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The Gospel of Jesus Christ According to
St. Matthew Pasquier
Quesnel Translated
by the Rev. Daniel Wilson, D.D., Vicar of Islington and now Bishop of Chapter II. Sect. I. Adoration Of Christ By The Wise
Men. 1.
Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king,
behold, there came wise men from the east to The love of Jesus for a mean and private life, appears from the first moment of his birth, in the
choice which he makes of 2.
Saying, Where is he that is born king of the Jews? for
we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. Jesus Christ is king by birth, and from
that very time demands our homage and allegiance. This courageous and undissembled faith of the wise men is a very great
example. The obedience and simplicity of true Christians sometimes hinder
them from seeing the hazards which they run in following the voice of God;
but he watches over them. He protects those who think of nothing but
performing their duty, without perplexing themselves about the consequences
of it. The star of Jesus, with respect to us, is his word. Let us never lose
sight of this, if we intend to be his true worshippers. 3.
When Herod the king had heard these tidings, he was troubled, and all Christ is the peace of the righteous, and
the trouble of the wicked. A man is well received by the world, when he comes
to flatter it, and to comply with its passions; but
if he comes to interrupt, to oppose, and to condemn them, what storms, what
tempests does he raise! It is difficult not to follow the example of the
great, and to secure ourselves from the influence of their authority and
their passions; and therefore they are the more obliged to regulate their
conduct. 4.
And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people
together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. Adorable conduct of God, to permit this
search and study of the Scriptures, for the hardening of Herod, the
condemnation of the priests, the warning of the faithful, and the instruction
of the wise men and the Gentiles! It is the Scripture which ought to regulate
and justify all extraordinary lights and ways. 5.
And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judea: for thus it is written by the
prophet, It is a very dreadful state and condition,
for priests and pastors to have the knowledge of the Scriptures, and not to
profit by them; to show Jesus Christ to others, and not to follow him
themselves; to point out the way of salvation, and not to walk in it. That
which leads others to God has no influence at all upon the heart of those who
have the spirit of the world. 6.
And thou Happy the country, but more happy the
heart, in which Christ is born! One city alone had this privilege; but every
soul may have it. 7.
Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise
men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. God laughs at the wisdom of men. He often
deceives the wicked by their own artifices, and hinders them from taking
advantage of the sincerity and simplicity of the righteous. The Scripture is
our star; too often men study it with a corrupt intention. They plunge into
barren disquisitions of chronology and the like; but do not at all examine
into the spirit of it; they inform themselves exactly concerning the time of
the star, but will not follow the direction of it. 8.
And he sent them to The ambitious are generally hypocrites,
and make religion subservient to their interest and policy. Let us take care
not to deceive ourselves, in thinking that we seek to know the mysteries of
religion with no other design but to adore them; the secrets of the
Scriptures, only in order to love God the more; and his ways, for no other
end but to walk in them. How often are men mistaken! 9.
When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they
saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the
young child was. God sometimes withdraws from his saints
all extraordinary illuminations, because they should not depend too much upon
them. He brings them back, and confines them to the way of faith, that they
may the more esteem and value it, in themselves and others. But whenever
there is occasion, he restores those illuminations to such as sincerely seek
him. All our knowledge ought to tend toward Christ, and to stop at him. All
such as cannot help us to attain to his kingdom is but vanity. 10.
When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. Comfort taken away, and restored to the
righteous, becomes more dear unto them, and augments
their joy. In following the word of God, one may infallibly find out Jesus
Christ. It is not upon the account of light in itself that we should so much rejoice; but because it makes us know Christ, and leads us
unto him. 11.
And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary
his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their
treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. Let us learn of these first Christians to
humble ourselves, to adore Jesus Christ, and to give up ourselves entirely to
him, as soon as we have found him. What faith was here, to worship a poor
neglected infant as a God! And what power has this Infant, to bestow such a
faith as this, so pure, so humble, so courageous, and so destitute of all
human support! To open one’s heart is to open one’s treasure; it is Christ
who fills it; it is to him that it must be opened. Happy the man, who always
finds therein the gold of charity, the in cense of prayer, and the myrrh of
mortification! The more careful a man is to present and offer these to God,
the more of these does he continually receive again from him. 12.
And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they
departed into their own country another way. Let us, like these wise men, be obedient
to inspirations; and like them, take the contrary course from the world.
Fleshly wisdom and ambition find themselves at length con founded. It is one
of the first lessons given to the first Christians, that they must obey God
rather than man. We can never return to heaven, but by a road different from
that which has carried us away from it. It is the greatest of all delusions,
to pretend to be converted without changing our lives, and to go to heaven by
that way which was leading us to hell. Sect. II. The Flight Into 13.
And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take
the young child and his mother, and flee into The rigour of God’s conduct toward his own
Son, is the consolation of those whom he obliges to
walk through rugged and grievous ways, without showing them their journey’s end.
He makes his escape by flight, who could have pre
served himself by his own power; to teach us, that we must go to God by the
lowest ways, that we must be humbled under the reputation and power of his
adversaries, to triumph over them with advantage; and that of all our
enemies, pride is the most dangerous. The world seeks Christ for no other end
but to destroy him. Let my heart, Jesus! be the 14.
When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed
into A blind obedience is due to God, because
he is God, and can neither deceive nor be deceived. Our trust in his wisdom
and his love should make us take the cross without arguing or disputing. As
soon as ever we know the will of God, nothing should keep us from doing it.
It is for man to obey, it is for God to answer for the success of obedience.
It is he who sometimes stops and hinders us, when invincible difficulties
seem to do it. That man always performs his will, who
puts himself in a disposition to perform it. God bestows the means, even when
he seems to take them away. 15.
And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was
spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of What humiliation was it for Christ to be,
as it were, driven from amidst the people of God, and banished by his Father
into a country of idolatry and abomination! How many lights extinguished, how
many graces hidden! But nothing is lost, when it is lost for God. Thus God sometimes
obliges his servants to remain, as it were, buried in a (superstitious and)
heretical country, or among wicked people, to worship him in their stead, to
gather up those graces which they neglect, or to spread them in a secret
manner; or, perhaps, to secure themselves from the ill-will of false
brethren. 16.
Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding
wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and
in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the
time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men. The ambitious man is cruel, and always
ready to sacrifice every thing, even Christ himself, to his passion. The
world is more to be feared when it flatters than when it persecutes. It
bestows life at that very time when it thinks it takes it away. The disgraces
of the world contain in them great graces for those who know how to
distinguish and improve them. Salvation, given so freely to these infants,
teaches us that our own must necessarily be the gift of God. Grace prevents
all merit in those whose will it disposes, as well as in these infants, who
could not possibly will any thing freely. 17.
Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, 18.
In Ramah was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great
mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted,
because they are not. Christ makes the cruelty of Herod
subservient to the publication of his birth, to the accomplishment of his
Father’s designs, and to the sanctification of his elect. He reduces, within
the order of his goodness, the greatest disorders of human wickedness. We are
often inconsiderately afflicted at that which is the real happiness of those
we love. To lament the death of infants, is to
lament their salvation. It is, for the most part, a great gain to mothers
thus to lose their children in their infancy, who might otherwise, perhaps,
prove the occasion of their eternal loss and damnation, by reason of the bad
education which they might give them, that idolatrous fondness which they
might have for them, and the ambition and wicked methods which parents use to
advance them in the world. Happy the tears of such mothers,
if they make (some) amends for the past, or preserve them from vain
joys for the future! Sect. III. The Return Out Of 19.
But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth
in a dream to Joseph in A true child of God adores and imitates the
humble dependency of Christ on his Father, whose commands he receives from
time to time, not by himself, but by an angel, and by Joseph. Let us learn of
him, not to take one step, but either by the command, or in the way of God.
As to all common and ordinary duties, his command is sufficiently signified
to us by the obligations of our state and condition. To him who is not
wanting in relation to those, God will not be wanting on all extraordinary
occasions. 20.
Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the Thus the designs of God concerning his
elect, his church, and his truth, seem to depend upon human and natural events;
whereas, in reality, God disposes and orders these events according to his
own designs. God humbles himself, to give a reason for his conduct toward his
Son; and he humbles his Son, by making him seem unable to save his life but
only like other men. The malice and power of men endure as short a time as
their life; God alone, almighty and eternal, is terrible in his anger. To
wait quietly and patiently, till either the anger of men, or they themselves
pass away, is the most proper means to escape that anger which will never
pass away. 21.
And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the Obedience ought to be ready, persevering,
and indefatigable. When God has once placed us, we must not remove our selves
of our own accord, and without knowing his will. Moses leading the people of
God out of 22.
But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in The joy of this life is always interrupted
by sorrow. God is not wont to free his servants from all troubles and
afflictions in this world. Here we never want enemies; here is always
somewhat to be feared. Christ was conducted step by step by his Father; and
as for us, we would fain know immediately all the designs of God concerning
us. Let us then, in like manner, with the docility and submission of a child,
suffer ourselves to be led and directed, out of obedience, and according to
the example of the Word incarnate. He is light itself, and yet acts as if he
was not so. We are nothing but darkness, and yet will needs
be our own light. |
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