EPIPHANY— JANUARY 6.
Christ to be Adored with Offerings,
" Behold, the sovereign Lord cometh: take with thee presents and go to meet Him." (Intr. Miss, and 4 Kings viii. 8.)
I. " The Lord whom you seek, and the angel of the testament whom you desire, shall come to His temple. Behold, He cometh, saith the Lord of hosts." (Mai. iii. 1.) Christ is the supreme Lord of the whole earth, to whom all mankind, both princes and their people, are to pay tribute and acknowledgment of His sovereignty. This obligation the Wise Men of the East understood by divine instinct, and they accordingly came this day to offer their gifts. " We have seen His star in the east, and have come to adore Him: and opening their treasures, they offered Him gifts, gold, frankincense, and myrrh." (Matt. ii. 2, 11.)
II. This sovereign Lord will visit you to-day, to receive your tribute and your presents. "Take with thee presents, and go to meet Him." Consider what kind of gifts you can offer Him. "No one," says the author of Deuteronomy, "shall appear with his hands empty before the Lord; but every one shall offer what he hath." (Deut. xvi. 16.)
III. You must prepare a throne in your heart, on which to receive and adore your Lord when He comes. Offer Him the three powers of your soul: your memory, understanding, and will. Your memory cannot be pleasing to God if your imagination be not corrected and chastened according to the law of God. Your understanding cannot be acceptable to Him, unless you bend it implicitly to the obedience of faith. God will reject the offer-
