XIV.

our faiths, I hope, did see him there. It is good, taking this SERmon opportunity to get in; we know not whether we shall live to the next opening. Prepare we then ourselves with S.Stephen here, by steadfast looking upward into heaven, by disdaining and scorning all things below, by vehement, earnest longings after things above, by setting ourselves attentively and constantly to our devotions and our prayers, by holy charity, and praying for friends and enemies, by constant resolutions to live and die to Christ, by a bold profession of our faith and continuance in it, by making it our Christmas work, our holiday business, our festival delight. And then, though I cannot promise you visions here, while we live below, I dare promise you the blessed vision hereafter above, where we shall see "Jesus standing at the right hand of God," and there stand round about him, with this blessed martyr Stephen, and all his saints and martyrs, in the glory of God for evermore.

A SERMON

ON

INNOCENTS' DAY.

XV.

S. MATTHEW ii. 16.

Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men.

SERMON THE text needs no apology. It is for the day. The day is that of the poor martyred innocents, and the text the story of it. Yet, what does day, or story, here to-day? How does the relation of one of the saddest murders that the sun ever saw, suit with the news of the gladdest joy that day ever brought forth? How do the cries and screeches of slaughtered infants keep time or tune with the songs and hymns of angels ?―an hellish crew of murderers to-day, agree with the heavenly host we heard of three days since? What does Herod so near Christ, or Childermas in Christmas? Do not both day and story want an apology, though the text does not?

Neither of them; they come well now to season our mirth and jollities, that they run not out too lavishly. For we find too oft there are sad days in Christmas too; days wherein we play the Herods, and kill our children and ourselves by disorders and excesses, for want of some such serious thoughts: story and day stand fitly here to mind us of it.

SERMON

XV.

But besides, they are well placed to teach us that we must not look only for gaudy days by Christ. He says himself, he came "to send a sword;" sent it to-day amongst the little Matt. x. 34. ones: sends sword and fire too, sometimes, amongst the great ones, in the midst of all their pleasure; and we must expect it commonly, the closer we come to him. Nor Christianity nor innocence can excuse us. We therefore not to think it strange when it so falls out; reckon it rather a Christmas business, the matter of our rejoicing, to suffer with these infants for Christ, though we know not why, no more than they; never to think much to lose our children or ourselves for him at any time, and so bring them up that they may learn to think so too. These meditations, I hope, are not unseasonable, no, not in Christmas.

Yet, for all that, I ask again, Is it possible that there should be such a thing in truth-such a wantonness in cruelty as to kill so many thousand children so barbarously in a time of peace? is it probable that men should raise up fears and jealousies of their own, and make such innocent lambs pay for it? It is Gospel, you see, so true as that. Such a thing there was in the days of Herod; and we have seen so much like it in our own, that we may the easier believe it: children and innocents slain and undone, for nothing but because some men, with Herod here, thought they were mocked when disappointed of their projects-when Christus Domini, the Lord's Christ or Anointed, had escaped them, and the wise men came not in to hinder it: so they grew exceeding wroth upon it, and make poor Bethlehem and Rachel, all of us, still rue sorely for it.

Well then, the text being so true in itself-so pat to the time, and not disagreeable to the times of late-so profitable besides, we will now go on with it, by God's blessing, and see what we can make of it. It is the martyrdom, I told you (and I have the word from S. Cyprian and S. Austin), of a company of little innocent babes. And we have in it these particulars :

I. Their persecutor or murderer, Herod.

II. The occasion of their martyrdom, persecution, or

[S. Cyprian. Epist. Iviii. 6. 23.]

S. August. De libero Arbitrio, lib. iii. cap.

SERMON murder: his thinking himself mocked. "When he saw he was mocked of the wise men," &c.

XV.

III. The cause of it. "Wroth" he was, "exceeding wroth," infinitely angry to be disappointed; that is the reason upon them.

he fell

IV. The little martyrs themselves. "All the children that were in Bethlehem, and all that were in the coasts" about.

V. Their martyrdom. Slain they were; men were sent out to kill them. He "sent forth and slew" them.

VI. The extent and exactness of the cruelty observed in it. All the children "from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men."

These are the parts that make up the history. And if in the pursuing it I show you a mystery now and then-show you there are more Herods and more martyred children than we see in the letter of the text-that the story is acted over still every day by ourselves, you will be content, I hope, to take it for an application that brings all home. And it will not do amiss even now at Christmas to mind us of it, that however we may not act it then, of all times else; never pollute our mirth with sinning against ourselves or others in it, or defile our joys with the cries of the oppressed; never bring Herod so near Christ again; never make a Childermas of Christmas.

I. To go on yet in the order of the text, we begin with the persecutor or murderer of the innocents, whose day it is; and that, here we find, was Herod.

u

Indeed, there were under officers that did the deed, for some such are intimated when it is said he "sent;" and some such there will be always to do the drudgeries of sin for them that will employ them: but the wickedness yet is laid at the contrivers' doors: that is insinuated when the ȧTÉKTEшe," notwithstanding, is given to Herod by and by; he did but "send," and yet he "slew" them, says the text. Let who will be the executioner, the plotter or commander is the murderer; and God will brand him for it, be he never so cunning, never so great. Herod, with all his men of war, shall not escape it.

XV.

1. But may we know what this Herod was? An Idumean SERMON first, he was; you may know it by his hands, red and rough. No such hands, I hope, in Israel, or in the dwellings of Jacob. They are strangers to that, at least, that can be so cruel; and it had been happy for the sheep, happy for us of late, if we had not known the voice of strangers, men of another country, to help on our ruin, but kept close to our own shepherds, as Christ tells us his own sheep do.

2. Herod was a man but of an obscure and private family. It is such commonly that build up their greatness upon blood and ruin; the noble and generous soul abhors it.

John x.3.5.

3. Yet, thirdly, this private and mean condition his subtlety and cunning had now advanced into a throne; the less wonder still that he should be so savage. Tyrants and usurpers are so ever, jealous and suspicious, fierce and bloody. They are they that dye their purples in the gore of innocents, whilst kings even undo themselves with their own mercies. It is the stepmother that would have the child divided; such only that are for Divide et impera, that [1 Kings iii. 26.] are for divisions to maintain their interest or their plea. The true mother had rather part with her child and all she hath, than see it murdered; but the ambitious design of power and greatness, the driving on an advantageous interest, the keeping an unjust possession, are things that slay all before them; nor the tears of mothers, nor the cries of infants, nor the relations of nature, nor the obligations of friendship, nor the charms of innocence, can do any thing against those furies. Ahab, and Jezebel, and Zimri, and Jehu, and Herod, are sufficient witnesses how cheap the heads of all sorts are, that seem but to stand in the way of their designments; how easily judges and judicatories are packed against them, notwithstanding reason and law stand whole for them.

4. From such a one as I have hitherto presented Herod, we can perhaps look for no other. But Herod, I must tell you, was a great pretender to religion, a high dissembler of zeal and piety throughout; none more zealous and importunate to know Christ and go and worship him, than he. Matt. ii. 8. And is he the persecutor? Yes, he. It is not all religion, my brethren, that is called so; nor are all for Christ that