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until I make thy enemies thy footstool! Was he to cease to sit then? On the contrary, he became the more established according to the meaning of the word.

A discourse upon God's prescience is a very delicate subject unless one tries to keep as far from the appearance of Calvinism as possible.

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CHAPTER II.

The offerings of the wise men: the flight into Egypt: the

massacre of the Innocents.

1. Cum ergò natus esset JESUS in Bethlehem Juda, in diebus Herodis regis, ecce magi ab Oriente venerunt Jerosolymam.

2. Dicentes: "Ubi est qui natus est Rex Judæorum? vidimus enim stellam ejus in Oriente, et venimus adorare eum."

3. Audiens autem Herodes rex, turbatus est, et omnis Jerosolyma cum illo.

I. Now, when 'Jesus was born in 'Bethlehem of Juda, in the days of King Herod, behold. there came 'wise men from the east to Jerusalem.

2. Saying: where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his "star in the east, and we are come to adore him.

3. And Herod the king hearing this, was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

S. Luke takes care to tell us that the shepherds heard the Angels' song at the birth of the Saviour, and S. Matthew says nothing about that scene. S. Matthew had one idea in viewthe teachings of Our Lord-and he seems to have put chronology and topography quite aside. He gives them loosely. They are there, but it is not his business to find them out. He was a tax gatherer, made up accounts, and saw conclusions. Whatever tends in that way is in his line.

Bethlehem was the birthplace of David, and it was also the birthplace of Our Lord. S. Matthew does not tell us which Bethlehem (house of bread) this was, or in what year the event occurred. There were two or three Bethlehems like two or three Bethanies. Houses of bread and houses of boats must be common where such articles were wanted.

Herod ruled Judea from A.U.C. 714 to 750. Our Lord was born

between these dates. last of the Maccabees.

Herod was an Idumean, a half Jew and the

The star which guided the Magi is a great puzzle. The Chinese have it in their observations that a comet appeared in A.U.C. 750. Kepler, in a singular document of great research, finds that Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars astonished the astronomical world by their various gyrations in 1604. He found that the same thing occurred in A.U.C. 747, and therefore that this was the star which guided the Magi.

The Magi themselves were learned men, and saw the signs of the elements. Our opinion is that the STAR was miraculous, and seen and understood by them alone. This is the received opinion at present.

1Jesus was born.-The time agreed upon by critics as the exact date of Our Lord's birth is not earlier than A.U.C. 747 nor later than A.U.C. 749. The Vulgar era begins A.U.C. 754. The seventy weeks of Daniel end in 750 of Rome. Herod the king died in March 750 U.C.

Bethlehem of Juda.-Some copies have Judaea, but both come to the same thing, as distinguishing the town within six miles of Jerusalem from the village of same name in Galilee.

3 Herod. He was the father of the Herod who beheaded S. John Baptist, and grandfather of the Herod who put S. James to death.

Wise Men.-Magi.-The learned men formed a distinct class always amongst the Orientals, and do still in China. Tradition has it that these Magi mentioned in the Gospels were three in number, and also kings. Their names are supposed to be Gaspar, Belthassar and Melchior. They represented the three races of Shem, Ham, and Japhet. This is tradition. Catholic Commentators are not agreed as to the time of their coming. The general opinion (in favour of which is the Liturgy of the Church) holds that they came on the thirteenth day after the birth of Our Lord, and visited him in the Cave at Bethlehem. After the Purification, the Holy Family went to Nazareth, and shortly after this, took place the Flight into Egypt.

The opinion that the Magi came after the Purification, and were led by the star to Nazareth, has a good many advocates, who find the grounds of their belief in the Gospel of S. Luke.

'This star must have been a special light placed in the air miraculously. It lighted the Magi as far as Jerusalem, and then left them to make enquiries. It reappeared again; as soon as they reached the grotto it disappeared altogether.

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4. Et congregans omnes principes sacerdotum et scribas populi, sciscitabatur ab eis ubi Christus nasceretur.

5. At illi dixerunt ei: "In Bethlehem Judæ: sic enim scriptum est per prophetam :

6. "Et tu, Bethlehem terra Juda, nequaquàm minima es in principibus Juda: ex te enim exiet dux qui regat populum meum Israel."

4. And assembling together all the 'chief priests, and the Scribes of the people, he inquired of them where Christ should be born.

5. But they said to him: In Bethlehem of Juda: for so it is written by the prophet.

6. And thou, Bethlehem, the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come forth the ruler, who shall rule my people Israel.

A great cavalcade after the Eastern fashion, or a caravan with

camels, dromedaries, servants and exquisite dresses passing through a town must create a sensation. These Eastern potentates, whether they were kings, or mere scheiks, evidently did. The whole city was in an uproar. They went after their miraculous star until they came to Jerusalem, and then it disappeared. They are now left in the dark, and send some of their satraps to the King to ask him about their new-born monarch.

He was not able to give an answer at once, and he very wisely called those who were capable of so doing. We know his intended treachery, and how he was foiled.

This whole recital is about the most graphic incident in S. Matthew's gospel.

1 1 Chief Priests and Scribes.-Some take Chief Priests to mean High Priests. But there is no warrant for this. High Priests were originally for life, ̓Αρχιερευς or Chief Priest was only so for a year. The Chief Priests here assembled, were those who had served their year, and also the one actually in office. The same meeting took place in the beginning of the Passion. The Scribes were the copiers and expounders of the Law and the Jewish traditions.

2 And thou Bethlehem.-This is the substance; but, in words, slightly different from Micheas v. 2. "And thou Bethlehem Ephrata, art a little one amongst the thousands of Juda: out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be the Ruler in Israel, and his going forth is from the beginning, from the days of Eternity."

There is a negative in the text of the Gospel, and none in that of the prophet. How are these two to be reconciled? The first answer is plain enough. S. Matthew is not quoting the prophet Micheas, but he is telling how the High Priests quoted him to Herod. We are not concerned about their veracity or fidelity. The Evangelists quoted the sense rather than the words of the Old Testament. The sense here, both in the prophecy and in the Gospel is, Bethlehem (or Ephrata as it was sometimes called) thou art a small city amongst the others which rank high in Juda; but an event will take place in thee which will give thee a fame far exceeding the rest; for out of thee, &c.

The eternal generation of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is given by the prophet, and is rather significant since it implies His Godhead.

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