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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1721)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>M A T T H E W.</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. II.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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In this chapter, we have the history of our Saviour's infancy, where we
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find how early he began to suffer, and that in him the word of
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righteousness was fulfilled, before he himself began to fulfil all
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righteousness. Here is,
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I. The wise men's solicitous enquiry after Christ,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+2:1-8">ver. 1-8</A>.
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II. Their devout attendance on him, when they found out where he was,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+2:9-12">ver. 9-12</A>.
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III. Christ's flight into Egypt, to avoid the cruelty of Herod,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+2:13-15">ver. 13-15</A>.
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IV. The barbarous murder of the infants of Bethlehem,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+2:16-18">ver. 16-18</A>.
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V. Christ's return out of Egypt into the land of Israel again,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+2:19-23">ver. 19-23</A>.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Mt2_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Mt2_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Mt2_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Mt2_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Mt2_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Mt2_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Mt2_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Mt2_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Wise Men Come to Jerusalem.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TR><TD><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of
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Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to
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Jerusalem,
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2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we
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have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.
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3 When Herod the king had heard <I>these things,</I> he was
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troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
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4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of
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the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be
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born.
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5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judea: for thus it
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is written by the prophet,
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6 And thou Bethlehem, <I>in</I> the land of Juda, art not the least
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among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor,
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that shall rule my people Israel.
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7 Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired
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of them diligently what time the star appeared.
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8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search
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diligently for the young child; and when ye have found <I>him,</I>
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bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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It was a <I>mark of humiliation</I> put upon the Lord Jesus that,
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though he was the <I>Desire of all nations,</I> yet his coming into the
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world was little observed and taken notice of, his birth was obscure
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and unregarded: herein he emptied himself, and made himself of no
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reputation. If the Son of God must be brought into the world, one might
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justly expect that he should be received with all the ceremony
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possible, that crowns and sceptres should immediately have been laid at
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his feet, and that the high and mighty princes of the world should have
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been his humble servants; such a Messiah as this the Jews expected, but
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we see none of all this; he <I>came into the world,</I> and the
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<I>world knew him not;</I> nay, he <I>came to his own,</I> and <I>his
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own received him not;</I> for having undertaken to make satisfaction to
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his Father for the wrong done him <I>in his honour</I> by the sin of
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man, he did it by denying himself in, and despoiling himself of, the
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honours undoubtedly due to an incarnate Deity; yet, as afterward, so in
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his birth, some rays of glory darted forth in the midst of the greatest
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instances of his abasement. Though <I>there was the hiding of his
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power,</I> yet he had <I>horns coming out of his hand</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Hab+3:4">Hab. iii. 4</A>)
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enough to condemn the world, and the Jews especially, for their
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stupidity.</P>
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<P>
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The first who took notice of Christ after his birth were the shepherds
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+2:15">Luke ii. 15</A>,
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&c.), who saw and heard glorious things concerning him, and <I>made
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them known abroad,</I> to the amazement of all that heard them,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+2:17,18"><I>v.</I> 17, 18</A>.
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After that, Simeon and Ann a spoke of him, by the Spirit, to all that
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were disposed to heed what they said,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+2:38">Luke ii. 38</A>.
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Now, one would think, these hints should have been taken by the men of
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Judah and the <I>inhabitants of Jerusalem,</I> and they should with
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both arms have embraced the long-looked-for Messiah; but, for aught
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that appears, he continued nearly two years after at Bethlehem, and no
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further notice was taken of him till these wise men came. Note, Nothing
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will awaken those that are resolved to be regardless. Oh the amazing
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stupidity of these Jews! And no less that of many who are called
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Christians! Observe,</P>
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<P>
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I. When this enquiry was made concerning Christ. It was <I>in the days
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of Herod the king.</I> This Herod was an Edomite, made king of Judea by
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Augustus and Antonius, the then chief rulers of the Roman state, a man
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made up of falsehood and cruelty; yet he was complimented with the
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title of <I>Herod the Great.</I> Christ was born in the 35th year of
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his reign, and notice is taken of this, to show that the <I>sceptre</I>
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had now <I>departed from Judah,</I> and <I>the lawgiver from between
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his feet;</I> and therefore now was the time for Shiloh to come, and
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<I>to him shall the gathering of the people be:</I> witness these wise
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men,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+49:10">Gen. xlix. 10</A>.</P>
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<P>
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II. Who and what these <I>wise men</I> were; they are here called
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<B><I>Magoi</I></B>--<I>Magicians.</I> Some that it in a good sense; the
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<I>Magi</I> among the <I>Persians</I> were their philosophers and their
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priests; nor would they admit any one for their king who had not first
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been enrolled among the <I>Magi;</I> others think they dealt in
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unlawful arts; the word is used of Simon, the sorcerer
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+8:9,11">Acts viii. 9, 11</A>),
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and of Elymas, the sorcerer
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+13:6">Acts xiii. 6</A>),
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nor does the scripture use it in any other sense; and then it was an
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early instance and presage of Christ's victory over the devil, when
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those who had been so much his devotees became the early adorers even
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of the infant Jesus; so soon were trophies of his victory over the
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powers of darkness erected. Well, whatever sort of wise men they were
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before, now they began to be <I>wise men</I> indeed when they set
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themselves to enquire after Christ.</P>
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<P>
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This we are sure of,
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1. That they were Gentiles, and not belonging to the commonwealth of
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Israel. The Jews regarded not Christ, but these Gentiles enquired him
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out. Note, Many times those who are nearest to the means, are furthest
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from the end. See
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+8:11,12"><I>ch.</I> viii. 11, 12</A>.
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The respect paid to Christ by these Gentiles was a happy presage and
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specimen of what would follow when those who were <I>afar off</I>
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should be <I>made nigh by Christ.</I>
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2. That they were <I>scholars.</I> They dealt in arts, curious arts;
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good scholars should be good Christians, and <I>then</I> they complete
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their <I>learning</I> when they <I>learn Christ.</I>
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3. That they were <I>men of the east,</I> who were noted for their
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<I>soothsaying,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+2:6">Isa. ii. 6</A>.
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Arabia is called the land of <I>the east</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+25:6">Gen. xxv. 6</A>),
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and the <I>Arabians</I> are called <I>men of the east,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jdg+6:3">Judg. vi. 3</A>.
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The presents they brought were the products of that country; the
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Arabians had done homage to David and Solomon as types of Christ.
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Jethro and Job were of that country. More than this we have not to say
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of them. The traditions of the Romish church are frivolous, that they
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were in number three (though one of the ancients says that they were
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fourteen), that they were kings, and that they lie buried in Colen,
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thence called the <I>three kings of Colen;</I> we covet not to be wise
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above what is written.</P>
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<P>
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III. What induced them to make this enquiry. They, in their country,
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which was in the <I>east,</I> had seen an <I>extraordinary star,</I>
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such as they had not seen before; which they took to be an indication
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of an extraordinary person born in the land of <I>Judea,</I> over which
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land this star was seen to hover, in the nature of a comet, or a meteor
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rather, in the lowers regions of the air; this differed so much from
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any thing that was common that they concluded it to signify something
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uncommon. Note, Extraordinary appearances of God in the creatures
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should put us upon enquiring after his mind and will therein; Christ
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foretold <I>signs in the heavens.</I> The birth of Christ was notified
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to the Jewish shepherds by <I>an angel,</I> to the Gentile philosophers
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by a <I>star:</I> to both God spoke in their own language, and in the
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way they were best acquainted with. Some think that the light which the
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shepherds saw shining round about them, the night after Christ was
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born, was the very same which to the wise men, who lived at such a
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distance, appeared as a star; but this we cannot easily admit, because
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the same star which they had seen in the <I>east</I> they saw a great
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while after, leading them to the house where Christ lay; it was a
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candle set up on purpose to guide them to Christ. The idolaters
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worshipped the stars as the <I>host of heaven,</I> especially the
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<I>eastern</I> nations, whence the planets have the names of their
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idol-gods; we read of a particular <I>star</I> they had in veneration,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Am+5:26">Amos v. 26</A>.
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Thus the stars that had been misused came to be put to the right use,
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to lead men to Christ; the gods of the heathen became his servants.
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Some think this star put them in mind of Balaam's prophecy, that a star
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should come out of Jacob, pointing at a <I>sceptre,</I> that shall
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<I>rise out of Israel;</I> see
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Nu+24:17">Num. xxiv. 17</A>.
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Balaam came from the <I>mountains of the east,</I> and was one of their
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<I>wise men.</I> Others impute their enquiry to the general expectation
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entertained at that time, in those <I>eastern</I> parts, of some great
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prince to appear. Tacitus, in his history (<I>lib.</I> 5), takes notice
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of it; <I>Pluribus persuasio inerat, antiquis sacerdotum literis
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contineri, eo ipso tempore fore, ut valesceret oriens, profectique
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Judæa rerum potirentur--A persuasion existed in the minds of many
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that some ancient writings of the priests contained a prediction that
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about that time an eastern power would prevail, and that persons
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proceeding from Judea would obtain dominion. Suetonius</I> also, in the
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life of <I>Vespasian,</I> speaks of it; so that this extraordinary
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phenomenon was construed as pointing to <I>that king;</I> and we may
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suppose a divine impression made upon their minds, enabling them to
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interpret this star as a signal given by Heaven of the birth of
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Christ.</P>
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<P>
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IV. How they prosecuted this enquiry. <I>They came from the</I> east to
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Jerusalem, in further quest of this prince. Wither shall they come to
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enquire for the king of the Jews, but to Jerusalem, the mother-city,
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<I>whither the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord?</I> They might
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have said, "If such a prince be born, we shall hear of him shortly in
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our own country, and it will be time enough then to pay our homage to
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him." But so impatient were they to be better acquainted with him, that
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they took a long journey on purpose to enquire after him. Note, Those
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who truly desire to know Christ, and find him, will not regard pains or
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perils in seeking after him. <I>Then shall we know, if we follow on to
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know the Lord.</I></P>
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<P>
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Their question is, <I>Where is he that is born king of the Jews?</I>
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They do not ask, <I>whether there were such a one born?</I> (they are
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sure of that, and speak of it with assurance, so strongly was it set
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home upon their hearts); but, <I>Where is he born?</I> Note, Those who
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know <I>something</I> of Christ cannot but covet to <I>know more</I> of
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him. They call Christ the <I>King of the Jews,</I> for so the Messiah
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was expected to be: and he is Protector and Ruler of all the spiritual
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Israel, he is <I>born a King.</I></P>
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<P>
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To this question they doubted not but to have a ready answer, and to
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find all Jerusalem worshipping at the feet of this new king; but they
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come from door to door with this question, and no man can give them any
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information. Note, There is more gross ignorance in the world, and in
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the church too, than we are aware of. Many that we think should direct
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us to Christ are themselves strangers to him. They ask, as the spouse
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of the daughters of Jerusalem, <I>Saw ye him whom my soul loveth?</I>
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But they are never the wiser. However, like the spouse, they pursue the
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enquiry, <I>Where is he that is born king of the Jews?</I> Are they
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asked, "Why do ye make this enquiry?" It is because they have <I>seen
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his star in the east.</I> Are they asked, "What business have ye with
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him? What have the men of the <I>east</I> to do with the <I>King of the
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Jews?</I>" They have their answer ready, <I>We are come to worship
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him.</I> They conclude he will, in process of time, be <I>their
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king,</I> and therefore they will betimes ingratiate themselves with
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him and with those about him. Note, Those in whose hearts the day-star
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is risen, to give them any thing of the knowledge of Christ, must make
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it their business to worship him. Have we seen Christ's star? Let us
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study to give him honour.</P>
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<P>
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V. How this enquiry was treated at Jerusalem. News of it at last came
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to court; and <I>when Herod heard it he was troubled,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+2:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>.
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He could not be a stranger to the prophecies of the <I>Old
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Testament,</I> concerning the Messiah and his kingdom, and the times
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fixed for his appearing by Daniel's weeks; but, having himself reigned
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so long and so successfully, he began to hope that those promises would
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for ever fail, and that his kingdom would be established and
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perpetuated in spite of them. What a damp therefore must it needs be
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upon him, to hear talk of this King being born, now, when the time
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fixed for his appearing had come! Note, Carnal wicked hearts dread
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nothing so much as the fulfilling of the scriptures.</P>
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<P>
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But though Herod, an Edomite, was troubled, one would have thought
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Jerusalem should rejoice greatly to hear that her King comes; yet, it
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seems, <I>all Jerusalem,</I> except the few there that <I>waited for
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the consolation of Israel, were troubled with</I> Herod, and were
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apprehensive of I know not what ill consequences of the birth of this
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new king, that it would involve them in war, or restrain their lusts;
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they, for their parts, desired no king but Herod; no, not the Messiah
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himself. Note, The slavery of sin is foolishly preferred by many to the
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glorious liberty of the children of God, only because they apprehend
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some present difficulties attending that necessary revolution of the
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government in the soul. Herod and Jerusalem were thus troubled, from a
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mistaken notion that the kingdom of the Messiah would clash and
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interfere with the secular powers; whereas the star that proclaimed him
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king plainly intimated that his kingdom was heavenly, and not of this
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lower world. Note, The reason why the kings of the earth, and the
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people, oppose the kingdom of Christ, is because they do not know it,
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but err concerning it.</P>
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<P>
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VI. What assistance they met with in this enquiry from the scribes and
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the priests,
|
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+2:4-6"><I>v.</I> 4-6</A>.
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Nobody can pretend to tell where the King of the Jews is, but Herod
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enquires where it was expected <I>he should be born.</I> The persons he
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consults are, the chief priests, who were teachers by office; and the
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scribes, who made it their business to study the law; their <I>lips
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must keep knowledge,</I> but then the people must <I>enquire the law at
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their mouth,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mal+2:7">Mal. ii. 7</A>.
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It was generally known that Christ should be <I>born at Bethlehem</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+7:42">John vii. 42</A>);
|
|
|
|
but Herod would have counsel's opinion upon it, and therefore applies
|
|
himself to the proper persons; and, that he might be the better
|
|
satisfied, he has them altogether, <I>all the chief priests, and all
|
|
the scribes;</I> and <I>demands of them</I> what was the place,
|
|
according to the scriptures of the Old Testament, <I>where Christ
|
|
should be born?</I> Many a good question is put with an ill design, so
|
|
was this by Herod.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
The priests and scribes need not take any long time to give an answer
|
|
to this query; nor do they differ in their opinion, but all agree that
|
|
the Messiah must be <I>born in Bethlehem, the city of David,</I> here
|
|
called <I>Bethlehem of Judea,</I> to distinguish it from another city
|
|
of the same name in the land of Zebulun,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+19:15">Josh. xix. 15</A>.
|
|
|
|
<I>Bethlehem</I> signifies the <I>house of bread;</I> the fittest place
|
|
for him to be born in who is the true manna, <I>the bread which came
|
|
down from heaven,</I> which was <I>given for the life of the world.</I>
|
|
The proof they produce is taken from
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mic+5:2">Mic. v. 2</A>,
|
|
|
|
where it is foretold that though <I>Bethlehem be little among the
|
|
thousands of Judah</I> (so it is in <I>Micah</I>), no very populous
|
|
place, yet it shall be found <I>not the least among the princes of
|
|
Judah</I> (so it is here); for Bethlehem's honour lay not, as that of
|
|
other cities, in the multitude of the people, but in the magnificence
|
|
of the princes it produced. Though, upon some accounts, Bethlehem was
|
|
little, yet herein it had the pre-eminence above all the cities of
|
|
Israel, that <I>the Lord shall count, when he writes up the people,
|
|
that this man,</I> even <I>the man Christ Jesus, was born there,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+87:6">Ps. lxxxvii. 6</A>.
|
|
|
|
<I>Out of thee shall come a Governor,</I> the <I>King of the Jews.</I>
|
|
Note, Christ will be a <I>Saviour</I> to those only who are willing to
|
|
take him for their <I>Governor.</I> Bethlehem was the <I>city of
|
|
David,</I> and David the glory of Bethlehem; there, therefore, must
|
|
David's son and successor be born. There was a famous well at
|
|
<I>Bethlehem,</I> by the gate, which David longed to drink of
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+23:15">2 Sam. xxiii. 15</A>);
|
|
|
|
in Christ we have not only bread enough and to spare, but may come and
|
|
take also <I>of the water of life freely.</I> Observe here how Jews and
|
|
Gentiles compare notes about Jesus Christ. The Gentiles know the time
|
|
of his birth by a star; the Jews know the place of it by the
|
|
scriptures; and so they are capable of informing one another. Note, It
|
|
would contribute much to the increase of knowledge, if we did thus
|
|
mutually communicate what we know. Men grow rich by bartering and
|
|
exchanging; so, if we have knowledge to communicate to others, they
|
|
will be ready to communicate to us; thus many shall discourse, shall
|
|
<I>run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
VII. The bloody project and design of Herod, occasioned by this
|
|
enquiry,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+2:7,8"><I>v.</I> 7, 8</A>.
|
|
|
|
Herod was now an old man, and had reigned thirty-five years; this king
|
|
was but newly born, and not likely to enterprise any thing considerable
|
|
for many years; yet Herod is jealous of him. Crowned heads cannot
|
|
endure to think of successors, much less of rivals; and therefore
|
|
nothing less than the blood of this infant king will satisfy him; and
|
|
he will not give himself liberty to think that, if this new-born child
|
|
should be indeed the Messiah, in opposing him, or making any attempts
|
|
upon him, he would <I>be found fighting against God,</I> than which
|
|
nothing is more vain, nothing more dangerous. Passion has got the
|
|
mastery of reason and conscience.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Now,
|
|
|
|
1. See how cunningly he laid the project
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+2:7,8"><I>v.</I> 7, 8</A>).
|
|
|
|
<I>He privily called the wise men,</I> to talk with them about this
|
|
matter. He would not openly own his fears and jealousies; it would be
|
|
his disgrace to let the wise men know them, and dangerous to let the
|
|
people know them. Sinners are often tormented with secret fears, which
|
|
they keep to themselves. Herod learns of the wise men the <I>time when
|
|
the star appeared,</I> that he might take his measures accordingly; and
|
|
then employs them to enquire further, and bids them bring him an
|
|
account. All this might look suspicious, if he had not covered it with
|
|
a show of religion: <I>that I may come and worship him also.</I> Note,
|
|
The greatest wickedness often conceals itself under a mask of piety.
|
|
Absalom cloaks his rebellious project with a vow.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. See how strangely he was befooled and infatuated in this, that he
|
|
trusted it with the wise men, and did not choose some other managers,
|
|
that would have been true to his interests. It was but seven miles from
|
|
Jerusalem; how easily might he have sent spies to watch the wise men,
|
|
who might have been as soon there to destroy the child as they to
|
|
worship him! Note, God can hide from the eyes of the church's enemies
|
|
those methods by which they might easily destroy the church; when he
|
|
intends to <I>lead princes away spoiled,</I> his way is to <I>make the
|
|
judges fools.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Mt2_9"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Mt2_10"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Mt2_11"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Mt2_12"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Wise Men Worship Christ.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TR><TD><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>9 When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the
|
|
star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came
|
|
and stood over where the young child was.
|
|
10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great
|
|
joy.
|
|
11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young
|
|
child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him:
|
|
and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him
|
|
gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.
|
|
12 And being warned of God in a dream that they should not
|
|
return to Herod, they departed into their own country another
|
|
way.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
We have here the wise men's humble attendance upon this new-born
|
|
<I>King of the Jews,</I> and the honours they paid him. From Jerusalem
|
|
they went to Bethlehem, resolving to <I>seek till they should find;</I>
|
|
but it is very strange that they went alone; that not one person of the
|
|
court, church, or city, should accompany them, if not in conscience,
|
|
yet in civility to them, or touched with a curiosity to see this young
|
|
prince. As <I>the queen of the south,</I> so <I>the wise men of the
|
|
east,</I> will <I>rise up in judgment against</I> the men of that
|
|
generation, and of this too, <I>and will condemn them;</I> for they
|
|
<I>came from a far country,</I> to worship Christ; while the Jews, his
|
|
kinsmen, would not stir a step, would not go to the next town to bid
|
|
him welcome. It might have been a discouragement to these wise men to
|
|
find him whom they sought thus neglected at home. Are we come so far to
|
|
honour <I>the King of the Jews,</I> and do the Jews themselves put such
|
|
a slight upon him and us? Yet they persist in their resolution. Note,
|
|
We must continue our attendance upon Christ, though we be alone in it;
|
|
whatever others do, we must <I>serve the Lord;</I> if they will not go
|
|
to heaven with us, yet we must not go to hell with them. Now,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. See how they found out Christ by the same star that they had seen in
|
|
their own country,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+2:9,10"><I>v.</I> 9, 10</A>.
|
|
|
|
Observe,
|
|
|
|
1. How graciously God directed them. By the first appearance of the
|
|
star they were given to understand where they might enquire for this
|
|
King, and then it disappeared, and they were left to take the usual
|
|
methods for such an enquiry. Note, Extraordinary helps are not to be
|
|
expected where ordinary means are to be had. Well, they had traced the
|
|
matter as far as they could; they were upon their journey to Bethlehem,
|
|
but that is a populous town, where shall they find him when they come
|
|
thither? Here they were at a loss, at their wit's end, but not at their
|
|
faith's end; they believed that God, who had brought them thither by
|
|
his word, would not leave them there; nor did he; for, behold, <I>the
|
|
star which they saw in the east went before them.</I> Note, If we go on
|
|
as far as we can in the way of duty, God will direct and enable us to
|
|
do that which of ourselves we cannot do; <I>Up, and be doing, and the
|
|
Lord will be with thee. Vigilantibus, non dormientibus, succurit
|
|
lex--The law affords its aid, not to the idle, but to the active.</I>
|
|
The star had left them a great while, yet now returns. They who follow
|
|
God in the dark shall find that light is sown, is reserved, for them.
|
|
Israel was led by a pillar of fire to <I>the promised land,</I> the
|
|
wise men by a star to <I>the promised Seed,</I> who is himself <I>the
|
|
bright and morning Star,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+22:16">Rev. xxii. 16</A>.
|
|
|
|
God would rather <I>create a new thing</I> than leave those at a loss
|
|
who diligently and faithfully sought him. This star was the token of
|
|
God's presence with them; for he is light, and goes before his people
|
|
as their Guide. Note, If we by faith eye God in all our ways, we may
|
|
see ourselves under his conduct; he <I>guides with his eye</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+32:8">Ps. xxxii. 8</A>),
|
|
|
|
and said to them, <I>This is the way, walk in it:</I> and there is a
|
|
day-star that arises in the hearts of those that enquire after Christ,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Pe+1:19">2 Pet. i. 19</A>.
|
|
|
|
2. Observe how joyfully they followed God's direction
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+2:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>).
|
|
|
|
<I>When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.</I>
|
|
Now they saw they were not deceived, and had not taken this long
|
|
journey in vain. <I>When the desire cometh, it is a tree of life.</I>
|
|
Now they were sure that God was with them, and the tokens of his
|
|
presence and favour cannot but fill with joy unspeakable the souls of
|
|
those that know how to value them. Now they could laugh at the Jews in
|
|
Jerusalem, who, probably, had laughed at them as coming on a fool's
|
|
errand. The watchmen can give the spouse no tidings of her beloved; yet
|
|
it <I>is but a little that she passes from them, and she finds him,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=So+3:3,4">Cant. iii. 3, 4</A>.
|
|
|
|
We cannot expect too little from man, nor too much from God. What a
|
|
transport of joy these wise men were in upon this sight of the star;
|
|
none know so well as those who, after a long and melancholy night of
|
|
temptation and desertion, under the power of a <I>Spirit of
|
|
bondage,</I> at length <I>receive the spirit of adoption, witnessing
|
|
with their spirits that they are the children of God;</I> this is light
|
|
out of darkness; it is life from the dead. Now they had reason to hope
|
|
for a sight of <I>the Lord's Christ</I> speedily, of the <I>Sun of
|
|
righteousness,</I> for they see <I>the Morning Star.</I> Note, We
|
|
should be glad of every thing that will show us the way to Christ. This
|
|
star was sent to meet the wise men, and to conduct them into the
|
|
presence chamber of the King; by this master of ceremonies they were
|
|
introduced, to have their audience. Now God fulfills his promise of
|
|
meeting those that are disposed to <I>rejoice and work
|
|
righteousness</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+64:5">Isa. lxiv. 5</A>),
|
|
|
|
and they fulfill his precept. <I>Let the hearts of those rejoice that
|
|
seek the Lord,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+105:3">Ps. cv. 3</A>.
|
|
|
|
Note, God is pleased sometimes to favour young converts with such
|
|
tokens of his love as are very encouraging to them, in reference to the
|
|
difficulties they meet with at their setting out of the ways of
|
|
God.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. See how they made their address to him when they had found him,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+2:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>.
|
|
|
|
We may well imagine their expectations were raised to find this royal
|
|
babe, though slighted by the nation, yet honourably attended at home;
|
|
and what a disappointment it was to them when they found a cottage was
|
|
his palace, and his own poor mother all the retinue he had! Is this
|
|
<I>the Saviour of the world?</I> Is this <I>the King of the Jews,</I>
|
|
nay, and <I>the Prince of the kings of the earth?</I> Yes, this is he,
|
|
who, <I>though he was rich,</I> yet, <I>for our sakes, became</I> thus
|
|
<I>poor.</I> However, these wise men were so wise as to see through
|
|
this veil, and in this despised babe to discern <I>the glory as of the
|
|
Only-begotten of the Father;</I> they did not think themselves balked
|
|
or baffled in their enquiry; but, as having found the King they sought,
|
|
they presented themselves first, and then their gifts, to him.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. They presented themselves to him: <I>they fell down, and worshipped
|
|
him.</I> We do not read that they gave such honour to Herod, though he
|
|
was in the height of his royal grandeur; but to this babe they gave
|
|
this honour, not only as to a king (then they would have done the same
|
|
to Herod), but as to a God. Note, All that have found Christ fall down
|
|
before him; they adore him, and submit themselves to him. <I>He is thy
|
|
Lord, and worship thou him.</I> It will be the wisdom of the wisest of
|
|
men, and by this it will appear they know Christ, and understand
|
|
themselves and their true interests, if they be humble, faithful
|
|
worshippers of the Lord Jesus.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. <I>They presented their gifts to him.</I> In the eastern nations,
|
|
when they did homage to their kings, they made them presents; thus the
|
|
subjection of the kings of Sheba to Christ is spoken of
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+72:10">Ps. lxxii. 10</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>They shall bring presents, and offer gifts.</I> See
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+60:6">Isa. lx. 6</A>.
|
|
|
|
Note, With ourselves, we must give up all that we have to Jesus Christ;
|
|
and if we be sincere in the surrender of ourselves to him, we shall not
|
|
be unwilling to part with what is dearest to us, and most valuable, to
|
|
him and for him; nor are our gifts accepted, unless we first present
|
|
ourselves to him living sacrifices. <I>God had respect to Abel, and</I>
|
|
then to <I>his offering.</I> The gifts they presented were, <I>gold,
|
|
frankincense, and myrrh,</I> money, and money's-worth. Providence sent
|
|
this for a seasonable relief to Joseph and Mary in their present poor
|
|
condition. These were the products of their own country; what God
|
|
favours us with, we must honour him with. Some think there was a
|
|
significancy in their gifts; they offered him <I>gold,</I> as a king,
|
|
paying him tribute, <I>to Cæsar, the things that are
|
|
Cæsar's; frankincense,</I> as God, for they honoured God with the
|
|
smoke of incense; and <I>myrrh,</I> as a Man that should die, for
|
|
<I>myrrh</I> was used in embalming dead bodies.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. See how they left him when they had made their address to him,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+2:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>.
|
|
|
|
Herod appointed them to <I>bring him word</I> what discoveries they had
|
|
made, and, it is probable, they would have done so, if they had not
|
|
been countermanded, not suspecting their being thus made his tools in a
|
|
wicked design. Those that mean honestly and well themselves are easily
|
|
made to believe that others do so too, and cannot think the world is as
|
|
bad as it really is; but <I>the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out
|
|
of temptation.</I> We do not find that the wise men promised to come
|
|
back to Herod, and, if they had, it must have been with the usual
|
|
proviso, <I>If God permit;</I> God did not permit them, and prevented
|
|
the mischief Herod designed to the Child Jesus, and the trouble it
|
|
would have been to the wise men to have been made involuntarily
|
|
accessory to it. They were <I>warned of God,</I>
|
|
<B><I>chrematisthentes</I></B>--<I>oraculo vel responso accepto--by an
|
|
oracular intimation.</I> Some think it intimates that they asked
|
|
counsel of God, and that this was the answer. Note, Those that act
|
|
cautiously, and are afraid of sin and snares, if they apply themselves
|
|
to God for direction, may expect to be led in the right way. They were
|
|
<I>warned not to return to Herod,</I> nor to Jerusalem; those were
|
|
unworthy to have reports brought them concerning Christ, that might
|
|
have seen with their own eyes, and would not. <I>They departed into
|
|
their own country another way,</I> to bring the tidings to their
|
|
countrymen; but it is strange that we never hear any more of them, and
|
|
that they or theirs did not afterwards attend <I>him</I> in the temple,
|
|
whom they had worshipped in the cradle. However, the direction they had
|
|
from God in their return would be a further confirmation of their faith
|
|
in this Child, <I>as the Lord from heaven.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Mt2_13"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Mt2_14"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Mt2_15"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Flight into Egypt.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TR><TD><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>13 And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord
|
|
appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young
|
|
child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there
|
|
until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to
|
|
destroy him.
|
|
14 When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by
|
|
night, and departed into Egypt:
|
|
15 And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be
|
|
fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,
|
|
Out of Egypt have I called my son.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
We have here Christ's flight into Egypt to avoid the cruelty of Herod,
|
|
and this was the effect of the wise men's enquiry after him; for,
|
|
before that, the obscurity he lay in was his protection. It was but
|
|
little respect (compared with what should have been) that was paid to
|
|
Christ in his infancy: yet even that, instead of honouring him among
|
|
his people, did but expose him.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Now here observe,
|
|
|
|
1. The command given to Joseph concerning it,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+2:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>.
|
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Joseph knew neither the danger the child was in, nor how to escape it;
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but God by <I>an angel,</I> tells him both <I>in a dream,</I> as before
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he directed him in like manner what to do,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+1:20"><I>ch.</I> i. 20</A>.
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Joseph, before his alliance to Christ, had not been wont to converse
|
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with angels as now. Note, those that are spiritually related to Christ
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by faith have that communion and correspondence with Heaven which
|
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before they were strangers to.</P>
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<P>
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1. Joseph is here told what their danger was: <I>Herod will seek the
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young child to destroy him.</I> Note, God is acquainted with all the
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cruel projects and purposes of the enemies of his church. <I>I know thy
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rage against me,</I> saith God to Sennacherib,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+37:28">Isa. xxxvii. 28</A>.
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How early was the blessed Jesus involved in trouble! Usually, even
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those whose riper years are attended with toils and perils have a
|
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peaceable and quiet infancy; but it was not so with the blessed Jesus:
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his life and sufferings began together; he was born <I>a man striven
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with,</I> as Jeremiah was
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+15:10">Jer. xv. 10</A>),
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who was <I>sanctified from the womb,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+1:5">Jer. i. 5</A>.
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Both Christ the head, and the church his body, agree in saying, <I>Many
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a time have they afflicted me, from my youth up.</I> Pharaoh's cruelty
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fastens upon the Hebrews' children, and a great red dragon stands ready
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to <I>devour the man-child as soon as it should be born,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+12:4">Rev. xii. 4</A>.</P>
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<P>
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2. He is directed what to do, to escape the danger; <I>Take the young
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child, and flee into Egypt.</I> Thus early must Christ give an example
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to his own rule
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+10:23"><I>ch.</I> x. 23</A>):
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<I>When they persecute you in one city, flee to another.</I> He that
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came to die for us, when <I>his hour was not yet come,</I> fled for his
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own safety. Self-preservation, being a branch of the law of nature, is
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eminently a part of the law of God. <I>Flee;</I> but why <I>into
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Egypt?</I> Egypt was infamous for idolatry, tyranny, and enmity to the
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people of God; it had been a house of bondage to Israel, and
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particularly cruel to the infants of Israel; in Egypt, as much as in
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Ramah, <I>Rachel had been weeping for her children;</I> yet that is
|
|
appointed to be a place of refuge to the hold child Jesus. Note, God,
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|
when he pleases, can make the worst of places serve the best of
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purposes; for <I>the earth is the Lord's,</I> he makes what use he
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pleases of it: sometimes the earth <I>helps the woman</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+12:16">Rev. xii. 16</A>.
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God, who made Moab a shelter to his outcasts, makes Egypt a refuge for
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his Son. This may be considered,</P>
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<P>
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(1.) As a trial of faith of Joseph and Mary. They might be tempted to
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think, "If this child be the Son of God, as we are told he is, has he
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no other way to secure himself from a man that is a worm, than by such
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a mean and inglorious retreat as this? Cannot he summon legions of
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angels to be his life-guard, or cherubim with flaming swords to keep
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this <I>tree of life?</I> Cannot he strike Herod dead, or wither the
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hand that is stretched out against him, and so save us the trouble of
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this remove?" They had been lately told that he should be <I>the glory
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|
of his people Israel;</I> and is the land of Israel so soon become too
|
|
hot for him? But we find not that they made any such objections; their
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faith, being tried, was found firm, they believe <I>this is the Son of
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God,</I> though they see no miracle wrought for his preservation; but
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they are put to the use of ordinary means. Joseph had great honour put
|
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upon him in being the husband of the blessed virgin; but that honour
|
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has trouble attending it, as all honours have in this world; Joseph
|
|
must <I>take the young child,</I> and carry him <I>into Egypt;</I> and
|
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now it appeared how well God had provided for <I>the young child and
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his mother,</I> in appointing Joseph to stand in so near a relation to
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|
them; now the gold which the wise men brought would stand them in stead
|
|
to bear their charges. God foresees his people's distresses, and
|
|
provides against them beforehand. God intimates the continuance of his
|
|
care and guidance, when he saith, <I>Be thou there until I bring thee
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word,</I> so that he must expect to hear from God again, and not stir
|
|
without fresh orders. Thus God will keep his people still in a
|
|
dependence upon him.</P>
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<P>
|
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(2.) As an instance of the humiliation of our Lord Jesus. As there was
|
|
no room for him in the inn in Bethlehem, so there was no quiet room for
|
|
him in the land of Judea. Thus was he banished from the earthly Canaan,
|
|
that we, who for sin were banished from the heavenly Canaan, might not
|
|
be for ever expelled. If we and our infants be at any time in straits,
|
|
let us remember the straits Christ in his infancy was brought into, and
|
|
be reconciled to them.</P>
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<P>
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(3.) As a token of God's displeasure against the Jews, who took so
|
|
little notice of him; justly does he leave those who have slighted him.
|
|
We have also here an earnest of his favour to the Gentiles, to whom the
|
|
apostles were to bring the gospel when the Jews rejected it. If Egypt
|
|
entertain Christ when he is forced out of Judea, it will not be long
|
|
ere it be said, <I>Blessed be Egypt my people,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+19:25">Isa. xix. 25</A>.</P>
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<P>
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II. Joseph's obedience to this command,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+2:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>.
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The journey would be inconvenient and perilous both to the young child
|
|
and to his mother; they were but poorly provided for it, and were
|
|
likely to meet with cold entertainment in Egypt: yet Joseph <I>was not
|
|
disobedient to the heavenly vision,</I> made no objection, nor was
|
|
dilatory in his disobedience. As soon as he had received his orders, he
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|
immediately <I>arose,</I> and went away <I>by night,</I> the same
|
|
night, as it should seem, that he received the orders. Note, Those that
|
|
would make <I>sure</I> work of their obedience must make <I>quick</I>
|
|
work of it. Now Joseph went out, as his father Abraham did, with an
|
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implicit dependence upon God, <I>not knowing whither he went,</I>
|
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+11:8">Heb. xi. 8</A>.
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Joseph and his wife, having little, had little to care of in this
|
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remove. An abundance encumbers a necessary flight. If rich people have
|
|
the advantage of the poor while they possess what they have, the poor
|
|
have the advantage of the rich when they are called to part with
|
|
it.</P>
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<P>
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<I>Joseph took the young child and his mother.</I> Some observe, that
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<I>the young child</I> is put first, as the principal person, and Mary
|
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is called, not <I>the wife of Joseph,</I> but, which was her great
|
|
dignity, <I>the mother of the young child.</I> This was not the first
|
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Joseph that was driven from Canaan to Egypt for a shelter from the
|
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anger of his brethren; this Joseph ought to be welcome there for the
|
|
sake of that.</P>
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|
<P>
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If we may credit tradition, at their entrance into Egypt, happening to
|
|
go into a temple, all the images of their gods were overthrown by an
|
|
invisible power, and fell, like Dagon before the ark, according to that
|
|
prophecy, <I>The Lord shall come into Egypt, and the idols of Egypt
|
|
shall be moved at his presence,</I>
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+19:1">Isa. xix. 1</A>.
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They continued in Egypt till the death of Herod, which, some think, was
|
|
seven years, others think, not so many months. There they were at a
|
|
distance from the temple and the service of it, and in the midst of
|
|
idolaters; but God sent them thither, and will <I>have mercy, and not
|
|
sacrifice.</I> Though they were far from the temple of the Lord, they
|
|
had with them the Lord of the temple. A forced absence from God's
|
|
ordinances, and a forced presence with wicked people, may be the lot,
|
|
are not the sin, yet cannot but be the grief, of good people.</P>
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|
<P>
|
|
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|
III. The fulfilling of the scripture in a this--that scripture
|
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|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+11:1">Hos. xi. 1</A>),
|
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|
<I>Out of Egypt have I called my son.</I> Of all the evangelists,
|
|
Matthew takes most notice of the fulfilling of the scripture in what
|
|
concerned Christ, because his gospel was first published among the
|
|
Jews, with whom that would add much strength and lustre to it. Now this
|
|
word of the prophet undoubtedly referred to the deliverance of Israel
|
|
out of Egypt, in which God owned them for his son, his first-born
|
|
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+4:22">Exod. iv. 22</A>);
|
|
|
|
but it is here applied, by way of analogy, to Christ, the Head of the
|
|
church. Note, The scripture has many accomplishments, so full and
|
|
copious is it, and so well ordered in all things. God is every day
|
|
fulfilling the scripture. Scripture is not of private interpretation:
|
|
we must give it its full latitude. "<I>When Israel was a child, then I
|
|
loved him;</I> and, though <I>I loved him,</I> I suffered him to be a
|
|
great while in Egypt; but, because <I>I loved him,</I> in due time I
|
|
called him out of Egypt." They that read this must, in their thoughts,
|
|
not only look back, but look forward; <I>that which has been shall be
|
|
again</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+1:9">Eccl. i. 9</A>);
|
|
|
|
and the manner of expression intimates this; for it is not said, I
|
|
called <I>him,</I> but I called <I>my son,</I> out of Egypt.Note, It is
|
|
no new thing for God's sons to be in Egypt, in a strange land, in a
|
|
house of bondage; but they shall be fetched out. They may be hid in
|
|
Egypt, but they shall not be left there. All the elect of God, being by
|
|
nature children of wrath, are born in a spiritual Egypt, and in
|
|
conversion are effectually called out. It might be objected against
|
|
Christ that he had been in Egypt. Must <I>the Sun of righteousness</I>
|
|
arise out of that land of darkness! But this shows that to be no
|
|
strange thing; Israel was brought out of Egypt, to be advanced to the
|
|
highest honours; and this is but doing the same thing.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Mt2_16"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Mt2_17"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Mt2_18"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec4"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Slaughter of the Children.</I></FONT></TD>
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|
<TR><TD><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men,
|
|
was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children
|
|
that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two
|
|
years old and under, according to the time which he had
|
|
diligently enquired of the wise men.
|
|
17 Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the
|
|
prophet, saying,
|
|
18 In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping,
|
|
and great mourning, Rachel weeping <I>for</I> her children, and would
|
|
not be comforted, because they are not.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
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|
Here is,
|
|
|
|
I. Herod's resentment of the departure of the wise men. He waited long
|
|
for their return; he hopes, though they be slow, they will be sure, and
|
|
he shall crush this rival at his first appearing; but he hears, upon
|
|
enquiry, that they are gone off another way, which increases his
|
|
jealousy, and makes him suspect they are in the interest of this new
|
|
King, which made him <I>exceedingly wroth;</I> and he is the more
|
|
desperate and outrageous for his being disappointed. Note, Inveterate
|
|
corruption swells the higher for the obstructions it meets with in a
|
|
sinful pursuit.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. His political contrivance, notwithstanding this, to take off him
|
|
that is <I>born King of the Jews.</I> If he could not reach him by a
|
|
particular execution, he doubted not but to involve him in a general
|
|
stroke, which, like the sword of war, should <I>devour one as well as
|
|
another.</I> This would be sure work; and thus those that would destroy
|
|
<I>their own</I> iniquity must be sure to destroy <I>all</I> their
|
|
iniquities. Herod was an Edomite, enmity to Israel was bred in the bone
|
|
with him. Doeg was an Edomite, who, for David's sake, <I>slew all the
|
|
priests of the Lord.</I> It was strange that Herod could find any so
|
|
inhuman as to be employed in such a bloody and barbarous piece of work;
|
|
but wicked hands never want wicked tools to work with. Little children
|
|
have always been taken under the special protection, not only of human
|
|
laws, but of human nature; yet these are sacrificed to the rage of this
|
|
tyrant, under whom, as under Nero, innocence is the least security.
|
|
Herod was, throughout his reign, a bloody man; it was not long before,
|
|
that he destroyed the whole Sanhedrim, or bench of judges; but blood to
|
|
the blood-thirsty is like drink to those in a dropsy; <I>Quo plus sunt
|
|
potæ, plus sitiuntur aquæ--The more they drink, the more
|
|
thirsty they become.</I> Herod was now about seventy years old, so that
|
|
an infant, at this time <I>under two years old,</I> was not likely ever
|
|
to give him any disturbance. Nor was he a man over fond of his own
|
|
children, or of their preferment, having formerly slain two of his own
|
|
sons, Alexander and Aristobulus, and his son Antipater after this, but
|
|
five days before he himself died; so that it was purely to gratify his
|
|
own brutish lusts of pride and cruelty that he did this. All is fish
|
|
that comes to his net.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Observe, What large measures he took,
|
|
|
|
1. As to time; He <I>slew all from two years old and under.</I> It is
|
|
probable that the blessed Jesus was at this time not a year old; yet
|
|
Herod took in all the infants <I>under two years old,</I> that he might
|
|
be sure not to miss of his prey. He cares not how many heads fall,
|
|
which he allows to be innocent, provided that escape not which he
|
|
supposes to be guilty.
|
|
|
|
2. As to place; He kills all the male children, not only <I>in
|
|
Bethlehem,</I> but <I>in all the coasts thereof,</I> in all the
|
|
villages of that city. This was being <I>overmuch wicked,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+7:17">Eccl. vii. 17</A>.
|
|
|
|
Hate, an unbridled wrath, armed with an unlawful power, often
|
|
transports men to the most absurd and unreasonable instances of
|
|
cruelty. It was no unrighteous thing for God to permit this; every life
|
|
is forfeited to his justice as soon as it commences; that sin which
|
|
entered by one man's disobedience, introduced death with it; and we are
|
|
not to suppose any thing more than that common guilt, we are not to
|
|
suppose that these children <I>were sinners above all that were in
|
|
Israel,</I> because they suffered such things. <I>God's judgments are a
|
|
great deep.</I> The diseases and deaths of little children are proofs
|
|
of original sin. But we must look upon this murder of the infants under
|
|
another character: it was their martyrdom. How early did persecution
|
|
commence against Christ and his kingdom! <I>Think ye that he came to
|
|
send peace on the earth?</I> No, <I>but a sword,</I> such a sword as
|
|
this,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+10:34,35"><I>ch.</I> x. 34, 35</A>.
|
|
|
|
A passive testimony was hereby given to the Lord Jesus. As when he was
|
|
in the womb, he was witnessed to by a child's leaping in the womb for
|
|
joy at his approach, so now, at <I>two years old,</I> he had
|
|
contemporary witnesses to him of the same age. They shed their blood
|
|
for him, who afterwards shed his for them. These were the infantry of
|
|
<I>the noble army of martyrs.</I> If these infants were thus baptized
|
|
with blood, though it were their own, into the church triumphant, it
|
|
could not be said but that, with what they got in heaven, they were
|
|
abundantly recompensed for what they lost on earth. <I>Out of the
|
|
mouths of these babes and sucklings God did perfect his praise;</I>
|
|
otherwise, <I>it is not good to the Almighty that he should thus
|
|
afflict.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
The tradition of the Greek church (and we have it in the Æthiopic
|
|
missal) is, that the number of the children slain was 14,000; but that
|
|
is very absurd. I believe, if the births of the male children in the
|
|
weekly bills were computed, there would not be found so many <I>under
|
|
two years old,</I> in one of the most populous cities in the world,
|
|
that was not near a fortieth part of it. But it is an instance of the
|
|
vanity of tradition. It is strange that Josephus does not relate this
|
|
story; but he wrote long after St. Matthew, and it is probable that he
|
|
<I>therefore</I> would not relate it, because he would not so far
|
|
countenance the Christian history; for he was a zealous Jew; but, to be
|
|
sure, if it had not been true and well attested, he would have
|
|
contested it. Macrobius, a heathen writer, tells us, that when Augustus
|
|
Cæsar heard that Herod, among the children he order to be slain
|
|
<I>under two years old,</I> slew his own son, he passed this jest upon
|
|
him, That it was better to be Herod's swine than his son. The usage of
|
|
the country forbade him to kill a swine, but nothing could restrain him
|
|
from killing his son. Some think that he had a young child at nurse in
|
|
Bethlehem; others think that, through mistake, two events are
|
|
confounded--the murder of the infants, and the murder of his son
|
|
Antipater. But for the church of Rome to put the Holy Innocents, as
|
|
they call them, into their calendar, and observe a day in memory of
|
|
them, while they have so often, by their barbarous massacres,
|
|
justified, and even out--one Herod, is but to do as their predecessors
|
|
did, who built the tombs of the prophets, while they themselves filled
|
|
up the same measure.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Some observe another design of Providence in the murder of the infants.
|
|
By all the prophecies of the Old Testament it appears that Bethlehem
|
|
was the place, and this the time, of the Messiah's nativity; now all
|
|
the children of Bethlehem, born at this time, being murdered, and Jesus
|
|
only escaping, none but Jesus could pretend to be the Messiah. Herod
|
|
now thought he had baffled all the Old Testament prophecies, had
|
|
defeated the indications of the star, and the devotions of the wise
|
|
men, by ridding the country of this new King; having burnt the hive, he
|
|
concludes he had killed the master bee; but God in heaven <I>laughs</I>
|
|
at him, <I>and has</I> him <I>in derision.</I> Whatever crafty cruel
|
|
devices are in men's hearts, <I>the counsel of the Lord shall
|
|
stand.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. The fulfilling of scripture in this
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+2:17,18"><I>v.</I> 17, 18</A>);
|
|
|
|
<I>Then was fulfilled</I> that prophecy
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+31:15">Jer. xxxi. 15</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>A voice was heard in Ramah.</I> See and adore the fulness of the
|
|
scripture! That prediction was accomplished in Jeremiah's time, when
|
|
Nebuzaradan, after he had destroyed Jerusalem, brought all his
|
|
prisoners to Ramah
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+40:1">Jer. xl. 1</A>),
|
|
|
|
and there disposed of them as he pleased, for the sword, or for
|
|
captivity. Then was the cry <I>in Ramah heard</I> to Bethlehem (for
|
|
those two cities, the one in Judah's lot, and the other in Benjamin's,
|
|
were not far asunder); but now the prophecy is again fulfilled in the
|
|
great sorrow that was for the death of these infants. The scripture was
|
|
fulfilled,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. In the place of this mourning. The noise of it was heard from
|
|
Bethlehem to Ramah; for Herod's cruelty extended itself to <I>all the
|
|
coasts of Bethlehem,</I> even into the lot of Benjamin, among the
|
|
children of Rachel. Some think the country about Bethlehem was called
|
|
<I>Rachel,</I> because there she died, and was buried. Rachel's
|
|
sepulchre was hard by Bethlehem,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+35:16,19,1Sa+10:2">Gen. xxxv. 16, 19.
|
|
Compare 1 Sam. x. 2</A>.
|
|
|
|
Rachel had her heart much set upon children: the son she died in
|
|
travail of she called <I>Benoni--the son of her sorrow.</I> These
|
|
mothers were like Rachel, lived near Rachel's grave, and many of them
|
|
descended from Rachel; and therefore their lamentations are elegantly
|
|
represented by <I>Rachel's weeping.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. In the degree of this mourning. It was <I>lamentation and mourning,
|
|
and great mourning;</I> all little enough to express the sense they had
|
|
of this aggravated calamity. There was a great cry in Egypt when the
|
|
first-born were slain, and so there was here when the youngest was
|
|
slain; for whom we naturally have a particular tenderness. Here was a
|
|
representation of this world we live in. We hear in it <I>lamentation,
|
|
and weeping, and mourning,</I> and see <I>the tears of the
|
|
oppressed,</I> some upon one account, and some upon another. Our ways
|
|
lie through a <I>vale of tears.</I> This sorrow was so great, that they
|
|
<I>would not be comforted.</I> They hardened themselves in it, and took
|
|
a pleasure in their grief. Blessed be God, there is no occasion of
|
|
grief in this world, no, not that which is supplied by sin itself, that
|
|
will justify us in refusing to <I>be comforted!</I> They <I>would not
|
|
be comforted, because they are not,</I> that is, <I>they are not</I> in
|
|
the land of the living, <I>are not</I> as they were, in their mothers'
|
|
embraces. If, indeed, <I>they were not,</I> there might be some excuse
|
|
for sorrowing as though we had no hope; but we know they are not lost,
|
|
but gone before; if we forget that <I>they are,</I> we lose the best
|
|
ground of our comfort,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Th+4:13">1 Thess. iv. 13</A>.
|
|
|
|
Some make this grief of the Bethlehemites to be a judgment upon them
|
|
for their contempt of Christ. They that would not rejoice for the
|
|
birth of the Son of God, are justly made to weep for the death of their
|
|
own sons; for they only <I>wondered</I> at the tidings the shepherds
|
|
brought them, but did not <I>welcome</I> them.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
The quoting of this prophecy might serve to obviate an objection which
|
|
some would make against Christ, upon this sad providence. "Can the
|
|
Messiah, who is to be the Consolation of Israel, be introduced with all
|
|
this lamentation?" Yes, for so it was foretold, and the scripture must
|
|
be accomplished. And besides, if we look further into this prophecy, we
|
|
shall find that <I>the bitter weeping</I> in Ramah was but a prologue
|
|
to the greatest joy, for it follows, <I>Thy work shall be rewarded, and
|
|
there is hope in thy end.</I> The worse things are, the sooner they
|
|
will mend. Unto them a child was born, sufficient to repair their
|
|
losses.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Mt2_19"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Mt2_20"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Mt2_21"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Mt2_22"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Mt2_23"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec5"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Christ's Return from Egypt.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TR><TD><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>19 But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord
|
|
appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,
|
|
20 Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and
|
|
go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the
|
|
young child's life.
|
|
21 And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and
|
|
came into the land of Israel.
|
|
22 But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judea in the
|
|
room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither:
|
|
notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside
|
|
into the parts of Galilee:
|
|
23 And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it
|
|
might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be
|
|
called a Nazarene.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
We have here Christ's return out of Egypt into the <I>land of
|
|
Israel</I> again. Egypt may serve to sojourn in, or take shelter in,
|
|
for a while, but not to abide in. Christ was <I>sent to the lost sheep
|
|
of the house of Israel,</I> and therefore to them he must return.
|
|
Observe,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. What it was that made way for his return-- the death of Herod, which
|
|
happened not long after the murder of the infants; some think not above
|
|
three months. Such quick work did divine vengeance make! Note, Herods
|
|
must die; proud tyrants, that were the terror of the mighty, and the
|
|
oppressors of the godly, <I>in the land of the living,</I> their day
|
|
must come to fall, and down to the pit they must go. <I>Who art thou
|
|
then, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die?</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+51:12,13">Isa. li. 12, 13</A>)
|
|
|
|
especially considering that at death, not only their envy and hatred
|
|
are perished
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+9:6">Eccl. ix. 6</A>),
|
|
|
|
and they cease from troubling
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+3:17">Job iii. 17</A>),
|
|
|
|
but they are punished. Of all sins, the guilt of innocent blood fills
|
|
the measure soonest. It is a dreadful account which Josephus gives of
|
|
the death of this same Herod (<I>Antiq.</I> 17.146-199), that he was
|
|
seized with a disease which burned him inwardly with an inexpressible
|
|
torture; that he was insatiably greedy of meat; had the colic, and
|
|
gout, and dropsy; such an intolerable stench attended his disease, that
|
|
none could come near him: and so passionate and impatient was he, that
|
|
he was a torment to himself, and a terror to all that attended him: his
|
|
innate cruelty, being thus exasperated, made him more barbarous than
|
|
ever; having ordered his own son to be put to death, he imprisoned many
|
|
of the nobility and gentry, and ordered that as soon as he was dead
|
|
they should be killed; but that execution was prevented. See what kind
|
|
of men have been the enemies and persecutors of Christ and his
|
|
followers! Few have opposed Christianity but such as have first
|
|
divested themselves of humanity, as Nero and Domitian.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. The orders given from heaven concerning their return, and Joseph's
|
|
obedience to those orders,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+2:19-21"><I>v.</I> 19-21</A>.
|
|
|
|
God had sent Joseph into Egypt, and there he staid till the same that
|
|
brought him thither ordered him thence. Note, In all our removes, it is
|
|
good to see our way plain, and God going before us; we should not move
|
|
either one way or the other without order. These orders were sent him
|
|
by an angel. Note, Our intercourse with God, if it be kept up on our
|
|
part, shall be kept up on his, wherever we are. No place can exclude
|
|
God's gracious visits. Angels come to Joseph in Egypt, to Ezekiel in
|
|
Babylon, and to John in Patmos. Now,
|
|
|
|
1. The angel informs him of the death of Herod and his accomplices:
|
|
<I>They are dead, which sought the young Child's life.</I> They are
|
|
dead, but the young Child lives. Persecuted saints sometimes live to
|
|
tread upon the graves of their persecutors. Thus did the church's King
|
|
weather the storm, and many a one has the church in like manner
|
|
weathered. <I>They are dead,</I> to wit, Herod and his son Antipater,
|
|
who, though there were mutual jealousies between them, yet, probably,
|
|
concurred in seeking the destruction of this new King. If Herod first
|
|
kill Antipater, and then die himself, the coasts are cleared, and
|
|
<I>the Lord is known by the judgments which he executes,</I> when one
|
|
wicked instrument is in the ruin of another.
|
|
|
|
2. He directs him what to do. He must <I>go</I> and return <I>to the
|
|
land of Israel;</I> and he did so without delay; not pleading the
|
|
tolerably good settlement he had in Egypt, or the inconveniences of the
|
|
journey, especially if, as is supposed, it was in the beginning of
|
|
winter that Herod died. God's people follow his direction whithersoever
|
|
he leads them, wherever he lodges them. Did we but look upon the world
|
|
as our Egypt, the place of our bondage and banishment, and heaven only
|
|
as our Canaan, our home, our rest, we should as readily <I>arise,</I>
|
|
and depart thither, when we are called for, as Joseph did out of
|
|
Egypt.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. The further direction he had from God, which way to steer, and
|
|
where to fix in the land of Israel,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+2:22,23"><I>v.</I> 22, 23</A>.
|
|
|
|
God could have given him these instructions with the former, but God
|
|
reveals his mind to his people by degrees, to keep them still waiting
|
|
on him, and expecting to hear further from him. These orders Joseph
|
|
received <I>in a dream,</I> probably, as those before, by the
|
|
ministration of an angel. God could have signified his will to Joseph
|
|
by the Child Jesus, but we do not find that in those removes he either
|
|
takes notice, or gives notice, of any thing that occurred; surely it
|
|
was because <I>in all things it behoved him to be made like his
|
|
brethren;</I> being <I>a Child,</I> he <I>spake as a child,</I> and did
|
|
<I>as a child,</I> and drew a veil over his infinite knowledge and
|
|
power; as a child he <I>increased in wisdom.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Now the direction given this holy, royal family, is,
|
|
|
|
1. That it might not settle in Judea,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+2:22"><I>v.</I> 22</A>.
|
|
|
|
Joseph might think that Jesus, being <I>born in Bethlehem,</I> must be
|
|
brought up there; yet he is prudently <I>afraid</I> for <I>the young
|
|
Child,</I> because <I>he hears that Archelaus reigns in</I> Herod's
|
|
stead, not over all the kingdom as his father did, but only over Judea,
|
|
the other provinces being put into other hands. See what a succession
|
|
of enemies there is to fight against Christ and his church! If one
|
|
drop off, another presently appears, to keep up the old enmity. But for
|
|
this reason Joseph must not take the young Child into Judea. Note, God
|
|
will not thrust his children into the mouth of danger, but when it is
|
|
for his own glory and their trial; for <I>precious in the sight of the
|
|
Lord are the</I> life and the death <I>of his saints; precious is their
|
|
blood</I> to him.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. That it must settle in Galilee,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+2:22"><I>v.</I> 22</A>.
|
|
|
|
There Philip now ruled, who was a mild, quiet, man. Note, The
|
|
providence of God commonly so orders it, that his people shall not want
|
|
a quiet retreat from the storm and from the tempest; when one climate
|
|
becomes hot and scorching, another shall be kept more cool and
|
|
temperate. Galilee lay far north; Samaria lay between it and Judea;
|
|
thither they were sent, to Nazareth, a city upon a hill, in the centre
|
|
of the lot of Zebulun; there the mother of our Lord lived, when she
|
|
conceived that <I>holy thing;</I> and, probably, Joseph lived there
|
|
too,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+1:26,27">Luke i. 26, 27</A>.
|
|
|
|
Thither they were sent, and there they were well known, and were among
|
|
their relations; the most proper place for them to be in. There they
|
|
continued, and from thence our Saviour was called <I>Jesus of
|
|
Nazareth,</I> which was to <I>the Jews a stumbling-block,</I> for,
|
|
<I>Can any good thing come</I> out of <I>Nazareth?</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
In this is said to be fulfilled what was <I>spoken by the prophets, He
|
|
shall be called a Nazarene.</I> Which may be looked upon,
|
|
|
|
(1.) As a man of honour and dignity, though primarily it signifies no
|
|
more than <I>a man of Nazareth;</I> there is an allusion or mystery in
|
|
speaking it, speaking Christ to be,
|
|
|
|
[1.] The <I>Man, the Branch,</I> spoken of,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+11:1">Isa. xi. 1</A>.
|
|
|
|
The word there is <I>Netzar,</I> which signifies either a
|
|
<I>branch,</I> or <I>the city of Nazareth;</I> in being denominated
|
|
from that <I>city,</I> he is declared to be that Branch.
|
|
|
|
[2.] It speaks him to be the <I>great Nazarite;</I> of whom the legal
|
|
Nazarites were a type and figure (especially Samson,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jdg+13:5">Judg. xiii. 5</A>),
|
|
|
|
and Joseph, who is called a <I>Nazarite among his brethren</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+49:26">Gen. xlix. 26</A>),
|
|
|
|
and to whom that which was prescribed concerning the Nazarites, has
|
|
reference,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Nu+6:2">Num. vi. 2</A>,
|
|
|
|
&c. Not that Christ was, <I>strictly, a Nazarite,</I> for he drank
|
|
wine, and touched dead bodies; but he was <I>eminently</I> so, both as
|
|
he was singularly holy, and as he was by a solemn designation and
|
|
dedication set apart to the honour of God in the work of our
|
|
redemption, as Samson was to save Israel. And it is a name we have all
|
|
reason to rejoice in, and to know him by. Or,
|
|
|
|
(2.) As a name of reproach and contempt. To be called a
|
|
<I>Nazarene,</I> was to be called a <I>despicable man,</I> a man from
|
|
whom no good was to be expected, and to whom no respect was to be paid.
|
|
The devil first fastened this name upon Christ, to render him mean, and
|
|
prejudice people against him, and it stuck as a nickname to him and his
|
|
followers. Now this was not particularly foretold by any one prophet,
|
|
but, in general, it was <I>spoken by the prophets,</I> that he should
|
|
be <I>despised and rejected of men</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+53:2,3">Isa. liii. 2, 3</A>),
|
|
|
|
a <I>Worm, and no man</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+22:6,7">Ps. xxii. 6, 7</A>),
|
|
|
|
that he should be an <I>Alien to his brethren</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+69:7,8">Ps. lxix. 7, 8</A>.
|
|
|
|
Let no name of reproach for religion's sake seem hard to us, when our
|
|
Master was himself called a <I>Nazarene.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
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