LECTURE II.

MATTHEW ii.

HAVING in the preceding Lecture taken a short comprehensive view of the several books of the sacred volume, I now proceed to the Gospel of St. Matthew; and shall in this Lecture confine myself to the two first chapters of that book.*

The history of our Saviour's birth, life, doctrines, precepts, and miracles, is contained in four books or narratives called Gospels, written at different times, and by four different persons, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, who were among the first converts to Christianity, and perfectly well acquainted with the facts they relate; to which two of them were eye-witnesses, and the other two constant companions of those who were so, from whom they received immediately every thing they relate. This is better authority for the truth of these histories than we have for the greater part of the histories now extant, the fidelity of which we do not in the least question. For few of our best histories, either ancient or modern, were written by persons who were eye-witnesses of all the transactions which they relate; and there is scarce any instance of the history of the same person being written by four different contemporary historians, all perfectly agreeing in the main articles, and differing only in a few minute particulars of no moment. This however we find actually done in the life of Jesus, which has been written by each of the four evangelists, and it is a very strong proof of their veracity. For let us consider what the case is, at this very day, in the affairs of common life. When four different persons are called upon in a court of justice to prove the reality of any particular fact that happened twenty or thirty years ago, what is the sort of evidence which they usually give? Why, in all the great leading circumstances which tend to establish the fact in question, they in general perfectly agree. In a few other points perhaps they differ. But then these are points which do not at all affect the main

*For some very valuable observations in some parts of this, and the third and thirteenth Lecture, I am indebted to my late excellent friend and patron, Arch-bishop Secker.

question, which were too trifling to make much impre. the time on the memory of the observers, and which the they would all relate with some little variation in their accou This is precisely the case with the writers of the four Gospels; and this substantial coincidence and accidental variation has much more the air and garb of truth, than where there is a perfect agreement in every the minutest article; which has too much the appearance of a concerted story.

That the books which we now have under the names of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, were written by the persons whose names they bear, cannot admit the smallest doubt with any unprejudiced mind. They have been acknowledged as such by every Christian church in every age, from the time of our Saviour to this moment. There are allusions to them, or quotations from them, in the earliest writers, as far back as the age of the apostles, and continued down in a regular succession to the present hour; a proof of authenticity, which scarce any other ancient book in the world can produce. They were received as genuine histories, not only by the first Christians, but by the first enemies of Christianity, and their authority was never questioned either by the ancient heathens or Jews.*

The first of these Gospels is that of St. Matthew. It was written probably at the latest not more than fifteen years, some think only eight years, after our Lord's ascension. The author of it was an apostle and constant companion of Jesus, and of course an eye-witness of every thing he relates. He was called by our blessed Lord from a most lucrative occupation, that of a collector of the public revenue, to be one of his dis ciples and friends; a call which he immediately obeyed, relinquishing every thing that was dear and valuable to him in the present life. This is a sacrifice which few people have made for the sake of religion, and had St. Matthew's object been the applause of men, he might have displayed the merits of this sacrifice in a light very favourable to himself. But the apostle, conscious of much nobler views, describes this transaction in

the simplest and most artless words. "As Jesus," says he,

"passed forth from thence, he saw a man named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom, and he saith unto him, Follow me and he arose and followed him."

:

The first thing that occurs in the gospel of St. Matthew, is

* Whoever wishes for further satisfaction on this most important subject, will not fail of finding it in Dr. Lardner's learned work The Credibility of the Gospel History, where this question has been very ably treated, and the authenticity of the Gospel established on the most solid grounds.

C

the genealogy of Christ, in order to prove that he was descended from the house and family of David, as the prophets foretold he should be.

In this genealogy there are confessedly some difficulties, at which we cannot be much surprised, when we consider of what prodigious antiquity this genealogy is, going back some thousands of years; and when we know too that several Jewish persons had the same name, and that the same person had different names, (especially under the Babylonish captivity) which is still the case in India, and other parts of Asia. This must necessarily create some perplexity, especially at such a distance as we are from the first sources of information. But to the Jews themselves at the time, there were probably no difficulties at all; and it does not appear that they (who were certainly the best judges of the question) made any objection to this genealogy of Christ, or denied him to be descended from the family of David. We may therefore reasonably conclude, that his descent was originally admitted to be fairly made out by the evangelists, whatever obscurities may have arisen since. Indeed it is highly probable, that this genealogy was taken from some public records or registers of the ancient Jewish families, which is very evident from Josephus that the Jews had, especially with regard to the lineage of David, and which were universally known and acknowledged to be authentic documents. I shall therefore only observe further on this head, that St. Matthew gives the pedigree of Joseph, and St. Luke that of Mary. But they both come to the same thing, because among the Jews the pedigree of the husband was considered as the legal pedigree of the wife; and as Mary and Joseph were nearly related, and were of the same tribe and family, their genealogies of course must run nearly in the same line.

After the genealogy of Christ follows an account of his birth, which, as we may easily suppose of so extraordinary a person, had something in it very extraordinary. Accordingly the evangelist tells us, "that the angel of the Lord appeared unto Joseph in a dream," saying, "Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost: and she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus (that is a Saviour;) for he shall save his people from their sins."*

This undoubtedly was a most wonderful, and singular, and unexampled event. But it was natural to imagine, that when

*Matt. i. 20.

the Son of God was to appear upon the scene, he would enter upon it in a way somewhat different from the sons of men. And in fact we find him appearing upon earth in a manner perfectly new, and peculiar to himself; in a manner which united in itself at once the evidence of prophecy and of miracle. He was born of a virgin, and what is no less wonderful, it was predicted of him seven hundred years before that he should be so born. "Behold," says Isaiah, "a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel ;'* a Hebrew word signifying, God with us. What man, but a prophet, inspired of God, could have foreseen an event so completely improbable, and apparently impossible? What impostor would have hazarded such a prediction as this? and, what is of still more importance, what impostor could have fulfilled it? What less than the power of God could have enabled Jesus to fulfil it. By that power he did fulfil it. He only, of the whole human race, did fulfil it, and thus proved himself to be at the very moment of his birth, what the whole course of his future life, his death, his resurrection, and his ascension into heaven, further declared him to be, the Son of God.

And as such he was soon acknowledged, and due homage paid to his divinity by a very singular embassy, and in a very singular manner. For the evangelist proceeds to tell us in the beginning of the second chapter, that "when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, there came wise men 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." As this is a very remarkable, and very important event, I shall employ the remaining part of this lecture in explaining it to you at large, subjoining such reflections as naturally arise

from it.

The name of these persons, whom our translation calls wise men, is in the original magoi, in the Latin language, magi, from whence is derived our English word, magicians. The magi were a set of ancient philosophers, living in the eastern part of the world, collected together in colleges, addicted to the study of astronomy, and other parts of natural philosophy, and highly esteemed throughout the east, having juster sentiments of God and his worship than any of the ancient heathens: for they abhorred the adoration of images made in the form of men and animals, and though they did represent the Deity under the symbol of fire (the purest and most active of all mate rial substances) yet they worshipped one only God; and so

Isaiah, vii. 14.

blameless did their studies and their religion appear to be, that the prophet Daniel, scrupulous as he was, to the hazard of his life, with respect to the Jewish religion, did not refuse to accept the office which Nebuchadnezzar gave him, of being master of the magi, and chief governor over all the wise men of Babylon.* They were therefore evidently the fittest of all the ancient heathens to have the first knowledge of the Son of God, and of salvation by him imparted to them.

The country from whence they came is only described in St. Matthew as lying east from Judea, and therefore might be either Persia, where the principal residence of the magi was, or else Arabia, to which ancient authors say they did, and undoubtedly they easily might extend themselves; which it is well known abounded in the valuable things that their presents consisted of; and concerning which the seventy-second Psalm (plainly speaking of the Messiah) says, "The kings of Arabia and Saba, or Sabæ (an adjoining region) shall bring gifts ;" and again, "unto him shall be given of the gold of Arabia.”

Supposing this prophecy of the Psalmist to point out the persons whose journey the evangelist relates, it will also determine what their station or rank in life was, namely, kings, "the kings of Arabia and Saba." Of this circumstance St. Matthew says nothing directly, but their offerings are a sufficient evidence that their condition could not be a mean one : and though there is certainly no proof, there is, on the other hand, no improbability, of their being lords of small sovereignties, which might afford them a claim, according to the ancient usage of that part of the world, to the name of kings. For we read in Scripture not only of some small towns or tracts that had each of them their king, but of some also which could not be very large, that had each of them several.‡

What number of the wise men, or magi, came to our Lord, is entirely unknown, and perhaps that of three was imagined for no other reason, than because the gifts which they brought were of three sorts. The occasion of their coming is expressed by St. Matthew in their own words: "Where is He that is born king of the Jews? for we are come to worship him."

That a very extraordinary person was to appear under this character about that time, was a very general persuasion throughout the east; as not only Jewish but heathen writers tell us, in conformity with the New Testament. And that this person was to have dominion over the whole earth, was part Jerem. xxv. 20-26.

*Vid. Dan. v. 11.

+ Josh. x. 5.