A SERMON.

CHRISTMAS DAY.

MICAH V. 2.

But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall He come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel, whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

THE testimony of Jesus, said the mysterious conductor of St. John in the Revelations, is the spirit of prophecy. And that it should be so, is altogether suitable and appropriate; for prophecy is at once the most uncommon, and the least suspicious kind of testimony. It is the most uncommon, as it implies a perfect acquaintance both with those latent causes that decide the succession of events, and with the order of the events themselves; - a knowledge, which, from its very character, must be peculiar to the Deity himself, or to those whom he has vouchsafed to illuminate with an unusual portion of his celestial light. It is also the least suspicious kind of testimony, as it can neither be susceptible of prejudice, interest, or falsehood-prejudice and interest being precluded by the remoteness of the events to which it refers, and falsehood by its very nature, since predictions not realised by the fact are not prophecy, but imposture. So strong, indeed, and so little liable to perversion, is the evidence deducible from prophecy, that it is accounted by St. Peter of equal, or even of superior validity, to that of personal experience and ocular demonstration. "We have not," he says to his brethren, "followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eye-witnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount." To testimony like this, it might well be supposed, that no stronger asseveration could be added. Yet the Apostle continues, "We have also a MORE sure word of prophecy," as if he had said, All human testimony, even the evidence of the senses themselves, may possibly be open to exception; but prophecy, which "came not in old time by the will of men, but which holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost;" prophecy, which is the word of the true God, must itself be true; and "it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one jot or tittle of his word to pass away."

Perhaps, in the whole compass of the prophetic writings, there, is not any single passage more explicit, and consequently more interesting, than that in our text. Though delivered more than seven hundred years antecedent to the coming of our Lord, it fixes, with the utmost precision, the very place of his birth, in the face of a thousand impediments which presented themselves to the obstruction of its accom

plishment. Notwithstanding the regal authority, at that time exercised by the house of David, it intimates, that the reigning family shall become lowly and obscure, and that the city where the promised infant shall be born, shall be accounted little among the thousands of Judah; and yet, notwithstanding this apparent degradation, that from the tree of David, thus cut down to the very root, a Branch shall spring out, which is destined to increase and to expand till it overshadow the universe. But instead of dwelling on the general tenour of the prophecy, we shall, for its better understanding, consider briefly the respective particulars which it involves, which are;

I. The place of the Messiah's birth-Bethlehem Ephratah; "little among the thousands of Judah.”

II. The nature of the Messiah's office; a Ruler in Israel."

III. The dignity of the Messiah's person; "whose goings forth have been of old, even from everlasting.'

Even in the place itself of the Messiah's birth, there are several particulars which are well worthy of our notice, as conducing most materially to establish the authenticity of the prediction. Had the Prophet been actuated by any desire of paying court to the family upon the throne, he would doubtless have selected Jerusalem, their royal residence, and the capital of their dominions, for the city which was to give birth to the future Ruler of Israel. Had he sought only to give a colouring of probability to his prophetic declaration, he would have specified some place of importance-Hebron, or Libnah, rather than Bethlehem, which could have had little to recommend it to the exclusive enjoyment of a distinction so exalted. It must have been but a very inconsiderable place in the Prophet's time, since it was then too little to be reckoned among the thousands of Israel; and though it is afterwards distinguished by St. Matthew, as not the least of the Princes of Judah, the Evangelist evidently alludes not to its own intrinsic importance, but to that lustre which should be shed upon it by the Saviour who should be born there. For this reason, the mere specification of a place, so unlikely to be the subject of such an enviable preeminence, is in itself no inconsiderable testimony to the truth of the prophetic writer.

Neither should it be forgotten, that the choice of an insignificant city for the birth-place of the Son of God, is in perfect accordance with the usual economy of Providence, which accomplishes the most important ends by the agency of mean and apparently inadequate instruments. Thus, when Pharaoh is to be punished for his cruelty and hardness of heart, it is the fugitive Moses who is the instrument of the divine wrath; when the martial Sisera falls, it is by a woman's hand; when the haughty Goliath, who defied the armies of the living God, is laid prostrate in the dust, the stripling David strikes the decisive blow. For, says the Apostle, "God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things that are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are, that no flesh should glory in his presence." And thus it happened, or rather, thus was it ordained, in the most important event which occurred in

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the history of mankind.

All circumstances attendant on the Saviour's birth spoke humility and obscurity; his mother and reputed father, though in reality of royal extraction, were indigent and unknown; his birthplace was not only a mean and despised town, but a manger in that town; while a youth, he was subject to his parents, and doubtless laboured with Joseph in the ordinary occupations of his trade; when he began to be about his heavenly Father's business, and disciples flocked to attend on him, still he had not where to lay his head; and yet, behind this cloud of transient obscurity, lay eclipsed the eternal splendour of the Sun of Righteousness; yet, out of Bethlehem Ephratah, though "little among the thousands of Judah, came He that was to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth were of old, (even) from everlasting."

We shall now consider,

II. The nature of the Messiah's office.

That this prophecy refers immediately and exclusively to the Messiah, there can be no shadow of doubt, since we have the testimony of those very persons to this effect, who are most interested in disproving the application. When Herod demanded of the chief priests and scribes of the people, whom he had assembled for the purpose, where Christ should be born, the answer was prompt and unequivocal: "In Bethlehem of Judah, for thus it is written by the Prophet," quoting, in proof, the words of the Prophet Micah, as in our text. We find also, from St. John, that a similar persuasion prevailed among the generality of the people; for when on a certain occasion, Christ reasoned with them so convincingly, that some said, "This is the Prophet," meaning the forerunner of Christ, predicted by Malachi; and others affirmed, "This is the Christ himself;" it was immediately rejoined, in allusion to Nazareth of Galilee, where our Lord had been brought up, and which they naturally inferred to be his birthplace, "Shall Christ come out of Galilee? Hath not the Scripture said, that Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was?" Since, therefore, our application of the prophecy was thus recognized by the Jews themselves, who certainly had the fairest opportunity of forming a correct opinion, and this not only by the unthinking populace, but by the learned and contemplative, whose pursuits led them to make particular inquiry into these things; we are fully warranted in deducing from it our estimate, both of the nature of the Messiah's office, and the dignity of his person.

"Out of thee, Bethlehem Ephratah," said the prophet, "shall come forth He that is to be Ruler in Israel; or, as the words are quoted by St. Matthew," a Governor, who shall rule my people Israel." The allusion here, however, is not, as the Jews vainly imagined it to be, to a temporal kingdom; for what earthly dominion could be adequate to the dignity of him, whom David, himself monarch of Israel, at the most flourishing period of its empire, calls his Lord as well as his Son? Besides, temporal authority was disclaimed by our Lord himself, upon every occasion. When, after the performance of one of his transcendant miracles (the feeding of five thousand with a few loaves and fishes), the people would have come and taken him by force to make him a king, he departed and concealed himself from them.

VOL. XI. NO. XII.

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