32. Christmas Eve.
O dearest Jesus, holy Child, make thee
a bed, soft, undefiled, within my heart!
Isaiah 9, 6. 7. 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, Counsellor, 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 for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.
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Now we will rejoice with exceeding great joy before the Lord, according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil. For the Lord has broken the yoke and the rod and the staff as in the day of Midian. Gideon has thrown down the altars of the idols, routed the enemy and made us free. This child is our brother, but also the only begotten Son of God; one of us, but, at the same time, the everlasting God. The Father has given us his Son; he is ours, he that is prince and lord over all, over heaven and earth, over law and sin, over death and devil; — he is born unto us. He is righteous and fulfills all righteousness for us; he is the Life, and he bruises the head of the prince of death; he takes our every concern upon himself, — for this purpose he is given us; alone he treads the winepress of wrath; he alone slays Goliah, and he destroys Baal and his prophets. God has not consigned us to our wretchedness, but he has had mercy on us and has given us his Son for our Savior, Counsellor, Father, Prince of Peace. We were lost; we were, but are lost no longer; we are saved and blessed. We were in prison, but are free. We were doomed to death, but now eternal life is ours. He has atoned for everything and has brought us righteousness, love, peace and salvation. O my Jesus, how shall I thank thee? My heavenly Father, how shall I thank thee? — “Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given.” Note well the expression, that he is born unto us and given unto us; it is wholly grace, and none shall be without help by reason of unworthiness. It is grace alone, purely and solely, so that every idea of merit or worthiness is excluded. It has come to pass; he is given unto us, unto us who were lost and damned; unto us the child is born, unto us the son is given. This is in very truth joy and salvation.
Truly, God has bestowed on us a great gift. God has done it and the devil cannot defeat it. He shall not succeed in defeating it; neither by the apostles of infidelity about us, nor by the suggestions of infidelity in us. We are saved; the devil is powerless to take away the work which our God has already accomplished. O, how I rejoice in writing this down before the very eyes of the enemy, to the honor and glory of my God! And you, my brother; rejoice when you read these words of God! Midian is defeated, though he deny it never so vehemently; all heavens and all the heavenly host assert it, and I declare it with a heart full of joy unspeakable.
Now, let Christmas, the children’s happy festival, make us childlike; then shall we surely have great joy. If you rightly believed this thing which God has done for you, you would leap up and stand, and walk, and enter into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God. For verily, all your misery is turned to happiness; all your distress, to glory; all your sin, to righteousness; and death now is nothing but life. This is most certainly true; but God hides it from your senses, because he wants you to have faith. I, also, hide the beautiful Bible which my child received as a baptismal present, until he becomes old enough to use it. I have told him that it lies hid in my locker, and he does not doubt it, though he has never seen the book. Yes, blessed are you, if you believe. And now, may you have a most blessed and happy Christmas!
Heavenly Father, who gavest us thy Son; give us the light and grace of thy Holy Spirit, that we may believe; give us grace to believe and to accept the salvation of grace in Christ. Blessed be God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost forevermore! Amen.*
Thy little ones, dear Lord, are we,
And come thy lowly bed to see;
Enlighten every soul and mind,
That we the way to thee may find.
With songs we hasten thee to greet,
And kiss the dust before thy feet.
O blessed hour, O sweetest night,
That gave thee birth, our Soul’s Delight!
O draw us wholly to thee, Lord,
Thou dearest friend, to us accord
Thy grace; Thy faith to us impart,
That we may hold Thee in our heart.
* Here the head of the family says a short morning or evening prayer in his own words, and closes with the Lord’s Prayer and the Benediction. This is to be done every day. If the stanzas are not sung, they may be read in their proper place before the impromptu petition and the Lord’s Prayer.