958 filled with unbelief. They pointed out the way, but did not themselves seek the King. They were busily engaged in studying the Scriptures, but indiffer ent to the spiritual application of them. Herod, finding out where the King was to -be born, seeks to hinder the fulfillment of Scripture by human sa gacity. What strange inconsistency! Looking into prophecy, believing proph ecy, then hoping to evade it! He poses as a worshipper, but is a pious fraud. Under the cloak of sanctity, he proposes to slay the new-born King. . He had murdered his brother, the grandfather of his wife, his own wife Mariamne and her mother, and had put to death two of his own sons. Now he seeks to lay his murderous hands on God’s An ointed. He outwits the Magi, but he has now to deal with God. “He that sitt§th in the heavens shall laugh. ’ (Psa. 2 :4). What an illustration of the fate of God’s enemies who hope to overcome His eternal purposes and bring to nought His promises! Judas like, they would kiss Him to the death, pretending to be His followers. Men would sell Him for a few pieces of sil ver. (3) THE HONOR FOR THE KING, vs. 9-11. The wise men go on their way, guided by the star, and assured by the Word of God, they follow until they find the Child over whom the star rests. They have come a long way and en dured many trials in order that they might worship the King. They find Him in the stable of the inn. No signs of royalty, no pomp and splendor, no pal ace, but lying in a manger, attended by His mother, is the long sought for, long prophesied King of the Jews. Their faith does not waver. They have fol lowed the Divine direction, and they believe they have found Him who is to be worshipped. Already Jesus had re ceived the homage of the humble shep-
THE K I N G ' S BUS I NE S S herds to whom the heavenly visitors had proclaimed the message of peace and good will. Simeon had held Him in his arms, adored Him and sung His praises. Anna, the prophetess, had given thanks for liis appearance. Now, the Gentiles from the far-off East do Him reverence. They did not fall at Herod’s feet, neither did they worship the Virgin Mother, but at His feet who was but a babe they prostrate them selves. Worship was the object of their long pilgrimage and now they pour out their hearts in adoration. They open their gifts and bestow them upon Him— go'ld, for the King; frank incense, used in the temple for wor ship, is now offered to Him as the Di vine One; myrrh, suggestive of His hu manity and sacrificial death— all to gether symbolic of the universal king dom of Christ. They themselves rep resenting humanity, frankincense and myrrh, the vegetable kingdom, and the gold, the mineral kingdom. So God has ordained that His Son should hold universal sway. “ Not many mighty; not many noble.” Here they were, nigh to Jerusalem, yet the great mass so occupied with earthly things, with religious rites and ceremonies, that the King from Heaven is unknown and uncared for. (4) THE HAVEN FOR THE KING, vs. 12-15. Being warned of God in a dream, the wise men passed Herod by. God must- protect His Son, and the whole political and physical universe would have gone to smash before that Child could have suffered harm. And every child is just as safe. Not a hair falls without the Father’s notice. There must come a time when He was to be born King of the Jews, and there must come a time when He must hang on the Cross and die, over His head the superscription, "Jesus of Naz areth, the King of the Jews.”
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