man, but of God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth.

(LUKE i.)

SECT. II. BIRTH OF JOHN THE BAPTIST FORETOLD. JERUSALEM, 5th Oct.,* 6 B.C. There was, in the days of Herod the king of Judea,† a certain priest named Zacharias,‡ of the course of Abia; and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren; and they both were now well stricken in years.

And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his course, according to the custom of the priest's office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense. And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shall call his name John. And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.

* According to the chronology of Bishop Lloyd, of St. Asaph, which is now most generally received. About the year 527 A.D. Dionysius, a Roman abbot, began our present system of reckoning time from the birth of Christ; but it can be shewn that he made an error of four years in doing so, Jesus Christ having been born four years earlier than he supposed. We have assumed that Jesus was born in the 4000th year from the creation of the world, in 749 from the building of Rome, and in the 4th year before our common Christian era. The months and days given are not, of course, authoritative, as there is nothing in Scripture which enables us to determine the exact date of the birth of Christ.

Herod was permitted to be called King of Judea, though almost entirely dependant upon the Roman Emperor. He was exceedingly unpopular among the Jews, on account of his many cruelties. In order both to gain their affections and gratify his own ambition, he greatly beautified and extended Jerusalem, and rebuilt the temple with great magnificence. He died of a most painful and loathsome disease in the 70th year of his age, and 37th of his reign.

The priests having become so numerous that they could not all minister at the altar, David, in his days, divided them into twenty-four classes, each of which officiated for a week, the respective duties being determined by lot.— (1 Chron. xxiv.)

For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall Num. vi. drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb. And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. And he shall go before him in the spirit and Mal. iv. power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years. And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings. And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season. And the people waited for Zacharias, and marvelled that he tarried so long in the temple. And when he came out, he could not speak unto them; and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple: for he beckoned unto them, and remained speechless.

And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house. And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying, Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.

SECT. III. BIRTH OF JESUS FORETOLD.

(LUKE i.)

NAZARETH, April, 5 B.C.

And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his

saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.

And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. For with God nothing shall be impossible. And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

SECT. IV. VISIT OF MARY TO ELISABETH.*

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. And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost; and she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the

* According to the opinion of many harmonists, this visit of Mary to Elisabeth took place after her marriage with Joseph; it being, in their view, unlikely that a young betrothed female would have ventured on such a long and perilous journey (the distance between Nazareth and the hill country of Judea being about 100 miles), or would, in her peculiar circumstances, have absented herself from home for the long period of three months. It is impossible to decide with certainty, but it does not appear to be so very improbable that Mary, who had by the angel been informed of the condition of her kinswoman Elisabeth, should at once- with haste "-undertake the journey, in order to obtain the sympathy and counsel of her natural adviser, and in order, too, to confirm her own faith by the sight of what must have appeared nothing less than a miracle.

fruit of thy womb. And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.

And Mary said,

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 showed 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 for ever.

And Mary abode with her about three months, and returned to her own house.

SECT. V. BIRTH OF JOHN THE BAPTIST.*

(LUKE i.)

HILL COUNTRY OF JUDEA, 5th July, 5 B.C.

Now Elisabeth's full time came that

delivered; and she brought forth a son.

she should be And her neigh

Three towns have contended for the honour of being the birthplace of the Baptist-Hebron, Jutta, and Ain Karem. Hebron and Jutta are about eighteen miles south of Jerusalem, and Ain Karem but a short distance from it.

Gen. xxii. 18.

bours and her cousins heard how the Lord had showed great mercy upon her; and they rejoiced with her.

And it came to pass, that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they called him Zacharias, after the name of his father. And his mother answered and said, Not so; but he shall be called John. And they said unto her, There is none of thy kindred that is called by this name. And they made signs to his father, how he would have him called. And he asked for a writing table, and wrote, saying, His name is John. And they marvelled all. And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue loosed, and he spake, and praised God. And fear came on all that dwelt round about them: and all these sayings were noised abroad throughout all the hill country of Judea. And all they that heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, What manner of child shall this be! And the hand of the Lord was with him.

And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying,

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people,

And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David;

As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began:

That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us;

To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant;

The oath which he sware to our father Abraham,

That he would grant unto us, that we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.

And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest : for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare

his ways;

To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins,