SERMON CLXVII.

THE WISE MEN FOLLOWING THE STAR.

ST. MATTHEW ii. 2.

"We have seen His Star in the East, and are come to worship HIM."

In all the history of our LORD's manifestation on earth, and especially in the account of His childhood, there is a wonderful mixture of openness and reserve. There is a veil over the brightness of His Presence, through which He allows HIMSELF to be seen occasionally only, and not by all sorts of persons, but by a few only of a particular class and character.

Thus, in His birth, how was the unspeakable dignity of the SON of GOD hidden and clouded over! His mother, the wife of a poor carpenter of Nazareth; the chamber, a stable; the cradle, a manger: yet how wonderful the manifestation of His glory! Angels coming in brightness from the heavens to announce HIM,a thing which had never been known or thought of before, since, on the birthday of the world itself, the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of GOD shouted for joy."

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Again, when He was circumcised, HE seemed like one among many sinners, having need to be admitted into the LORD'S earthly family but great indeed was the token of His Majesty, in having His Name twice brought by an Angel from heaven, and that the Name JESUS, which declared HIM the SAVIOUR of the world. Then He was brought to the Temple, in the usual way, with simple offerings, as any poor man's child might be: but HE was received with an outpouring of the HOLY SPIRIT of Pro

phecy, so many hundred years silent in that place. Still, however, this SPIRIT was vouchsafed only to quiet and meek persons, and His message spoken of to those only who looked for redemption; even as before, His birth was made known to the shepherds only, watchfully doing their duty; and the secret of the name JESUS, brought from heaven, was known, as far as we can tell, only to St. Joseph and the Blessed Virgin.

The next event in our LORD's childhood is the Epiphany, or visit of the Wise men, which we commemorate this day. And here, surely, we may plainly perceive the same rule or law to have been kept. On the one hand, how clear and glorious the token from heaven! a new and wonderful star, appearing so far away, and inviting even Gentiles to so great a distance, not merely to see, but even to worship HIM: on the other hand, when He is found, HE is a meek and lowly babe, resting on His Mother's knees, as any other child might do, in a poor cottage of a humble village. And the immediate consequence of their visit is, that He is forced to fly for His life; or rather His Mother and Joseph are forced to remove HIм by night, as if He were helpless, like all infants, and could do nothing for HIMSELF. They worship HIм, owning His Godhead: He flies, confessing HIMSELF a true child of man, as we are.

Thus the Epiphany, like the other manifestations of our LORD, partly veils and partly discloses His glory.

As in those other instances also, the disclosure is made to persons of a certain character, and to those only. It is not hard to see what sort of mind these Wise men were in; how earnest, not only in obtaining what heavenly knowledge they could, but also in obeying what they knew. They lived in a country, and most likely belonged to a profession, in which the observation of the stars was great part of their daily business. And as the shepherds, when the Angel was sent to them, were watching over their flocks by night, that is, in the honest exercise of their daily calling; so this star was ordered to meet the eyes of these men, so learned in the signs of the heavens. It seems in both cases to signify, that God loves to visit, with His heavenly and spiritual blessings, those whom He sees diligent and conscientious in their daily duty.

Now the star was of course something extraordinary, some

thing different from other stars, as indeed the whole course of this history shows it to have been. There can be little doubt that it was a glory, a miraculous appearance, sent from heaven for this very purpose. And it might be, the wise men had heard or read of that old prophecy, which mentions that a star should one day rise out of Jacob'. For Balaam, who uttered that prophecy fourteen hundred years before, was himself one of the Wise men of the East, and his words might be known and remembered, especially as Moses had set them down.

However, either by that prophecy, or in some other way, GoD had made known to these Wise men, when they saw the star in the East, that it was a token of the birth of One who should be King of the Jews, and they set out at once on their long journey to worship HIM. The length of the way did not keep them back, nor yet their having to go to Jerusalem, which was at that time thought little of among all the nations of the world. They were of a sort of persons renowned for their wisdom, yet they were not ashamed to ask for guidance of those who were least esteemed in the world, because they knew they were the people of God.

And God encouraged them: they found the place which they sought. Herod, and the chief Priests and Scribes, enemies of our LORD, and designing to slay HIM, told them, however, where to find HIM, and directed them to the old prophecy concerning Bethlehem. This was great encouragement: to find that the Scriptures of GOD, as interpreted by those whom GOD HIMSELF had made guardians and expounders of them, guided them onward, instead of checking and disappointing them. And it was still greater, even miraculous encouragement, when immediately on their setting out for Bethlehem, the star which they had seen in the East appeared again: and now it disappeared no more, till it " came and stood over where the Young Child was," marking out the very cottage in which the HOLY SAVIOUR might be found.

Thus they could have no doubt they were quite sure it was HE whom they sought. They were as certain as the shepherds, when they had come there, obedient to the voice of the Angel. It moved them not at all that they saw but a little Child, resting on the bosom of a poor Maiden, with an aged man waiting by.

1 Numbers xxiv. 17.

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Their faith had brought them so far, under direction of their heavenly Guide, and they were not now going to swerve from it, and begin indulging unbelieving thoughts. They fall down at once, and worship the Young Child, and offer Him the very best that they have to give, the treasures and gifts which they had brought with them on purpose, "gold, and frankincense, and myrrh."

Having thus done, the Wise men receive another warning from GOD in a dream, which way they should go home; a favour which shewed that He was graciously pleased to accept all they had done hitherto. And having come home, they lost not their faith, but, as ancient tradition relates 2, were ready to receive the preaching of the Gospel from St. Thomas, when he came into that country, some years after the Ascension of our LORD. These Wise men assisted that Apostle in bearing witness to the Cross among their own countrymen in the East.

Such were the persons who were honoured by our Lord to be the second set of chosen witnesses, invited by miraculous guidance to see HIM in His childhood. Are we not, so far, all of us like them, in that, when children, we too have a sort of Star in the East, to guide us towards the cradle of our LORD? We are carried to Church, we are taught to pray, we learn more or less of Scripture words and histories: GoD gives us notice, in various ways, of that wonderful Child, who was born at Bethlehem to be King of the Jews: various things happen, from time to time, which give us a sort of blind indistinct feeling, that there is within our reach, we know not how near us, a great and heavenly Being, could we but feel after HIM and find HIM.

Now these notices and feelings, if they are indeed sent by the MOST HIGH, as the star was sent to the wise men, will guide us, more or less directly, to Jerusalem, that is to the Holy Church of GOD, the city set on an hill which cannot be hid. We indeed are in that Church already, by the ALMIGHTY'S especial favour, ever since the moment of our Baptism. And still as we search after the truth, our thoughts are brought back to the same Church; and Providence teaches us, as the star guided the Wise men, to go to Jerusalem, the Church and city of GOD, and ask where the Truth, that is CHRIST, is to be found.

2 St. Chrysostom, Hom. vi. on St. Matt. § 5. Oxf. Translation.

And the Church, like a gracious mother, will be ready at our need. She will guide us, as herself is guided, by Holy Scripture. She will send us to Bethlehem, because it is so written in the Prophets Bethlehem, which is, being interpreted, the House of Bread, and which therefore is an apt figure of the place where HE gives HIMSELF to us, who is "the true Bread which cometh down from heaven, the Bread of God which giveth life unto the world." The Church, in short, being guided by the Scriptures, will send us to the Holy Communion, there to worship and receive JESUS CHRIST. What have we to do in this world, but to prepare ourselves, and follow that heavenly guidance? And we are so far rightly preparing ourselves, as we really from our heart are endeavouring to copy the Wise men in their search for the new-born SAVIOUR.

The Wise men were ready to follow wherever God's providence might lead them, however slight and even doubtful the notices of His will might be. They follow the star, not knowing whither it would take them, much as Abraham had done, from nearly the same country, two thousand years before. So ought it to be enough for us to know the next step in our journey, the next thing God would have us do, with something like tolerable certainty. One step before them, is as much as sinners in a troublous world should expect to see.

The Wise men did not mind the trouble of their journey to find our LORD. Day after day they went on, and still the star, as it may appear, or at least some providential sign, shewed them they had still further to go; and they did not grow weary, nor turn back, nor say, "Why could not we as well have honoured the Young Child at a distance, in the sight of GOD, who knows our hearts ?"

This surely may reprove our indolence and want of faith, who are so seldom willing to leave our homes, and go ever so little way, there, where we are sure the Young Child is to be found but rather put up with idle excuses, the more profane because they make a show of respect, of GOD being in one place as much as in another, and of our being able to serve HIM at home as acceptably as in Church.

Neither, again, did those Wise men shrink from their long journey, nor fear to ask about our LORD, or to go where they