On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary,
and they bowed down and worshiped him.
Then they opened their treasures and presented him
with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
Matthew 2:11 NIV
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Born a King on Bethlehem’s plain
Gold I bring to crown Him again,
King forever, ceasing never,
Over us all to reign.
Although Gold is a symbol of kingship on earth, compared to the other gifts it held the least amount of monetary value. However, Gold became useful to Mary and Joseph when they fled to Egypt to protect the life of their child from King Herod’s decree.
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Frankincense to offer have I;
Incense owns a Deity nigh;
Prayer and praising, voices raising,
Worshiping God on high.
Frankincense (“high quality incense, noble, pure”) was an important ingredient of the sacred perfume burned before the Lord. This incense was for the priests’ use only; it was a crime for anyone else to make and or use it. Thus, this is a gift for a priest, or a God.
In the book of Revelations, incense is identified with the prayers of God’s people.
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Myrrh is mine, its bitter perfume
Breathes a life of gathering gloom;
Sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying,
Sealed in the stone-cold tomb.
Myrrh resin has been used throughout history as a perfume, incense and medicine. Myrrh mixed with wine was common across ancient cultures, for general pleasure, and as an analgesic. Myrrh was a core ingredient in the sacred anointing oil. It was offered to Jesus on the cross, and it was used to prepare Jesus’s body for burial.
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Bethlehem and Golgotha,
The Manger and the Cross,
the birth and the death,
must always be seen together.
J. Sidlow Baxter