the Lord helping me this morning
I direct your attention to Matthew chapter 2 and verse 6 Matthew
2 verse 6 and thou Bethlehem in the land of Judah are not
the least among the princes of Judah for out of thee shall come
a governor that shall rule my people Israel It's interesting to compare the
opening verse of Mark's gospel with the opening verse of this
gospel according to Matthew. Mark begins his gospel, the beginning
of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He opens his
gospel, you see, with the declaration of the deity of the Lord Jesus
Christ, the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son
of God. Matthew, however, begins his
gospel with the declaration of the sacred humanity of the Lord
Jesus Christ, the book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the
Son of David. the Son of David. By comparison,
then, of the opening verses of these two Gospels, we are taught
by the Holy Ghost that the Lord Jesus Christ is both God and
man. He is the Son of God by eternal
generation, begotten of his Father before all worlds, God of God,
Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being
of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made. As the Nicene Creed states, which
I've just quoted from the Book of Common Prayer of the Church
of England, Also, in that prayer book, you will find the Creed
of Athanasius, which states, for the right faith is that we
believe and confess that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of
God, is God and man, God of the substance of the Father, begotten
before all worlds, and man of the substance of his mother,
born in the world. perfect God and perfect man of
a reasonable soul and human flesh subsisting and so on the Lord
Jesus Christ is both God and man Mark who declares the deity
of the Lord Jesus Christ does not mention his birth or his
infancy the emphasis you see is on the
deity of Christ Matthew, however, declares from the opening verse
the full and perfect human nature of our Lord Jesus Christ. And
the first part of that first chapter is taken up with the
genealogy of the Lord Jesus. And then from verse 18 of that
chapter, which is where we commence our reading, of course, Matthew,
under the inspiration of the Spirit of God, writes of the
Saviour's birth. Now, the birth of Jesus Christ
was on this wise, and then we have the infallible record of
the virgin birth of the Messiah. This was, of course, foretold
by the prophets. Isaiah chapter 7, verse 14, therefore
the Lord himself shall give you a sign behold a virgin shall
conceive and bear a son and shall call his name Emmanuel and Matthew refers to that prophecy
doesn't he when he says now all this was done that it might be
fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet saying
Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth
a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel, which, being interpreted,
is God with us. So here we see the two natures. of the Messiah, the human and
the divine. He came down from heaven, who
is God and Lord of all. And so Matthew, although he does
speak of the human nature of the Lord Jesus, he does not neglect
to speak also of his deity. He gives us the meaning of the
name Immanuel, which being interpreted is God with us. Well here in
Matthew chapter 2 we see again the deity of the Lord and Saviour
shining through his sacred humanity here on the page of Holy Scripture. Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem
of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came
wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he that is born,
king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in
the east, and are come to worship him. They were wise men indeed, who
came from the east to Jerusalem. They came seeking Christ. Why
that they might worship him? Now, if it were a mere man or
an angel that they came to worship, then the Holy Spirit surely would
not have called them wise men at all. They would have been
called fools. To worship anything other than
God is idolatry and is the utmost folly. Thou shalt worship the
Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve. The Apostle John, you remember,
was twice rebuked in the book of the Revelation for falling
down to worship an angel. Revelation 19, verse 10. And I fell at his feet to worship
him. That is, down to the feet of the angel. And he said unto
me, See thou do it not, I am thy fellow servant, and of thy
brethren that have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God. for the testimony of Jesus is
the spirit of prophecy. Again in chapter 22 of the Revelation,
verse 8, And I, John, saw these things, and heard them. And when
I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet
of the angel which showed me these things. Then saith he unto
me, See thou do it not? for I am thy fellow servant and
of thy brethren the prophets and of them which keep the sayings
of this book worship God God only is to be worshipped and
these men they came from the East they are recommended as
wise men for they came to worship Christ for Christ is God and
without controversy, greatest, the mystery of godliness, God
was manifest in the flesh, Christ by highest heaven adored, Christ
the everlasting Lord, late in time behold him come, offspring
of a virgin's womb, veiled in flesh, the Godhead see, hail
the incarnate deity, blessed as man with men to dwell, Jesus
our Emmanuel. Oh, there's some great theology
in some of the hymns we sing, even at this time of the year.
And throughout the Gospels we read of many who worshipped the
Lord Jesus Christ, and none of them is rebuked, or reproved,
or condemned. Not one. Indeed, men and angels
are bidden to worship Him, as Paul says in Hebrews and again
when he bringeth in the first begotten into the world he saith
and let all the angels of God worship him and all those who
have a living faith in the living Savior are surely brought to
worship him like that blind man in the gospel whose eyes the
Lord opened and he said Lord I believe and he worshipped him
and he worshipped him. So it was with these wise men
who came from the east. And when they were come into
the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother and
fell down and worshipped him. And when they had opened their
treasures, they presented unto him gifts, gold and frankincense
and myrrh. You notice they didn't worship
Mary, his mother. They saw the young child with
Mary, his mother, and fell down and worshipped him. I believe every sentence in the
Holy Scriptures condemns Romanism. Now, Herod was troubled, wasn't
he? We read here in this chapter,
Herod was troubled when he heard that these men had come from
the East to worship Christ. In verse 3, when Herod the king
had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with
him. Wicked men are often troubled
when they hear of those who seek Christ and who would seek after
Christ and who would worship Christ. Not a few of the Lord's
people experience opposition from their families when they
would seek to follow Christ. There's often public opposition
too. Books have been written, books
have been produced, such as the God Delusion, written by someone
who has imbibed the Darwin Delusion. The same author, of course, supported
an atheistic campaign on London buses a few years ago. I'm not
sure why he did that, because really he had no need to do that
at all. After all, the BBC is continually
pushing out atheistic indoctrination and propaganda to the masses.
As are the universities these days too. There are many who are troubled
by those who would worship Christ. There's great opposition. There
are some who are extremely troubled by those who had worshipped Christ,
and so much so that if anyone forsakes their false prophet
to seek and to follow the Lord Jesus Christ, then they are liable
to suffer the death penalty. For doing so, they could earn
a martyr's crown. Many, of course, are ostracized
from their families. Herod was troubled, but he was
a little more subtle. He would himself pretend to be
a worshipper of Jesus Christ. His approach, you see, was not
so much Islam, more Rome, if you know what I mean. And when
he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people
together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.
And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written
by the prophet. Now it's interesting to note
two things here before we come to the words of our text. Firstly,
that to the Jews it was revealed where Christ was to be born.
But to certain Gentiles, the time of his birth was revealed.
So the Jews was revealed in and through the Holy Scriptures the
place of Christ's birth, but to the Gentiles it was revealed
by means of the star the time of his birth. Now does this not
show us that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world? That
he is the Savior of Gentile sinners as well as Jewish sinners? And
secondly, do we not see here that there may be a knowledge
of the Scriptures in the head where there is no grace in the
heart. This is a great danger. The chief
priests and scribes of the people, they knew the scriptures. They
could answer Herod's question. For thus it is written by the
prophet and thou Bethlehem in the land of Judah are not the
least among the princes of Judah for out of thee shall come a
governor that shall rule my people Israel. They quote the prophet
Micah. Micah chapter 5. Verse 2. Yes, they knew the Scriptures.
Oh, they knew the Scriptures. But they were not made wise unto
salvation. They themselves would not go
to worship Christ. Well, as we come to the words
of our text, I'll consider with you three things this morning.
Firstly, the place of birth. And secondly, the person born.
And then thirdly, the purpose of this birth. and thou Bethlehem
in the land of Judah are not the least among the princes of
Judah for out of thee shall come a governor that shall rule my
people Israel firstly then let us consider the place of birth
the place of birth is Bethlehem and thou Bethlehem in the land
of Judah are not the least among the princes of Judah now the
quotation as we have it here in Matthew varies slightly from
the words as originally given by Micah in Micah chapter 5 verse
2 it reads but thou Bethlehem Ephratah though thou be little
among the thousands of Judah yet out of thee shall he come
forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel whose goings forth
have been from of old from everlasting the place of birth is called
Bethlehem Ephratah and that's to distinguish it from another
Bethlehem which was in Zebulun. Ephratah was actually a person,
he was a descendant of Judah and he's described in 1 Chronicles
chapter 4 verse 4 as the father of Bethlehem. The name Ephratah
it seems had fallen out of use by this time and Herod was not
familiar with the scriptures or of the history of the Old
Testament and so the chief priests and the scribes quote the prophet
as saying and thou Bethlehem in the land of Judah which is
the same as Bethlehem Ephratah and where Micah actually says
though thou be little among the thousands of Judah The chief priests and the scribes
give the sense of the meaning of the prophet when they quote
Micah as saying, "...and thou, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
art not the least among the princes of Judah." Though Bethlehem was
little, it was not least, for this great honor was to be conferred
upon this little town or village. The Messiah, Emmanuel, was to
be born there. And where the chief priest and
the scribes quote Micah as saying, among the princes of Judah, Micah
actually says, among the thousands of Judah. Now this again means
exactly the same thing. You see, according to the book
of Numbers, the princes of the tribes were
heads of thousands. Numbers chapter 1 verse 16. These were the renowned of the
congregation, princes of the tribes of their fathers, heads
of thousands in Israel. So, among the princes of Judah
means exactly the same as among the thousands of Judah. Now, I mention these things because
there are some ignoramuses who try to tell us that there are
contradictions in the Bible. There are no contradictions in
the Word of God. just misunderstandings in the
minds of men. As for the name Bethlehem, it
literally means house of bread, house of bread. It was there
that the Lord God sent down bread from heaven, the true bread,
the living bread, the bread of life. Remember what Jesus said
to the Jews in John's Gospel, in John chapter 6, verse 32. Then Jesus said unto them, Verily,
verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from
heaven, but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.
For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven and giveth
life unto the world. Then said they unto him, Lord,
evermore give us this bread. And Jesus said unto them, I am
the bread of life. He that cometh to me shall never
hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. Bethlehem, Bethlehem, the house
of bread. The Lord God has made a provision
for poor and needy sinners. Bethlehem, the house of bread.
Bethlehem was a little place, but it did have a well. And David
longed for a taste of the waters of that well. We sang about it
just now in our hymn. We have the history in 2 Samuel. 2 Samuel 23 and verse 15. And David longed and said, oh,
that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem,
which is by the gate. In the incarnation of the Son
of God, we see the well of salvation opened for sinners. Behold, God is my salvation. I will trust and not be afraid,
for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song. He also has become
my salvation. Therefore with joy shall he draw
water out of the wells of salvation. Christ is that well of salvation. Behold, God is my salvation. And that, of course, is what
his name literally means. It means Savior. And thou shalt
call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. And the Lord Jesus Christ bids
all sin-sick souls to come to Him that they might be healed.
He bids all those who thirst for life and for salvation, for
God and righteousness, to come to Him. If any man thirst, let
him come unto me and drink. He has promised in the last book
of the Bible, the book of the Revelation, I am Alpha and Omega,
the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is
athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. And the invitation is repeated
by the Spirit and the Bride in the last chapter of that last
book of the Bible. And the Spirit and the Bride
say, Come! and let him that heareth say
come and let him that is athirst come and whosoever will let him
take the water of life freely there in the miraculous virgin
birth at Bethlehem we see the wells of salvation opened for
sinners For the Lord God is my strength and my song. He also
has become my salvation. Let us consider then in the second
place the person born, for out of thee shall come a governor.
The word governor in the Greek is literally a leader. It's one
who has authority to rule and to command. And such is our Lord
Jesus Christ. Behold, I have given him for
a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people.
He was called the King of the Jews at his birth. Where is he
that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in
the east and have come to worship him. Yes, he was called the King
of the Jews at his birth, but he was also called the King of
the Jews when he laid down his life and suffered the cruel death
of the cross, and set up over his head his accusation written,
this is Jesus, the King of the Jews. At his birth and at his
death, he was proclaimed the King of the Jews. the person here born in Bethlehem
was the governor, the leader and commander to the people,
the king of the Jews before his birth he was told his virgin
mother by the angel Gabriel and behold thou shalt conceive in
thy womb and bring forth a son and shalt call his name Jesus
He shall be great and shall be called the Son of the Highest. And the Lord God shall give unto
him the throne of his father David, and he shall reign over
the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there shall be
no end. And you know, that word still
stands today. It is as true today as it was
when it was first spoken by the angels. For 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, Counselor,
the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end,
upon the throne of David and upon his kingdom to order it
and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth
even forever." Now it's true that the Jews have largely rejected
the Lord Jesus Christ and therefore he has ejected them, as it were,
from his kingdom but he has brought in Gentiles in their room as
he told the Jews that he would Matthew 21 verse 43, Therefore
say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you,
and given to a nation, bringing forth the fruits thereof. And
so his kingdom continues, and he governs it as he sees fit. That is, he orders it and he
establishes it with judgment and with justice from henceforth
even forever. The word governor, as we have
said, means leader. And the word leader implies one
who has gone before. Christ is that one who has gone
before his people. He has gone before them into
battle against their enemies, against the devil who held them
captive, against sin, which was the chain by which the devil
would drag them down to hell, and against death itself. For
as much then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood,
he also himself likewise took part of the same, that through
death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that
is, the devil, and deliver them who through fear of death were
all their lifetime subject to bondage. He who is the captain of their
salvation Now says to his people, fear not. I am the first and
the last. I am he that liveth and was dead. And behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And have the keys of hell
and of death. He has gone before his people,
he has made a way through death for his people, and he has ascended
up into heaven, there to intercede for his people, and there he
will eventually bring all his blood-bought people. But one
of them shall be missing. None of those for whom Christ
died will be missing from heaven. It's interesting to note that
in Micah it says, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto
me. That is to be the ruler in Israel. John says that he was come from
God and went to God. He is the forerunner. He has
gone before his people. Paul says in Hebrews, which hope
we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and
which entereth into that within the veil, whither the forerunner
for us is entered, even Jesus. In his high priestly prayer,
the Lord Jesus prays for his people and he says, Father, I
will that they also whom thou hast given me be with me where
I am. that they may behold my glory
which thou hast given me for thou lovest me before the foundation
of the world yes he loved to the son before the foundation
of the world and he loved all those who were in Christ too
before the foundation of the world the Lord Jesus Christ has reconciled
sinners to God by his death for Christ also have once suffered
for sins the just for the unjust to bring us to God. And now he is raised from the
dead and he lives to die no more. And he has promised his people,
because I live, ye shall live also. Because I live, ye shall
live also. Again Paul says in Hebrews, For
it became him for whom are all things, and by whom are all things,
in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their
salvation perfect through sufferings. For both he that sanctifieth
and they who are sanctified are all of one. The Lord Jesus Christ
is gone into heaven and is on the right hand of God, angels
and authorities and powers being made subject unto him. and as
the one who paid the ransom is gone into heaven and is on the
right hand of God so all those who are ransomed all those whose
sins are atoned for shall go into heaven and sit on the right
hand of God and the ransomed of the Lord shall return and
come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads They shall
obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee
away. Christ says in the book of the
Revelation to him that overcometh, Will I grant to sit with me in
my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father
in his throne? Who are they who overcome? Well
John asks that very question, doesn't he, in his first epistle,
and he gives us the answer. Who is he that overcometh the
world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? It is the person who was born
in Bethlehem, the Father's co-equal and co-eternal Son, And the prophecy continues, doesn't
it, there in Micah, whose goings forth have been from of old,
from everlasting, the eternal Son of the eternal Father. Well, let's consider in the third
place the purpose of his birth. We've already touched on the
purpose of his birth, of course, which may be summarized in that
faithful saying of the apostle Paul, and worthy of all acceptation. This is a faithful saying and
worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the world
to save sinners. That's the purpose of his birth. To save sinners. To save sinners. But from the words of our text
this morning, we see something else. And thou Bethlehem in the
land of Judah are not the least among the princes of Judah, for
out of thee shall come a governor that shall rule my people Israel."
The purpose of his birth we see there in the last clause of the
verse, that shall rule my people Israel. But what is the Israel that is
spoken of here, my people Israel? Is it ethnic Israel? Is it the
nation of the Jews? No. For they are not all Israel,
which are of Israel, Paul says in Romans. In Galatians he speaks
of the Israel of God, as distinct, you see, from ethnic Israel,
the Israel of God. Galatians 6, verse 16, Peace
be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God. He's speaking
of all those who are in Christ, who are made new creatures in
him, even though they are not circumcised. For in Christ Jesus
neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision,
but a new creature. And as many as walk according
to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel
of God." It is the Gospel Church which
is the Israel of God. This is that Holy Nation which
Peter speaks of. But ye are a chosen generation,
a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people, that ye should
show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness
into his marvellous light, which in time past were not a people,
but are now the people of God, which had not obtained mercy,
but now have obtained mercy. This is the Israel that is spoken
of here, in the words of our text. For out of thee shall come
a governor that shall rule my people, Israel. It is that holy
nation, the Gospel Church, comprising both elect Jews and elect Gentiles. Now there is a sense, of course,
in which Christ rules all nations. The God of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Father of glory, We read in Ephesians chapter 1, gave
him to be the head over all things to the church. He is the head
over all things, he governs all things for the good and for the
benefit of his church. That's what that scripture is
saying there in Ephesians 1 verse 17. In the book of Revelation
we see the Israel of the Old Testament portrayed as a woman
clothed with the sun and the moon under her feet and upon
her head a crown of twelve stars then in verse 12 of that chapter
we read and she brought forth a man-child who was to rule all
nations with a rod of iron and also there in the revelation
there is that marvellous description of Christ it's actually a description
not only of Christ but also of his church In Revelation 19 verse
11, And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and
he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness
he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire,
and on his head were many crowns, and he had a name written that
no man knew but he himself, and he was clothed with a vesture
dipped in blood, and his name is called the Word of God. and
the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses,
clothed in fine linen, white and clean. There's the church.
And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should
smite the nations, and he shall roar them with a rod of iron. And he treadeth the winepress
of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on
his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King of kings
and Lord of lords. or he rules the nations he rules
them with a rod of iron it's also written in Psalm 22
which testifies so much of the sufferings of Christ and the
glory that should follow in verse 28 of that Psalm for the kingdom
is the Lord's and he is the governor among the nations or Christ is
the head over all things to the church But you know, the way
he rules his people is of an entirely different nature to
that way by which he governs the nations. In the margin of
our Bible, we see that the word rule could be rendered feed. the Lord Jesus Christ rules his
people, the Israel of God, the spiritual Israel, the holy nation
as a shepherd rules his sheep Isaiah 40 verse 11 he shall feed
his flock like a shepherd he shall gather the lambs with his
arm and carry them in his bosom and shall gently lead those that
are with young He leads them in and out as they find, that
they might find pasture. He makes them to lie down in
green pastures. He leads them beside the still
waters. He restores their souls. He leads them in the paths of
righteousness for his namesake. Yea, though I walk through the
valley of the shadow of death. Isn't that what this world is
to us? If we are believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. Yea, though
I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear
no evil, for thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort
me. Thou preparest a table before
me in the presence of mine enemies. Thou anointest my head with oil,
my cup runneth over. The Lord feeds his people as
a shepherd feeds his flock. The word rule is the same word
in the Greek that is translated feed in Revelation 7, 17. For the lamb which is in the
midst of the throne shall feed them. It's the same word that
we have here translated rule. And shall lead them unto living
fountains of waters. And God shall wipe away all tears
from their eyes. And how does the Lamb, which
is in the midst of the throne, feed His people? Well, He gives
them His own flesh to eat and His own blood to drink. And so
they live by faith upon the Son of God and upon His finished
work. He is the Lamb slain from the
foundation of the world. And this is what it is to eat
His flesh and to drink His blood. It is to believe on Him. is to
depend only and entirely upon Him and upon His finished work. This is all our salvation. It is a finished work. It is
all done. We look to Christ, not to any
of our own works, but only to His work alone. He is the Saviour,
and there is none else. Again as Christ says in John's
Gospel. Verily, verily, I say unto you,
he that believeth on me hath everlasting life. I am that bread
of life. Your fathers did eat manna in
the wilderness and are dead. This is the bread which cometh
down from heaven that a man may eat thereof and not die. I am
the living bread which came down from heaven if any man eat of
this bread he shall live forever and the bread that I will give
is my flesh which I will give for the life of the world the
Jews therefore strove among themselves saying how can this man give
us his flesh to eat and Jesus said unto them verily verily
I say unto you except ye eat the flesh of the son of man and
drink his blood you have no life in you Whoso eateth my flesh
and drinketh my blood hath eternal life, and I will raise him up
at the last day, for my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood
is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh and drinketh
my blood dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the Living Father
hath sent me, and I live by the Father, so he that eateth me,
even he shall live by me. This is that bread which came
down from heaven that a man may eat thereof and not die this is that bread which came
down from heaven not as your fathers did eat manna and are
dead he that eateth of this bread shall live forever Jesus said
this is the good news of the gospel and this is the real significance
you see of Bethlehem the house of bread and thou Bethlehem in
the land of Judah are not the least among the princes of Judah
for out of thee shall come a governor that shall rule my people Israel
that shall feed my people Israel oh this is the great purpose
you see of the incarnation may the Lord work in us and grant
us then that true and living faith that looks to the Lord
Jesus Christ only to save us and to govern us May we out of
a felt sense of our sin and sinfulness come to Him and confess our sins
and seek grace to depart from our sins. May we abide in Him
and He in us. This is the true and proper way
to celebrate the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ, not once a
year, like the hypocritical worldling, or those of the established church,
who conform to the prayer book calendar, We're non-conformists. We're non-conformists. We don't
just celebrate these things once a year. We don't hold to the
church calendar. We don't even celebrate this just once a week.
If we're true believers. But every day of our lives, while
we are here upon this earth, it was a prayer of the apostle
that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith. It was for this
that he travailed as he writes to the Galatians, my little children
of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you. This is the mystery which Paul
speaks of right into the Colossians, Christ in you, the hope of glory. O holy child of Bethlehem, descend
to us we pray, cast out our sin and enter in, be born in us today. Yes, today and every day. We need more than the head knowledge
of the scriptures, such as the chief priests and the stripes
had. We need more than the vain traditions of men, or a carnal
religiosity. There's a lot of that about. We want more than a Christianized
paganism. In fact, we want nothing whatsoever
to do with the Christianized paganism. And we certainly do
not want the hypocrisy of Herod, who pretended to worship Christ
but was opposed to Him in his heart. We want to be made wise
unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. We
want the saving knowledge of a union with Christ. We want the experimental knowledge
of the mystery. Great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh. We want the experimental knowledge
of that blessed truth of the gospel in our hearts. Even the
mystery which has been hid from ages and from generations. but
now is made manifest to his saints, to whom God would make known
what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles,
which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. To this end, then,
may the Lord bless his word to each of our souls this morning. And thou, Bethlehem, in the land
of Judah, are not the least among the princes of Judah, for out
of thee shall come a governor that shall rule my people Israel. Amen.