Thee. O seed of the woman, what a manifestation of Godhead is given to us in Thee! On Thy stony cradle is written, God is love. On the gate of the city where Thou wast born, is inscribed, God is love. On Thy tomb in after years was graven, God is love. And on that throne where now Thou art seated is engraved, God is love.
Yes; Thou art the Christ, the Son of God, the Saviour of the world; Thy name is Jesus, and it is also Immanuel. We look to Thee, and live. We look into Thy cradle, and are comforted. Thou art hone of our bone, and flesh of our flesh; 'Christ is all, and in all.' Though rich, for our sakes Thou becamest poor, that we by Thy poverty might be rich. We have nothing to give Thee, but Thou hast everything to give us; and we are content to be simple receivers of Thy liberality and fulness.
2. Thou art the Son of the living God
Thou art the eternal Son, who couldest say, 'I and my Father are one' (John 10:30). Thou art very man, yet also very God; all Godhead and all manhood in Thy person; the everlasting link between heaven and earth, between Creator and creature; God manifest in flesh; heir of all things; God over all, blessed for ever; Thy name Jehovah, and Thy glory divine. Now then we know that all that man can do for us, and all that God can do for us, are here. All heaven is here, all earth is here. God Himself has taken the side of man; yea, has become man, that He may accomplish man's deliverance. The incarnation is certainly not the whole of the mighty undertaking. It is but the beginning. Yet it is a wondrous pledge of love. He who came, on man's account, from the throne of God to the manger of Bethlehem, must love man with no common love. He cannot have ceased to care for earth; He cannot have had His love quenched by rebellion, nor turned into coldness by the unworthiness and unlovableness of its objects.
Here, then, we learn at Bethlehem that God is love: for it is God whom we see in the manger. We hear that a child has been born. We come to its cradle; and we find that God is there. It is 'the Word made flesh' that lies there. The brightness of Jehovah's glory and the express image of His person is there. That cradle gives us God's thoughts of God,—what God wishes us to know and think about Himself. It shows us how accessible God is, and bow He wishes to be approached by us. It shows us how near He has come to us, how low He has stooped, how truly one with us He has become. It is God,— the Son of the living God,—very God, who lies there. We see but helpless infancy; yet the mighty power of God is there. We see but clouds and shadows resting over us; yet on His forehead is written, 'God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.' The more that we can realize of God in connection with that babe and that cradle, the more we shall know of Him who said, 'My thoughts are not your thoughts.' Here God speaks to us, and we to Him. These little fingers are those of Him who was ere long to touch the sick, and to heal them with His power. These hands are the hands which are soon to be pierced with nails. That head is soon to be crowned with thorns. These feet are to