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664 His place of birth a solemn Angel tells

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To simple shepherds, keeping watch by night ;

And there were some shepherds in that country who were then lying out in the field, and watching in their turns, over the flock by night; which it was necessary they should do, to guard against the wolves and other beasts of prey which were common there. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them; and they were sore afraid.

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. Luke ii. 8, 9, 10, 11.

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Virgin Mother, hail

High in the love of Heaven;

66 Hail, thou that art highly favoured;" The Lord is with thee; blessed art thou amongst Luke i: 28.

women.

so God with man unites!
And the Lord God shall give unto him the
throne of his father David. And he shall reign
over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his
kingdom there shall be no end. Luke, i. 32,

33.

394 Not by destroying Satan, but his work

In thee, and in thy seed:

For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. John, iii. 8.

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402 The law of God exact he shall fulfil Both by obedience and by love,

He became obedient unto death. Phil. ii. 8. 408 Proclaiming life to all who shall believe In his redemption;

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And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life, and I will raise him up at the last day. John, vi. 40.

Death over him no power

Shall long usurp ;

No more let us return under the power of that spiritual death, from which Christ, at the price of his own life, hath delivered us; but let us live to God, solemnly presenting our bodies and our souls to him, to be honoured as the instruments of his service, and employing each our proper members, according to its proper office for his glory. We are alive from the dead, we are raised by a divine power: Let us, therefore, daily set ourselves as in the presence of the God of our renewed lives, and account that time lost in which we are not acting for him.

ere the third dawning light · Return, the stars of morn shall see him rise

As it began to dawn the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalen and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. And, behold, there was a great earthquake; for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door and sat upon it. And the angel said unto the woman, Fear not ye, ye seek Jesus which was crucified. Come see the place where

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the Lord lay. And go quickly and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and behold he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him; lo, I have told you.

men who in his life

Still followed him ;

Ye are they which have continued with me in my temptations. Luke, xxii. 28.

445 For death, like that which the Redeemer died

And Jesus says unto them, you shall indeed both of you drink of this my cup, of which I am to drink, and to be baptized with the baptism of extreme sufferings with which I am to be baptized; for you shall endure great extremities for the sake of my gospel, and hazard your lives in its defence.

452 With victory, triumphing through the air Over his foes and thine;

Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive. Ps. lxviii. 18.

460 With glory and power to judge both quick and dead;

And then he shall send his angels and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven. Mark, xiii. 27. 486 He to his own a comforter will send

These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I

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have said unto you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. John, xiv. 25, 26, 27.

Satan's assaults

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able to resist

Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil, and to quench all his fiery darts. Ephes. vi. 11. 16. For the Spirit,

Pour'd first on his Apostles,

And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues, like as of fire and it sat upon each of them:

And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. Acts, ii. 2, 3, 4. 568 Wolves shall succeed for teachers grievous wolves.

After my departure shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Acts, xx.

29.

514 Though not but by the Spirit understood

But in the mean time, vain and foolish men find a great deal in our preaching to cavil at, and object against. And it is no wonder they do; for the animal man, who continues under the influence of his passions, and is a stranger to the noble exercises and principles of the divine life, receiveth not with any inward relish or sense the things of the Spirit of God, which are too sublime

and refined for his low and degenerate taste; for in proportion to the degree in which they are full of divine wisdom, they will appear foolishness to him; neither can he rightly understand them whilst he continues in his present state, and under such unhappy prejudices as these: for they are spiritually discerned, and a man must have a spiritual taste, formed by the influences of the Holy Spirit upon his heart, before he will thoroughly enter into their excellence. Cor. ii. 14. 525 But force the Spirit of grace itself, and bind His consort liberty?

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Now the Lord Jesus Christ is that spirit of the law of which I spake before, to whom the letter of it was intended to lead the Jews; and it is the office of the Spirit of God, as the great agent in his kingdom, to direct the minds of men to it. And let him be universally sought in this view; for where the spirit of the Lord is there is liberty: a more liberal and filial disposition, to which, under the influence and operation of the Spirit, the gospel brings those who were subject to bondage, under the imperfect dispensation of the law of Moses. 2 Cor. iii. 17.

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Nevertheless, when the Son of man, having been put in possession of his glorious kingdom, comes to appear for this important purpose, will he find faith in the land? The persecution will be so severe as almost to bear it down; but let the remembrance of what I have now spoken be a

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