The Angels Appear to the Shepherds Of Bethlehem

In the beginning of Church History: The Appearance of the Angels to the Shepherds Of Bethlehem, And the "Gloria In Excelsis,"(Doxology) Luke 2:8–20.
Here we have the official announcement and first publishing of our Savior's birth to the world: The angel said unto the shepherds, I bring you glad tidings, a Savior is born.
The messenger employed by God to publish the joyful news of a Savior's birth; the holy angels, heavenly messengers going about doing a heavenly work: it is worth noticing, how serviceable the angels were to Christ upon all occasions, when he was here upon earth; an angel declares his conception; a host of angels publish his birth; in his temptation, an angel strengthens him; in his agony, an angel comforts him; at his resurrection, an angel rolls away the stone from the door of the sepulchre; at his ascension, the angels attend him up to heaven; and at his second coming to judge the world, he shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels. And great reason there is that the angels should be this efficient in their attendances upon Christ, who is a head of confirmation to them, as he was a head of redemption to fallen man.
The persons, to whom this joyful message of a Savior's birth is first brought, are the shepherds; The angel said unto the shepherds, Fear not.

1. Because Christ, the great shepherd of his church, had come into the world.

2. Because he was originally promised to shepherds, the old patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, whose occupations were as shepherds.

The time when these shepherds had the honor of this revelation; it was not when they were asleep on their beds of idleness and sloth, but when they were lying abroad, and watching their flocks. The blessings of heaven usually meet us in the way of an honest and industrious diligence; whereas the idle are fit for nothing but temptation to work upon. If these shepherds had been snoring in their beds, they had no more seen angels, nor yet heard the news of a Savior, than their neighbors.
The nature and quality of the message which the angel brought; it was a message of joy, a message of great joy, a message of great joy unto all people. For here was born a Son, that Son a Prince, that Prince a Savior, that Savior not a particular Savior of the Jews only, but a universal Savior, whose salvation is to the ends of the earth. Well might the angel call it a message, or glad tidings of great joy unto all people!
The ground and occasion of this joy, the foundation of all this good news, which was proclaimed in the ears of a lost world; and that was, the birth of a Savior; Unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.
Notes:
1. The incarnation and birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, and his manifestation in our flesh and nature, was and is matter of exceeding joy and rejoicing unto all people.

2. That the great end and design of our Lord's incarnation and coming into the world, was to be the Savior of lost sinners; "Unto you is born a Savior, which is Christ the Lord."5

This shall be a sign (or token) unto you - You shall find this glorious person, however strange it may appear, wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a stable! It is by humility that Christ comes to reign; and this is the only way into his kingdom! Pride is the character of all the children of Adam: humility the mark of the Son of God, and of all his followers. Christ came in the way of humility to destroy that pride which is the root of evil in the souls of men. And thus, according to the old medical aphorism, "Opposites are destroyed by their opposites."
Suddenly there was with the angel, a multitude of the heavenly host had just now descended from on high, to honor the new-born Prince of peace, to give his parents the fullest conviction of his glory and excellence, and to teach the shepherds, who were about to be the first proclaimers of the Gospel, what to think and what to speak of him, who, while he appeared as a helpless infant, was the object of worship to the angels of God.
Glory be to God in the highest; on earth peace; good will toward men - The shouts of the multitude are generally broken into short sentences. This rejoicing acclamation strongly represents the piety and benevolence of these heavenly spirits: as if they had said, Glory be to God in the highest heavens: let all the angelic legions resound his praises. For with the Redeemer's birth, peace and all kind of happiness, come down to dwell on earth: yea, the overflowing of Divine good will and favor are now exercised toward men.
The shepherds no sooner heard the news of a Savior, but they ran to Bethlehem to seek him; and though it was at midnight, they did not wait till morning to go. Those that left their beds to attend their flocks, now leave their flocks to inquire after their Savior. A gracious soul no sooner hears where Christ is, but instantly makes out after him, and judges no earthly comfort too dear to be left and forsaken for him. These shepherds showed that they preferred their Savior before their sheep.
These shepherds having found Christ themselves, made him known to others, When they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying, which was told them concerning this child. Those that have found Christ’s comfort, and tasted that the Lord is gracious to themselves, cannot but recommend him to the love and admiration of others.
What effect did this relation have upon the generality of people that heard it? They were amazed and astonished, but did not have faith: The people wondered, but believed not. It is not the hearing of Christ with the hearing of the ear, nor the seeing of Christ with the sight of the outward eye; neither the hearing of his doctrine, nor the sight of his miracles, will work divine faith in the soul, without the concurring operation of the Holy Spirit; the one may make us marvel, but the other makes us believe. All that heard it wondered at these things.
Lastly, note, the effect which these things had upon Mary, quite different from what they had upon the common people; they wondered, she pondered; the things that affected their heads, influenced her heart: She kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.5
The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising - These simple men, having satisfactory evidence of the truth of the good tidings, and feeling a Divine influence upon their own minds, returned to the care of their flocks, glorifying God for what he had shown them, and for the blessedness which they felt. "Jesus Christ, born of a woman, laid in a stable, proclaimed and ministered to by the heavenly host, should be a subject of frequent contemplation to the pastors of his Church. After having compared the predictions of the prophets with the facts stated in the evangelic history, their own souls being hereby confirmed in these sacred truths, they will return to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for what they had seen and heard in the Gospel history, just as it had been told them in the writings of the prophets; and, preaching these mysteries with the fullest conviction of their truth, they become instruments in the hands of God of begetting the same faith in their hearers; and thus the glory of God and the happiness of his people are both promoted." What subjects for contemplation! - what matter for praise!1