and held (as I may say) a
court, and received the homage of His subjects; viz. when He was an
infant. His throne was His undefiled Mother's arms; His chamber of
state was a cottage or a cave; the worshippers were the wise men of the
East, and they brought presents, gold, frankincense, and myrrh. All
around and about Him seemed of earth, except to the eye of faith; one
note alone had He of Divinity. As great men of this world are often
plainly dressed, and look like other men, all but as having some one
costly ornament on their breast or on their brow; so the Son of Mary in
His lowly dwelling, and in an infant's form, was declared to be the Son
of God Most High, the Father of Ages, and the Prince of Peace, by His
star; a wonderful appearance which had guided the wise men all the way
from the East, even unto Bethlehem.

This being the character of this Sacred Season, our services throughout
it, as far as they are proper to it, are full of the image of a king in
his royal court, of a sovereign surrounded by subjects, of a glorious
prince upon a throne. There is no thought of war, or of strife, or of
suffering, or of triumph, or of vengeance connected with the Epiphany,
but of august majesty, of power, of prosperity, of splendour, of
serenity, of benignity. Now, if at any time, it is fit to say, "The
Lord is in His holy temple, let all the earth keep silence before
Him[1]." "The Lord sitteth above the waterflood, and the Lord remaineth
a king for ever." "The Lord of Hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is
our refuge." "O come, let us worship, and fall down, and kneel before
the Lord our Maker." "O magnify the Lord our God, and fall down before
His footstool, for He is Holy." "O worship the Lord in the beauty of
holiness; bring presents, and come into His courts."

I said that at this time of year the portions of our services which are
proper to the season are of a character to remind us of a king on his
throne, receiving the devotion of his subjects. Such is the narrative
itself, already referred to, of the coming of the wise men, who sought
Him with their gifts from a place afar off, and fell down and
worshipped Him. Such too, is the account of His baptism, which forms
the Second Lesson of the feast of the Epiphany, when the Holy Ghost
descended on Him, and a Voice from heaven acknowledged Him to be the
Son of God. And if we look at the Gospels read throughout the season,
we shall find them all containing some ki