by processions and offerings and hymns, have expressed their veneration for the mother of their Lord, and the natural interest they feel in her character and fortunes. In one gallery in Florence there are two hundred and forty pictures of the Virgin, mostly from the hands of the first masters. Many churches have been erected to her honor, and thousands of altars, at which she is adored, are hung round with the offerings of grateful and devoted worshippers. It is sad to witness such a diversion of good feelings from the homage of God to the adoration of a human being. Yet, perhaps, it is true that we Protestants do not allow ourselves to indulge the feelings which are rightfully due to the mother of Jesus, because we have seen them perverted. We should learn to be more just; and this we may be without becoming superstitious.

We know nothing certain of Mary, until an angel appeared to her at Nazareth, and saluted her with those memorable words, "Hail, thou that art highly favored! The Lord is with thee! Blessed art thou among women!" One may

easily imagine what her feelings of surprise and wonder would be. The Evangelist tells us, that she was troubled at the saying of the angel, and waited anxiously to learn what might be his message. The angel went on; told her that God had

Luke i. 26.

designed for her the great honor of being mother to the Messiah; that she should call his name Jesus (that is, Saviour), because he should "save his people from their sins"; and that, because of his miraculous birth, he should be called the Son of God. Mary received this astonishing message with simplicity and meekness. "Behold," said she, "the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word."

We may imagine the agitation and ecstasy of feeling which filled the breast of this poor and humble maiden. At a time when all Israel was looking out earnestly for the coming of the great deliverer, and all the women of the land, the high and the noble, were hoping that some son of theirs should prove the Messiah, this obscure woman is suddenly assured by a messenger from heaven that she is to be the favored person, that the honorable ladies of Jerusalem and the palaces of the chief rulers have been passed by, and a lowly dwelling of a distant country village is selected as the home of the future prince. In the excitement of such a moment, overwhelmed by feelings which are not to be described, and which yet. must long to find vent and sympathy, whither should she go? There was her cousin Elizabeth, who a few months before had been visited with a similar message, and whose son was to be an extraordinary prophet. She, said Mary to her

self, will sympathize with me. Accordingly, as Luke tells us, she arose in haste, and went into the city in which Elizabeth resided. What a meeting was that, between two women who knew themselves about to be the mothers of the great prophets for whom the nation was anxiously looking! No wonder that it has been a favorite subject with religious painters. And what must have been the delight of their intercourse during the three months that Mary's visit continued! Probably they did not know, they could not know, they could not guess, all the wonderful and gracious consequences to flow upon their nation and on mankind from the ministry of their unborn sons; but they could gather enough from the magnificent language of the Prophets, whose writings they undoubtedly read and pondered together, to excite the most exalted anticipations, and cherish a spirit of the highest religious rejoicing.

Having made a visit of about three months, Mary returned to her home, and shortly afterwards Elizabeth gave birth to a son. This was

John the Baptist.

CHAPTER II.

HIS BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD.

AT the time of which we are writing, the Jewish nation had fallen from its ancient power and greatness. It was no longer the same prosperous people that it had been in the days of David and Solomon. Its independence was gone. The great Roman nation, which had extended its wars and conquests over a large portion of the known world, had subdued Judæa also, and reduced it to the condition of a dependent kingdom. Herod, a native prince, was permitted to occupy the throne; but he was obliged to govern according to the pleasure of the Roman Emperor, and the land may be regarded as having become virtually a province of Rome, though it was not yet such in form.

It is a mark of this subjection to the Roman power, that when Augustus issued his decree for taking the census of the Empire, Judæa was included. In the common translation of Luke's Gospel, this is spoken of as a taxation; but it was properly only an enumeration of the inhabitants,

whose names were to be registered by proper officers. It is said, too, to be the census of "all the world"; by which is to be understood the Roman world, or empire; though many suppose that only the Jewish world or country is intended. In executing this decree in Palestine, it was ordered that the names of the people should be taken according to their tribes and families, probably because the Jews were accustomed to reckon by families rather than by place of abode. Accordingly all went to be enrolled or registered, "every one in his own city." Now Joseph and Mary, as we have seen, were of the tribe of Judah and the family of David. But they were residing at Nazareth, in the tribe of Zebulon. They were therefore compelled, in obedience to this law, to travel from home, nearly a hundred miles, to the town of Bethlehem. This town was called the city of David, because David and his ancestors were born there. Hence Boaz, David's greatgrandfather, called it the "city of his people." It was the ancestral home of both Joseph and Mary. Thither therefore they repaired. At the same time, all descendants of the same family, in whatever part of the country they might reside, collected together in the same city. It was not a large town, and was soon filled to overflowing by the people who were thus brought together.

Luke ii. 2.