How long the Virgin Mary and her Holy Child had been there, is not expreſſed ;z thole that think that theſe Wiſe Men came within fix Weeks or two Months, judge that oſeph and Mary came thi- ther from 7eruſalemafter that he had been there offered ro the Lord; of which you read Luke 2, Bur they are forced to uphold this, ro interpret; Luke 2. 39. which faith, That after they had performed all things according to the Law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee to their own City Nazareth, of a conſiderable time after they had performed theſe things; which ſeemeth ſomething hard and needles; eſpecially conſidering Nazareth was Foſeph's own City, 1. e. The City where his fixed Habitation was: It is moſt probable, that they, atter ſo long abſence, went right home; and if the Wiſe men (which is ſaid ) found thent in Bethlehem, they were gone thither again ro viſir ſome Relations. They ſaw the young Child with Mary his Mo- ther ; under whart other Circumſtances, the Scripture ſairch not; bur queſtionleſs they were very poor and mean, which 15 a very ſtrong inducement to us to believe, that they had a Spiritual Divine Reve- latimm, That this was a King, whoſe Kingdom was not of this World, the true Meſſtah, and Saviour of the World ;, they would hardly elſe have treated a poor Infant in an ordinary Houſe, and no more at- rended, ar the rate they did; for the Text faith | they fell down and worſhipped him ] an uſual Homage indeed which the Eaſtern Nations paid to Princes : Bur they uſed then ro have better Evidences of their Royal State and Dignity, than theſe Wiſe Men ſeemed to have had, if they had not beſides the Star, a Divine Revelation what manner of King this was to be, We may therefore rather judge that their Revelation extended not only to the Birth of a King, bur of ſuch a King as indeed he was the Erernal Son of God cloathed wich humane Fleſh ; and that their falling down and wor ſpipping him, is to be underſtood of a Divine Worſhip they paid to him, as the Saviour of the World : And ſothey were the Firſt-truitsof rhe. Gentiles, owning and believing in the Lord _ Chriſt ; and that their following Offerings ro him were upon rhar account; for open- ing their Treafures, they preſented to him Gold, Frankincenſe and Myrrh, The Gueſſes of thoſe who think that they offered him Gold, as ro a King, Frankincenſe as an High-Prieſt, and Myrrh to ſeeten the place where he was, I take to be bur the Produdt of Luxuriant Fancies. Ir is moſt certain, rhat thoſe Eaſtern People ſeldom came to their Princes without ſome Preſents, and that cheir Preſents were uſually of the moſt choice things their Coun- ery afforded, this is plain from Gen. 43. v. 11. And if what Natu- raliſts tell us be true, that Myrrh was only to be found in Arabia, and Franbincenſe in Sabea, (a part of Arabia ) and thar Country alſo had Gold, ( which it is plain that ir had, from 2 Chron. g. 14.) it makes a very probable Argument, that theſe Wiſe Men came from Arabia, which was full of Men that were Aſtrologers. The Provi- dence of God was wonderfully ſeen in thefe Pretents, by them pro- viding for the Suſtenance of Foſeph and Mary, and Feſs, in thar Exile which they were ſoon after ro endure z for other Allegorical and MyRical Siznifications of theſe Preſents, they are but Conjeftures,
and the Exuberancies of Mens Fancies. 12 And being warned of God in a dream, that they ſhould not return to Herod, they departed into their
own Country another way.
Now the wiſe God beginneth to defeat the crafty Counſels of Herod, whoſe bloody Hand he had ſtayed, till he ſhould from the Wiſe Men have had a perfet intelligence concerning this new-born King. Gcd in a Dream appeareth ro the Wiſe Men, and warneth them to £0 no more to Herod, The Wiſe Men came with no intention to ſerve Herod's bloody Deſigns, but came in the Simplicity of their Hearts, This Simplicity of theirs, Herod would have abuſed, ro have made them Acceſfaries to his Guilr, God will not ſuffer it: He who walbeth uprightly, walks ſafely. Thus the Integrity of Abimelech in raking Surah, protetted him from Guilt with reference to her, Gen. 20. 6. The word which we here tranſlate warned of God, 1s uſed of Perſons whom God is pleaſed to Honour fo far as ro Diſcourſe with, either by himſelf or an Angel, Luke 2. 26. Affs 10. 22. Heb. 8. 5, and 11. 7. Thus hath God honoured theſe Wiſe Men, whoſe Hearts were inclined towards him and his Chriſt. 1. By giving them a Star to guide them. 2. Confirming their Hearts by his Word, from the Mouths of the Chiet Priefts and Scribes, that they were not mi- ſtaken concerning the Star and its Indication. 3. By ſpeaking him-
THEW Chi
ſelf to them, to keep them from any Guilr, or bein Acceſlaries any way to that bloody Tragedy, which, - Fug bog as parture, he knew would be atted : They rake another way to on
cheir own Country, ſo we hear of them no more. 0
13 And when they were departed, Behold. th ar of the Lord appeared to Joſeph in a dream, Paying 3 an riſe, and take the young child and his mother, and flee unl
into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring th | En tor Herod will ſeek the young child ro + ng oo: |
How long it was before this Apparition ro Joſeph, the Sep; foi ſaith nor; bur admicting what 1s atfirmed by tome Geographers = _ Bethlehem-Zudah was but two days Journey from Feru/alem "i at not
nor be preſumed long, for Herod had ( doubtleſs) quick Intelligence ; Affti
of the Wiſe Mens motions. Here was a ſecond Temptation y back Zeſeph, who was of no great Quality, (a Carpenter) and might j1 N mon anxious Thoughts how he in Egypt ſhould maintain himſelf, bi _
Wite and Child ; bur oſeph knew, That the Earth was the 7., ? and the fulneſs thereof. " Tho' Egypt therefore was a hon wy _ q - B. ters, and he had no viſible way of Subſiſtence there, yer we thay | ar, |