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m an y w a ters, and as the voice o f m ighty thunderings, sa yin g , A llelu ia ; fo r the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.” . PRACTICAL POINTS (1) The Scriptures were verified. The V irgin-born Son of God was found in th e village of Bethlehem. (2) The Scribes and Pharisees had th e Scriptures in th e ir hands, but, alas! they handled them deceitfully. Do you? (3 ) The angels heralded and praised the new-born King. Herod hated and persecuted Him. (4) Divinely-directed men will be found a t th e feet of Jesus. (5) Christ is no t only w orthy of our worship, bu t deserves th e wealth of our lives. (6) Herod was a creatu re of Satan, b u t now he has to cope w ith Christ, the Creator. (7) Man-made kings may ru le and ru in , bu t the God-born King sways an etern al sceptre. (8) Herod was the cruel catspaw of Satan, bu t he missed his mark. v. 1. B om in Bethlehem . Seven hun dred years before Micah had prophesied th a t He who was to be born ru ler was to come fo rth out of Bethlehem (Mic. 5 :2 ), bu t she th a t was COMMENTS FROM chosen to be the MANY SOURCES mother of Jesus K eith L. B rooks lived in far away Nazareth. M e n who were u tte rly unconscious of God’s purposes and prophecies, by many de crees and ways, worked together so th a t Mary was brought to Bethlehem a t the time of our Lord’s b irth ; and thus God’s Word was fulfilled, God’s eternal plan carried out (Ps. 7 6 :1 0 ).— Torrey. Wise men. These men were probably Persian priests and stud en ts of astron omy, who had come in contact with Jews of the captivity and had learned something from them regarding the coming Christ. These wise men were doubtless looking for a Saviour because of th e ir own need of Him. The law had failed in Israel, culture and civili zation had failed in Greece, power had failed in Rome. The cry of humanity as a whole was for relief and in the ful-
the far-off E ast do Him reverence. They did not fall a t H erod’s feet n eith er did they worship th e virgin mother, b u t at th e feet of the Babe they p ro strate themselves. (Psa. 95:6) “ O come, let o s w orsh ip and how down) let us kneel before the L o rd our M aker.” (Rev. 4 :11) “ Thou a rt -w o rth y, O Lord, to receive g lo ry , and honour, and p ow er; fo r thou h ast created a ll thin gs, and fo r th y plea sure th ey ,are and w ere created.” Worship was th e object of th e ir pil grimage, and now they pour out their h earts in adoration. They open th eir gifts and bestow them upon Him. Gold for a king; frankincense as used in th e temple for worship, now offered to Him as th e Divine One; myrrh, suggestive of His hum anity and sacrificial death, or perhaps symbolizing th e universal kingdom of Christ; they, themselves, representing th e kingdom of men; frankincense and m yrrh th e vegetable kingdom, and gold th e m ineral king dom. (Rev. 5:13) «And e ve ry creature w h ich is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that dre in them , heard 1 sa y in g , B lessin g, and honour, and g lo ry , and pow er he unto him th at sltteth upon the throne, and unto the Lam b fo r ever and ever.” So God ordained, th a t His Son should hold universal sway. Nigh to Jeru sa lem, yet the great mass so occupied w ith earth ly things, w ith religious rites and ceremonies, th a t th e King from heaven is among them unknown and uncared for. 1 As it was then, so it is now, and so it will be when He comes again. Even in these Christmas times, buy ing and selling, absorbed in money making, present-giving and a merry time, th e King in whose name it is all done is likely to be overlooked. May we all be as th e wise men, fall ing a t His feet, giving Him our h e a rts’ real worship. Unto Jesus Christ, th e King, be all honor and praise! (Rev. 19:5, 6) *
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