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24 Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife:

9th chapters of his prophecy, will perceive that, with him, it was a designation which implies positive Deity. For not only immediately after (viii. 8) is the land of Judah called Emmanuel's land, and so he is held forth as ITS LORD and Owner; but, with the same course of thought in his mind, and with evident reference to the child to be born of a virgin, the prophet exclaims, "For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace." Such, with Isaiah, were the glorious and divine characters of Emmanuel.

This descriptive title of our Lord, then, related primarily to the union of the divine nature with ours; a union so strict as to be PERSONAL, though without confusion of the SUBSTANCE, which remained, and must for ever remain, distinct, though hypostatically ONE. This is a mystery which reason cannot now, and perhaps never may, comprehend; not because it is contrary to it, but manifestly above it. It is no more contrary to it, than the union of our own body and soul, things of a quite different, and even of a contrary essence, in one person; and that it is above reason arises from this, that we have exceedingly imperfect and inadequate views of human nature itself, much more of the divine. Necessarily we must be so acquainted with each as to prove that such a union as the divine and human natures in the person of the one Christ is contrary to some principle in either, of which we have full and adequate knowledge, before we can decide the question on natural principles; a presumption of which no reasonable, not to say modest, man can be guilty. Our faith in these high mysteries rests therefore upon the testimony of God, as collected from the plain unwarped meaning of his own revelation. But the

name Emmanuel, God with us, does not simply indicate this mysterious fact. The greatest consequences depend upon it.

We are assured thereby of the condescension of God to MAN, even in his "low estate." The gracious and benevolent conduct of our Lord to mankind, during his sojourn on earth, was the public visible exhibition of the same sympathies and affections which he feels towards us, now he has entered into his glory; and, * beside this, it was this peculiar circumstance, that he was truly God in our nature, which gave that grand and boundless consideration to his vicarious sufferings, which has rendered it " righteous" in God to remit the sins of all who penitently trust in his merit; whilst his remaining God and man for ever personally united affords us the pledge of that inconceivable exaltation of human nature which shall take place, as to the righteous, at his second advent. For then these vile bodies are to be made like unto his glorious body, and our souls to undergo that vast change which the New Testament describes by the indefinite, but for that reason the most expressive term which could be used,—“ glorification." He will therefore be "God with us," and we shall be with him, as the Head of glorified human nature, for ever. When he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is." On this whole account it may be remarked, that the birth of Christ of a pure virgin was the commencement of the completion of that series of illustrious predictions which began to be delivered to the patriarchs, and were proclaimed to the Jewish Church in increasing number and variety by the Hebrew prophets, until the close of that singular succession of inspired men in the person of Malachi. That the Christ should be born of a virgin, was obscurely intimated in that first promise of grace on which the mercy of God permitted guilty and penitent man to hope. He was then announced as "the Seed of the woman,”—a singular mode of expression, which probably from the beginning served to awaken attention and inquiry; but it was expressly declared that he

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25 And knew her not, till she had brought forth her firstborn Son: and he called his name JESUS.

CHAPTER II.

1 The wise men out of the east are directed to Christ by a star. 11 They worship him, and offer their presents. 14 Joseph fleeth into Egypt, with Jesus and his mother. 16 Herod slayeth the children: 20 Himself dieth. 23 Christ is brought back again into Galilee to Nazareth.

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1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in

a Luke ii. 6.

should be born of a virgin in that passage from Isaiah which has been already considered. The intimate connexion which exists between this important circumstance and the whole plan of our redemption, is at once seen by those who hold the true scriptural doctrine of our Lord's sacrificial and vicarious death; and every effort is therefore made to discredit the doctrine by those who deny Christ's death to be a proper atonement for sin. For, since they reject the atonement, they can find no reason for the miraculous conception; and regarding it, therefore, as an incumbrance to the history of Christ, they have zealously, though vainly, and in opposition to all evidence, endeavoured to prove that those portions of the Gospels of St. Matthew and St. Luke which treat of it are additions of later times. But all the parts of truth must be consistent with each other; and as the sacrificial character of the death of Christ will be found indelibly stamped upon a hundred unquestioned passages, both of the Old and the New Testaments, it follows that he must have been " without spot," absolutely without sin, which no human being ever was, or could be, who came into the world in the ordinary manner. By natural generation we are connected with Adam, whom St. Paul teaches us to consider as the fountain of sin and death to all his posterity; but the human nature of our Lord came not down the stream which issued from that fountain. By being formed and nourished in the womb of the virgin, he partook of human nature with as much truth, as if he had been begotten of man; but, being conceived of the Holy Ghost,

his real human nature was, ab origine, spotless and unpolluted, having no seeds of evil in it, nor placed under those penal relations to the first Adam, by which all his posterity became separated and alien from that life of God which is the principle of all true holiness. Thus was the human nature of our Lord "holy, harmless, and separate from sinners," in its original condition and relations, as well as by his subsequent practice; and thus was that which was born of Mary called by the angel, in St. Luke, "a holy thing." His example was therefore that of a perfect man, and his sacrifice that of a "Lamb without spot; " so that he could die vicariously, that is, in the place of others, the merit of his death being transferable, in consequence of his not being held to that penalty. He died, "the JUST for the UNJUST, that he might bring us to God." See note on Luke i. 35.

Verse 25. Her first-born Son.-The first son was, among the Jews, called “ the firstborn," whether any more sons were brought forth afterwards or not; so that nothing can be inferred from this passage, one way or the other, as to the question whether Mary had any other child. The object of the evangelist was to show that she had none before Jesus, and that he was born of her, still being a virgin. It is for the latter reason that he refers to Joseph's continency. The doctrine of Mary's perpetual virginity is a figment of later times, founded neither upon scripture, nor uniform tradition, nor the reason of the case.

CHAPTER II. Verse 1. Bethlehem of

the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,

Judea, &c.-About six miles from Jerusalem, and so called to distinguish it from another Bethlehem, in the tribe of Zebulon.

In the days of Herod the king.—The mention of Herod renders it necessary to connect his history with that of the Jews after their return from captivity in Babylon. This took place five hundred and thirty-five years before the birth of Christ. The Jews continued under the protection of the kings of Persia for two hundred years; in the early part of which period they were ruled by governors of their own nation, appointed by the Persian court; and in the latter the High Priests were deputed to that office. The Persian empire was subverted by Alexander the Great, on whose death the Selcucidæ reigned in Syria, and the Ptolemies in Egypt. The provinces of Colo-Syria and Palestine were wrested from the Ptolemies by Antiochus the Great, king of Syria. His son Antiochus Epiphanes conquered Egypt, and then made a furious attack upon the Jews, 170 years before Christ, plundered Jerusalem, polluted the temple, destroyed forty thousand of the inhabitants, and a short time afterwards renewed his atrocities, and, being a bitter persecuting pagan, he abolished, as far as he was able, the worship of God, and consecrated the temple to Jupiter Olympus. These acts of outrage and cruelty called forth the pious patriotism of the celebrated family of the Maccabees, who, after the most severe and noble struggles, in which they were well supported by the devoted heroism of the Jews, succeeded in expelling the Syrians. This was the rise of the Asmonean family, as the Maccabees were also called, from an ancestor of the name of Asmoneus; and Judas Maccabæus, who united the High Priesthood with the supreme government, formed an alliance with the Romans, the better to defend the new commonwealth which his valour had founded. The successors of Judas were Jonathan, Simon, John Hyrcanus, who subdued the Idumæans,

Aristobulus, who assumed the title of king, Alexander Janææus, Alexandra his widow, Aristobulus the younger son, deposed by Pompey, who restored Hyrcanus the elder son, but forbade the use of the diadem, and made the nation tributary to the Romans. The prime minister of this Hyrcanus, the last of the Asmonean family, was Antipater, who, having ingratiated himself with the Romans, obtained from them for his son Herod, afterwards called the Great, the government of Galilee; and Herod, having married Mariamne, the grandaughter of Hyrcanus, with much opposition and violence, and by the favour of Marc Antony, took possession of the kingdom of Judea, and reigned thirty-four years. He died within two years after the real time of the birth of Christ, and soon after the slaughter of the innocents at Bethlehem. The distribution of his kingdom by his will was confirmed by Augustus Cæsar. Archelaus had Judea; Herod Antipas the tetrarchy of Iturea and Trachonitis. Herod Philip appears to have been left in a private station. The names of these princes appear in the Gospels. Archelaus was reigning when Joseph and Mary returned from Egypt. Herod Antipas the tetrarch, or, by courtesy, the king of Galilee, is several times mentioned; (Matthew xiv. 1, 3, 6; Mark vi.

14;

Luke iii. 1, 19;) and to him our Lord was sent by Pilate. Philip is mentioned Luke iii. 1. Herodias was the wife of Herod Philip, and was married to Herod Antipas during the lifetime of her husband; which proved the occasion of the murder of John the Baptist, Matthew xiv. 3-10. The Herod Agrippa mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles was a grandson of Herod the Great, and brother of Herodias. The emperor Caligula made him tetrarch of Trachonitis and Abilene, to which Claudius added the kingdom of Judea. He it was that put James the Apostle to death, Acts xii. 1, 2; and was mortally smitten of God, in the height of his pride, at Cæsarea, Acts

2 Saying, Where is he that is born king of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.

3 When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

xii. 20. On his death, a Roman governor was again appointed to Judea. His son, Agrippa the second, succeeded to the tetrarchies of Trachonitis and Abilene. Before this Agrippa St. Paul delivered his reasons for becoming a Christian.

Wise men from the east.—Μάγοι απο αναTOλ, Magi from the east; which word, as being descriptive of a certain class of eastern sages, ought to have been retained in the translation. It was the title given by the ancient Persians to their philosophers. They chiefly cultivated theology and politics according to Aristotle; but Philo describes them also as diligent inquirers into nature, and given up to contemplation. They anciently admitted the dualistic system, or the doctrine of two principles, one the author of good, the other of evil, which were represented by light and darkness. They abhorred images, but adored fire as emblematical of the beneficent deity. Many of them, or of those who passed under that name, were greatly addicted also to astrology and divination. During the captivity of the Jews in Babylon, the Persian sages who came into that country with Cyrus probably became acquainted with the sacred books of the Hebrews; and, under the influence of Zoroaster, it is supposed that the Magian religion was greatly reformed, and brought nearer to the Jewish. Zendavesta, their sacred book, is full of passages from the writings of Moses. The term Magi was, however, at length generally used, not only in Persia, but in Chaldea, Armenia, Arabia, and different parts of Asia, to distinguish philosophers; and their religious system, no doubt, greatly varied in all these countries, and at different periods. Attempts have been made to fix the country from which the Magi mentioned in the text came, from the kind of gifts they presented; but this affords no satisfactory illustration,

The

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as the precious gums, though natives of Arabia, were used throughout the east, as presents of honour to distinguished personages. Justin Martyr, Tertullian, and Epiphanius, think that they came from Arabia, which is called "the east," in Judges vi. 3, Job i. 3; whereas Chaldea, the country assigned to them by others, is somewhat to the north of Judea. Of whatever country they were, they are injured by being supposed to be astrologers. They were manifestly holy men and worshippers of the true God, and favoured with special revelations from him. That the east was celebrated for wisdom in ancient times, appears from Solomon's wisdom being said to excel "the wisdom of the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt." 1 Kings iv. 30.

Verse 2. His star in the east.-Many conjectures have been offered as to this appearance; as, that it was the glory of the Shechinah; the Holy Spirit; an angel; a new star in the heavens; or a comet. It appears to have been a meteor, bearing the appearance of a bright star, and was manifestly supernatural, and connected as to its import with some revelation made to them of the birth of the Messiah. How otherwise should it have guided them to the very house where "the young child was?" and how without a revelation should they have known its significancy as indicating the birth of "the King of the Jews?" The sign was, however, appropriate, as among the ancients the appearance of a star was considered the forerunner of the birth of great princes. By them also, bright meteors, having a stellar appearance, were denominated stars. So Homer uses the word asepa in Iliad ▲ 75, and Virgil stella, Æneid. II. 693.

Verse 3. When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled.—Herod was

4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.

5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judæa: for thus it is written by the prophet,

6 And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the

b Micah v. 2; John vii. 41.

not only by nature a suspicious man, but he knew that he was abhorred of the Jews as a foreigner; and was therefore moved with strong apprehension lest this recently-born child, thus publicly announced as the King of the Jews, and the Heir of David's throne, should excite a sedition which might deprive him of his kingdom. And all Jerusalem with him, as knowing his fierce and cruel temper, and fearing that his rage might break forth, as it had done on several former occasions, in acts of indiscriminate cruelty.

The chief priests and scribes.-He convenes a solemn assembly of the chief priests, including the high priest, his deputy, and the heads of the twenty-four courses of priests. The Hebrew word for scribe,, is derived from a root which signifies to number, from which probably comes our word cypher. The rendering in Greek is γραμματεύς, from γραμμα, α letter; so that the scribes were employed in writings, numbers, accounts, and in transcribing and interpreting the books of the law; and the word is used both for those who were employed about any kind of civil writings or records, or those whose business it was to transcribe, study, and explain the Scriptures. The scribes mentioned in the New Testament were all of the latter class, and are the same as the VOμLKO, "lawyers," sometimes also mentioned. They were students and teachers of the law, and were particularly skilled in the traditions which at that time were held in such reverence. (See note on chap. v. 20.) The assembly convened by Herod was therefore one of the greatest authority; and Divine Providence so ordered it, that they should give the opinion of the Jewish church as to the

sense of that important prophecy in Micah, which they adduce in answer to Herod's inquiry, where the Christ should be born. It follows from Herod's question and the answer of the council, that it was at that time received among the Jews, that the Christ should not make his appearance among them by a descent from heaven, but be born of woman; which they were probably led the more fully to expect, from the prophecy of Isaiah above-noticed.

Verse 5. In Bethlehem of Judea.The residence of Joseph was at Nazareth, more than fifty miles distant; and, Mary being far advanced in pregnancy, nothing was more unlikely than that our Lord should be born at Bethlehem, and especially as no private business called them thither. This event was brought about through means over which they had no control. The emperor Augustus ordered a census of his empire to be taken, including such nominally independent states as Judea; and this laid Joseph and Mary under the necessity of repairing without delay to Bethlehem, because they were both" of the house and lineage of David," and the enrolments of Judea were made of every one according to his tribe, and city, and family. So remarkably does God accomplish his purposes, without interference with the free agency of man; and so strikingly does this, and many similar events, display the depth of that wisdom of God which "sweetly ordereth all things." Events work at greater distances from each other than human knowledge can discern; and although no human power can establish a connexion between them, yet they infallibly co-operate to accomplish the purposes of God.

Verse 6. And thou Bethlehem, in the land

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