hen occupied the throne
of Judea. Their story filled him with alarm; and his subjects
anticipated some tremendous outbreak of his suspicions and savage
temper. "When the king had heard these things he was troubled, and all
Jerusalem with him." [15:6] His rage soon vented itself in a terrible
explosion. Having ascertained from the chief priests and scribes of the
people where Christ was to be born, he "sent forth and slew all the
children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two
years old and under." [16:1]

Joseph and Mary, in accordance with a message from heaven, had meanwhile
fled towards the border of Egypt, and thus the holy infant escaped this
carnage. The wise men, on the occasion of their visit, had "opened their
treasures," and had "presented unto him gifts, _gold_, and frankincense,
and myrrh," [16:2] so that the poor travellers had providentially
obtained means for defraying the expenses of their journey. The
slaughter of the babes of Bethlehem was one of the last acts of the
bloody reign of Herod; and, on his demise, the exiles were divinely
instructed to return, and the child was presented in the temple. This
ceremony evoked new testimonies to His high mission. On His appearance
in His Father's house, the aged Simeon, moved by the Spirit from on
high, embraced Him as the promised Shiloh; and Anna, the prophetess,
likewise gave thanks to God, and "spake of him to all them that looked
for redemption in Jerusalem." [16:3] Thus, whilst the Old Testament
predictions pointed to Jesus as the Christ, living prophets appeared to
interpret these sacred oracles, and to bear witness to the claims of the
new-born Saviour.

Though the Son of Mary was beyond all comparison the most extraordinary
personage that ever appeared on earth, it is remarkable that the sacred
writers enter into scarcely any details respecting the history of His
infancy, His youth, or His early manhood. They tell us that "the child
grew and waxed strong in spirit," [17:1] and that He "increased in
wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man;" [17:2] but they do
not minutely trace the progress of His mental development, neither do
they gratify any feeling of mere curiosity by giving us His infantile
biography. In what is omitted by the penmen of the New Testament, as
well as in what is written we must acknowledge the guidance of
inspiration; and though we might have perused with avidity a description
of the pursuits of