A Devotional on the Most Glorious of Birthdays by Charles Spurgeon
The Greatest Birthday
The angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. (Luke 2:10)
The birth of Christ should be the subject of supreme joy. We have the angelic warrant for rejoicing because Christ is born. It is a truth so full of joy that it caused the angel who came to announce it to be filled with gladness. . . . Yea, so glad were angels at this gospel that, when the discourse was over, one angel having evangelized and given out the gospel for the day, suddenly a band of choristers appeared and sang an anthem loud and sweet. . . . A multitude of the heavenly host had heard that a chosen messenger had been sent to proclaim the new-born King, and, filled with joy and adoration, they gathered up their strength to pursue him, for they could not let him go to earth alone on such an errand. They overtook him just as he had reached the last word of his discourse. . . .
The word made flesh means hope for the human race, notwithstanding its fall. The race is not to be outlawed . . . , for, lo, the Lord hath married into the race, and the Son of God has become the Son of man. This is enough to make all that is within us sing for joy. . . .
Further, it is clear that if God condescends to be so intimately allied with humankind, he intends to deliver man, and to bless him. Incarnation prophesies salvation. . . . When God stoops down to man, it must mean that man is to be lifted up to God. What joy there is in this! . . .
Journey to Bethlehem
Leland Ryken
In this collection of 30 Christmas hymns, poems, and prose, literary expert Leland Ryken highlights how each passage is edifying and stylistically satisfying—allowing Christians to experience these classic works in a fresh way.
The angel further went on to give these shepherds cause for joy by telling them that while their Savior was born to be the Lord, yet he was so born in lowliness that they would find him a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. Is there cause of joy there? I say indeed there is, for it is the terror of the Godhead which keeps the sinner oftentimes away from reconciliation; but see how the Godhead hath graciously concealed itself in a babe. . . . Who ever heard of trembling in the presence of a babe? Yet is the Godhead there. . . .
Nor is this all. The angel called for joy, and I ask for it too, on this ground, that the birth of this child was to bring glory to God in the highest, on earth peace, good will toward men. The birth of Christ has given such glory to God as I know not that he could ever have had by any other means. . . .
I have shown you that there was room enough for joy to the shepherds, but you and I, who live in later days, when we understand the whole business of salvation, ought to be even more glad than they were, though they glorified and praised God for all the things that they had heard and seen. Come, my brethren, let us at least do as much as these simple shepherds, and exult with our whole souls.
A Bridge Between Christmas and Today
Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834–1892) of the British Victorian era is one of the most famous preachers of all time. The excerpted passage gives a glimpse of the brilliance of his thinking and mastery of words, but in addition Spurgeon was a master orator whose pulpit presence held his congregation at Metropolitan Tabernacle in London spellbound. As we assimilate the passage printed here, we should imagine ourselves present in London in a congregation of five thousand on December 24, 1876.
Spurgeon’s meditation keeps the focus on the announced subject, which is why we should be supremely happy about the birth of Christ. It is a simple idea, but Spurgeon keeps unfolding more and more nuances, until we begin to think that the subject is inexhaustible. The starting point is the message of the angels to the shepherds. After telling the shepherds not to fear, the angel states reasons why the shepherds should not fear. The first reason is that the angel is bringing tidings of great joy. Spurgeon then follows the path of the angel’s further statements, evolving a whole string of reasons why the coming of Jesus is the supreme joy. A sense of suspense builds up, as we hang on the author’s words to find out what the next reason for joy is.
Come, my brethren, let us at least do as much as these simple shepherds, and exult with our whole souls.
In addition to this genius for organization and construction, the imaginative flair of the performance makes this more than a conventional devotional. In the opening paragraph, for example, Spurgeon makes the joining of the first angel with a host of angels come alive with a fictional story. This, in turn, is enlivened by bridge-building between the original Christmas and our own day. Thus the first angel is said to have given out the gospel for the day, as though he were a preacher on Sunday morning. The late-arriving angels, called a band of choristers, are imagined as not wanting to miss out on the excitement of a trip to earth, and therefore hurrying to make it in time for the last sentence of the first angel’s message.
Such imaginative touches enliven the whole passage. For example, Jesus married into the [human] race. Often these touches become aphoristic (expressed as concise and memorable statements that are impossible to forget): incarnation prophesies salvation; or when God stoops down to man, it must mean that man is to be lifted up to God. And at the end we are left with a challenge to do at least as much as the shepherds did when they exulted with their whole souls.1
As we leave Spurgeon’s meditation, we can continue to think about how the birth of Jesus is a cause for supreme joy in our own lives and at this season of the year.
Spurgeon’s goal is to lead us to tally up our reasons for being joyful at Christmastime. Paul’s prayer in Romans 15:13 encapsulates that same wish:
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
Notes:
- The excerpt from Charles Spurgeon’s sermon “The Great Birthday” was taken from Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit Volume 22 (London: Passmore and Alabaster, 1876). The sermon is available on multiple public domain websites.
This article is adapted from Journey to Bethlehem: A Treasury of Classic Christmas Devotionals Leland Ryken.
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