THE STAR AND THE WISE MAN.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 5, Issue 237, 22 December 1916, Page 2 (Supplement)

THE STAR AND THE WISE MAN.

TEXT: —"'Now when Jesus was horn in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of Herod the king, behold, there tame 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."—Matt. ii. 1, 2.

SUMMARY OF SERMON. I. Light from the Star — 2. Wisdom from the Wise Men —Herod's RageApathy of Priests and People—Finding Christ and Worshipping Him—3. Act as Wise Men Under the Light of Our Star —In Daily Vocation What is Better than Seeking for Christ? Xot an Empty-handed Worship.

rpHIS morning, dear friends, lot us -®- try to do three things, which J will mention as I proceed. 1. And, first, let us gathvr light from this star. May the Spirit of the Lord enable us so to do! We believe this star to have been a. luminous appearance in mid-air: probably akin t-o that which led the children of Israel through the wilderness, w'licii was a cioud by day and a pillar of fire by night. Note, that true star-preaching leads to Christ. The star in the East 'ed .wise men to Christ localise it went chat way itself; there is a wisdom in example which truly wise men are quivk to perceive. This star had such an influence upon them that they could not but follow it: IT CHARM I'D THE ARCOSS THE DESERT. Such a charm may re.sidb in you and in me. and we may exercise a powerful ministry over many hearts, l>eing to them as loadstones, drawing them o the Lord Jesus. Happy privilege! We would not merely show the road, but induce our neighbours to enter upon it. The star which God used in this case was also a star tint stopped at Jesus; it went before the wise men till it brought them to Jesus, and then it stood stiil over the place where the young Child was. I admire the manner or this star. There are remarkable stars in the theological sky at the present time; they have led men to Jesus, so they say, and now they lead them into regions beyond, of yet undeveloped thought. The Gospci of the Puritans is "old-fashioned"'; these men have discovered that it is unsuitable for the enlarged intellects of the times; and so these stars would guide us further still. To this ordbr of wandering stars I do not belong myself, and I trust I never shall. Progress beyond the Gospel I have no desire for. With Paul I can say, "God forbid that 1 shoudl glory save in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." 2. Secondly, let us see if we can gather wisdom from tlve wise men. They were magi, wise men from the east, possibly of the old Parsee reliigon—watchers, if not worshippers, ot the stars. They did not content themselves with ADMIRING THE STAR, and comparing it with other stars, and taking notes as to the exact date of its appearance, and all that; but they practically used its teaching. These wise men appear to have set out as soon as they discovered the star; they were not among tlia.se who have time to waste in needless delays. "There is the star," said they; "away we go beneath its guidance. We are not satisfied with a star, we go to find the King whose star it is!" And so they sot out to find Christ immediately and resoiutely. Being wise men, they persevered in their search after Him. We cannot tell how far they journeyed. Travelling was extremely difficult in those times. There were hostile tribes to avoid, the broad rivers of the Tigris and the Euphrates to cross, and trackless deserts to penetrate; but they made nothing of difficulty or danger. They set out to Jerusalem, and to Jerusalem they came, seeking the King of the Jews. If it be true that God has taken upon Himself our nature, we should RESOLVE TO FIND HIM, let it cost what it may. If we must circumnavigate the globe to find a Saviour, the distance and the expense ought to be nothing so long as we may reach Him. Were the Christ in the bowels of the earth, or in the heights of heaven, we ought not to rest till we come ut Him. Everything that was necessary for their expedition the wise men soon gathered together, regardless of expense; and off they went, following the star that they might discover the Prince of the kings of the earth. At length they came to Jerusalem, and here new trials awaited l them. It must have been a great trouble to them when they asked, " Where is He that is born King of the Jtiws?" and the people shook their heads as if they thought the question an idle one. Neither rich nor poor in the metropolitan city knew anything of Israel's King. The rib;.id multitude replied, "Herod is king of the Jews. Mind how you speak of another king, or your head may have to answer for it. The tyrant brooks no rival." The wise men must have been more astonished still wh'en they found that Herod was troubled. They were glad to think that He was born who was to usher in the age of gold; but Herod's face grew blacker than ever at the bare mention of a king of the Jews. His eyes flashed, and a thunder-cloud was upon hi- brow : a dark deed of murder wil! come of it. though for the moment he conceals his malice. There is tumult all through the streets of Jerusalem, for no man knows what grim Herod may do now that HE HAS BEEN ROUSED by the ouo-tion, "Where He that is born King of the Jews!'" Thus there was a ferment in Jerusalem, beginning at tlie palaec: but this did not deter the wise men from their search for the promised Prince. Notice that these men from the east were wise because, when they again saw the star, "the yreioieed with exceeding great joy." W bile enquiring among the priests at Jerusalem, they were perplexed: but when the star : shone out again, they were at ease and ful lot joy: this joy they expressed, -o : taht the evangelist recorded it. In these days very wise people think it j necessary to repress all emotion, and appear like men of stone or icv. No matter what happens, they are stoical. \ far above the enthusiasm of the vulgar Now, follow these wise men a little further. They have come to the house < where the voung Child is. What will 1 they do? Will they stand looking .it . the star? No: they entert in. The i fitar stands still, but they are not afraid to lose its radiance and beho'd < the Sun of Righteousness. They did :

(A Sermon Preached At The Metropolitan Tabernacle.)

not cry, "Wo see the star and that is enough for us; wo have followed the star, and it i-s all we need to do." Not a.t all. 'ihey lift the latch, and enter the lowly residence of the Babe. They see the star no longer, and they have no need to see it, for tlire is He "that is born King of the Jews. Now the true Light has shone upon them from the law of the Child; tfcy behold the incarnate God. Oh, friendsd how wise von will be if, when yon have been led 1 to Christ by man, you do notrest in - his leadership, but must - SEE CHRIST FOR YOURSELVES. 1 Thesj men were wise, last of all—r and 1 commend their example to you--1 because when they saw the Child" they worshipped, i lairs was not curiosity gratified, but devotion exercised. We 3 l o° must worship the Saviour, or *ve r shall never be saved by Him. He lias not come to put away our sins, and yet i k ' ilVe us ungodly and self-willeJ. 1 I A° U | lavo never worshipped the Christ of God, may you l>e led to i. uo so at once! He is God over all, . blessed lor ever; adore Him! Was ! e *" er . s ill such a worshipfjl i | ljl beforeßehold, He bows the - heaveiLs; He rides upon the wings, of the wind; He scatters flames of fire. s He speaks, and His dread artillery 1 „l^ kes tlie Jul's; you worship in terror t Who would not adore the groat and . terrible .Jehovah ? But is it not much i better to behold Him here, allied to . your nature, wrapped like other childt, ion in swaddling clothes, tender, iv"11 neXt a^'n to your own self ? \\ill you not worship God when He thus comes down to you and becomes your Brother, born for your salvation .- Here Nature itself suggests worship: 1 oh, may grace produce it! Let us I hasten to worship where shepherds and > wise men and ) ? AXGELS HAVE I.ED THE WAY t i Here let my sermon come to a pause even as the star did. Enter the hou=o i and worship! Forget the preacher. ; Let tlie starlight shine for other eves. ; Jesus was born that you might be bora r. again. He lived that you might liv? ; He cliec' that you might die to sin. He . is risen, and to-day He maketh inter- . cession for transgressors, that they > may be reconciled to God through > Mini. Come, then; believe, trust, reI jo ice, adore! If you have neither gold, frankeneeuse, nor myrrh, bring s your faith, your love, your repentance, i and falling down before the Son of i God, pay Him the reverence of vou r ; hearts. ; 3. And now 1 turn to my third and hist point, wJuok is this: Jot lis act us wise in en under the light of our star. W e too have received light to lead us to the Saviour; I might say that for ts many stars have shone to that blessed end. I will, .however, on this point content myself with asking questions.' Do not think that there is some light for you in your particular vocation—some call from God in your calling? Listen to me, and then listen to God. These men were watchers of the stars; therefore a star was used to call them. Certain other men, soon after, were fishermen, and by means of an amazing take of fish the Lord Jesus made them aware of His superior power, and then He called them to become fishers of men. For a star-gazer a star; for a fisherman a fish. The Master-Fisher hath a bait for each one of His elect, and oftentimes He selects a point in their own calling to bo barb of the hook. W ere you busy YESTERDAY AT YOUR COUNTER? Did you hear no voice saying, "Buy the truth and sell it not" ? W T hen you closed the shop last night, did you not bethink yourself th.it soon you must close it for the last time? Do yon make bread? and do you never ask yourself, "Has my soul eaten the Bread of heaven ?'' Are yon a farmer? Do you till the soil ? Has God never spoken to you by those furrowed fields and these changing seasons, and made you wish that your heart might be tilled and sown? Listen! God is speaking! Hear ye deaf; for there are voices everywhere calling you to heaven. You need not go miles about to find a link between you and everlasting mercy; the telegraph wires are on either side of the road; God and human souls are near each other. It did seem that a star was an unlikely thing to head a procession of Eastern sages, and yet it was the best guide that could be found; and so it may seem that your trade is an unlikely tiling to bring you to Jesus, and yet the Lord l may so use .'t. There may be a message from the Lor-1 to thee in many a left-handed providence , a voice for wisdom may come to thee from the mouth of an ass; a call to a holy life MAY STARTLE THEE FROM A BI'SH, a warning may flash upon thee from a wall; or a vision may impress thee in the silence of night, when deep sleep fa I loth upon men. Only be thou ready to hear, and God will find a way of - speaking to thee. Answer the question as the wise men would have answered it, and say. "Yes, in our calling there is indeed a definite call to Christ." Then again, what should you and I do better in this life than seek after Christ ? The wise mm thought all other pursuits of small account compared with this. ■' Who is going to attend to that observatory and watch the rest of the stars?" They shake their heads, and say they do not know; these things must wait; they have seen His star and they arc going to worsnip Him. But who will attend to their wives and families, and all besides, while they make this long journey? 1 They reply that every lesser thing must be subordinate to the highest thing. ' Matters must be taken in proportion, and the search after the King of the Jews, who is the Desire of all nations, is so out of all proportion groat that all the rest must go. Are not you. ' also, wise enough to judge in this sensible fashion? Do you not think, dear friends, it would lie well to USE CHRTSTMAS DAY IN SEEKING JESUS ? I It will bo a leisure day: could you spwul it better than in seeking your .Redo-mo"? If you Ave re to take a week, and give it wholly to your own soul, and to seeking Christ, wo«ild it not be well spoilt ? How can you liv? with your soul in jeopardy 2 Oh that you wou'd say. "I must get this matter right: it is an all-important business. and T must see it secure." Th ; s ' won 1-1 be no more than common sense. i If you are driving, and a trace is broken. do you not stop the horse and the harness right? How*, then can you no on with the chariot of life when ill a its harness is out of order, and a fall i , e-iis eternal ruin? If you will stop t dn ine: to arrange a buckle for fear cf a accident I would beg of you to stow <.

anything and everything to see to the safety or your soul. See how the engineer looks to the t-afety-valve; are you content to run more desperate risks ? If your house were not insured, and you carried on a hazardous trade, the probability is you would feel extremely anxious until you had arranged that matter; but your soul is uninsured, and it may burn for ever, —will you not give heed to it ? I beseech you be just to yourself,—kind to yourself. Oh ! to your eternal .well-being. You are not certain that you will get home to dinner to-day. LIFE IS AS FRAIL AS A COBWEB. may i>e in hell before yon does strikes one! Remember that. There is not a step between you and everlasting destruction from the presence of liod, ii you are as yet un regenerate, and your only hope is to find tho Saviour, trust the Saviour, obev tlie Saviour. Lastly, barn from these wise men that when they worshipped they did not permit it to be a mere emptyhanded adoration. Ask yourself " What shall 1 render unto the Lord Bowing before the young Child, they offered "gold, frankincense anil myrrh," the best of metals, and the best ot spices: an offering to the King of gold; an offering to the Priest of frankincense; an offering to the Child of myrrh. God dees not tax his saints or weary thsm with incense; but He delights to see in them that true love which cannot express itself in mere words, but must have gold and myrrh, works of love and deeds of self-denial, to be the emblems of its gratitude. Brothers, >ou will never get into the heart of happiness till you become unselfish and generous; you have but chewed tho husks of religion, which are often bitter —you have never eaten of the sweet kernel until you have felt the love of God constraining you to make sacrifice. There is nothing in the true believer's power which he would not do for the Lord; nothing in our substance which we would not give to Him; nothing in orselvcs which we would not devote to His service God give to you all grace to come to .Tesus, even though it be by the starlight of this sermon, for His love's sake! Amen.