FRIDAY.
Christ's Return from Egypt.
I. " When Herod was dead, an angel of the Lord appeared in sleep to Joseph in Egypt, saying, Arise and take the child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel." (Matt. ii. 19.) Joseph was afterwards in a doubt where to fix his abode, for fear of Archelaus, and was 'admonished to go into Galilee. Remark how short-lived is the prosperity of the wicked, and how quickly changed into eternal adversity. Reflect, too, how God takes peculiar care of the just, removing from them the afflictions which were sent for their greater good, and directing them in all their ways. Therefore, " come ye to Him and be enlightened, and your faces shall not be confounded." (Ps. xxxiii. 6.)
II. " And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth." Imagine with what joy they were received by their relations and friends at their return, and admire their singular humility in concealing from them the mysteries relating to the birth of their Son. They knew that God would reveal them at the proper time. Christ, in Holy Writ, is called a " Nazarite," which signifies a flower; and He Himself prompted the author of the Canticle of Canticles to speak in His person, and say, "I am the flower of the field " (Cant. ii. 1.), that is, not born of that parent which the world would call noble and great, but of ordinary extraction; " and the lily of the valleys," and not of the mountains. By these expressions He insinuates that He is spiritually born, not in proud and exalted, but in humble souls. Descend then into the valley of humility, and in this humble state present your God with
