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SERMON XVIII.

THE NATIVITY OF CHRIST.

ISAIAH ix. 6.

Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder : and His Name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

As no Prophet has written so extensively concerning the Messiah and the Gospel Dispensation as Isaiah, so no Prophet has written so correctly and minutely. Every circumstance almost of the birth, the life, and the death of Jesus Christ, has been touched upon by him; so that we seem not so much to read a prophecy, as a clear and distinct history.

Another thing which we cannot fail to notice in Isaiah, is the spirit with which he writes. His is not the cold and lifeless style of one, who feels no interest in the events before his eyes; his is not the pen of the frigid historian, who sees kingdoms rise and fall, battles lost and won, with equal indifference but his spirit kindles as he proceeds, and his lips, touched with heavenly fire, speak of the things concerning the King of saints in thoughts that breathe, and words that burn."

Let us now advert to the words of the text, and illustrate them in the order which the Prophet has pursued.

He begins with saying, "Unto us a Child is born." This is an event which occurs every day. It may appear, at the first sight, to demand no particular attention. But common as the occurrence is, we should not view it with indifference. To him who duly appreciates the excel

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lence and value of the human soul, it will appear an event worthy of regard. The origin of the soul is divine. It is a living ray from the Father of lights. The body was raised out of the dust of the earth, but the soul sprang from heaThe united beauties of creation sink into nothing, when contrasted with the superior glory of the human mind. In the judgment of Christ, who is the great Redeemer of souls, the soul of man infinitely exceeds in worth the world itself. "For what is a man profited," says our Saviour, "if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?"

But the Child, that is born unto us, is no common child of man. It was God Himself, who thus made His appearance amongst us. It was God Himself, who, having laid aside the glory of His Divine nature, and left the heavenly seats and

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the throne of highest bliss, condescended to be clothed with pain and mortality. "The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." His miracles gave witness to this glorydemonstrated His supreme Divinity. Behold Him, in His own Name, and by His own power, tranquillizing the stormvexed lake of Tiberias-shedding light on the eyes of the blind-destroying the tyranny of devils and restoring those to life, who had passed or were about to pass into the place of worms and corruption. Behold Him manifesting forth His glory at the marriage of Cana in Galilee; behold Him shewing a glimpse of His Divine majesty at His transfiguration on the Mount.

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But the Prophet further adds-" Unto us a Son is given." We have perhaps witnessed the joy and festivity, with which

the birth of a son of noble parents is celebrated. We have seen perhaps the munificence and splendour which have been exhibited on such occasions. But what do we behold, when Jesus Christ makes His entry into the world? When God bringeth the First-Begotten into the world, He saith, "And let all the angels of God worship Him." "And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will towards men." It is fabled among the ancients, that when any of their great personages were born, a kind of electric radiance played around their temples. But observe the superiority which is always in the Son of God. Instead of a simple lambent flame, the Magi from the East, in their journey to Judæa, to worship the new-born King, were directed by a star stara celestial meteor, which

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