Brother, put thy hand out from the darkness and clasp His, and 'the darkness shall be light about thee'; and He will fulfil His own promise when He said, 'I am the Light of the world. He that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the Light of life.

SHEPHERDS AND ANGELS

'And there were in the same country shepherds abiding
in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
9. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and
the glory of the Lord shone round about them; and they
were sore afraid. 10. And the angel said unto them,
Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of
great joy, which shall be to all people. 11. For unto
you is born this day, in the city of David, a Saviour,
which is Christ the Lord. 12. And this shall be a sign
unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling
clothes, lying in a manger. 13. And suddenly there was
with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising
God, and saying, 14. Glory to God in the highest, and
on earth peace, good will toward men. 15. And it came
to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into
heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now
go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is
come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.
16. And they came with haste, and found Mary and
Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. 17. And when
they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying
which was told them concerning this child. 18. And all
they that heard it wondered at those things which were
told them by the shepherds. 19. But Mary kept all
these things, and pondered them in her heart. 20. And
the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God
for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it
was told unto them.'--LUKE ii. 8-20.

The central portion of this passage is, of course, the angels' message and song, the former of which proclaims the transcendent fact of the Incarnation, and the latter hymns its blessed results. But, subsidiary to these, the silent vision which preceded them and the visit to Bethlehem which followed are to be noted. Taken together, they cast varying gleams on the great fact of the birth of Jesus Christ.