himself shall give you a sign: behold a Virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call his name Immanuel." The completion of which prediction has been already described, and is thus confirmed by St. Matthew; "All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the Prophet, saying, Behold a Virgin shall be with Child, and shall bring forth a Son, and they shall call his name (i, e. his name shall be called) Emmanuel, which being interpreted is God with us *."

k

Q. Did any miracle accompany and nativity?

prove the

A. The nativity was borne witness to by more than one miracle.

First, By the appearance of an angel to the shepherds, "who were keeping watch over their flocks by night. Lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them. And the angel said to them, Behold I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people. For to you is born this day in the city of David, a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign to you; ye shall find the Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of

Isaiah vii. 14.

Matt. i. 22, 23.

the heavenly host, praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will towards men '."

Secondly, By the wonderful appearance of a star, or glorious light, which made known to the wise men of the East that the predicted Messiah was born, and led them to Judea, where, "Lo, the star which they saw (or had seen) in the East, went before them till it came and stood over where the young child was. And 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".

"

Thirdly, When, the days of the purification of Mary being accomplished, she brought Jesus to the temple at Jerusalem" to present him to the Lord, behold there was a man there whose name was Simeon, to whom the Holy Ghost revealed that the consolation of Israel was come." Thus filled with the light of divine knowledge, he exclaimed (taking the child Jesus in his arms, and blessing God), " Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace according to thy word; for mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;

Luke ii. 9-14.

TM Matt. ii. 9—11,

a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel "."

There was also "one Anna, a prophetess, who departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. She likewise, coming in that instant, gave thanks unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem "," declaring him to be the Messiah, the Saviour of the world.

Q. Is it not in itself a miracle, that the Son of God should leave the mansions of his Father's glory; should vouchsafe to take our nature upon him; and in that lowly state, submit to every kind of suffering, every species of indignity?

A. That he should thus clothe himself with mortality, and appear on earth as a poor carpenter's Son, to be despised and insulted, is indeed a wonderful instance of the unspeakable goodness and condescension of our Redeemer P. But the fact of his nativity and sojourn among men being proved, our wonder gives way to feelings of gratitude, and love, and admiration: unceasing gratitude; pure love; boundless admiration.

Q. How do

you reconcile the low estate of our

Luke ii. 22-32.

• Ibid. 36-38.

▾ Dean Stanhope's Paraphrase and Comment, vol. i. p. 185.

Saviour on earth, with our ideas of his power, and glory, and honour?

A. "We who are evil," says Archbishop Tillotson, "have seldom so much goodness as to stoop beneath ourselves for the benefit and good of others, therefore we are apt to think that God hath not so much goodness. And because our ill nature, and pride, and folly will not suffer us to do it, we presently conclude that it does not become God. But what Pliny said to the emperor Trajan concerning earthly kings and potentates, is much more true of the Lord of glory, the great King of heaven and earth: cui nihil ad augendum fastigium superest, hoc uno modo crescere potest, si seipse submittat securus magnitudinis suæ. So that in truth, and according to right reason, it was no real diminution or disparagement to the Son of God to become man for the salvation of mankind. But on the contrary, it was a most glorious humility, and the greatest instance of the truest goodness that ever was "."

• Tillotson's Works, Serm. xlv. vol. iii.

The union of the two natures in Christ, says Hooker, doth add perfection to the weaker, to the nobler no alteration at all. Ecclesiastical Polity, book v. § 54. See also the note to this passage in Hooker, in which the opinions of Tertullian, Leo, Theophilus, and Hilary are adduced.

Q. But why so low? Why did not our Saviour appear among men as a Ruler or King?

A. First, We should then have lost the benefit of his example under the endurance of almost every species of mortal suffering. Whereas now his example is the Polar Star, which is able to guide us through all trials and all difficulties.

Secondly, It might then have been said, that the successful spread of our religion was owing to worldly interest, or proceeded from the fear of despotic power. An objection which even malice itself could scarcely now advance against our faith.

Thirdly, It will be well too, if we are taught by the lowliness of Christ this important lesson: never to despise any one because he is poor; seeing that our blessed Saviour himself "had not where to lay his head "."

Q. Could not our Almighty Father have brought about the redemption of mankind by any other means, than that of subjecting his only begotten Son to a life of sorrow and suffering on earth? Was so great a sacrifice required to save man from the penalty of the sin of Adam?

A. Far be it from us to pretend to say that the Almighty could not have saved mankind in any

Matt. viii. 20.