THE HE third is that man is God's masterpiece-' the diapason closes full in man.' At the festival of creation, as at the feast of Cana, the best wine was kept unto the last. And how was man the greatest of God's works? Was it because there were giants in those days? Not so; but because on man alone there was the impress of the Creator's nature. He only was created in God's image; he only could have fellowship with God; he only could enter into the thoughts of God, and share the purposes of his great artificer. And if all the centuries that have passed since then have but helped to illumine man's dignity and glory, if this great doctrine of man's worth to God has been sealed by the gift of Jesus Christ, how reverently we should adore the wisdom which set that truth on the first page of Scripture. FIRST SUNDAY Evening THE WISE MEN AND THE STAR Passage to be read: Matt. ii. 1-23. NE of the first lessons of this passage is that God speaks to men in ways they can understand. These Chaldeans had been star-gazers from childhood; the study of the nightly heavens was their passion. They had watched the stars with a patience and an accuracy such as are never suffered to go unrewarded. And now by the aid of the stars they loved so well, and on which they had meditated with such unwearied devotion, they are brought to the feet of the infant in the manger. The shepherds were not Chaldeans, they were Jews. They had been trained in the doctrines of the angels. I dare say they never went out to the pasture of a night without hoping to see some shimmer of angelwings. So it was by the long-expected voice of angels. that the shepherds received the tidings of the Christ. But the Chaldeans had not learned the lore of angels; it was the lore of stars they were familiar with; God spake to the separate companies in separate voices, but the voices were those that each could understand. Let us never forget that that is always true. His voice is as the sound of many waters. He is a Father, and you never heard of a father who took his children on his knee and answered their questions in Latin or in Greek. We shall never understand the Bible truly, nor shall we ever value aright all that we learned in childhood, until we have grasped this simple yet profound truth, that God speaks to men in ways they can understand. ANOTHER lesson of this passage is by what unlikely ways men may be led to Jesus. We know that the prophets pointed on to Jesus; so did the law-Christ was the end of the law. So did the sacrifices on the Jewish altars, and the stern summons to repentance of the Baptist. All these things were intended and adapted to guide men into the presence of Messiah, and multitudes journeyed to His presence so. But a star-do you think that was a likely leader? Is that the duty and the function of a star? Yet by a star, as surely as by the angels, were men conducted to the Bethlehem manger. Let us be taught, then, that by unlooked-for ways men may be led to light and love and liberty. Let us never limit the power of the Almighty in opening up avenues to Jesus' feet. There are men who have heard unmoved a thousand sermons, and been deaf to the whole range of evangelical appeal, who have yet been won for Christ by a stray word in passing, or by some act of self-sacrificing kindness. There are women whom all the praise of the sanctuary has not moved, but who have been turned to God by the ceasing of childish laughter. The star is a type of the strange and unlooked-for ways in which men are led to the feet of Jesus Christ. A THIRD lesson of this passage is the intense curiosity of these men about the King. Nothing would satisfy them but that they must leave home and kindred, and set out on a long and toilsome journey, and brave a hundred dangers on the road, all for the sake of seeing and worshipping Christ. Had it been a king of the whole East who had been promised them, I could have better understood their curiosity. For there is a strong desire in the heart of a loyal subject to get a glimpse of his own future sovereign. But it was not a king of Chaldea they were seeking 'Where is He that is called King of the Jews?' And when I think of that passionate inquiry for the unknown monarch of an alien race, and how they travelled hundreds of miles to see Him--o'er moor and fen, o'er crag and torrent-and how they troubled Jerusalem about Him, and would not be baffled nor beaten in the search, I am amazed at the mysterious interest excited by the new-born Saviour. The strange thing is that from that hour to this, that curiosity has never died away. The fact remains that in the whole of history Jesus is the supremely fascinating figure. More thoughts are directed to Jesus in one day than to Cæsar or Napoleon in ten years. More books are written about Jesus now than about any hundred of earth's greatest men. There is an inexplicable mystery and charm about that simple Galilean figure; and the world is still as curious about Him as were the wise men when they saw His star. AGAIN, the most anxious inquirers about Jesus were men who were very far away from Him. I wish you to compare these pilgrims from the East with the men who were gathered in the inn at Bethlehem. The Chaldeans were many a long mile away, and the company in the inn were at the manger. Yet it was not the latter band, it was the former, who were eager and anxious about the new-born Saviour. 'There were ninety-and-nine that safely lay But some were out on the hills away, Far off from the gates of gold. Away on the mountains wild and bare, Away from the tender shepherd's care'— yet who were the nearest to Jesus Christ that night-was it not those who were so far away? That is a parable of what often happens. At home, in the bosom of a Christian country, we are always in danger of careless unconcern. We are exposed to that worst indifference that springs from the dying of the sense of wonder. Meantime, from distant countries like Chaldea, come tidings of the kingdom being taken by violence. Once again the most anxious seekers are men whom we should say were far away. LASTLY, let us not fail to observe the apparent insignificance of what they found. When the Queen of Sheba set out from Arabia, and entered with her fine retinue into Jerusalem, she saw such lavish glory there that her heart sank under the wonder of it. But when the wise men from the East came to the inn, expecting perhaps some sight of royal majesty, they found in happy innocence-a child. I wonder if they felt a touch of disappointment? Was it worth while to make that tedious. journey, and this-this little babe-the end of it? We know now that it was well worth while; that infant of days was the eternal Lord. So there come times to every one of us when we are tempted to ask, 'Is all our effort worth while?' We pray and serve and struggle through |