The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1880-05-12
letters or II. ID. f.. on ilie Eyi.
dences OF Christianity.
LErrER III.

The next prophecy cited by Mat
thew, as fulfilled in Jesus, is concern-
ing the place Of his birth and great
ness; the passage referred to is in
Micah VI y; @And thou Bethlehem
in Judah art not the least away the
princes ofJulah; for out Of thee shall
come q governor that shall rule my
people Israel (Thc proper trans
lation from the Hebrew would be:
"among the clans Of Judah" which
also restores the sense Of the passage.
David was the clln of Bethlehem.)
This is said to be the answer made
to Herod by the chief priests and
scribes when he inquired of them
concerning the placeo the Messiah's
birth; both heand all Jerusalem be-
ing troubled, at the news published
by the Eastern wise men, Of having
seen his starin the East, by which
they knew Of the birth Of the King
of the Jews (Matthew IL, 1.49z
That IS according TO Matthew's acs
coun s6f this affair. But ip this
whole transaction there seem some
things notonly very improbable, but
even incredible; such US that Herod
should ask The priests and scribes
such question, and that they should
give him such an answer-that an
Extraordinary star should appear in
the East; or that its appearance
should be known to be a notification
of the birth of child in Judea; that
the wise men should take u long jour
ney to no purpose; that the star
should make its appearance to peo-
pie who were nowise concerned in
the birth Of King Of the Jews, and
not to the Jews themselves who
were the people chiefly interested;
that the inhabitants of Jerusalem
should be troubled atan event which
must have been u matter of great Joy
and cotnfortto them; duke Ii, 100
that an assembly Of priests ana
scribes should fix the place where
their King should be born when it
seems to have been an established
principle among them according to
John VII, 27) that they were not to
know the place Of the Messiah's
birth, since there have followed
many pretenders to that character,
without being born in Bethlehem;
and lastly that the star which the
wise men had seen in the East should
again appear to them when they
had departed from Herod, march be-
fore them, and make a stand "over
where the child was for no manner
of purpose; since we hear no more
Iof these wise men, nor of any use
that was made Of their journey, all
Of which seems to be a piece of ex-
travagance, and a continual series Of
impossibilities and incredibilities.-
For how could people, acquainted
with the vast magnitude of the stars
(for wise they were,) think that one
went before them to show the way
from house to house? And since the
star must necessarily have travelled
from the East, where it first appeared,
to Jerusalem, where the wise men
again found it-for it was the same
star (Matthew II, 81 which guided
them to the place where the child
was-why did the star not guide
them directly from the place set out
from to Bethlehem? for the guidance
of the star from Jerusalem appears
needless as Herud had directed them
before.
Besides, so extraordinary phe-
nomenon must have drawn the at.
tention of the whole city, and num-
bers Of other people would have seen
it as well as the wise men, had it
really been seen; but of this the story
takes no manner Of notice. All
these considerations make it more
han probable that the whole was in.
vented to make way for the applica-
4ftionof this and two other passages
as fulfilled; for, as the Gospelo of Mat
thew was written to convince the
Jews of the Messiaship of Jesus, and
they believing that the character Of
the Messiah was clearly described by
the prophets, the writer not being
able to produce passages fitting to
his purpose, according to their plan,
4 ohvions meaning inyenln1 fooie N