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Mary pondered the broad and far-reaching
prophecy of Simeon. As she looked upon
the child in her arms, and recalled the words spoken by the shepherds
of Bethlehem, she was full
of grateful joy and bright hope.
Simeon's words called to her mind the prophetic utterances of Isaiah: "There
shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out
of his roots: and the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the spirit of
wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of
knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. . . . And righteousness shall be
the girdle of His loins, and faithfulness the girdle of His reins." "The
people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell
in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. . . .
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government
shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty
God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." Isa. 11:1-5; 9:2-6.
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From all Mary had yet heard, she might have imagined that her child would be
welcomed by all Israel—so soon as the day for his revelation
came—as its long-looked for deliverer; and that a career of unsuffering triumph
would lie before him—a career in whose honors and bliss she could scarcely help
at times imagining that she should have a share. But now, for the first
time, the indication is clearly given that all Israel was not to hail her child
and welcome him as its Messiah; that hostility was to spring
up even within the ranks of the chosen people; that he was to be a "sign which
should be spoken against;" or rather—for such is the more literal rendering of
the words—a butt or mark at which many shafts or javelins should be launched.
Nor was Mary herself to escape. Among the many swords or darts
levelled at his breast, one was to reach hers: "Yea, a sword shall pierce through
thy own soul also." Strange that in the very centre of
so broad and comprehensive a prophecy concerning Christ, such a minute and personal
allusion to Mary should come in; a high honor put upon the mother of our Lord that
her individual sorrows of her Son; and a singular token of the tender sympathy of
Him by whom it was prompted, that now when her heart was
filling with strange, bright
hopes, now while her child was yet an
infant, now ere the evil days drew on, when she should have to see him become the
object of reproach and persecution, and stand herself to look at him upon that
cross of shame and agony on which they hung him up to die—that now to temper
her first-born joy, to prepare and fortify her for the bitter trials in store for
her, this prophecy should have been thus early spoken.
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And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of
great joy,
which shall be to all people. (Luke 2:10)
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