Him to whose care His people owe their safety amid the temptations,
and their support amid the trials of life, these shepherds were
watching their flocks; peering through the gloom of night; listening
for the stealthy step of the robber; ready, starting to their feet, to
beat off the sneaking wolf, or bravely battle with the roaring lion.

He whose sun shines as brightly on the lowliest as on the stateliest
flower, regards with complacency the humblest man who wins his daily
bread, and discharges the duties of his station, whatever they be, in
such a way as to glorify God and be of advantage to his
fellow-creatures. Heaven, as this case brilliantly illustrates, is
never nearer men, nor are they ever nearer it, than in those fields or
workshops, where, with honest purpose and a good conscience, they are
diligently pursuing their ordinary avocations. No doubt--for God does
not cast His pearls before swine--these shepherds were pious men. One
passing a night in their humble dwellings would have seen the father
with reverent mien gather his household to prayer; and one passing
these uplands, where they held their watch, might have heard their
voices swaying on the midnight air, as they sang together the psalms
of David amid the very scenes where he tuned his harp and fed his
father's flocks. But people are too apt to suppose that religion lies
mainly, if not exclusively, in prayers, reading the Bible, listening
to sermons, and attending on sacraments; in time spent, or work done,
or offerings made, or sacrifices endured, for what are called, in
common language, religious objects. These are the means, not the end.
He who rises from his knees to his daily task, and, with an eye not so
much to please men as God, does it well, carries divine worship to the
workshop, and throws a sacred halo around the ordinary secularities of
life. That, indeed, may be the highest expression of religion; just as
it is the highest expression of devoted loyalty to leave the precincts
of the court and the presence of the sovereign, to endure the
hardships of a campaign, and stand in soiled and tattered regimentals
by the king's colours amid the deadly hail of battle. He who goes to
common duties in a devout and Christian spirit proves his loyalty to
God; and, as this case proves, is of all men the most likely to be
favoured with tokens of the Divine presence--communications of grace
which will sustain his patience under a life of toil, and fit him