NEW TESTAMENT. THE BIRTH OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: And He shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of HE LORD JESUS CHRIST is the Son of God. He came down on earth to save us from the punishment due to our sins; for He, being holy and entirely without sin, took upon Himself the pain and bore the chastisement that we ought to have suffered; therefore He is called the Saviour of mankind, and the Redeemer. It is through Him, and through Him alone, that we hope to be taken to heaven when we die; and thus it is that when we pray to God, we ask for everything "for Christ's sake." I have now to tell you of the life and teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ, of His lovingkindness and mercy, and of His love for little children. Jesus was born at Bethlehem, in the province of Judæa, in the days of King Herod. His mother's name was Mary: she belonged to the family of King David. Her husband was Joseph, a carpenter, a good and just man; but the Lord Jesus Christ was not the son of Joseph, He was the Son of God. When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, a star appeared to certain wise men in the East, and they became aware that the Christ or Saviour-the King who had been promised to the Jews--had been born. They, therefore, came to Jerusalem, and inquired, "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.” Now the Jews were at this time under the dominion of the Romans; and when Herod, the Roman King of Judæa, heard of this, he inquired of the chief priests and elders where it had been prophesied that Christ should be born. And he charged the wise men to return and let him know when they had found Christ. So they continued their journey till they came to Bethlehem, where they found the child Jesus, with Joseph, and Mary his mother. And they worshipped Him, and made Him offerings of gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. They were warned by God in a dream not to go back to Herod, so they returned into their own land without telling Herod where the young King of the Jews was to be found. Then the cruel and wicked Herod determined to find out where the child was, that he might slay it. And Joseph saw the angel of the Lord appearing to him in a dream; and the angel commanded him to take Mary and the young child, and to carry them away into Egypt, that they might be safe from the malice and rage of Herod. Then Joseph arose, and took Mary and the child by night, and fled with them into Egypt; nor did he return from thence until after Herod's death. As for Herod, he was exceedingly angry when he heard that the wise men had gone home without telling him where the child was. He longed to kill him, and in order that he might not fail to do so, he ordered soldiers to go forth and slay all the little children in and around Bethlehem. Thus a multitude of little innocents, all under two years of age, were put to death by order of this cruel king; and you may fancy what weeping and lamentation there was among the poor mothers, whose children were torn from them by Herod's servants and |