"Joy Born at Bethlehem" - Charles Spurgeon

"And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, 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. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger." Luke 2:10-12.

" The key-note of this angelic gospel is joy—

"I bring unto you good tidings of great joy....

  

   The joy which this first gospel preacher spoke of was no mean one, for he said, "I bring you good tidings"—that alone were joy: and not good tidings of joy only, but "good tidings of great joy."   Every word is emphatic, as if to show that the gospel is above all things intended to promote, and will most abundantly create the greatest possible joy in the human heart wherever it is received.... 

Rejoice,  ye who feel that ye are lost; your Saviour comes to seek and save you.    Be of good cheer ye who are in prison, for he comes to set you free.   

Ye who are famished and ready to die, Rejoice that he has consecrated for you a Bethlehem, a house of bread, and he has come to be the bread of life to your souls.

 Rejoice, O sinners, everywhere for the restorer of the castaways, the Saviour of the fallen is born. Join in the joy, ye saints, for he is the preserver of the saved ones, delivering them from innumerable perils, and he is the sure prefecter of such as he preserves. Jesus is no partial Saviour, beginning a work and not concluding it; but, restoring and upholding, he also prefects and presents the saved ones without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing before his Father's throne.

Rejoice aloud all ye people, let your hills and valleys ring with joy, for a Saviour who is mighty to save is born among you.....     

   I say, then, to you who would know the only true peace and lasting joy, come ye to the babe of Bethlehem, in after days the Man of Sorrows, the substitutionary sacrifice for sinners.

Come, ye little children, ye boys and girls, come ye; for he also was a boy.  "The holy child Jesus" is the children's Saviour, and saith still,  "Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not."

Come hither, ye maidens, ye who are still in the morning of your beauty, and, like Mary, rejoice in God your Saviour.    The virgin bore him on her bosom, so come ye and bear him in your hearts,saying, "Unto us a child is born, onto us a son is given."                                                                                                                                       

And you, ye men in the plenitude of your strength, remember how Joseph cared for him, and watched with reverent solicitude his tender years; be you to his cause as a Father and a helper; sanctify your strength to his service.

And ye women advanced in years, ye matrons and widows, come like Anna and bless the Lord that you have seen the salvation of Israel, and ye hoar heads, who like Simeon are ready to depart, come ye and take the Saviour in your arms, adoring him as your Saviour and your all.

Ye shepherds, ye simple hearted, ye who toil for your daily bread, come and adore the Saviour; and stand not back ye wise men, ye who know by experience and who by meditation peer into deep truth, come ye, and like the sages of the East bow low before his presence, and make it your honor to pay honor to Christ the Lord.

  ... May all in this house, through the rich grace of God, be led to do the same, and may they all be thine, great Son of God, in the day of thine appearing, for thy love's sake.  Amen." ~ Charles Spurgeon 

Excerpts from  Charles Spurgeon’s sermon “Joy Born At Bethlehem”

Delivered on December 24th, 1871 at the Metropolitan Tabernacle

To read full sermon transcript click HERE