and myrrh," [16:2] so that the poor travellers had providentially
obtained means for defraying the expenses of their journey. The
slaughter of the babes of Bethlehem was one of the last acts of the
bloody reign of Herod; and, on his demise, the exiles were divinely
instructed to return, and the child was presented in the temple. This
ceremony evoked new testimonies to His high mission. On His appearance
in His Father's house, the aged Simeon, moved by the Spirit from on
high, embraced Him as the promised Shiloh; and Anna, the prophetess,
likewise gave thanks to God, and "spake of him to all them that looked
for redemption in Jerusalem." [16:3] Thus, whilst the Old Testament
predictions pointed to Jesus as the Christ, living prophets appeared to
interpret these sacred oracles, and to bear witness to the claims of the
new-born Saviour.

Though the Son of Mary was beyond all comparison the most extraordinary
personage that ever appeared on earth, it is remarkable that the sacred
writers enter into scarcely any details respecting the history of His
infancy, His youth, or His early manhood. They tell us that "the child
grew and waxed strong in spirit," [17:1] and that He "increased in
wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man;" [17:2] but they do
not minutely trace the progress of His mental development, neither do
they gratify any feeling of mere curiosity by giving us His infantile
biography. In what is omitted by the penmen of the New Testament, as
well as in what is written we must acknowledge the guidance of
inspiration; and though we might have perused with avidity a description
of the pursuits of Jesus when a child, such a record has not been deemed
necessary for the illustration of the work of redemption. It would
appear that He spent about thirty years on earth almost unnoticed and
unknown; and He seems to have been meanwhile trained to the occupation
of a carpenter. [17:3] The obscurity of His early career must doubtless