Such an announcement can never mean to a father's what it does to a mother's heart. And it is one of the exquisite shades of subtle truth, and of beauty as well, that the angel who rebuked Zacharias for doubt saw nothing in the trembling hesitancy and wonder of Mary inconsistent with a childlike faith.

If the heart swells with the hope of a new life in the common lot of mortals, with what profound feeling must Mary have pondered the angel's promise to her son!

"He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest ;

And the Lord God shall give him the throne of his father David;
And he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever,

And of his kingdom there shall be no end."

It is expressly stated that Joseph was of the "house of David," but there is no evidence that Mary was of the same, except this implication, "The Lord God shall give him the throne of his father David." Since Joseph was not his father, it could only be through his mother that he could trace his lineage to David.

There is no reason to suppose that Mary was more enlightened than those among whom she dwelt, or that she gave to these words that spiritual sense in which alone they have proved true. To her, it may be supposed, there arose a vague idea that her son was destined to be an eminent teacher and deliverer. She would naturally go back in her mind to the instances, in the history of her own people, of eminent men and women who had been raised up in dark times to deliver their people.

She lived in the very region which Deborah and Barak had made famous. Almost before her eyes lay the plains on which great deliverances had been wrought by heroes raised up by the God of Israel. But that other glory, of spiritual deliverance, was hidden from her. Or, if that influence which overshadowed her awakened in her the spiritual vision, it was doubtless to reveal that her son was to be something more than a mere worldly conqueror. But it was not for, her to discern the glorious reality. It hung in the future as a dim brightness, whose particular form and substance could not be discerned. For it is not to be supposed that Mary-prophet as every woman is― could discern that spiritual truth of the promises of the Old Testament which his own disciples did not understand after companying with Jesus for three years, nor yet after his ascension, nor until

the fire of the pentecostal day had kindled in them the eye of flame that pierces all things and discerns the spirit.

"And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill-country with haste, into a city of Juda, and entered into the house of Zacharias and saluted Elisabeth."

The overshadowing Spirit had breathed upon her the new life. What woman of deep soul was ever unthrilled at the mystery of life beating within life? And what Jewish woman, devoutly believing that in her child were to be fulfilled the hopes of Israel, could hold this faith without excitement almost too great to be borne? She could not tarry. With haste she trod that way which she had doubtless often trod before in her annual ascent to the Temple. Every village, every brook, every hill, must have awakened in her some sad recollection of the olden days of her people. There was Tabor, from which came down Barak and his men. And in the great plain of Esdraelon he fought Sisera. The waters of Kishon, murmuring at her feet, must have recalled the song of Deborah. Here, too, Josiah was slain at Megiddo, and "the mourning of Hadad-Rimmon in the valley of Megiddon" became the by-word of grief. Mount Gilboa rose upon her from the east. Ebal and Gerizim stood forth in remembrance of the sublime drama of blessings and cursings. Then came Shechem, the paradise of Palestine, in whose neighborhood Joseph was buried. This pilgrim may have quenched her thirst at noonday, as afterwards her son did, at the well of Jacob; and farther to the south it might be that the oak of Mamre, under which the patriarch dwelt, cast its great shadow upon her.

It is plain from the song of Mary, of which we shall speak in a moment, that she bore in mind the history of the mother of Samuel, wife of Elkanah, who dwelt in this region, and whose song, at the presentation of Samuel to the priest at Shiloh, seems to have been the mould in which Mary unconsciously cast her

own.

Thus, one after another, Mary must have passed the most memorable spots in her people's history. Even if not sensitive to patriotic influences, still more if she was alive to such sacred and poetic associations, she must have come to her relative Elisabeth with flaming heart.

Well she might! What other mystery in human life is so profound as the beginning of life? From the earliest days women have called themselves blessed of God when life begins to palpitate within their bosom. It is not education, but nature, that inspires such tender amazement. Doubtless even the Indian woman in such periods dwells consciously near to the Great Spirit! Every one of a deep nature seems to herself more sacred and more especially under the divine care while a new life, moulded by the divine hand, is springing into being. For, of all creative acts, none is so sovereign and divine. Who shall reveal the endless musings, the perpetual prophecies, of the mother's soul? Her thoughts dwell upon the unknown child, -thoughts more in number than the ripples of the sea upon some undiscovered shore. To others, in such hours, woman should seem more sacred than the most solemn temple; and to herself she must needs seem as if overshadowed by the Holy Ghost!

To this natural elevation were added, in the instance of Mary and Elisabeth, those vague but exalted expectations arising from the angelic annunciations. Both of them believed that the whole future condition of their nation was to be intimately affected by the lives of their sons.

And Mary said:

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My soul doth magnify the Lord,

And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.

For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden ;

For, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.

For He that is mighty hath done to me great things;

And holy is his name.

And his mercy is on them that fear him

From generation to generation.

He hath shewed strength with his arm;

He hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

He hath put down the mighty from their seats,

And exalted them of low degree.

He hath filled the hungry with good things;

And the rich he hath sent empty away.

He hath holpen his servant Israel,

In remembrance of his mercy;

As he spake to our fathers,

To Abraham, and to his seed forever."

Unsympathizing critics remark upon the similarity of this chant of Mary's with the song of Hannah,' the mother of Samuel. Inspiration served to kindle the materials already in pos

1 "My heart rejoiceth in the Lord;

My horn is exalted in the Lord;

My mouth is enlarged over mine enemies;
Because I rejoice in thy salvation.

There is none holy as the Lord;

For there is none beside thee;

Neither is there any rock like our God.

Talk no more so exceeding proudly:

Let not arrogancy come out of your mouth:

For the Lord is a God of knowledge,

And by him actions are weighed.

The bows of the mighty men are broken,

And they that stumbled are girded with strength.

They that were full have hired out themselves for bread;

And they that were hungry ceased;

So that the barren hath borne seven;

And she that hath many children is waxed feeble.

The Lord killeth, and maketh alive:

He bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up.

The Lord maketh poor, and maketh rich :

He bringeth low, and lifteth up.

He raiseth up the poor out of the dust,

And lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill,

To set them among princes,

And to make them inherit the throne of glory:

For the pillars of the earth are the Lord's,

And he hath set, the world upon them.

He will keep the feet of his saints,

And the wicked shall be silent in darkness:

For by strength shall no man prevail.

The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces;

Out of heaven shall he thunder upon them:

The Lord shall judge the ends of the earth;

And he shall give strength unto his King,
And exalt the horn of his Anointed."

session of the mind. This Hebrew maiden had stored her imagination with the poetic elements of the Old Testament. But, of all the treasures at command, only a devout and grateful nature would have made so unselfish a selection. For it is not upon her own blessedness that Mary chiefly dwells, but upon the sovereignty, the goodness, and the glory of God. To be exalted by the joy of our personal prosperity above self-consciousness into the atmosphere of thanksgiving and adoration, is a sure sign of nobility of soul.

For three months these sweet and noble women dwelt together, performing, doubtless, the simple labors of the household. Their thoughts, their converse, their employments, must be left wholly to the imagination. And yet, it is impossible not to be curious in regard to these hidden days of Judæa, when the mother of our Lord was already fashioning that sacred form which, in due time, not far from her residence, perhaps within the very sight of it, was to be lifted up upon the cross. But it is a research which we have no means of pursuing. Her thoughts must be impossible to us, as our thoughts of her son were impossible to her. No one can look forward, even in the spirit of prophecy, to see after-things in all their fulness as they shall be; nor can one who has known go back again to see as if he had not known.

After Mary's return to Nazareth, Elisabeth was delivered of a son. Following the custom of their people, her friends would have named him after his father, but the mother, mindful of the name given by the angel, called him John. An appeal was made to the priest - who probably was deaf as well as dumb, for they made signs to him-how the child should be named. Calling for writing-materials, he surprised them all by naming him as his wife had,-John. At once the sign ceased. His lips were unsealed, and he broke forth into thanksgiving and praise. All the circumstances conspired to awaken wonder and to spread throughout the neighborhood mysterious expectations, men saying, "What manner of child shall this be?"

The first chapter of Luke may be considered as the last leaf of the Old Testament, so saturated is it with the heart and spirit of the olden times. And the song of Zacharias clearly reveals the state of feeling among the best Jews of that day.