[0:00] Welcome you to this service of worship, and also welcome any who may be joining through the YouTube link. Let us sing to God's praise from Psalm 8, page 7 of the Psalter.
[0:19] In all the earth, O Lord, O Lord, how glorious is your name! For you have sat above the heavens your glory and your fame.
[0:33] From infants and from children's lips you ordered praise to sound, to silence all your enemies, the wicked to confound.
[0:46] When I regard the heavens you made, your fingers work I trace. I see the moon and shining stars which you have set in place.
[1:01] I ask myself, what then is man, that you should give him thought, the Son of Man, that you to him such gracious care have brought?
[1:17] You made him little less than those who dwell in heaven above, and you have crowned and honored him with glory and with love.
[1:31] Let us sing these verses, Psalm 8, page 7. In all the earth, O Lord, O Lord, how glorious is your name!
[1:42] In all the earth, O Lord, O Lord, how glorious is your name!
[2:03] For you have set above the heavens your glory and your fame!
[2:19] From infants and from children's lips you ordered praise to sound, to silence all your enemies, the wicked to confound.
[2:54] When I record the heavens you made, your fingers work I trace.
[3:12] I see the moon and shining stars which you have set in place.
[3:29] I ask myself, what then is man, that you should give him thought, the Son of Man, that you to him such gracious care have brought?
[4:05] You made him little less than those who dwell in heaven above, and you have crowned and honored him with glory and with love.
[4:45] Let us engage in prayer. Let us pray. How great thou art.
[4:59] Is set before us in the words that we have newly sung. Words that remind us of the glory and the majesty that is rightfully yours.
[5:15] Words that set before us. Words that set before us the great work of creation undertaken by the one who majestically undertook that marvelous work.
[5:35] We are reminded, too, of how small man is in comparison to the greatness of Almighty God.
[5:47] And we are reminded of the place, the special place that you gave to man in your own creation.
[6:03] A little lower than the angels. A little lower than the angels. That man might look up to thee rather than look down. To the creation beneath him.
[6:17] And yet, sadly, the history of man demonstrates that rather than look up, man looks down.
[6:31] O gracious God, help us today to look up. To look to thee and to look to the one who was made a little lower than the angels.
[6:46] In order that he might accomplish. In order that he might accomplish. The marvelous redemptive work. That was undertaken by him.
[6:57] So that sinners such as we. Might come to taste. Might come to taste. Of divine mercy. Of eternal love.
[7:10] Of glorious forgiveness. Of union and communion with thyself. In and through Jesus Christ, thy Son.
[7:23] Bless our gathering in thy name this day. We give thee thanks for the privilege that is afforded to us.
[7:35] For the measure of health and strength that we enjoy. That enables us to gather in thy name. O Lord, help us to use these privileges for thy glory.
[7:52] And for the good of our immortal souls. Teach us out of thy truth this day. And bring us closer to thyself.
[8:06] Through the teaching of thy word. Been blessed to our hearts. Grant thy blessing upon every home associated with the congregation.
[8:19] Young and old alike. Bless them richly, we pray thee. And grant, O Lord, that many might be touched.
[8:30] By the power of thy spirit. Through the truth. And brought to the place where they hunger. And thirst after thee.
[8:42] Lord, may we be given to taste of the sweetness of thy truth today. One of old tasted of honey in the wilderness.
[8:57] And his eyes lit up. As he was invigorated and strengthened. In a day when the nation were forbidden to eat.
[9:10] May we taste of the honeyed sweetness of thy truth. And may we be invigorated. And recharged within our souls.
[9:24] Strengthened within. As we taste of the sweetness of thy truth. For thy servant of old. It was sweeter than honey in his mouth.
[9:38] Grant thy blessing, we pray thee, on those unable to be present. Through thy restraint and providence. Those who are under thine hand in illness.
[9:51] Those who are frail and elderly. Those who may be struggling. With physical illness. Or with mental health issues.
[10:03] We commit them to thy care and keeping. In the knowledge that thou art able. To do for them above and beyond.
[10:14] What we can ask or even think. For thou art God. Intervene, we pray thee. In the lives of those.
[10:25] Who may be suffering. Physically or mentally. Restored to health and strength. We pray thee. Come for those who may be mourning the loss of loved ones.
[10:38] Be near to them. In their time of grief and sorrow. Grant thy blessing. On those who are involved.
[10:49] In the vaccination rollout. We give thee thanks. For all who are. In the health service. And who are involved.
[11:00] Seeking to provide protection. We give thee thanks for the take up level. Of those who take the vaccination. And we pray, O Lord. That as a nation.
[11:12] That thou would raise up those. Who could give proper leadership. In a day of a lack of leadership. In a day of muddle and confusion.
[11:24] Or raise up those. Who would have the moral fiber and backbone. To lead us as a nation. And to look again.
[11:36] To the great God. Who has formed the world. To look to the one. Who is supreme and sovereign. Who is majestic and glorious.
[11:48] But as a nation. We might again. Rise up. To look to thee. And be governed and led by thee. Who would remember before thee.
[12:01] The congregations. The congregations. Of Stirling and Scalpe. Very different congregations. Yet united in proclaiming.
[12:13] The unsearchable riches of Christ. We pray for thy servants. And both of these congregations. The burdens that they bear.
[12:24] We give thee thanks. For the way in which the Stirling congregation. Was vindicated in the court of law. Grant O Lord.
[12:35] That thou wouldst bless them richly. Today. And in coming days. Bless this congregation. Bless thy servant. Whom thou hast placed over them.
[12:46] In holy things. Encourage him we pray thee. Grant that he may see souls for his heart. And bless the ministry. That has recently been.
[12:59] Come to an end. Through the retirement. Of the assistant minister. Bless the seed that was sown. Faithfully and diligently. Over many years.
[13:11] May it yet bear fruit. In the lives of many. Help them to wait. The unfolding of thy providence. In the provision of another assistant.
[13:24] May they be led and directed by thee. Bless all our homes today. As we are found before thee. O Lord. Reach into the hearts and lives of those.
[13:38] Who are still strangers to the power of thy grace. Cleanse in the blood. In Jesus name we ask it with forgiveness of sin. Amen.
[13:49] Let us now read. From the New Testament scriptures. From the gospel according to Luke. First of all in chapter one. And at verse 26. The gospel according to Luke.
[14:00] Chapter one. At verse 26. In the sixth month. The angel Gabriel was sent from God. To a city of Galilee. Named Nazareth. In the sixth month. The angel Gabriel was sent from God. To a city of Galilee.
[14:11] Named Nazareth. To a virgin betrothed to a man. Whose name was Joseph. Of the house of David. The angel of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said. Greetings O Lord.
[14:22] To a man. To a man. And he said. The angel of the house of David. And he said. In the sixth month. In the sixth month. The angel Gabriel was sent from God. To a city of Galilee. Named Nazareth. To a virgin betrothed to a man.
[14:35] Whose name was Joseph. Of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said.
[14:46] Greetings O favored one. The Lord is with you. But she was greatly troubled. At the saying. And tried to discern. What sort of greeting this might be.
[14:59] And the angel said to her. Do not be afraid Mary. For you have found favor with God. And behold.
[15:10] You will conceive in your womb. And bear a son. And you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great. And will be called the son of the most high.
[15:24] And the Lord God will give to him. The throne of his father David. And he will reign over the house of Jacob forever.
[15:35] And of his kingdom. There will be no end. And again in chapter 2. Of Luke's gospel. From verse 1.
[15:46] In those days. A decree went out. From Caesar Augustus. That all the world. Should be registered.
[15:57] This was the first registration. When Quirinius. Was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered. Each to his own town.
[16:09] And Joseph also went up from Galilee. From the town of Nazareth. To Judea. To the city of David. Which is called Bethlehem.
[16:20] Because he was of the house. And lineage of David. To be registered with Mary. Who is betrothed. Who was with child.
[16:31] And while they were there. The time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her first born son. Wrapped him in swaddling cloths.
[16:44] Laid him in a manger. Because there was no place for them. In the inn. Amen. And may God bless to us.
[16:56] These readings. From his truth. Now there is a change to the order of service. We're going to sing from Psalm 89.
[17:07] But from the Scottish Psalter. Page 346. As a non-presenter.
[17:23] I don't really appreciate the burdens. That are borne by our presenters. And I didn't appreciate that.
[17:34] The sing-sams version is kind of challenging. For the presenters. So that is why we are having. A change to the order of service.
[17:45] So Psalm 89. Page 346. At verse 24. My mercy and my faithfulness. With him yet still shall be.
[17:56] In my name. His horn and power. Men shall exult at sea. His hand and power. Shall reach afar.
[18:07] I'll set it in the sea. And his right hand established. Shall in the rivers be. Thou art my father. He shall cry.
[18:19] Thou art my God alone. And he shall say. Thou art the rock. Of my salvation. I'll make him my firstborn.
[18:31] More high than kings of any land. My love I'll ever keep for him. My covenant fast. Shall stand. These verses.
[18:42] My mercy and my faithfulness. With him. Yet still shall be. My mercy and my faithfulness.
[18:58] With him. Yet still shall be. And in my name. His horn and power. Men shall exult at sea. And in my name. His horn and power. Men shall exult at sea.
[19:11] And in my name. His horn and power. Men shall exult at sea. His hand and power. His hand and power.
[19:24] Shall reach afar. I'll set it in the sea. And his right hand.
[19:35] Establish it. Shall in the rivers. Established shed. Shall in the rivers be.
[19:47] Thou art my father. He shall cry. Thou art my God alone.
[20:01] And he shall say, Thou art the rock of my salvation.
[20:16] I'll make him my firstborn, more high, and kings of every land.
[20:28] My love I'll never keep for him, my covenant fast shall stand.
[20:42] Let us now turn to the second passage that we read, the Gospel according to Luke, chapter 2, reading at verse 7.
[21:02] And she, that is Mary, gave birth to her firstborn son, wrapped him in swaddling cloths, laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
[21:22] Her firstborn son. Comparing the Gospel narratives can be a very rewarding experience and exercise.
[21:38] And one of the striking and fascinating factors for me is the varied way in which the Gospel writers, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, introduces to the Lord Jesus Christ.
[21:58] Matthew's focus tends to be on his kingly remit.
[22:10] Mark introduces us to him as an adult at the outset of his public ministry. Luke's approach is one where he is introduced to us as one born into poverty.
[22:29] John's approach is different again. He takes us, in his prologue, into the eternal realm. Luke, as I said, focuses on the theme of poverty.
[22:44] Sin has made the family of Adam spiritually and morally bankrupt.
[22:56] Jesus came to minister to such people. Those who are shown and accept, not just shown, but those who accept their spiritual and moral bankruptcy.
[23:16] And when you read the Gospel of Luke, I think one of the impressions that is created in your mind is that he was a rigorous and careful researcher.
[23:29] From your Bible reading, you may remember that in the opening verses of his Gospel, Luke sets out his purpose in writing his Gospel.
[23:41] He wants to provide an orderly account based on eyewitness testimony, so that his friend Theophilus, for whom he is initially writing his account, may have certainty about the things that he has been taught concerning Jesus of Nazareth.
[24:05] And of course, that doesn't exclude the readership. I believe it includes the readership of the Gospel. Luke is really anxious to provide historical fact, not myth or fable, not something that is mere metaphor for philosophical ideas or a body of abstract ethics.
[24:31] Luke is concerned to help Theophilus know, and also his readership know, that if Jesus Christ and the truth concerning him is not historical fact, it is not worth believing at all.
[24:51] And you can detect, I believe, that concern in the opening verses of chapter 2. He is anxious to show that Jesus was born when Caesar Augustus issued a decree that the world should be registered, and the whole empire responds to that decree.
[25:16] Locally, Quirinius, the governor of Syria, obeys the decree of Caesar, and this one little family, like many others, have to make their way to their ancestral home to be registered in the census.
[25:36] In other words, I believe Luke wants us to see that you can plot the birth of Jesus on a historical timeline, along with the rise and fall of the Caesars.
[25:53] And in writing this way, Luke, it appears to me, is confirming what was prophesied way back by the prophet Isaiah.
[26:04] When Isaiah wrote, There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse. A stump, a root from the stump of Jesse.
[26:17] It's an intriguing phrase. From such inauspicious, humble beginnings, an eternal kingdom is to be formed.
[26:28] You might even say from such apparent weakness, a root from a stump. A kingdom of power and strength would come.
[26:40] A kingdom that is eternal in its nature. And it points us back to the humble obscurity of Bethlehem. And from such insignificant beginnings, God would provide another king.
[26:58] Not from the Davidic line, but another David. A root from the stump of Jesse. More accurately, one much greater than David.
[27:14] And we have seen, and you can trace it, in the history of the world, how the root from the stump has influenced the lives of countless men, women, boys and girls, down through the generations.
[27:37] So that, ultimately one day, when that kingdom is brought to its glorious conclusion, and the work is made perfect, there will be an innumerable number around the throne of the Lamb, giving praise to the one who is designated in Scripture a root from a stump.
[28:05] And so in our text, Luke informs us of the birth of this root from the stump. She gives birth to her firstborn son.
[28:20] I suppose every mother remembers the birth of their firstborn. But no mother ever carried a child like this child.
[28:32] Nor was any mother given such prior detailed information about a child that had not even been conceived, let alone their firstborn or their lastborn.
[28:50] So just three thoughts from our text this morning. First of all, the person born. Secondly, the place where born.
[29:02] And thirdly, the popular response to his birth. Luke writes, the person born, Luke writes, she gives birth to her firstborn son.
[29:16] Here is an apparently insignificant person, Mary, at least from a human perspective. But she is chosen by God.
[29:30] And she is giving birth to her firstborn. One writer speaks of her as a nobody in a nothing town in the middle of nowhere.
[29:41] I don't agree. But it is a catchy phrase. Humanly speaking, she may have been a nobody.
[29:53] But in God's eyes, she was a chosen vessel. Out of every woman in the world, God chose this woman, Mary, to be the mother of Jesus.
[30:07] Jesus didn't choose the daughter of privilege or the daughter of Caiaphas, the high priest. And you remember what this young girl was told about the identity of the child she would carry and bring into the world.
[30:23] Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son. And you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the son of the most high.
[30:36] And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever. And of his kingdom there will be no end.
[30:47] And the contrast that Luke depicts for us in his narrative couldn't be starker.
[31:00] Here is one predicted to be great. Here is one who is called the son of the most high. Here is one who is promised a throne.
[31:13] Here is one who is promised to reign with a kingdom that is unending. And yet, you mark how he made his entrance into the world.
[31:31] Mary is told his name, which means God saves or the Lord is salvation. She is also told he will be great. And the angel didn't limit his greatness in any way.
[31:42] In the Old Testament, when the word great is used without qualification, it almost always refers to God himself. His goodness is great.
[31:54] His wisdom is great. His works are great. His power is great. His mercy is great. So great is his greatness that he alone deserves to be called great.
[32:07] Jesus' greatness is the greatness of God. He is not just a son of the most high, but he will be called the son of the most high.
[32:18] A phrase incidentally favored by David. I will sing praise to the name of the Lord, the most high. It's a title that belongs to Jesus in a unique way.
[32:32] Divine sonship is his eternal identity as the second person of the Trinity. This child is no less than the son of God.
[32:44] And how astonishing it must have been for angelic beings to witness the great and dreadful God, this consuming fire, assuming the character and the office of the savior of sinners.
[33:01] You remember in his first letter, Peter alludes to the reaction of angels as to what took place. Things into which angels long to look or desire to look into.
[33:19] And you will remember how the angel proclaimed his birth initially to the shepherds. Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
[33:32] For unto you is born this day in the city of David a savior who is Christ the Lord. The creator, a creature.
[33:45] The eternal, an infant of days. The omnipotent, a man. Compassed with infirmities. The supreme ruler of all that lives.
[33:59] The second person of the Trinity. The only begotten son. The reedance of the father's glory. Sharing in the full perfection of God's triune being.
[34:10] The supreme law giver. Made of a woman. Made under the curse of a violated law. The son of God in the dark womb of Mary.
[34:22] Embryonic humanity. The king of glory. Taking our flesh. And as the writer to the Hebrews expresses it.
[34:36] Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood. He himself likewise partook of the same thing. Can your mind grasp what we are told by Luke?
[34:56] As the hymn writer expresses it. God of God. Light of light. Lo. He abhors not the virgin's womb.
[35:08] There he is right from the very fragile beginning of life. Why does he become an embryo?
[35:21] And I suppose the answer that many would give because he loved sinners. But I do not believe that that is an adequate answer.
[35:34] People love many things in this life. But you do not show your love by becoming the object of your love.
[35:45] Do you? Did almighty God in the person of his son need to enter into our flesh to show us his love?
[35:58] Many demonstrations of his love surround us in life. There is a much deeper reason.
[36:09] He takes our weakness our frailty at its most weak and most frail. He shares our experience of pain sorrow bereavement and temptation.
[36:20] temptation. And you remember how the writer in the letter to the Hebrews how he directs our attention to this when he is writing about the priesthood of Christ.
[36:40] Since we have a great high priest who has passed Jesus let us hold fast our confession for we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are yet without sin.
[36:57] That is the reason that we can come with great expectation with confidence to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
[37:12] Not coming to one who is unsympathetic but one who is able to empathize with us in our need as we come before his throne and we can come with confidence with boldness and with great expectation because we are coming to the one who is the true king of grace.
[37:42] He experienced temptation as none other because he withstood the full onslaught of satanic wiles and all that cunningness and force.
[37:54] He entered into our death and tasted death for our salvation. He tasted death in all its bitterness as one who experienced divine forsaking. That's why he came in this way.
[38:07] Salvation, redemption couldn't be accomplished without Christ taking true human nature to himself and in that nature suffering and dying and rising again.
[38:23] He came to die a penal death. Dougal Buchanan's translation of the suffering of Christ Oh wonder most amazing that human tongue can name the eternal and immutable a suckling child became.
[38:45] And it ought to stir wonder in our hearts every time we come face to face with this account in the gospels.
[38:57] Her firstborn the son of God in our nature. The person born not simply a bigger or a better person of a human being but altogether different.
[39:12] God in our nature and we are not God. His attributes infinitely superior to ours. He is the creator.
[39:23] We are but as creatures. The person born is Jesus the eternal son of God. Secondly the place where born and is this not another irony?
[39:42] The creator of the universe in all its vast immensity as we were reminded in Psalm 8 the hugeness of the universe and the smallness of man and yet no room could be found for the great creator in this guest house there was no place for them in the inn.
[40:22] You know the inn would have been very basic. It probably wouldn't even qualify for one star accommodation.
[40:35] But even there there was no room. Mary was forced to give birth in the place place where the animals were kept.
[40:49] And isn't it striking in the gospel accounts when the birth of Christ is set before us and when the death of Christ is set before us in the gospels there is no expanding of the surrounding areas.
[41:16] The gospel writers don't want us taken up with the detail of the place but rather to focus on the person. You know if we were describing the death of Christ we'd probably expand on the nature of the place where he was put to death.
[41:41] The vitriol of the crowd it's mentioned but just in passing. The smells on the place and it's the same with the birth of Christ.
[41:55] Here he is born where the animals were kept the pungent acrid smells associated with a place where domestic animals were kept.
[42:09] And perhaps for some who are of my own vintage or even older you may remember how that was true in the black house where people stayed in one end and where the animals were kept in the other end.
[42:28] It's something that stays with you. And it's in that kind of surrounding that Mary gives birth. No royal physician in attendance for such a royal birth at least to the human eye.
[42:46] Remember in intimation of his conception there is reference to his royal lineage but no indication of that in his entrance into this world in true humanity.
[43:00] there is no sanitized area but there in the mire Mary gives birth to her firstborn.
[43:13] Remember it's not his birth that is miraculous although there is a very real sense in which every birth is miraculous it is his conception that is miraculous.
[43:26] his birth like other children. The place where he was born would not be a comfortable place to sleep although I doubt that sleep was out of uppermost when Mary entered into labor.
[43:44] There is nothing told us about whether it was a difficult labor a long labor or a short labor. But everything we know about the birth of Jesus points to obscurity indignity pain and rejection and the theme of poverty it seems to me is further emphasized by the fact that we are told he is laid in a manger.
[44:18] The manger was a feeding trough for animals wasn't a cot it wasn't a cradle some think that the feeding trough was made out of wood and they see as it were a connection between what they consider to be a wooden feeding trough foreshadowing the wooden cross on which he was ultimately torn.
[44:48] Well I'm not sure of that in my own mind because the Bible doesn't say that it was made of wood it may make for nice thoughts but the Bible does not say except that it was the child was placed in a feeding trough the manger or the feeding trough may just have been hollowed out of the ground here is the all knowing all seen all powerful and all glorious son of God placed in a feeding trough and he is placed there ultimately in order to fill the hungry with good things no tumultuous welcome of praise from people of all nations coming to worship him and as one writer expresses it he deserved to have creation itself offer him worship with the rocks crying glory and the galaxies dancing for joy he is
[46:04] God the son and anything less than absolute acknowledgement of his royal person is an insult to his divine dignity he is wrapped in swaddling cloths no royal kingly robes swaddling cloths were used apparently to bind the limbs of the newborn and the belief then was that the limbs of the newborn would grow deformed unless bound in this way there was an element of ignorance in the practice but there is even more ignorance in the fact that he was bound by the hands of ignorant men and be nailed to the cross and you remember how Luke places emphasis on this in his book of acts narrative killed by the hands of lawless men treated with medical ignorance at birth and treated with spiritual ignorance at death laid in a manger to emphasize the level of humiliation placed in a feeding trough to indicate that he identifies with the poor if I remember rightly
[47:40] I think it's Spurgeon that makes the comment by being laid in a manger he proved himself a priest taken from among men one who has suffered like his brethren and therefore can be touched with a feeling of our infirmities and you remember how Luke goes on to record how this man receives sinners and eats with them even as an infant by being laid in a manger he was being set forth as the sinner's friend and that's why the scriptures invite us to come to him whether we are weary or heavy laden come to him whether we are broken in spirit come to him whether we despise ourselves and are despised by others come to him come to him irrespective of who you are or what you have done no matter how ashamed in the manger he is placed unshielded from our gaze oh will you bow the knee kiss the son of
[49:04] God and accept him as your saviour he puts himself into the manger that you may approach him he doesn't come seated on a throne but he comes in a lowly place that we might come to him in our lowliness the place we're born the person born and finally the popular response the birth of Christ shows us the depravity of our sin when God the son was born in Bethlehem he was unrecognized and unwelcomed his birth went largely unacknowledged and again the words of prophecy by Isaiah come to mind the ox knows its owner the donkey its master's crib but Israel does not know my people do not understand and the rejection of the newborn king is summarized
[50:27] I believe in these words in our text there was no place for them in the end you could say because of the attitude of King Herod there was no room for him in the palace no room for him in the corridors of power and you cannot help but wonder how much room there is for him today too in the corridors of power lip service paid and sometimes not even lip service it is my persuasion that our problems as a nation are increased and compounded because we have jettisoned parts of the truth as a nation we are becoming increasingly subjected to a secular agenda which has no room for Jesus no room in the corridors of power for the manger
[51:38] Jesus his mother made to give birth in an outhouse and the world has tried to keep him there ever since dismissed as an irrelevance to the world what the inhabitants of Bethlehem did in their ignorance is done by many today in willful indifference they refuse to make room for the son of God give no place to him in their feelings their affections their thoughts their view of life their wishes their decisions their actions or their daily conduct the birth of Jesus demonstrates how unwelcome Jesus is in the heart of man until God in his marvelous grace opens man's blind eyes and understanding to the need of a savior a lord and king but let's take it closer to home let's take it a little more closer to home is there a place for
[53:05] Jesus in your home and mine in your heart and mine well only you can answer is there a place for Jesus in your home and your heart do you bow down before him do you acknowledge his authority the supremacy of his authority over your heart and life is your hope and confidence fixed in him alone is he today your hope hope of salvation do you trust in the efficacy of his finished work do you look forward to being with him in the glory that he has prepared for all who trust in him is it possible that you are saying that you have room but that you're not worthy that he should come to you well I didn't ask about your worthiness
[54:33] I'm merely asking do you have room for him are you telling me you have an empty void that the world can never fill are you saying that the room in your heart is so base so was the manger is the room in your heart so despicable so was the manger are you telling me that your heart is so unclean so was the manger are you telling me that your heart is not fit for Christ neither was the manger and yet there he was laid are you telling me that you have been such a sinner as if your heart was a den of beasts well the manger was a place too where the beasts were fed have your room for him never mind what the past has been he can forgive matters not what even your present state may be if you mourn it because if you have room for
[55:41] Christ he will come and be your guest and more he will be your king he will come in with you and sup with you because the Bible says to each and every one today if you hear his voice do not harden your hearts today is the accepted time today is the day of salvation when he comes in he will cleanse the manger of your heart he will transform it into a golden throne throne and he will sit there and reign forever and if that is true of you then as one who looks to the consolation of
[56:50] Israel and who has received him as the consolation of Israel with Simeon of old you can depart in peace because your eyes have seen his salvation here is the royal master the son of God made flesh have your own for him here is the one who can forgive all sin have your own for him here is the one who can take you up of the horrible pit and the mighty clay have your own for him because when he goes in comes in he will never go out again you notice what the text says there was no room for them in the inn no room for Joseph no room for Mary any more than for the infant and I will not pretend but if you become a follower of
[58:03] Christ and he occupies the throne of your heart then the world will have no room for you either there is no room and the world for the true follower of Jesus Christ the person born the son of God in our nature the place where born a place where animals were fed placed in a hollowed out piece of ground the popular response largely rejection what is your response to this glorious person who made his entrance into the world not with pomp and pageantry but in lowliness and humility in pain and in indignity but who will come again and yes when he comes again there will be pomp there will be pageantry there will be majesty and glory and power and then every knee must bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord but oh my friend is he
[59:42] Lord of your life today let us pray eternal and ever blessed one we marvel at your intervention into the world we marvel at the way in which you designed the way of salvation we marvel at the entrance of the Son of God in our nature into a sin polluted world into a world hostile to the claims of the Son of God and we marvel that this same Son of God has come near to sinners such as we to transform our lives and to give us an entrance into thy truth and a knowledge of who thou art that will be most greatly expanded in the world to come oh forbid that any of us today be strangers to the firstborn of
[61:08] Mary to the Son of God in our nature but may he in truth be our Saviour and our Lord and the glory shall be thine in Jesus name we ask it amen let us conclude by singing from Psalm 72 from verse 17 Psalm 72 page 314 his name forever shall endure last like the sun it shall men shall be blessed in him blessed all nations shall call now blessed be the Lord our God the God of Israel for he alone doth wondrous works and glory that excel and blessed be his glorious name to all eternity the whole earth let his glory fill amen so let it be these three verses his name forever shall endure his name forever shall endure endure last like the son it shall men shall be blessed in him unblessed all nations shall him call now bless be blessed be the
[63:12] Lord our God the God of Israel for he alone doth wondrous work works in glory in glory God excel and blessed be his glorious name to all eternity the whole eternity the whole earth land is glory full amen so let it be now may the grace of the
[64:19] Lord Jesus Christ the love of God the Father fellowship and communion of the Holy Spirit rest on and abide with you all now and forever amen