But they also who have loved Him, who have served Him, who have waited for Him, who have longed for and loved His appearing, who were patient and comforted amidst their earthly sorrows, because they hoped for that day, they too shall see Him; the day that they waited for is come, and who shall tell the joy of their hearts. Shall they not find it a day worth having waited for? Oh, be ye of that company. Be ye found waiting for Him, that ye may hear these words, from His lips: "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." * Matt. xxv. 24. SECOND SERIES, VIII. The Wise Men of the East. MATT. ii, 1–11.-"Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he that is born king of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. When Herod the king heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judea for thus it is written by the prophet, And thou, Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel. Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child: and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also. When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, : went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way." IN the first chapter of this gospel, we read the account of our blessed Lord's birth, and are told that he was named Jesus, because He should save His people from their sins. The Saviour who had been promised, and concerning whom all the holy prophets had spoken; the Saviour for whom the Jews professed to be waiting, had been born. The angel of the Lord had come down from heaven to declare this great event to the shepherds on the plains of Bethlehem, as "good tidings of great joy to all people;" and the heavenly host had sung, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will to men." Now, a star has brought these strangers from a far distant country, that they may see and worship Him who has been born King of the Jews; it has guided them to the chief city of that chosen people, among whom this Saviour has been born, the only people who have in their hands the word of God; and who are continually hearing those prophecies read in their synagogue, which fore warned them of His coming. Their scribes could tell at once, in answer to the king's question, the very spot in which the Messiah whom they were expecting should be born. Would we not, then, have expected that in that land, that among that people, so familiar from childhood with the word of God, and with the ordinances of His house, that there, among those Jews, would have been found the knowledge of that wonderful event, which had now come to pass, the birth of a "Saviour, who is Christ the Lord; that they would have been rejoicing in the fulfilment of all their hopes, in the appearing of that King who was to rule in righteousness; and that they would have been ready to burst out into songs of praise, when they bowed the knee before Him? What, then, do these strangers find when they enter Jerusalem, when they stand among the chosen people of God? Their long and toilsome journey has been cheered by the light of that guiding star, and by the hope of what it is leading them to. And now that they have come almost to the scene of their hopes, what do they find, as they look upon the streets and crowded thoroughfare of that city whose gates they have entered? No doubt, they see what is seen in other cities; men are buying and selling, bargaining and trafficking; the rich busy with the care of their riches, perhaps busy building barns and storehouses to contain them, the poor struggling with their poverty; the cares, and riches, and pleasures of this life, driving men to and fro there as elsewhere, holding them fast, and keeping them from either time or inclination to consider what all this busy bustle is to end in. But amid the hum of voices, and all the many sounds of the busy city on that day-a day so many hundred years ago—there suddenly is heard a solemn question, a question that might well make that crowd pause. These strangers who have appeared in the midst of them,-a group of strange men, whose dress, and looks, and language show that they had come from a far distant land, they take no account of what is going on in Jerusalem, but they ask, "Where is He that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the east, and are come to worship Him." And how does the city of God receive this question, the city that God had chosen to put His name there? It is said, "When Herod the king heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him." Troubled, not because they had never heard of such a thing before; Herod knew well that their Scriptures foretold all about this heavenly child; and with the help of the priests and scribes, he can give these inquiring strangers the right |