Page:Spiritual Reflections for Every Day in the Year - Vol 1.pdf/322

 Jesus is a name, signifying Saviour. Nothing can save men from sin and its defiling effects, but divine truth; and as Jesus is the true light that enlighteneth every man who cometh into the world, so He, as the living truth, is first seen wrapped in the swaddling clothes. These being the first coverings of our Lord, were the emblems of the first truths of innocence which inclose the divine form. None but wise men, whose love of all that is good, pure, and true, could be captivated by the truths of innocence which shew forth the living truth in all its loveliness and beauty. At the sight of Jesus in swaddling clothes, all the workings of celestial and spiritual affections were actively alive in the souls of the wise men, causing that prostration of holy worship which ended in the offering of the best fruits of their hearts, signified by the gold, frankincense, and myrrh, which they presented. The Jewish church, at the Messiah's coming, was sunk in mere ceremonials and vain traditions—they drew near to the Lord in lip-worship, while their hearts were far from Him. There was no room in the inn for Jesus! In their church or place of spiritual refreshment, there was no room for innocence and its vestments, because hypocrisy and worldly-mindedness occupied the holy place—the house of prayer had become a den of thieves and revellers! Hence, to present that fact outwardly, the Lord is placed in a manger, "because there was no room for him in the inn." The manger, from which HORSES feed, denotes instruction from which the understandings of men derive their spiritual nourishment and growth; the understanding, in scripture, being signified by the horse, and called "the horse of the people," which, when perverted by error and false-