It's Christmas Eve, so Merry Christmas to you all.

We are going to return to a familiar place, New England, and to a familiar friend, Jonathan Edwards.

In 1736, Edwards preached a sermon, the Excellencies of Christ.

Two years later, he published his second book, and it had five sermons in it.

The fourth sermon in that book was the justice of God and the damnation of sinners.

That sermon vividly, palpably lays forth our need, and the judgment that is to come upon us as children of wrath.

And then comes the fifth sermon, this one on Christ, our Savior, our only hope.

Edwards uses Revelation 5, 5 to 6 as his text. Edwards begins the sermon by saying,

John was told of a lion that had prevailed to open the book,

and he probably expected to see a lion.

But behold, a lamb appears to open the book.

An exceeding diverse kind of creature from a lion, Edward says.

A lion is a devourer, one that makes terrible slaughter of other animals. No creature more easily

falls prey to a lion than a lamb. And then Edwards gives us what he calls the doctrine of this sermon, and it is this.

There is an admirable conjunction of diverse excellencies in Jesus Christ.

And he takes us to the incarnation.

And so on this Christmas Eve,

let's hear what Reverend Edwards has to say

about the doctrine of the incarnation.

Edwards writes, this admirable conjunction of excellencies

appears in what Christ did in taking on him our nature.

In this act, his infinite condescension wonderfully appeared that he that was God should become

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