Musings and Contemplations

Great Among the Nations

Isaiah 60:3 ESV
Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.

Malachi 1:11 ESV
From the rising of the sun to its setting my name will be great among the nations, and in every place, incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For my name will be great among the nations, says the LORD of hosts.

Matthew 2:1-12 NRSV
In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, ² asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising and have come to pay him homage.”
When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet: ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.’”
Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.” When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary, his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

Matthew Henry
God is the father and fountain of lights, and it is in his light that we shall see light. As far as we have the knowledge of God in us, and the favor of God towards us, our light has come. When God appears to us, and we have the comfort of his favor, then the glory of the Lord rises upon us as the morning light; when he appears for us, and we have the credit of his favor, when he shows us some token for good and proclaims his favor to us, then his glory is seen upon us, as it was upon Israel in the pillar of cloud and fire. When Christ arose as the sun of righteousness, and in him the day-spring from on high visited us, then the glory of the Lord was seen upon us, the glory as of the first-begotten of the Father.^[1]

J. C. Ryle
It is not known who these wise men were . . . These verses show us that there may be true servants of God in places where we should not expect to find them. The Lord Jesus has many “hidden ones,” like these wise men. Their history on earth may be as little known as that of Melchizedek, and Jethro, and job. But their names are in the book of life, and they will be found with Christ in the day of his appearing . . . The Holy Ghost can lead souls to Christ without the help of any outward means. Men may be born in dark places of the earth, like these wise men, and yet like them be made “wise unto salvation.” There are some travelling to heaven at this moment of whom the church and the world know nothing. They flourish in secret places like the “lily among thorns,” and “waste their sweetness on the desert air.” But Christ loves them and they love Christ.[2]

WESTMINSTER SHORTER CATECHISM
Question #24
How doth Christ execute the office of prophet?
Christ executeth the office of a prophet in revealing to us, by his word and Spirit, the will of God for our salvation.

Question #25
How doth Christ execute the office of a priest?
Christ executeth the office of a priest in his once offering up of himself a sacrifice to satisfy divine justice, and reconcile us to God, and in making continual intercession for us.

Question #26
How doth Christ execute the office of a king?
Christ executeth the office of a king in subduing us to himself, in ruling and defending us, and in restraining and conquering all his and our enemies.

O God, by the leading of a star you manifested your only Son to the peoples of the earth: Lead us, who know you now by faith, to your presence, where we may see your glory face to face; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.[3]

One Solitary Life

^[1] Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible: Complete and Unabridged in One Volume (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1994), 1200.
[2] Expository Thoughts on the Gospel, Matthew, p. 8.
[3] Prayer for Epiphany, Anglican Book of Common Prayer, 2019, p. 601.