THE FIRST SERMON ON THE EPIPHANY. S. MATTHEW ii. 11. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young : him and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. XVIII. A DAY, this, of the luckiest aspect; a text, this, of the SERMON happiest success that ever travellers met with never had journey better success, never pains more happily bestowed than in the text, and on the day. Christ, the end of all our travel, the full reward of all our pains, was here this day found by the "wise men," after a twelve days' journey. And what wise man would not think himself well paid for all his labour, were it not so many days, but years-not so many years, but ages-so that after all he might bless his eyes with this happy sight? Well may these fortunate travellers in thankfulness fall down and worship and offer presents. Wise men could do no other; and we, if we be wise, will do no less. For ordinary and common blessings we bend our knees and present our offerings to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; but for the Lord Jesus Christ himself, it is not bending, but falling down-not offering of all praises only, but praises and offerings of all-ourselves, and all we have-which can any way look like a thankfulness correspondent to so great a benefit. SERMON XVIII. This is a mercy not to be forgotten: this day especially so falling out, affordeth us by its double holiness, as our Lord's Day and our Lord's Epiphany, an invincible occasion to remember and praise him in it. Double holiness, said I? Treble, I may say, and more. Three Epiphanies the Church reckons upon this day-Christ three sundry and divers ways manifested to the world:(1.) The first to the "wise men," strangers and Gentiles, by a star; (2.) The second to the Jews, by a voice from heaven, and the Holy Ghost descending thence in form of a dove upon him at his baptism; (3.) The third to his own countrymen of Galilee, at the marriage at Cana, by his first miracle. All three commemorated upon this day; the first in the Gospel, the other two in the two Second Lessons for the day. Of these we have pitched upon the first as most concerning us, who once were Gentiles as well as they, who this day, by the conduct of a star, were brought into the house, and into the presence of their new-born King and Saviour. We then, as men concerned in these first forerunners of our [Gal. ii.15.] faith, the first-fruits of us "sinners of the Gentiles," are to take notice of their good behaviour, as well as their good fortune; as well how they carried themselves to Christ when they had found him, as how they found him; as well how they carried themselves towards Christ, as how they were brought to him. Four points we have of it :-they "came," they "saw," they "worshipped," they "offered." This is the sum of this day's solemnity, of the "wise men's" religion, and should be of ours. Such service was done then, such service is due still to Christ the Saviour. So four parts we have of the text : I. The wise men's coming: "And when they were come into the house." II. Their seeing: "They saw the child with Mary his mother." III. Their worship: "They fell down and worshipped." IV. Their offering: "When they had opened their treasures they presented to him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh." XVIII. I. Their coming, their seeing, their worshipping, their SERMON offering, are the parts of the text, and shall be of my comment and discourse. I enter first upon their intrantes, "and when they were come into the house." Their coming, that first where we are to consider: (1.) The parties who; (2.) Their coming, what; (3.) Their place, whither. "wise men (1.) Who they were, the first verse expresses: from the East." Wise men, and come so far to see a child in his mother's arms! Certainly, either the child is some extraordinary great personage, whose birth also much concerns them, or they have lost their wits, to take so long and troublesome a journey to so little purpose. A great personage indeed, and this the wisest act that ever yet they did in all their lives. The "King of the Jews" they style him: the Messiah they meant; one, indeed, that should be "born King of the Jews," but should be made King of the Gentiles too. "In him shall the Gentiles trust," saith the Prophet; [Isai. xlii. rule over them as well as those he should; protect and, as quoted save them too from their enemies, out of the hands of all 21.] that hate them." And to get interest in him betimes, to get to be among the first of those that submit to him and bring him presents, was the wisest piece of all the wisdom of either East or West. "Wise men "the Scripture calls them; "wise men "this act proves them, had they never done any thing wise before; and "wise men" they shall ever be in holy language-whatsoever the world esteem or style them-who at any time think no pains or cost too much to come to Christ, to come and worship him. Matt. xii. [Lukei.71.] Máyou the Greek names them; a word which latter ages have always, or most commonly, taken in the worser sense, for men addicted to unlawful arts,-as we sometimes in our own tongue also call such wise men, whom we deem little better than wizards. The word had not that acception from the first; it was time, and some men's ill practices, that corrupted it; but be it what it will, this we may learn by it, that (i.) God, qui suaviter disponit omnia, the sweet Disposer [Wisdom viii. 1.] of all things, does often draw a testimony to his truth, even from the mouth of falsehood,-makes even the devils to confess it. That (ii.) he sometimes calls men to himself by the XVIII. SERMON Violence of their own principles, be they true or false: makes some star or other sometimes guide those great doaters on astrology beyond what is right as here to Christ's cradle, so at other times to his chair, to learn of him, and become disciples makes them sometimes burn their books to study his makes the heretic sometimes to confute himself by his own wandering principles into the truth again: makes the perverse and obstinate man weary himself at last into Christian meekness and moderation, by the wearisomeness of his own perverseness. Thus the wisest may be caught in his own net ere he is aware,—if God please to do him so much good, and wound into a truth or a piece of piety, which he so much struggled to avoid. Nay (iii.) by these "wise men's" coming, such kind of "wise men from the East," you may see there is no sin so enormous, of so orient a dye-no practice or trade of it so strong, though taken up at the east or sunrise of our days-which grace cannot overcome; no sinner so great, from the east to the west, but the grace of Christ can either draw, or win, or catch, or force to him. Antiquity delivers these "wise men" for kings, or some great personages, to us. Magi, both in Persia and Arabia, was a name of honour, and the men princes at the least. So that, as before we told you, sinners-great sinners-might by their example come to Christ,-God often brought them, so we now must tell you that persons of honour, the greatest persons, must not think much of a little pains or a few days' journey upon Christ's errand, or to do him service, nay, but to pay their worship to him. He that shall consider our days, and our addresses now to God and his Son Christ, and compare them with what these "wise men" did here, will say we are the heathen, these the Christians;- we mere [Ephes. ii. Arabians, "strangers from the covenant of grace," men born 12.] and bred in the wilderness of Arabia, where there is nothing but perpetual drought, no heavenly shower of grace ever comes; these only believers ;-we the great persons, that Christ himself must wait upon if he will be seen; these the humble servants, that will undertake any thing to see him. (2.) And here it seems, if we now, secondly, examine their coming, they thought much of no pains or care to find him out. They came into the house. -- XVIII. Many a weary step had they trod, many a fruitless ques- SERMON tion had they asked, many an unprofitable search had they made to find him; and, behold, yet they will not give over. Twelve days it had cost them to come to Jerusalem, through the Arabian deserts, over the Arabian mountains, both Arabia Deserta and Petræa: the difficulty of the way, through sands and rocks-the danger of the passages, being infamous for robbers the cold and hardness of a deep winter season— the hazard and inconvenience of so long, so hard, so unseasonable, so dangerous, and I may say so uncertain a journey, could no whit deter them from their purpose: to Jerusalem they will, through all these difficulties. But after all this pains, to lose the star that guided them,-to hear nothing at Jerusalem of him they sought,-to be left, after all this, at a loss in that very place they only could expect to find him, and hear nothing there but a piece of an obscure prophecy, without date or time,-to be left now to a mere wild-goose search, or a new knight-errantry, and yet still to continue in their search, is an extreme high piece both of faith and love, that considers no difficulties, that thinks much of no pains; that, maugre all, will set afresh upon the pursuit; that will be overcome with nothing; is resolved, come what will, to find what they believe and desire; such a piece of faith and love that we, later Christians, cannot parallel. How How would a winter journey scare us from our faith! A cold or rainy morning will do it; a little snow, or wind, or rain, or cold, will easily keep us from coming to the house where Jesus is, from coming out to worship him. would so long a voyage make us faint to hear of it! How would the least danger turn us back from the house of God! Alas! should it have been our cases, which was theirs here— if we could not presently have found him at Jerusalem, the royal city, or had we lost the star that led us-how had we We would have sat down in sorrow, or returned in despair! |