I direct your attention this
morning to words that we find at the end of the portion of
scripture that we read in the Gospel according to St. Luke.
Turning again then to Luke chapter 2 and verses 13 and 14. Luke
2 verses 13 and 14 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 toward men. Now I want us to consider the
song of the angels, the song of the angels. Last Lord's Day
in the evening we considered the sight of the angels, spoken
of in that remarkable verse that we find in 1 Timothy 3.16, where the apostle speaks of the
great mystery of godliness, how the God was manifest in the flesh,
justified in the spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the
Gentiles, believed on in the world, and received up into glory. the sight of those angels as
a desire to look into that great mystery of godliness, the coming
of the Lord Jesus Christ, God veiled in human flesh and coming
for the salvation of the sinful sons of men. And here, of course,
as we read earlier, we have the account of the birth of the Lord
Jesus Christ how in the fullness of the time God sent forth his
Son made of a woman and made under the law. And we have here
in our text that song that the angel sang at that occasion. Suddenly there was with the angel
a multitude of the heavenly hosts praising God and saying, Glory
to God in the highest and on earth peace, goodwill, towards
men. I divide what I say now into
two parts first of all to say something more with regards to
the messengers I did remark on that last time but I want to
say something more concerning these remarkable messengers and
then in the second place to look at the message that they are
proclaiming. First of all who are the messengers? Well we read here of a multitude
A multitude of the heavenly hosts. Doubtless there were very many,
very many of them. We know that there are a multitude
of fallen angels. We read of those angels which
kept not their first estate but left their own habitation. whom
God has now reserved in everlasting chains under darkness, under
the judgment of the great day. And how there was an appearance
of many demons during the earthly ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ.
How even from the outset of his ministry the Lord experienced
opposition. We read of him there in the synagogue,
in Capernaum, as he is about to heal a man to cast out the
demons, and how they react. Let us alone. What have we to
do with thee, Jesus of Nazareth? Art thou come to destroy us?
I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God. Time and again
We see the Lord dealing with these fallen spirits, these wicked
angels, and they oppose him. When he comes to cast the demons
out of the Mad Gadarene, they say that their name is Legion.
There are many multitudes of fallen angels. But here, of course,
we read of different angels, this multitude of the heavenly
hosts. These are the the elect angels
and what remarkable creatures they are. We read of angels there
in the opening chapter of the book of the Prophet Ezekiel. We don't have the time to read
the passage but read there particularly from verse 5 following where
we have a description of these living creatures And we read
subsequently of wheels within wheels. We read of the throne
of God. It's a strange chapter that we
find there at the opening of the prophecy of Ezekiel. But
it is evident that those creatures, those living creatures that are
being described from verse 5 following, are in fact the cherubim. And we see that from what is
said subsequently. In the 10th chapter of Ezekiel,
we find the prophet there making reference to the cherubim. Verse 8, he says, there appeared
in the cherubims the form of a man's hand under their wings. And then, subsequently, he makes
it quite clear that these cherubim are the same living ones that
he saw in chapter 1. Verse 15 there, in chapter 10,
Ezekiel says, this is a living creature that I saw by the river
of Kaba. Those remarkable creatures then
that are spoken of in Ezekiel chapter 1 are the cherubim. Now,
the word cherubim is derived from a verb that means to grasp
and to lay hold. It has the idea of strength and
of might. And in the book of the Revelation
we read of strong angels, we read of mighty angels, And then
in the Psalms, again in the 103rd Psalm, Bless the Lord,
ye his angels that excel in strength. Oh, how these angels, these cherubim
are such mighty creatures. And remember what we're told
at the end of Genesis chapter 3, where we have that solemn
record of the entrance of sin into this lower creation. Adam
and Eve transgressed the commandment of God and there we have the
fall of humankind and then at the end of that chapter Adam
and Eve are thrust out of the garden God drove them out it
says and placed at the east of the Garden of Eden cherubim and
a flaming sword which turned every way to keep the way of
the tree of life these cherubim there, these angels, how they
are mighty, majestic creatures, powerful, strong, living creatures. But then also we have mention
of other angels who are referred to as the seraphim, and we remarked
on those last time, these seraphim are the burning ones, that's
what the word suggests, burning, bright, pure creatures, all were
reminded how the elect angels are indeed whole, how they are
there before the throne of God, how they constantly do the bidding
of God, why they have six wings, and with two of their wings they
cover their feet, because the ground is holy ground. With two
they cover their eyes, because they are before the throne of
God and cannot bear the sight of that uncreated holiness. But with two wings they fly. As soon as God gives command,
they fly at His command. Or they do His bidding, they
serve Him day and night in His temple. But there they are these
holy creatures before the throne of God and how they delight in
God's holiness. What is the song of the Seraphim
there in Isaiah chapter 6? One cried unto another saying,
Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts, heaven and earth are full
of thy glory. These messengers, this multitude
of the heavenly hosts, the Cherubim, the Seraphim, But then we read
of others also. Remember the language that we
have in Ephesians. There in Ephesians chapter 6
we do read of the fallen angels, that believers are involved in
a mighty conflict with, wrestling not against flesh and blood,
but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of
the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high
places. Those are the fallen angels.
But then, in the first chapter of Ephesians, where we have mention
of what God wrought when he raised the Lord Jesus from the dead
and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places. And Paul says, far above all
principality and power and might and dominion. That is all this
multitude of the heavenly host. These principalities, these powers,
these dominions. These seraphim and cherubim.
Every name that is named. The Lord Jesus Christ is that
one who is exalted above all the angels. And it is these I say that we
are reading of here in the text as they appear, a multitude of
the heavenly hosts praising God and saying glory to God in the
highest and on earth peace, goodwill towards man. They are heavenly
creatures. They are spiritual creatures. and they are the angels. And
we read often times of the angels in scripture. What does the word
mean? Well, you're probably aware that the basic meaning of the
word angel is a messenger, an agent. They're God's servants. And here we see that this is
their duty, they serve God. And this is what the angel is
doing here in the context of our text. The angel of the Lord comes and
appears to these shepherds who are in the fields watching over
their flocks. And the angel says to them, Fear
not! 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 which is Christ the Lord." Here
they are, you see. They're God's agents. They're God's ambassadors, we
might say. They're proclaiming what God
has sent them to proclaim. They're speaking to these shepherds
concerning that great work that God is about to accomplish here
upon the earth. This is the remarkable thing,
you see. They are ministering spirits,
we're told. Ministering to them who are to
be the heirs of salvation. They simply serve God. They serve
Him day and night. Now previously in chapter 1 there
at the beginning we have mention of the angel Gabriel who is sent
first to Zacharias who is the father of John the Baptist and
Gabriel comes to speak of the birth of that child Elizabeth
who has been barren. She will yet conceive in her
old age and bring forth his son. But then subsequently we see
how Gabriel also comes to her cousin Mary, who is a virgin,
who is espoused to Joseph, but they're not yet married, but
before they are married she is to conceive, to conceive child
by the Holy Ghost, the great miracle. of the virgin birth,
the great mystery of the incarnation. It is a message that is again
to be proclaimed by the angel. All the ministry of these angels,
how they are God's messengers. and they're God's messengers
to men. Now last time we thought of how
they therefore serve God, they serve men, and they serve principally
the God-man. How they serve the Lord Jesus
Christ. But now I want us more particularly
to consider the message. The message that is being proclaimed
here by these angels. Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace, goodwill toward men. There are two aspects
to the message. First of all, and this is important,
their chief concern is God and the glory of God. These are the opening words of
the message that we have in verse 14. Glory to God in the highest. How the angels are there principally
then to worship. Well, this is their chief concern.
We read of the heavenly host in verse 13, praising God. They live to praise God. And
we see it, of course, as we've already mentioned, back in Isaiah
chapter 6, when the prophet has that remarkable vision of the
throne of God, and he sees the seraphim. And what do the seraphim
do? They cry to one another. And
their cry centers upon the glory that belongs to God, holy, holy,
holy. Lord God of hosts, heaven and
earth are full of thy glory." They're there then in the very
presence of God in heaven, but here they come down to the earth,
but still their chief concern is God, the praises of God, the
glory of God. Of course we know that there
is that sense in which God is everywhere. God is that one who
fills heaven and earth at the dedication of the temple of the
Lord. We read of the prayer of Solomon on that occasion. And though he recognizes that
God is not confined to one particular place, He says, behold, heaven
and the heaven of heavens cannot contain them, much less this
house that I have built. He's pleading for God's special
presence there in the temple of the Lord, as God had been
present, as he had promised, there in the midst of the tabernacle.
So, Solomon desires that there might be that presence of God
also in the temple. But he acknowledges that God
is everywhere. God is God is omnipresent. There can be no escaping from
the presence of God. David says as much, of course,
in the 139th Psalm. Go where we will, we cannot escape
the presence of God and so at all times, in all places, we
should be mindful of Him and ever ascribing honor and glory
to His great name. But then, we do know from Scripture
that there is that special place where God is said to dwell. Even the third heavens. Remember
Paul and his experience as he describes it to us there in 2
Corinthians 12. How he was so favoured of God. He was caught up. He says to
the third heaven. That is the heaven of heaven.
Scripture speaks of these three heavens. We read of the atmosphere
around this planet Earth. When we look up on a clear day
into the sky and see the azure blue, the beautiful blue. But when we come to a clear night
and we can look into the second heavens, look beyond the atmosphere
of the Earth, and see something of the glories of the starry
skies and the multitude, myriad of stars that God himself has
created. That is the second heavens. But
then there is that beyond the universe. There is the heaven
of heavens, the third heavens, outside of space, outside of
time. And that is the place where the
Apostle was caught up. He was caught up into the third
heavens, into the very presence of God. And that's where God's
special presence is. And from there, of course, God
looks upon his creation. He looks upon the circle of the
earth, and he accounts all the inhabitants as grasshoppers,
as nothing in his sight. like a speck on a balance or
a drop in a bucket. The psalmist says our God is
in the heavens, he hath done whatsoever he pleased. Oh, it
is the sovereignty of God, you see, that these heavenly beings,
these angels are celebrating. Glory to God in the highest. He is that one who does according
to his will among all the armies of heaven. And all the inhabitants
of the earth and none can stay his hand or say unto him, What
doest thou? Who are we those who do desire
like the angels to bow then to his absolute sovereignty? We
recognize that God is God and God must be God. If he is not
sovereign, he is no God at all. And there in heaven, of course,
in that heaven of heavens, God is the one who is constantly
being worshipped. This is the great business of
the angels. They sing glory to God in the
highest. But then, though they are there
in the very presence of God, and though they are serving Him
day and night in His temple, yet they come and they descend
to this earth this little planet in all the vastness of the universe
they descend here to behold a fuller revelation of God than they're
witnessing there in the third heavens how remarkable that is
the angels love to look into these things Remember the language
that we have there in Peter's first epistle. He speaks of the
Old Testament prophets and the great theme of prophetic ministry
is the Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 10 of that opening chapter
of his epistle, he says, "...of which salvation the prophets
have inquired, and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that
should come unto you, searching what, or what manner of time,
the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it
testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glory that
should follow." Christ himself, the Spirit of prophecy. So it's
not surprising that those Old Testament prophets spoke of Him,
spoke of His coming, of His sufferings and the glory that was to follow.
And Peter continues, unto whom it was revealed that not unto
themselves but unto us they did minister the things which are
now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel
unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven. So he moves from the prophets
of the Old Testament and he speaks of the apostolic ministry that
he has engaged in as a faithful minister of the Lord Jesus Christ.
But then he adds this, which things the angels desire to look
into. to look into the Scriptures,
as it were, to look into what is spoken there in the prophets
of the Old Testament, and what is spoken here in the apostles
of the New Testament, and all centering in the Lord Jesus Christ. All these glorious living creatures,
these angels, though they're there in heaven, Though they
are before the very throne of God yet they desire to look into
things that are taking place here in the earth. Now again,
not only Peter but Paul says something very similar concerning
the angels. There in Ephesians 3.10 he says,
"...to the intent that now unto the principalities and powers
in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom
of God." What are those principalities and powers in heavenly places?
It's this multitude of the heavenly hosts. And they know by the church they
see in the church something that they don't witness even there
in heaven. They see the manifold wisdom
of God in the salvation of the sinful sons of men. How remarkable it is! And now
the hymn writer brings it out, Joseph Swain. We sing the hymn
there, 689. Angels here may gaze and wonder
what the God of love could mean when he tore that heart asunder,
never once defiled by sin. Oh, how the angels love to look
into these things. They take a delight in things
that are happening here in the earth. And so as they sing glory
to God in the highest. So the second strain of their
worship is this. On earth, on earth peace, good
will toward men. Oh what is this that they're
singing of, this peace on earth. Now, It's interesting, isn't it? When people speak of the coming
of the Lord Jesus Christ, they often quote this verse. I think
the Queen, in her Christmas message, again, referred to the idea of
peace on earth as the consequence of the coming of the Lord Jesus
Christ. We know here in the earth there is war and rumor of war
all the time. But our people seem to think
in terms only of some sort of political peace when it comes
to this message of the angels. But it was not political peace
that they came to proclaim to those shepherds. There was already
political peace in the earth. At that time there was the great
might of imperial rule. and how the Roman legionaries
ensured that there was peace, security, order in every part
of the empire, the great Pax Romana. The angels don't come
to proclaim some sort of political peace. Why, the Lord Jesus himself
says that his kingdom is not of this world. If his kingdom
were of this world then would his servants fight. His kingdom
is a spiritual kingdom. And this peace that the angels
are proclaiming is also a spiritual peace. It's that that has to
do with the hearts of men. What is the condition of the
world? Why doesn't John tell us the whole world lieth in wickedness? The whole world lieth in wickedness.
It's a fallen world. It's the realm of the wicked
one. The prince of the power of the
air, the spirit that they worketh in the children of disobedience. Oh, we're not to love the world,
neither the things that are in the world. All that is in the
world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride
of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. This is
the world that we're living in. And God's people surely are not
to conform to the ways of this world. God's people are to be
transformed by the renewing of their minds, that they might
know what is that good and perfect and acceptable will of God, and
they desire to walk in obedience to all God's holy commandments
and precepts. What is this peace that is being
proclaimed? Peace peace on earth, goodwill towards
men. It is that spiritual peace. It
is the vanquishing of sin and of Satan. It's interesting sometimes to
compare readings with some of the other versions. Remember
when I was a young man, there were not the multitude of versions
that we have today. You can remember when the New
English Bible was first published. As a youngster, besides the Authorized
Version, there were some who would use the Revised Standard
Version. And now we have another version
called the English Standard Version, which is very much based on the
Revised Standard Version. But looking up the rendering
in the Revised Standard Version, it reads like this, "... unearth
peace among men with whom God is well pleased." And that really
is not aversion, it's a perversion. There are no men with whom God
is well pleased. And yet that's what the RSV suggests,
and I daresay I haven't got a copy of the ESV, But I dare say it's
a very similar rendering that you would find in that version
because it's simply a revision of the old RSV. On earth peace
among men with whom he is well pleased. But the Bible says there
is not a just man upon the earth that doeth good and sinneth not.
And the Bible says that God is angry with the wicked every day. It's not God sending goodwill
to those with whom he is well pleased. He's not pleased with
anyone. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. No,
this is a message of peace to those who are in a state of alienation. Those who are of the earth, earthly.
Those who are sinners. This is the message that is being
proclaimed by the angels on earth, peace, goodwill toward men, men who
are the sinful descendants of Adam and Eve, men who are conceived in sin
and shaped in iniquity, and yet peace. Where does this peace
centre? Why? It centers, of course, in
that child that has been born. Unto you is born this day in
the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And
isn't Peace, isn't Peace one of those names that is given
to the Lord Jesus Christ? This man, says the Prophet, Micah
5 verse 5, This man shall be the peace. Oh, in his very person,
think of the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, how fitted he is to be the mediator
and to stand between God and man. Why? He is God. He is very God of very gods,
begotten not made of one substance with the Father. He sought it
not robbery to be equal with God. He is the Eternal Son of
the Eternal Father. And though He be gods, yet He
is also man. Always a real man. This man-child
that was born to Meron, his was a true human nature. Body and soul just like we are. A man there is, a real man. And here is that one, you see,
the day's man, he can put his hand upon us each, he can put
his hand upon God, he can put his hand upon men. Or there's
one God and one mediator between God and men, the man, Christ
Jesus. That great mystery of godliness
of God was manifest in the flesh. And so there's peace when we
think of His person. There's reconciling to see between
heaven and earth when we think in terms of His person. He stands
there, He can lay His hand upon us each. But it's not just his
person when we think of peace. Oh, is there not also that remarkable
work that the Father sent him to accomplish? That great work,
how it's spoken of here in the Scripture, the language of Paul,
when he writes there in the opening chapter of the epistle to the
Colossians. Look at what he says, Colossians 1.20, having made
peace. through the blood of His cross,
by Him to reconcile all things unto Himself. By Him I say, whether
they be things in earth or things in heaven, and you that were
sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works,
yet now hath He reconciled in the body of His flesh through
death to present you holy and unblameable and unreprovable
in His sight. how He has made peace, and what
is this peace? It's peace through the blood
of His cross, and it all has to do with reconciliation. Oh,
what are the sons of men by nature? Enemies. Enemies in your minds
by wicked works. All conceived in sin, shapen
in iniquity. going astray from the womb. That's
our condition. The natural mind, the carnal
mind, enmity against God. It is not subject to the law
of God, neither indeed can be. But what has Christ done? He
has reconciled those who were in that state of alienation and
enmity. He has come to reconcile sinners
to God, to bring sinners back to God. It's a wonderful man-made
aspect of the work of the Lord Jesus, is it not? When we think
about what we are and our hatred to God and the ways of God, that's
where we would be left to ourselves. We'd have no love for God. We'd
be just as others, we'd have no thought for God, for His words,
for His day. Wonderful thing, is it not, when
the Lord God grants that gracious application of the work of the
Lord Jesus and the sinner he's no more in that state of enmity
but he's now brought to love God, to desire God, to seek God
it's a wonderful manward aspect, peace peace on earth but then
there's also the Godward aspect as I said God is angry with the
wicked every day Those modern versions are wrong when they
say that this passage is to be understood as saying, on earth
peace among men with whom God is well pleased. God is not well
pleased. God is a holy God and a righteous
God. He is of eyes too pure to behold
iniquity. He cannot look upon sin. How
God in His holiness, in His justice, in His righteousness, He can
by no means clear the guilt. That law which is a revelation
of God in all His purity and righteousness and holiness, all
that law must receive due recompense. The soul that sinneth it shall
die, And the Lord Jesus is that one who has come and he has paid
that price. He has made the great sacrifice. How John speaks of it in terms
of that propitiation. He is the propitiation for our
sins. And not for our sins only but
also for the sins of the whole world. He's speaking of course
principally to Jewish believers. And he's speaking of a provision
that God has made not only for sinners of the Jews, but for
sinners of the Gentiles. For here in his love, not that
we love God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the
propitiation for our sins. How he is born in his own person.
all that wrath of God that was due to the sins of his people
that's the work that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished when
he came to bring peace on earth and goodwill towards men men
who were sinners and the angels well how the angels delight to
look into these things again We have the language of the hymn.
There in number 460, the gospel is a message of peace. We are
by experience have felt, it is filled with Emmanuel's grace
and sweeps away mountains of guilt. That's the peace. That's
the peace that has been brought. into this world, that place that
the angels are singing of and rejoicing in. Yes, the message begins with
God, it centers in God, for of Him and through Him and to Him
are all things, to whom be glory forever and ever. But how This
message that centers in God in the highest descends to sinful
men and women here upon the earth. Well, as we conclude this morning,
what of us? What are we to make of these
things? What are we to learn from these angels? Oh, remember
what we were considering The last Lord's Day, that remarkable
statement there in 1 Timothy 3.16, that the Lord Jesus was
seen. He was seen of angels. The angels
desire to look into these things. And I think I said last week,
it's not only made so evident when we come to the New Testament,
but it's there in the Old Testament, it's there in type. There in the book of Leviticus
which of course is a book that's full of gospel to those who were
spiritual Israelites in the Old Testament would they not have
been given an understanding, a discernment of the significance
of all those things that were taking place in the Levitical
sacrifices and remember there at the very center of the tabernacle
the Holy of Holies and the Ark of the Covenant and the covering
over the Ark that Mercy Seat and on each end of the Mercy
Seat the cherubim with their wings outspread and their faces
towards one another their faces it says towards the Mercy Seat
oh how the cherubim are represented as looking into these things
There is the ark, there is the tables of the Lord, the Ten Commandments,
those commandments that speak of sin, by the Lord the knowledge
of sin. And there on the great day of
atonement, the blood was to be sprinkled by the high priest
between the cherubim. and the cherubims, the angels,
looking into these things, stooping down, as it were, to look into
these things. And here, at the birth of the
Lord Jesus, this remarkable ministry of the angels, how these opening
chapters of Luke's Gospel are full of angels, and the ministry
of the angels, and yet, they have no personal interest
in these things these elect angels they need not the salvation of
God they've never sinned and there's no provision made for
those fallen angels who will only come to oppose the Lord
Jesus throughout his earthly ministry all these angels they have no
interest and yet they delight in these things We know that
the Lord Jesus does not take upon Him the nature of the angels,
nor He takes upon Him the seed of Abraham. He comes to die for
sinners of mankind. Might we not learn something
from these angels though, to be those who would rejoice to
look into these things, to examine these things, this great work
of the Lord Jesus, this wondrous redemption. How they see these things in
the church. Remember what we said, those
principalities, those powers in heavenly places might be known
by the church, it says. By the church, the manifold wisdom
of God. When what Christ accomplished
here upon the earth is made a reality, in the soul of sinners under
the Word of God joy in the presence of the angels of God we read
over one sinner that repenteth ought to be that sinner, that
repenting sinner that sinner who is truly trusting in the
Lord Jesus Christ who is looking on to Jesus the author and finisher
of salvation and that salvation brought into that sinner's soul
the cause of great rejoicing even in the highest heavens joy
in the presence of the angels of God or that we might be those
then today friends who do delight in these things and love this
message that centers in God and the great grace of God and the
wonderful outworking of that grace in the incarnation of the
Lord Jesus Christ and all that Christ came to accomplish and
to fulfill here upon the earth. 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. The song of the angels so that
we might Worship with the angels and with them ascribe all the
honor and all the glory unto our God. May the Lord bless and
his word to us.