The temple was the place to which in a more especial manner he was to come : yes, it was while the second temple was yet standing, that he was to come. And thither was he brought at the purification of his mother, when that holy patriarch, Simeon, took him up in his arms, and blessed God for permitting him thus to embrace the promised Saviour1. It was at the temple also that his parents found him conversing with the doctors when he was but twelve years of age : and, when his mother expressed the sorrow that she and her husband had felt while seeking him, he answered, (doubtless in reference to this and similar prophecies,) " Wist ye not, that I must be at my Father's"1 ?" It was in the temple that he delivered many of his instructive discourses, and wrought many stupendous miracles, and he repeatedly purged it from the profanations which the venal priests had allowed11.
His advent, however, though so long predicted, was to be " sudden," as in fact it was : for though there was then a general expectation of his arrival, yet the manner of his ap- pearance was so contrary to the carnal notions which were entertained respecting him, that he was overlooked ; and, instead of being welcomed as the Messiah, was rejected as an impostor.
The repetition of this prediction in the close of the verse is remarkable as being intended to evince the certainty of the event predicted.]
The prophet, having thus foretold the Messiah's advent, proceeds to declare,
II. Its diversified effects —
As the characters of those, to whom he was to come, were very various, so his advent was to prove,
1. Discriminating —
[Many in that and every age have professed a great regard for the law of God, while they have really hated it in their hearts, and have shewn their utter enmity to God under the semblance of zeal for his honour. On the other hand, many, who have been despised of their fellow-creatures on account of some enormities they may have committed, have really possessed a broken and contrite heart, and have proved in- comparably more willing to submit to Jesus, than any self- applauding Pharisee ever was. Now to discover these hidden dispositions of the heart was one intent of our Lord's coming : " He was set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel, and for a sign that should be spoken against, that the thoughts of many hearts should be revealed0" And this was the very
1 Luke ii. 27 — 29. m 'Ev role rod irciTpog fxuv.
n Matt. xxi. 12, 13, 14, 23. ° Luke ii. 34, 35.
1272.1 TirE EFFECTS OF CHRIST'S ADVENT. 607
effect produced by him ; for the Scribes and Pharisees, filled with a conceit of their superior knowledge and goodness, cast him out with abhorrence, while many publicans and harlots believed on him to the saving of their souls. This very effect also still follows from the preaching of his gospel ; the precious are separated from the vile, and men, though unconscious of it themselves, are led to manifest their real characters, as care- less Gallios, atheistical scoffers, proud Pharisees, or humble believers.]
2. Purifying —
[Some there were in our Lord's day, who, the more they were rubbed with the fuller's sope, and heated by the refiner's fire, were the more freed both from their outward filthiness and their inward depravity : the apostle tells us of many, who, having once abandoned themselves to the most infamous lusts, were " washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our Godp." So at this time many of the " sons of Levi," not ministers only, but people also (for all believers are now " priests unto God") are " purified as silver and gold, and offer to the Lord their offer- ings in righteousness." And it is no small consolation to them to know, that, while they are in the furnace, the Refiner himself " sitteth" over them, watching the process with all due solicitude, and taking care that they shall lose nothing but their dirt and dross.]