14~ _Book IV. JL.QJltmg unto 'jjefu.s. 3· When hewa5yetunder one year old, as fome ~-~r about n~;,-~~-;;-;h~.r~he fl-; into Egypt. As there was no roomfor him in Bethlehem, fo now there isno~oomfor him in all JHdea; no fooner .he came to his own, bur he mu!t fly from them: what a wonder is this?Could not Chntl: hav«.JUit htmfelf fromHerod a rhoufand wayes? what c?uld an Arm o~ flelh _have done ag~mft the God of fpirirs ? had Jefus been of the fpi– ru of fome of hiS Dtfctples , he rmght have commanded fire from heaven on thofe that lhould p_ave come to have apprehended him; bur h~reby he taught us ro bear the yoke even'in our youth; thus would he fuffer, rhat he mtghr fan<'l:ifie ro us our ear– ly a1Hidion5, he flies into Egypt, the flaughrer-houfe of Gods people, the link of rhe world, the fur?ace of J{raels a~cient al!lictions: what achange is here; ljrael, rhe firft– born of God f!te out of Egypt mtoJudea; and Chri!t rhe firfl:.born of all Crwures flies /!.ufo!. de de- ·ou; of [udea into Egypt;_ El<jebim reports rharr?e Child Jefus arriving in Eg)'pt, and ''"lifl.1.6.c..... bemg by defign earned mro a Temple, all the Statues of the ldol-gods fell down, like ·Dagon at the prefence of the Ark; and to this purpofe he cites l(.ti<h's PropheGe; Be– hold, the Lord Jha/1 come mto Egypt, and the Idols of E,<!Ypt Jl,a/1 be moved -1t hi< prefence. Now is Egypt become the Sanctuary, and J~tdea the Inquiluion·houfe of the Son of God . furely he !hat is every where the fam~, knows how to make all places alike to his. h~ knows how to preferve Daniel in the Lions den ; the three children in a fiery furnace' Jonahina Whales belly. andChri!tin the .mid!tof Egypt. ' 4· When he was now fome five years old, fay fome ; Of but two years and a quarMat,.; , 9,,a. ter old, fay others; an Angel appears again in a Dream ro Jofeph, faying, Arife and tak! theyo~<ng Childand hi< Mother, and return ~gain into the land of lfrael, fort hey arc dead which fought theyMngChildJ Life. Herod, that took atvay the lives of all rheIn– fant; in or about Bethlehem, is now himfelf dead, aud gone to his own place, and l1y this means theCoafi is clear forthereturn of that holy Family. 0 the wonderful difpenfa– tion of Chrift in concealing of himfelf from men! all this while he cat ries himfelf as an Infant, and though he know all thiHgs, yet he neither takes, nor gives any notice ofhis removal ordifpofing, but appoints that to be done by his Angel, which rhe Angelcoultl not have done· but by him. As Chrifi was pleafed to rake upon him our Na– ture, fo in our Nature he was pleafed to be a perfe<'l: Child ; for that is the word; 'f,,k$ theyoung Child andhis 11-fother ; he fuppre!t the manifellarion and exercife of that Godhead, wheretotheinfanr-narurewas conjoyned 1 as the birth of Chrifl, fo the infancy of Chrtfi was exceeding humble: Oh how lhould we magnifie him, oc dejed our felves for him, who himfelfbecame thus.humble for our fakes? Luko. 4•· 5· When he was twelve years old, hewithhu Paremsgoupto /erufalem afrerthecujfom V. -46.. of the Fsaft. This pious ad of his younger years intends to lead our firft years into timely devotion ; but I !hall not infi!t on that ; I would rather obferv.e him fitt~ng in the midjf of the DoE/:ors, both hearing them and a<king them quefhons; whtlefi the cht!dren of his age were playing intht!treets, he is found of his parents fitting in the Temple; not to gaze on the outward glory of that'houfe, of the golden Candlelticks, or Tables, or Cherubims, or the Pillar., ortheMolten Sea, orthe Altar of Gold, or the Velfels of pure Gold; no, no, but to hear and oppofe the Doctors. He, who as God, gave them all the wifdom they bad, doth now, as the Son of man, hearken to the wtfdom he had given them ; and when he had heard, then he asks ; and after that, no dxmbt he an– fwers · his very que!tions were infl:ructions . for I cannot think that he meanr fo much to lea;n, as to teach thofe Doctors of J(ra:l. Surely rhefe Ra~bins had nevtr heard the voice of fuch a Tutor; they could not bur fee t~e very wrfdom of God m tlus Child · and therefore f~ith the Texr, they all wondred; or they were all ail:omihrd at hu underjtandintand arfoers; their eyes faw nothing bur a Child , but their ears heard the wonderful things of Gods Law; betwixt what they faw, and what. they heard, they could not but bediftracted and amazed.Bur why dtd ye nor (0 ye Jewtlh teachers) remember now the Star, and the Sages, and the Angels, and the Shepherds? why did ye ·nor now bethink your [elves of Herod, and of his. enquiry, and of your anf~er; rhat in Bethlehem of Judea Chrift (hould be born? You. med the Prophets, and why.,dtd you not mind thatProphelie now, that, unto m a Chtlduborn, and UntO liS a s.nut'" wn, and hi1 Name jha/1 be called W•nderfu!, Counfcllour, the MtgiJty God, th'. ever!aftl[a. sr. - ing Father, the Prince of Peace? Fruitlefs is the wonder .that cnderh. not m Faith; no Light is fufficienr , where the eyes a:e .held through ~nbehef and preJ udtCc. · 6. After this, from twelve to the thrrueth year of hiS Age, we read nothmg of rhe Lukoa.p. AClsofChrifl: but thathewcntdownwithhis Parents mlto NazAreth, andnwf;tb,tfl • w
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=