Speaker 1: The Angel's Song by Charles Simeon Luke two verses thirteen
and fourteen. And suddenly there was with the Angel a
multitude of the heavenly Host, praising God and saying glory
to God in the highest and on earth peace good
will toward men. The circumstances of Our Saviour's birth characterize
in a measure the dispensation which he came to introduce.
The Gospel exhibits a plain yet profound scheme of salvation.
While its great outlines are intelligible to the meanest capacity,
it abounds with the most sublime and inscrutable mysteries. Thus,
in the incarnation of our Lord there was a meanness
which seemed unsuitable to such an occasion, and at the
same time a majesty that was worthy the person and
character of the newborn infant. He was born not in
a palace but a stable, and had only a manger
for his reception. Yet did an angel come from heaven
to announce his birth, and a multitude of the heavenly
host attended to proclaim his praise. In this divine hymn.
The incarnation of Christ is represented in a twofold view
one as a subject for our deepest contemplation. The subject
itself is announced in those words of the Angel to
the shepherds, unto you is born this day in the
city of David, a savior, which is Christ the Lord.
And in honor of this marvelous event, a multitude of
the heavenly host break forth into strains so abrupt as
to need much careful elucidation, and so ardent as to
express as fully as possible what angels feel in the
contemplation of this divine mystery. Behold, peace now exists on earth.
The whole race of man had fallen and were subject
to God's heavy displeasure, nor was there on man's part
any possibility of restoring himself to the divine favour. But
God devised a mode for reconciling the world unto himself.
Through the intervention of his only dear son, on his
co equal, co eternal son, who was the brightness of
his glory and the express image of his person, he
laid our iniquities, and so his justice, being satisfied by
an atonement in our behalf, reconciliation might be affected for
us in perfect consistency with all the divine perfections. Hence
peace was brought down from Heaven to Earth through the
sufferings of our incarnate God, who is therefore emphatically called
the Prince of Peace. Now every sinner in the universe
may have peace with God and in his own conscience,
if only he welcome his Savior into his heart and
believe in him as God's appointed instrument for the salvation
of the world. And now also is revealed goodwill toward men.
The strongest possible evidence of God. God's love to men
was the gift of his only dear son to die
for them. In this view, the incarnation of our blessed
Lord is always spoken of, and Jehovah himself is represented
as commending his love to us in and by this
marvelous event. But far more than this is comprehended in
the expression here used by the Holy Angels. I understand
by it that through the incarnation of Christ, a full
scope is given to the exercise of God's good will
to man, so that it can flow down in the
richest abundance into the soul of everyone that is at
peace with Him. Yes, to every believing soul, will God
manifest himself as he does not unto the world and
dwell in him and abide with him, and give a
spirit of adoption Yea. And the witness of the spirit
to attest to him, the relation in which he stands
to God, and will rejoice over him, to do him good,
retire rejoicing over him with joy, and resting in his love,
and joying over him with singing. There is no expression
of good will which a believing soul is capable of
receiving from God, which shall not more or less be
vouchsafed by God to everyone that is at peace with
Him through faith in Christ. And by all this is
the highest possible glory reflected upon God himself. There is
not a perfection of the Deity which is not honored
by this, Yea, and more honored than ever it was before.
Wisdom and goodness, and power and love had been displayed
before in the formation of angels, and in the blessedness
diffused throughout the whole creation, and the perfect adaptation of
everything to its proper end. Holiness too, and justice had
been rendered conspicuous by the expulsion of all the fallen
angels from heaven and the consigning of them over to
everlasting misery in hell. But there had been no trace
of mercy to be seen in in any corner of
the universe, nor could the highest intelligence in Heaven conceive
how the exercise of this perfection could consist with the
rights of justice. But now the union and harmony of
all the divine perfections was seen through the incarnation and
death of God's only dear son, Justice exercised in a
way of mercy and mercy in a way of justice,
or as the Psalmist expresses it, mercy and truth meeting together,
and righteousness and peace kissing each other. Well, then did
the angels sing glory to God in the Highest They
had seen no peace proclaimed in heaven, no expression of
good will toward the fallen angels, but towards men on earth,
both were most gloriously displayed. Hence, with wonder and admiration,
this blessed assembly pour forth their praises in this appropriate song,
Glory to God in the Highest, Peace on earth, good
will towards men unless we enter fully into it, who
as a mercy devoutly to be acknowledged. The angels, though
in comparison of us they had no interest in this event,
came down from heaven to celebrate and proclaim it. And
shall not we celebrate it, shall so much as one
of us remain indifferent now that the glad tidings of
it are brought to our ears. Consider, I pray you
first your own personal interest in it. Where would all
of you have been if God had not devised and
executed these means for your restoration to his favor. You
had all participated in the guilt of the fallen angels,
and must all have partaken of their misery. What could
you have done more than they to avert or mitigate
your doom? You would have lived only to fill up
the measure of your iniquities, and would then have been reserved,
like those unhappy spirits in chains of darkness, to the
judgment of the great day. But through the substitution of
God's only dear son in your place, and the atonement
He has offered in your behalf, there is not so
much as one of you that may not be reconciled
to God and made an everlasting object of his favor.
In fact, I speak to you at this moment am
an ambassador from God to announce to you these glad tidings.
To me, as His servant is committed the ministry of reconciliation,
to declare that God was in Christ reconciling the world
unto himself, not imputing their trespassers unto them. And at
this very moment, it is as if the Lord Jesus
Christ himself addressed you for as bearing his commission and
actually representing him. I now beseech you all in Christ's stead,
be ye reconciled to God? Will not ye then adore
God for this revelation of his mercy to you? Will
ye not all rise as one man to welcome this
savior and adore him, and to seek through him the
blessings he is come to impart. What if such a
relation of mercy were sent to the fallen angels? Do
you think they would hear it with indifference? Or if
they did hear it with indifference? Is there so much
as one of you that would not say, leave them
to themselves their damnation is Just know then, that in
condemning them, you condemn yourselves. And out of your own
mouth will God condemn you at the last day. But
I hope better things of you, my brethren, And I
call upon you all now at this very moment, in
spirit at least to join the angelic choir, and sing
glory to God in the Highest, who has opened such
a way for the affecting of my reconciliation with Him,
and for these wonderful displays of good will to my
guilty soul. Second, the glory that will accrue to God
from it to all eternity. But for this revelation of
God's mercy to us, there would have been little difference
between Earth and Hell, for God would have been no
more glorified in the one than in the other. But
God is glad glorified in the midst of us. I
trust there are in this very assembly some at least
who have found peace with God and can attest from
their own experience how sweet are the manifestations of His
good will to their souls. And the time is shortly
coming when all shall know the Lord, from the least
to the greatest, and all flesh shall see the salvation
of God. And Oh what a place will this wretched
world then be. What bright manifestations of the Savior will
then be vouchsafed to men. Methinks the visions of Mount
Tabor will then be common upon Earth, and this song
of angels will become the common tone of intercourse between
man and man throughout the whole world. But raise your
thoughts to Heaven, my brethren, and consider for a moment
what is passing there. There are already millions of Redeemed
souls that rest not day or night from these songs
of praise. There the chorus is swelling louder and louder
every day to the accession of saints made perfect. Every
one ha having tuned his harp to the heavenly song,
and bursting forth at his first entrance into Heaven, into
acclamations and hosannas that shall never end. And what shall
we say of that period when all the assembly of
the Redeemed, together with all the Holy Angels, shall join
in one universal, uninterrupted song. Worthy is the Lamb that
was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength,
and honor and glory and blessing. Therefore, blessing and honor
and glory and power be unto him that sitteth upon
the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever. Can you,
my brethren, contemplate that day and not rejoice in the
expectation of it, and long to be found in the
happy number of the Redeemed I call upon you. Then, yea,
I charge you all, in the name of the most
High God, to begin this very day, this heavenly song.
Leave to an ungodly world to make this a season
of carnal festivity, Make ye it a season of holy joy,
a very anticipation of heaven itself application. But I cannot
close the subject without entreating you all to imitate the
conduct of these holy angels. They were not content with
being happy themselves. They sought to promote the happiness of
others by making known to them these glad tidings and
setting them an example of the frame of mind which
they should cultivate. This is the way in which I
would recommend to you, my brethren, to spend this holy season.
Let each, according to his ability, improve the opportunities that
are afforded him, of diffusing far and wide this divine knowledge,
and of stimulating all around him the attainment and the
exercise of this heavenly joy. End of the Angel's Song
by Charles Simeon