a special order provided by God for the guidance of these men, hence its appearance in

such a way as to confirm their expectations, and lead them to the feet of the Saviour.

Although Mary was present on the arrival of the magi, their worship is offered to the

Babe, and not the mother. The offering of gold, frankincense and myrrh anticipates

Psalm 72: 10 and Isa. 60: 6. Men thus divinely led; who heard the confirmation of

their quest from one of the prophets of old and who "fell down and worshipped" a babe--

these men rendered no ordinary act of homage; their worship was deeper; they must

have recognized in this Child of Bethlehem, not only a future King of the Jews, but

heaven's King, yea, the King of kings, and by their act of worship anticipated the

submission and offering of the Gentile world in "that day". While all this may be true,

there is little guidance in the record as to what constitutes Christian worship to-day, so we

pass on to other references.

The worship of the Magi was offered soon after the birth of Christ; the worship of the

disciples recorded in Matt. 28: was offered after His resurrection.

Bengel's comment on verse 9 is:--"Before His passion, Jesus had been worshipped by

strangers, rather than by His disciples". It is evident that this prostration at the feet of the

risen Christ marks a new attitude on the part of the disciples, but there is no evidence

from the context that His deity was then recognized and acknowledged. Thomas reached

that stage of conviction when at length he exchanged his doubts for a full recognition of

the Lord's deity, saying, "My Lord and my God" (John 20: 28) and we can but believe

that, subsequently, those who "doubted" (Matt. 28: 17) were, also, likewise,

convinced. Personal conviction is more evident in the case of the man born blind, as

recorded in John 9: Under the stress both of the miracle which had been wrought, and

the consequent opposition which it aroused in the hearts of the religious leaders, he

advanced from the simple recognition that his Healer was "A man that is called Jesus"

(John 9: 11) to a higher recognition. Upon being pressed, his faith grew, for his next

answer to the question "What sayest thou of Him, that he hath opened thine eyes?" he

said, "He is a prophet" (John 9: 17). Opposition now intensified, and the Pharisees

charged the Saviour with being a sinner. This, with the growing conviction of faith, the

man born blind rebuts, and reasons "If this man were not of God, he could do nothing"

(John 9: 33). For so speaking, the man was cast out. The Lord then found him and put

to him the question, "Dost thou believe on the Son of God?" It is a splendid tribute to

this man's clear sightedness, that he did not immediately fall down at the feet of the

Saviour, but, rather, desired fuller knowledge that his faith might be rational. The Lord

recognized this and supplied the needed information, saying, "Thou hast both seen Him,

and it is He that talketh with thee". This was plain testimony. He Who had opened the

eyes of the man's physical nature, now illuminated the eyes of his understanding. The

response was immediate and complete: "Lord, I believe. And he worshipped Him"

(John 9: 35-38).