divided was not the true mother, and was the more culpable of the two.

THE PRAYER.

O holy and eternal God, Father of the creatures, and King of all the world, who hast imprinted in all the sons of Thy creation principles and abilities to serve the end of their own preservation, and to men hast superadded reason, making those first propensities of nature to be reasonable in order to society and a conversation in communities and bodies politic, and hast, by several laws and revelations, directed our reasons to nearer applications to Thee, and performance of Thy great end, the glory of our Lord and Father; teach me strictly to observe the order of creation and the designs of the creatures, that in my order I may do that service which every creature does in its proper capacity. Lord, let me be as constant in the ways of religion, as the sun in his course; as ready to follow the intimations of Thy Spirit, as little birds are to obey the directions of Thy providence and the conduct of Thy hand. And let me never by evil customs, or vain company, or false persuasions, extinguish those principles of morality and right reason, which Thou hast imprinted in my understanding in my creation and education, and which Thou hast ennobled by the superadditions of Christian institution; that I may live according to the rules of nature in such things which she teaches, modestly, temperately, and affectionately, in all the parts of my natural and political relations; and that I, proceeding from nature to grace, may henceforth go on from grace to glory, the crown of all obedience, prudent and holy walking, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

SECTION IV.

Of the great and glorious accidents happening about the birth

of Jesus.

1. ALTHOUGH the birth of Christ was destitute of the usual excrescences and less necessary pomps which used to signify and illustrate the birth of princes; yet His first humility was made glorious with presages, miracles, and significations from heaven, which did not only, like the furniture of a princely bedchamber, speak the riches of the parent or greatness of the son within its own walls, but did declare to all the world that their prince was born, publishing it with figures and representments almost as great as its empire.

2. For when all the world did expect that in Judea should be born their prince, and that the incredulous world had in their observation slipped by their true prince, because He came not in pompous and secular illustrations; upon that very stock Vespasian was nursed up in hope of the Roman empire, and that hope made him great in designs; and they being prosperous made his fortunes correspond to his hopes, and he was endeared and engaged upon that fortune by the prophecy which was never intended him by the prophet. But the fortune of the Roman monarchy was not great enough for this prince designed by the old prophets. And therefore it was not without the influence of a Divinity that his decessor Augustus, about the time of Christ's nativity, refused to be called 'lord:' possibly it was to entertain the people with some hopes of restitution of their liberties, till he had griped the monarchy with a stricter and faster hold but the Christians were apt to believe that it was upon the prophecy of a sybil foretelling the birth of a greater prince, to whom all the world should pay adoration; and that the prince was about that time born in Judea, the oracle, which was dumb to Augustus's question, told him unasked, the devil having no tongue permitted him but one to proclaim that "an Hebrew child was his lord and enemy."

3. At the birth of which child, there was an universal peace through all the world. For then it was that Augustus Cæsark, having composed all the wars of the world, did the third time cause the gates of Janus's temple to be shut; and this peace continued for twelve years, even till the extreme old age of the prince, until rust had sealed the temple doors, which opened not till the sedition of the Athenians and the rebellion of the Dacians caused Augustus to arm. For He that was born was the Prince of peace, and came to reconcile God with man, and man with his brother; and to make by the sweetness of His example and the influence of a holy doctrine, such happy atonements between disagreeing natures, such confederations and societies between enemies, that "the wolf and the lamb should lie down together, and a little child" boldly and without danger "put his finger in the nest and cavern of an asp1." And it could be no less than miraculous, that so great a body as the Roman empire, consisting of so many parts, whose constitutions were differing, their humours contrary, their interests contradicting each other's greatness, and all these violently oppressed by an usurping power, should have no limb out of joint, not so much as an aching tooth, or a rebelling humour, in that huge collection of parts: but so it seemed good in the eye of heaven, by so great and good a symbol to declare not only

h Sueton. in vita Vesp. [cap. 4. tom. ii. p. 219.] Vide etiam Cic. de Divin. Oros. [lib. vi. cap. 22. p. 448.] Suidas in histor. verb. 'Augustus.'

[col. 649.]

* Oros. [vid. sup. not. i.]

1 Isa. xi. 6.

the greatness, but the goodness, of the Prince that was then born in Judea, the Lord of all the world.

4. But because the heavens as well as the earth are His creatures and do serve Him, at His birth He received a sign in heaven above as well as in the earth beneath, as an homage paid to their common Lord. For as certain shepherds were "keeping watch over their flocks by night," near that part where Jacob did use to feed his cattle when he was in the land of Canaan, "the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them." Needs must the shepherds be afraid, when an angel came arrayed in glory, and clothed their persons in a robe of light, great enough to confound their senses and scatter their understandings. But "the angel said unto them, Fear not; for I bring unto you tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." The shepherds needed not be invited to go see this glorious sight; but, lest their fancy should rise up to an expectation of a prince as externally glorious as might be hoped for upon the consequence of so glorious an apparition, the angel, to prevent the mistake, told them of a sign, which indeed was no other than the thing signified; but yet was therefore a sign, because it was so remote from the common probability and expectation of such a birth, that by being a miracle so great a prince should be born so poorly, it became an instrument to signify itself, and all the other parts of mysterious consequence: for the angel said, "this shall be a sign unto you, Ye shall find the babe wrapt in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger."

5. But as light, when it first begins to gild the east, scatters indeed the darknesses from the earth, but ceases not to increase its flame till it hath made perfect day; so it happened now in this apparition of the angel of light: he appeared and told his message, and did shine, but the light arose higher and higher, till midnight was as bright as midday. For, "suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host;" and after the angel had told his message in plain song, the whole chorus joined in descant, and sang an hymn to the tune and sense of heaven, where glory is paid to God in eternal and never-ceasing offices, and whence good will descends upon men in perpetual and never-stopping torrents: their song was, "Glory be to God on high, on earth peace, good will towards men;" by this song not only referring to the strange peace which at that time put all the world in ease, but to the great peace which this new-born Prince should make between His Father and all mankind.

m

6. As soon as these blessed choristers had sung their Christmas carol, and taught the church a hymn to put into her offices for ever

Igitur eo tempore, id est, eo anno, quo firmissimam verissimamque pacem ordinatione Dei Cæsar composuit, natus est Christus; cujus adventui pax ista

famulata est; in cujus ortu audientibus hominibus exsultantes angeli cecinerunt, Gloria in excelsis Deo, et in terra pax, &c.- Oros. [vid. sup. not. i.]

in the anniversary of this festivity, "the angels returned into heaven," and "the shepherds went to Bethlehem to see this thing which the Lord had made known unto them: and they came with haste, and found Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger." Just as the angel had prepared their expectation, they found the narrative verified, and saw the glory and the mystery of it by that representment which was made by the heavenly ministers, seeing God through the veil of a child's flesh, the heir of heaven wrapt in swaddling clothes, and a person to whom the angels did minister, laid in a manger; and they beheld, and wondered, and worshipped.

7. But as precious liquor, warmed and heightened by a flame, first crowns the vessel, and then dances over its brim into the fire, increasing the cause of its own motion and extravagancy; so it happened to the shepherds, whose hearts being filled with the oil of gladness up unto the brim, the joy ran over, as being too big to be confined in their own breasts, and did communicate itself, growing greater by such dissemination: for "when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child; and," as well they might, "all that heard it, wondered." But Mary, having first changed her joy into wonder, turned her wonder into entertainments of the mystery, and the mystery into a fruition and cohabitation with it: for "Mary kept all these sayings, and pondered them in her heart." And the shepherds having seen what the angels did upon the publication of the news, which less concerned them than us, had learnt their duty, to sing an honour to God for the nativity of Christ: for "the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them."

8. But the angels had told the shepherds that the nativity was 'glad tidings of great joy unto all people;" and, that "the heavens might declare the glory of God, and the firmament shew His handy work," this also was told abroad, even to the gentiles, by a sign from heaven, by the message of a star. For there was a prophecy of Balaam, famous in all the eastern country, and recorded by Moses", "there shall come a star out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall arise out of Israel out of Jacob shall come He that shall have dominion." Which although in its first sense it signified David, who was the conqueror of the Moabites, yet in its more mysterious and chiefly intended sense it related to the Son of David; and in expectation of the event of this prophecy, the Arabians, the sons of Abraham by Keturah, whose portion given by their patriarch was gold, frankincense, and myrrh, who were great lovers of astronomy, did with diligence expect the revelation of a mighty prince in Judea at such time when a miraculous and extraordinary star should appear; and

" Num. xxiv. 17.

• Epiph. in Expos. fid. cathol., cap. viii. [tom. i. p. 1085.]

therefore, "when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, there came wise men," inspired by God, taught by art, and persuaded by prophecy, "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." The Greeks suppose this which was called a star to have been indeed an angel in a pillar of fire, and the semblance of a star; and it is made the more likely, by coming and standing directly over the humble roof of His nativity, which is not discernible in the station of a star, though it be supposed to be lower than the orb of the moon. To which if we add, that they only saw it (so far as we know), and that it appeared as it were by voluntary periods, it will not be very improbable but that it might be like the angel that went before the sons of Israel in a pillar of fire by night; or rather, like the little shining stars sitting upon the bodies of Probus, Tharacus, and Andronicus, martyrs, when their bodies were searched for in the days of Dioclesian, and pointed at by those bright angels.

9. This star did not trouble Herod, till the Levantine princes expounded the mysteriousness of it, and said it declared a “king to be born in Jewry," and that the star was his, not applicable to any signification but of a king's birth. And therefore, although it was no prodigy nor comet', foretelling diseases, plagues, war, and death, but only the happy birth of a most excellent prince, yet it brought affrightment to Herod and all Jerusalem: for "when Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him." And thinking that the question of the kingdom was now in dispute, and an heir sent from heaven to lay challenge to it, who brought a star and the learning of the east with him for evidence and probation of his title, Herod thought there was no security to his usurped possession, unless he could rescind the decrces of Heaven, and reverse the results and eternal counsels of predestination; and he was resolved to venture it, first by craft, and then by violence.

10. And first, "he calls the chief priests and scribes of the people together, and demanded of them where Christ should be born;" and found, by their joint determination, that Bethlehem of Judea was the place designed by ancient prophecy and God's decree. Next, he enquired of the wise men concerning the star, but privily, what time it appeared. For the star had not motion certain and regular', by the laws of nature; but it so guided the wise men in their journey that it stood when they stood, moved not when they rested, and went forward when they were able, making no more haste than they did, who carried much of the business and employment of the star along with them: but when Herod was satisfied in his questions, "he sent them to Bethlehem," with instructions "to search diligently for the

[See account of a legend on this subject, 'Quart. Review,' vol. lxxviii. p. 433.] -Et terris mutantem regna cometem. [Lucan. i. 529.]-Chalcid. in Tim. Platon. [p. 217 fin.] r S. Leo, serm. iv. de epiph. [p. 28.]