upon the throne of David. Christ the Lord. Lu. ii. -Is. ix. 6, 7. 10, 11. See Ruth i. 1, 2, 19. iv. 17. Read 1 Sam. xvi. xvii. 12-15. IV. OFFERINGS TO BE MADE TO CHRIST. All they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring gold and incense; and they shall show forth the praises of the Lord. -Is. lx. 6. They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him. 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. The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall Mat. ii. bring presents: the kings. of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts.-Ps. lxxii. 9, 10. Read Psalm 1xxii. Matt ii. 1-12. V. JOHN THE BAPTIST TO PREPARE CHRIST'S WAY. Behold I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me.-Mal. iii. 1. For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.—Mal. iv. 5, 6. The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain : prepare thy way before thee.-Matt. xi. 10. Thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.-Lu. ii. 13, 16, 17. In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.-Is. xl. 3-5. his paths straight.Matt. iii. 1-3. And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come.-Matt. xi. 14. Read Matt. iii. and Luke iii. 1—18. VI CHRIST'S DIVINE AND HUMAN NATURE. 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. Is. ix. 6. Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.-Ps. ii. 7. The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And 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.-John i. 1, 14. But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.-Heb. i. 8. Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, himself shall give you a the angel Gabriel was sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.--Is. vii. 14. sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.-Lu. i. 26, 27, 30, 31. 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 Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.-Matt. i. 22, 23. Read the account of Christ's Birth, Luke i. 26— 56 and ii. 1---40. VIII CHRIST'S DESCENT. From Abraham. Now the LORD had Ye are the children of said unto Abram, In thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.-Gen. xii. 1, 3. And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.-Acts. iii. 25. |