The Pulpit Commentary — Matthew — Volume 1 — Section 57

Ruler of hie people Israel. Very awful wickeclness; but yet differing only in degree from the guilt of those who, professing to believe in Clrist, oppress his poor, or for their own selfish ends oppose the work and progress of hie Church. 'fhe Bible is a very precious talent entrusted to us by God; but the knowledge of hie will most increase oUI condemnation a hundredfold if we Bet ourselves against it in our lives. Knowledge with obedience is very blessed; knowledge with disobedience incurs a fearful doom. (2) The victims. 'l'hey were martyrs in deed, though not in will. They died for Christ, unconsciously indeed, bnt yet for him, to ensure his safety, that he might live to die for them, to save them, with all his people, through his most precious blood. We may be sure that their death was blessed; they died for Christ. They were taken frvn the evil to come; they died before their infant souls were stained by actual sin. The death of little children is a mystery. It looks like a waste of life; it seems.as if there is an immense waste in the creation of God; such multi- tudes die before they come to maturity. But we live in an atmosphere of mystery;. we can see only a very little way into the surrounding darkness. We walk by faith, not by sight. We must believe that he doeth all things well, and trust our babes to him who loved the little children, who took them up into his arms and blessed them. (3) The prophecy. The words of Jeremiah related to the wailings of the captives collected at Ram.ah on their way to Babylon. Rachel, their ancestress, buried near Bethlehem, hears their cries; she issues from her grave ; her lamentations are heard in Ramah. Now the prophecy receives a second fulfilment; the bitter sorrow of the bereaved mothers moves the heart of the dead Rachel; again her voice is heard weep- ing with the weeping mothers. It is a touching illustration of the exceeding great anguish of those Bethlehem matronB. Rachel is represented as listening and joining in their mourning. The Lord Christ listens to us in our distress; he feeb for us with all the depth of human tenderness, with all the strength of Divine love. II. THE RETURN. 1. Herod was dead. 'l'he wicked king, on whose conscience lay the death of so many sufferers, had now ~ meet death himself. His last days were- passed in the extremest misery, sometimes in planning nets of cruelty, sometimes in fits of the deepest despair. His wealth and power could not save him from a frightful death. "There is no peace, saith my God, unto the wicked." His death teaches the solemn lesson, "Envy thou not the oppressor." 'Wickedness, however gilded by rank and riches, must end in misery, probably in this world, certainly in the world to come. Herod was dead; the Lord Jesus was yet an Infant. The two, so utterly unlike, a.re mentioned here together. For a moment they almost crossed each other's path-the old man and the little Babe; the Idurnman and the Son of David; the despot in all his barbaric splendour, and the Child who had been cradled in the manger; the mighty tyrant with his soldiers, and the helpless Infant with one only earthly protector; the one intensely wicked, guilty beyond the ordinary range of human guilt, the other Holiest of holies, gentle, loving, self-sacrificing beyond all that hnman heart can con- ceive. For a moment their paths almost met, and then they parted-the one to die- in torture, in misery of soul and body, thirsting for blood to the last moments of his evil life ; the other to Ii ve a life most holy and most blessed, and at the last to lay down his life, a spotless Sacrifice, for the sins of the whole world. Herod was dead : who would envy the pomp and luxury of a life doomed to issue in such a death? They carried him to his tomb in royal majesty; the corpse lay on a bier of gold adorned with the costliest jewels. It seemed a ghastly mockery; that pomp could not follow him beyond the grave, it could not help the poor soul that was gone. 2. The call. Again the angel's voice aroused the sleeping Joseph; again he recognized the word of Goel, antl obeyed, ae was his wont, at once. He took the young Child and his mother. Mary had suffered much; she was highly favoured; but those who are nearest to God aro often called to pass through great affliction. She was in exile, far from home and country ; she must have been in great distress and anxiety for the safety of the pre- cious Child. She had trusted herself to God before: "Behold the handmaid of the Lord." Doubtless she trusted him always. He cared for her; he guided her. It is a comfortin" thought for anxious mothers. 3. Nazareth. (1) Joseph's fears. God had bidtlen Iii~ to go into the land of Israel; ho went in faith and obetlience. But he liad our human weakness, our doubts nn,l fears. God's grnc~ does not remove the infirmities. of our human nature; it helps us to resist them. JJseph hcarJ. ihat Arebela.us had  44 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MATTHEW. [en. n.1-23.