"Glory to God in the highest, On earth peace, good will toward men."
You know what "good will" means. Well, all that it means, and more, God has towards you, you sons and daughters of Adam. You who swear, you who have cursed God; yet He has not executed His curse on you; He has good will towards you, though you have no good will towards Him. Unbeliever, you have sinned greatly and your sin has been unrelenting against the Most High; He has said no unmerciful things against you, for He has good will towards men. Poor sinner, you have broken His laws; you are half afraid to come to the throne of His mercy for fear that He would reject you; hear this, and be comforted--God has good will towards men, so "good" a will that He has said, and said it with an oath too, "As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die?" (Ezekiel 33:11 ). Moreover, so "good" a will that He has even condescended to say, "Come now, let us reason together. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool" (Isaiah 1:18 ). And if you say, "Lord, how will I know that You have this good will towards me," He points to the distant manger, and says, "Sinner, if I did not have a good will towards you, would I have parted with my Son? If I did not have a good will towards the human race, would I have given up my Son to become one of that race that He might by so doing redeem them from death?" You that doubt the Master's love, you look to that circle of angels; see their blaze of glory; hear their song, and let your doubts die away in that sweet music and be buried in a veil of harmony. He has good will towards men; He is willing to pardon; He passes by evil, misbehavior, and sin.
