go to the Inn-the klio.n or cruBva11Horni? (Aeo Frirrar'H sketch of th11l strange shelter for man and boo.et,) llut the inn is full. '!'here is no place in it for e11ch na they. 'l'he nocoe~ity la urgent. And thuir refuge--eo a tradition menti,med hy ,J UH tin Martyr eBye-is a groUo or cave in the limestone rook on which the village stands, uard a.e a stn.blo for horses and a pen for cattle. 'fhe horses' manger is the cradle for the King of kings. Born there o.nd thus, the precise date of the birth is not apparently determinable. Vere. S-20.-The 1hephwds and the hertJld angel,. From limestone ca.varn, we are to.ken by the evangelists to the 10011: gre.esy elopes which stretch to the ea.et of the ,JewiHh city. Hidden in some nook of these elopes rest pious shepherds. Shepherds ha.ve always been a meditative class of men, accustomed to the sweet silences of nature, and, apart from the bustle and stir of citiee, Invited to qniet communion with their own hearts. It would seem that these shepherds were men of the spirit of Simeon. '!'hey quickly understand the message borne to them. Calmly and pmmptly, they respond at onco, as H it were the intimation of that for which they had been wniting. "Let us go and see." There they lie," nursed in devout and lonely thought," unaware of the myriad myriads of the shining that hover over them. It is the moment of a. pause, of a hush through nature. Lo I the angel of the Lord comes on them; in an instant a presence, a glory, is around them; and first into their hearts is poured the gospel for all the ages. Of this gospel, note: (1) Its substance. (Ver. ll.) "Born to yr111, this day "-God's gift to men, to sinners, especially to those who believe. "A. Saviour, which is Christ "-the A.nointed One-he of whom the prophets spoke, and whom David, the shepherd of Israel, prefigured; the Sent, not by but from God, from the depths of the Divine Personality ; the Son from the bosom of the Father. " Christ, the Lord " -the Jehovah, to whom every knee shall bow; the Ruler who shall restore the lost, and unite the scattered, and fulfil the kingdom which is righteousness and peace and joy. (2) The character of this gospel. (Ver. 10.) " Good tidings of great joy ; " the most blessed message ever proclaimed-one of unspeakable bleasedness; a joy to which no bound can be set, which no geographical limit ca.n measure, which no thought of class, or race, or sect can embitter; joy to ell the world's peoples. (3) The sign of the gospel. (Ver. 12.) "A Babe wnpped in swaddling-clothes, and lying in a manger." The Dabe is the sign of the kingdom, is the token of the King. " Except ye become as little children, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaveu " (Matt. x.viii. 8). And now suddenly as the sign is given, "a blaze of song spreads o'er the expanse of heo. ven," and "Like oiroles widening round Upon a oleo.r blue river, Orb after orb, the wondrous sound Is echoed on for ever: 1 Glory to God on high, on earth be peace,
And love towards me,n of love-11alvo.tion and release."' The announcement of the birth is made to shepherds. Why were they selected for this great honour? Points of fitness may be traced. Was not the first blood of sacrifice (Abel's) that of a keeper of sheep? Was not the chosen type and earthly root of tile Uhrist a shepherd ta.ken from the sheepl'olds? ls not one of the favourite symbols of the world's Saviour ihe good sheph,ird? Is not the Saviour's work that of him who leaves the ninety and nine and go11s after the sheep which is lost? Of a.II earthly thingR, are not the pastoral life and spirit the nenrest correspondents to the life awl spirit of the incarnate Son of God? And as to the gospel tba.t was preached, is there .oot a truth in the quaint lan!N11ge of an old writer, "It fell not out a.mi,s that shep- herds thoy were ; the news fitted them well. It well agreed to tell ~hepherds of the ycaruing of e. strange Lamb, such n Lamb as might take awa.y the sin of the world. Such a Lamb e.e they might send to the Ruler of the world for a present." Any way, it is not to supercilious Pharisee, not to Sadducee cold and dry as dust, not tu Es:ieue ascetic and separatist, not to He,odian worldly and crafty, not to the mighty or tLe noble that the first tidings of the great joy are brought. The first prcaci1er is the heavenly angel, and the first congregation some lowly, simple men, who are doing their duty in the place which God has o.pi,ointed to them. 'l'hP.nce comes the lesson tu Ull. lleaven is always nuar the dutiful. They who wo.tch faithfully who.t has be~n 46 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. LU KE. [on. u. l---02,
p:ivcn to their charge, not seeking "some great thing to do," not. hurried and restless in th<'ir wMk, but caiing for the things, ml\ny or few, over which God has plnced thein, nrc close to that gate of the celestial kingdom through which there peals the music, "HJ,,s~ed are. the pnre in heart: for they shall see God." Two point.s in this portion of the narr41ve mRy be touched upon. (1) The conduct of the shepherda when the tidings of the birth are borne to them. On the withdrRwal of the heavculy vision, they sa_v (ver. 15), "Let us now go even to Dethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass." The flocks are somehow disposed of. This is a matter to be at once attended to. !',-. word of God, a voic~ of t~e Holy Spirit in the heart, a command or duty pert.ammg to the heavenly bfe, claims precedence over all other claims. "Seek first th<' kingdom of God." Prompt obedience is the way of blessing. "They came with haste." Y cs; "the King's business rcquireth haste." Never delay. St. Paul acted in the spirit of the shepherds when, God having been pleased to reveal his Son in him, "immediately be conferred not with flesh and blood" (Ga.I. i. 16). (2) The conduct of J,fary. The shepherds 011gerly told their wonderful ta.le. Aud all the people who heard, wondered. "But Mary (ver. 19) kept a.II these sayings and pondered them in her heart." The wonder of the people soon passed a.way; it was but "as the moraina cloud and the early dew." Religious feelings a.re conserved and deepened through reflection and prayer. Blessed secret,-the keeping and pondering in the heart I