A Complete History and Mystery of the Old and New Testament, Part 1 · Chapter 6
CHAP. VI.
FROM the foregoing Hiſtories many more Remarkable Myſteries may be learned. As,
1. Chriſt humbled himſelf ſo low as Conception, (wherein we receive our firſt Tincture of ſinful Corruption, that he might become a compleat Saviour to us who are Conceived in Sin. Oh how humble ſhould we learn to be from Chriſt, Mat. 11.29. and to be humbled for him, as He was humbled for us, be cloathed with Humility, 1 Pet. 5.5. which is the Root, Mother, Nurſe, Foundation and Riband or String, that tyes together (as the word foreign ſignifies) all thoſe precious pearls, the reſt of the Graces, if this ſtring break, they are all ſcattered, yea it alſo keeps them all ſweet for God. As the loweſt Vaults and deepeſt Cellars keep Wine in the briskeſt Flavor. So humbleſt Hearts preſerve our Graces in their ſweet taſte and reliſh, &c. Chriſt is call'd the Lilly of the Valleys, Cant. 2.1. growing in the Lowly not in the Lofty Heart.
2. Chriſt took upon him, not only our whole Nature, but alſo the frailties of it, He took not the beſt of Man's Nature (to wit, that in the State of Innocency) but the worſt of it, even our weakneſſes, &c. This ſhould teach us, we muſt be contented to take not only the beſt, but alſo the worſt things for Chriſt, Shame as well as Honour.
3. Oh ſtand and wonder at this Born Babe of Bethlehem: Did ever Man ſee a branch of the Tree Elder than the Root from whence it ſprang? Was it ever Heard off, that a Child in the Womb ſhould be the Maker of the World, that an Infant was Father to his own Mother, that Eternal Life began to live? That the Antient of Days was a Babe not of an hour old? that He, whom the Heavens could not contain, ſhould be but a Span long? That he who was from Eternity ſhould come within the compaſs of Time? And that he who was an Infinite Being, ſhould be comprehended in a finite place, both in the Womb, and in the World? Behold this bleſſed bundle of Wonders, &c.
4. Auguſtin ſaith excellently, Chriſt was born as a Child, lived as an Angel, Died as a Lamb, Roſe again as a Lion and Aſcended to Heaven as an Eagle, &c.
5. Chryſoſtom w…ll obſerveth, that the Angel told no Chriſt's Birth to mighty Monarch… for their Ears are clo…d and cloſed with Honours and Pleaſures, &c. But the happy Tidings hereof were told to poe… deſpi…able Shepherds.
6. The Wiſemen offer'd Chriſt Gold as to a King, Frankincenſe as to a Prieſt, and Myrrh as to a Mortal Man. …, Thus; Myrrham Region hominies D…. The Gold was to De…y his Charges in his flight, &c. The Frankincenſe was to perfume his …ing S…able, and the Mo… he has for his Burial. We ought often (in Soul) to go with the Wiſemen to Bethlehem, (being directed by the Star of Grace) and there …all down and worſhip this little King, offering to him the Gold of precious Faith, the Frankincenſe of ſervent Prayer, and the Myrrhe of bitter Penitency and Patience, and then return, not by Cruel Herod, &c. but by a better way to our happy home. We muſt carry a little of each, the beſt of the beſt, Gen. 43.11. as our Pepper Corn to the Lord of all, Iſa. 16.1. Acts 10.36.
7. Oh how ought we to love this lovely Babel more lovely than Moſes, Acts 7.20. Whoſe beauty while a Babe firſt moved his Parents, and then the Princeſs to pity him▪ Exod. 2.26. Thus Chriſt was (1.) Lovely to men, to the Wiſemen, whom when they ſaw, they could not find in their Hearts to betray him into Herod's Hands, but did Homage to him, when but in the ſhape and ſtate of a poor, feeble, helpleſs Infant, that we might come to the fulneſs of the Age in Chriſt, Eph. 4.13. (1.) He was lovely to Angels, who praiſed God for his Birth though they had not ſo much intereſt in him nor benefit by him as we (Luke 2.13.) for he was good Will to men, v. 14. yet a whole Quire of thoſe Heavenly Choriſters ſang him into the World. (3.) Lovely to God, his beloved Son, his Darling in whom he delighted daily, Mat. 3.17. Sporting with him from Eternity, Prov. 8.30. (If we men love him not) 1 Cor. 16.22. wo to us, &c.
8. Chriſt broke not Priſon before the Period of time in the courſe of Nature, but calmly ſuffered his nine months confinement to the narrow Little-Eaſe of his Mothers Womb, to teach us patience under Perſecutions and Impriſonments, till the Tim… that our word come as Joſeph did, Pſal. 105.19. and then did the Sun of Righteouſneſ… (Mal. 4.2.) break forth from and out of a fruitful Cloud: This Sun had been ſo lon… in Virgo, and when he takes to himſelf his great power, Rev. 11.15, 17. He will ther be in Leo, but when he comes to Judge the World, then this Sun will be in Libra, &c.
9. 'Tis a great comfort to poor People, that Chriſt (their Redeemer) was born poor (of a poor Mother, in a poor place, on a poor bed or uneaſie Craddle, nothing to ſeed upon but a little breaſt Milk, &c.) That he alſo lived poor, feeding upon Barley Bread, &c. John 6.9. And wanting Money, ſo that for paying Tribute, he muſt fetch it by a Miracle out of a Fiſh's Mouth, Mat. 17.27. and he likewiſe Died Poor, having no Houſes, Lands, or Goods and Chattels to Diſpoſe of by his Will to Friends and Relations: Never think God can love us better than his own Son, &c.
10. Chriſt at eight days old began to bleed for us, which was a Pledge and Praeliba, men or Foretaſt of that Sea of Blood to be ſhed for us at his Death. This bloudy Covenant of Circumciſion he Entred, not as needing it himſelf, for he had no Sin. But (1.) To aſſure us of his Humanity. (2.) To Satisfie and Sanctifie for the Sins of our Infancy. (3.) To leave the Jews without excuſe, who would have deſpiſed him, had he been Uncircumciſed. (4.) Becauſe he had taken Abraham's Nature, therefore muſt he have on him Abraham's Signature, though it was a bloody one, Exod. 4.24, 25.
The Third Paſſage of Chriſt's Privare Life, was his Return ſafe from Aegypt. How long he ſtaid there hath various Computations, after mentioned. However betwixt his Flight Thither and his Return Thence, did fall out the mercileſs Maſſacre of the Bethlehem Babes of two years old and under, Mat. 2.16. Wherein ſome affirm Fourteen Thouſand Innocent Infants were bloodily Butchered: So 'tis Recorded in the Greek Kalendar, and (they ſay alſo) that John Baptiſt was in eminent Danger of being Murdered too, had not his Parents hid him from Herod's hands, by ſending him away into the Deſart, (the Place of his abode, Mark 3.3.) for which his Father Zacharias was ſlain betwixt the Temple and the Altar, Mat. 23.35. And Tertullian ſaith, the Blood of this Holy Prieſt could never be waſhed out from the place where it was ſhed; much leſs out of the Murderers Conſcience.
The Remarks upon this are theſe. 1. No Hiſtory makes mention of any ſuch matchleſs Murther as this None-ſuch was, whereby, without any heat of War, ſo many Thouſand Infants only periſhed, all others of other Ages eſcaping.
(2.) Neither the Conſciences of thoſe Cut-throats, nor the Outcries of either the Mothers or their Sucklings could move to any Compaſſion, no not to Herod's own Child, which was there put out to Nurſe among them, which Auguſtus Caeſar hearing of, ſaid, It was better to be Herod's Hog than his Son, for he fed the former, but kill'd the latter, leſt the Jews ſhould take him and make him King.
(3.) Yet how marvelouſly did God hide his own Son Chriſt from the hands of … bloody Tyrant until the Indignation was over paſt, Iſa 26.20: While Herod waited for the Wiſemens Return, the Child Jeſu is conveyed away to Egypt; Herod mocked the Wiſemen, and yet takes it ill, that he was mocked by them, Mat. 2.16. but never takes notice, how God mock'd and made a fool of him, as he doth of all His and His Sons Adverſaries, ſetting bounds which they cannot paſs.
(4.) Mark here the Juſt Judgment of God upon thoſe blind Bothlemites, That could behold no Beauty in this Bleſſed Babe Jeſus at his Birth, to afford him no better entertainment than in a ſtinking Stable, They could find Room in their beſt Gueſt Chambers for Rioters, Revellers and Roaring Boys, but no Room for this Holy Child Jeſus, whom they thruſt out into the worſt place. Their Sin therefore was writ upon their Puniſhment; They muſt all be bereaved of their Sons by a bloody Butchery of them, for their unkindneſs and unnaturalneſs to the Son of God. The like Sin in us muſt bring the like Judgment, 1 Kings 17.18.
5. This matchleſs mourning for the Murder of ſo many Innocents was foretold by Jeremy the Prophet, Jer. 31.15. When a Woman ſhould compaſs a man, ver. 22. That is, at the Birth of Chriſt, to teach us, not only that the fulfilling of Prophecies is a convincing Argument of the Divine Authority of the Scriptures; but alſo, that ſo Tyrant committeth any outrage in the World at his own Will and Pleaſure, but only according to the Praeordination and Appointment of God, who had foretold here, what Herod ſhould Helliſhly act in his Day, Man. 2.17. Pilate can Act nothing againſt Chriſt (nor any Tyrant againſt his Members) without God's lending Power, John 18.11. The Borrowing Power can never over match God, who is the Lending Power.
(6.) 'Tis a marvelous matter alſo to conſider how Almighty God held Herod's Hands at the Purification of the Mother of our Lord, when Chriſt (the Babe) was perſonally preſent in Jeruſalem, and preſented to God in the Temple, where Simeon and Anna (both old and eminent perſons) gave open Teſtimony of this Holy Child, and all this was done as (it were) under Herod's Noſe, while he was expecting to have an exact account of Chriſt's Birth and Abode from the Wiſemen, or perhaps he was taken up by ſome more courtly employments, &c. Thus God can give Diverſions to the bloodieſt Deſigns of Tyrants as of Saul's purſuing David, 1 Sam. 23.26, 27, 28. and of Burying the ſlain Witneſſes by the Beaſt, Rev. 11.9.
(7.) Thoſe Innocent Infants ſuffered for Chriſt, before Chriſt ſuffered for them, hence, the Antient Fathers do affirm with one Mouth, that they died Martyrs for Chriſt, ſo were undoubtedly Glorified, which was a bleſſed Recompence for their being ſo Sacrificed, &c. and that their Souls (together with all other Martyrs) Ʋnder the Altar, do daily cry to God for vengeance upon ſuch as be like bloody Herod, and his cruel Cut-Throats, Rev. 6.9, 10.
8. Divine Vengeance doth not ever ſleep (though for a while it may) but never dieth. Blood-guiltineſs within the breaſt ſooner or later brings ſevere Judgments upon the back; not long after this bloody Butchery at Bethlehem (which was ſo barbarous, as Dead Rachel buried there many hundred years before, Gen. 35.19. could not but after a ſort lament it, Mat. 2.18.) This bloody Herod falls into a foul and loathſom diſeaſe, He was ſmitten of God with intolerable Tortures, an unbearable burning over all his body, Gripes in his Gutts, Ulcers in his Fundament, Lice in his Privities, Gout in his Hands and Feet, Convulſions in his Nerves, and ſtinking putrified matter ſtreamed out from all parts of him; ſo that feeling himſelf in Hell while upon Earth, he would have ſlain himſelf, and was not ſuffered. In this Phrenzy he ſlew his own Son Antipater (whom a little before he had declared to be Heir of the Kingdom) and deſigned many more Cruelties againſt the Jewiſh Nobility, but was diſappointed by God. As he lived undeſired, ſo he died unlamented; Qualis vita, finis ita, as he lived, ſo he died. Perſcutors (as we ſay of the Devil) always go out with a ſtench.
How long Chriſt was in Aegygt, Authors do vary in the computation thereof: Some ſay, he was not there above four or five months, or leſs; ſo ſoon God ſmote Herod for his butchering the Innocent Children, and for his Murdering Intentions againſt the Lord of Life. Thoſe that think thus, think alſo, that Chriſt was two years old before he left Bethlehem, and fled into Egypt: But that Text [Chriſt was in Egypt until the death of Herod] Matth. 2.15. is interpreted to be two or three years at the leaſt; for Chriſt was born in the 32d of Herod's Reign, fled ſoon after his Birth, and returned not till the death of Herod. ver. 19.20, 21. who Reigned (ſay Chronologers) thirty ſeven years. I omit the further canvaſing of this controverted Point to the Curious Criticks in Chronology; 'tis enough here to know it was ſoon after the Burchery of Bethlehem Babes that this Tyrant was ſtruck dead, and God's Angel (glad of an Office to ſerve the Saints, Heb. 1.14.) comes flying with Tydings to Joſeph in Egypt, That they were dead which ſought the young Child's Life, ver. 19.20. N.B. Note well. Joſeph had not heard from Heaven all the time (leſs or more) that he had ſojourned in Egypt; but God's Time (he knew) was the beſt Time: As God never comes too ſoon with falſe Tydings, ſo he never ſtays too long with true ones. So in due time God will ſend word to his ſinking Church, [They are dead that ſought thy life.] Though to our thinking God ſeems to fail us, yet he forſakes us not: [Not, that he doth not] ſaith the Author to the Hebrews, Heb. 13.5. Oh how many precious Servants of God eſcaped Smithfield Fires by Queen Mary's Death! Perſecutors Day to die muſt come, Pſal. 37.13. David reſted on it, 1 Sam, 26.10. N. B. Note well. However there is no doubt but Joſeph and Mary were glad they were going (at God's call) out of ſuch an Hell as Egypt, whence Iſrael brought back One Golden Calf, Jeroboam Two, and theſe two good Souls could not but get there either Guilt or Grief. As they willingly went thither at God's command, though they (being both ſtrangers) might well enough think with themſelves, [How ſhall we maintain our ſelves with livelihood in that ſtrange Country?] yet Chriſt's Preſence was their ſecurity, and their going thither was in obedience to God. But the ſame Authority made them (doubtleſs) more willing to return into their own Country, ſo they haſten to Judea thinking to go again to Bethlehem, not then knowing but that the place of Chriſt's Birth, muſt be alſo the place of his Education, but the fear of Archelaus (as Cruel, tho not ſo Crafty as his Father) and the Warrant of an Angel directed them into Galilee, ver. 23.
Thus are we to underſtand that paſſage in Luke 2.39. They returned into Galilee, to wit, after they had firſt fled into Egypt: For the Evangeliſt Matthew had ſo fully handled the matter of the Wiſemen, and of Chriſt's Journey into Egypt before Luke wrote, that He had nothing left him to ſay thereof, but makes this Tranſition from Chriſt's firſt coming to Jeruſalem to be preſented in the Temple about 40 days old, to his coming again from Galilee (where Archelaus had no power, being under Philip's Juriſdiction. So God ſets bounds to Perſecution) to his ſecond coming thither at 12 years old. Where we have Recorded the Fourth paſſage of Chriſt's Private Life. To wit, Chriſt's Diſputing with the Doctors in the Temple, Luke 2.39, 40, 41, 42, &c. There is none of the Evangeliſts that Recordeth any thing concerning Chriſt from the time of his Return out of Egypt about two years old, till he came to be twelve, ſo that there be nine years of Chriſt's firſt age paſſed over in ſilence.
The 1ſt. Remark hereupon is, That Chriſt will not continue for ever in Egypt, but he will return to the Temple again: When Iſreal was a Child. then I loved Him, and called my Son out of Egypt Hoſ. 11.1. Exod. 4.22. Numb. 24.8. & Mat. 2.15. yea If we ſeek Him, He will ſuddenly come to his Temple, &c. Mal. 3.1. To Diſpute will our Doctors, in our Day.
2. When Christ came to diſpute with the Jewiſh Doctors, then was the time that their School-learning was come to its very foreign or height in the School of Hillel, and Shammai, then did their Scholars grow ſo high and haughty, that they not only aſſumed the Titles of Rabbies (ambitiouſly affected, Mat. 23.8, 9, 10. as if their only opinions had been Oracles, and muſt ſtand for a Law) but alſo quarrell'd together one with another, to the effuſion of blood, which animoſities could not to be taken up, till a pretended Bath-kol or Voice from Heaven (to ſuch fictions they were forced to betake themſelves) cauſed them to ceaſe. Then had they Invalidated and made void the Commands of God with their Traditions, Mat. 15.3, 6, 9. pretending to perfect the Written Law by the Preſcriptions of the Elders, ſhouldering God out of his Throne, &c. Thus Chriſt came ſeaſonably to his Temple.
3. Solomon (the Type) ſhewed his wonderful Wiſdom in deciding the controverſie between the two Harlots by diſcovering the yerning Bowels of the one from the other when he was but twelve years old, 1 Kin. 3.16, to …8. ſo our bleſſed Saviour (the Antitype) at the ſame Age, manifeſted his Matchleſs Wiſdom among the Doctours, not only Hearing, but alſo poſing them, ſo that they were all aſtoniſhed at His Ʋnderstanding and Anſwers, Luke 2.42, 46, 47. For the Grace of God was upon him, ver. 40. yea without meaſure was his fulneſs of Spirit, John 1.16. & 3.34. & Col. 1.19. yea ſo large was his Underſtanding that ſome have affirmed it infinite, however he put forth a Beam of his Delty here, and as he confounded the Jewiſh, ſo he can the Popiſh Doctors.
The Fifth Paſſage of Chirſt's Private Life, is his Parents loſing of him for three Days at the Paſſover Feaſt, Luke 2.41, 44. &c. See after on this. Remarks hereupon are, 1. Take heed of loſing Chriſt at our Feaſts by Mad Merriments, &c. 2. The Beſt are ſometimes at a loſs, and hard put to it, yea moſtly for their Security, Cant. 3.1. and 5.2, 4, &c. 3. Chriſt may be loſt for three Days, or ſo, yet found again. 4. The Readieſt way to find a loſt Chriſt, is Addreſſing to the Temple. 5. To ſeek a loſt Chriſt, is a ſorrowful ſeeking. 6. To be careleſs of ſuch a precious Pearl (as Chriſt is) is Dangerous, what could Mary think, but that Archelaus had now got his Prey, or that he was fain Sick, or (at the beſt) ſome Angel had caught him and carried him away. 7. Duty to Parents muſt give way to Duty to God. Wiſt ye not, &c. 8. The Three days do figure. (1.) Patriach's before the Law. (2.) Prophets under it, ſought but found him not as we (3.) do under the Goſpel.