I Ι 18 And Zacharias faid unto the angel, Whereby fhall know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well ftricken in years. 19 And the angel anfwering faid unto him, I am Gabriel, that ftand in the prefence of God; and am fent to speak unto thee, and to fhew thee thefe glad tidings. ceffary Doctrine and Inftruction of Chirft. 18. Then anfwered Zacharias and faid to the Angel: What Sign or Proof will you give me, that this thing fhall really come to pafs? For both I and Wife are of a great Age, and my in the courfe of Nature it is not poffible we fhould have a Child. 19. The Angel replied: I am Gabriel, the Angel that ftands continually in the Prefence of God, to be fent forth to minifter unto his Servants; the fame that was fent to Daniel, and to other Prophets; and I now come to you by God's immediate command, on purpose to acquaint you with thefe glad Tidings; the Truth of which you ought not therefore to have called in question. 20 And behold, 20. However, fince you require a thou shalt be dumb, Sign, you fhall have a Sign to affure and not able to speak, you, that what I have faid fhall ceruntil the day that tainly come to pafs in due time. these things fhall be And becaufe in thus requiring a Sign, performed, because you fhow fome diftruft of the Power thou believest not of God; it fhall therefore be fuch a my words, which fhall be fulfilled in Sign, as fhall not only give you full fatisfaction, but fhall alfo at the fame time be a just Punishment for your Diffidence. From this Inftant you shall become dumb, and not recover your Speech again, till the Day that the Child be born. their season peo 21 And the ple waited for Zacharias, and marvelled that he tarried fo long in the temple. 22 And when he came out, he could not speak unto them: and they perceived 21. All this time the People waited without at the Door of the Sanctuary, wondering that Zacharias tarried fo long before he came out to give them the Bleffing and difmifs them. 22. And when he came out, they perceived that fomething extraordinary had happen'd to him. For he made made Signs to them, that he had seen a or 23. Now when the time of his *Sec v.5. Miniftration, according to the * der of his course, was finifhed; Zacharias departed from Jerufalem, and returned into the Country to his own House. 24 & 25. Soon after which, his Wife Elifabeth conceived. And finding herself to be with Child, she retired and dwelt privately, to avoid the Difcourfes of the People, and to rejoice within her felf, and to praise God for his extraordinary Mercy, in taking away from her the Reproach of Barrenness, and in giving her a Child unexpectedly in her old Age, with a Promise that it fhould be a very ́eminent Perfon, even the Fore-runner of the Meffias. And thus fhe continued for five Months, till the Virgin Mary her Kinfwoman came to vifit her, and declared the Conception of Chrift: Which was after this man ner. 26 & 27. In the fixth Month af- Jofeph; and both 28. And the Angel appeared to I that he had feen a vifion in the temple : for he beckned unto them, and remained fpeechless. to pass, that affoon 23 And it came as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own houfe. 24 And after those days his wife Elifabeth conceived, and hid her felf five months, faying, 25 Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men. 26 And in the fixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God, unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth; 27 To a virgin whofe name was Joespoused to a man feph, of the houfe of David; and the virgins name was Mary. 28 And the angel came in unto her, and faid, Hail, thou that art highly fayoured, the Lord is is with thee: bleffed art thou among women. 29 And when she you; accounted and you fhall be 29. At this Salutation Mary was faw him, he was troubled at his faying, and caft in her mind what manner of falutation fhould be. 30 And the angel faid unto her, Fear not, Mary, for thou haft found favour with God. 31 And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a fon, and fhalt call his name Jesus. 32 He fhall be great, and fhall be called the Son of the Higheft; and the Lord God fhall give unto him the_throne of his father David. 33 And he fhall reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there fhall be no end. 34 Then faid Mary unto the angel, How fhall this be, feeing I know not a man? 30. But while fhe meditated upon it, the Angel fpake again, and said: Be not afraid, Mary; your Modefty and Humility are favourably accepted of God, and you fhall be honoured with a very fingular and extraordinary Bleffing. this * That due the Virgin and thus un 31. For immediately from derstood it, appears from her 32. He fhall be a great and glo- Answer, rious Perfon, even the expected Mev. 34. fiah, the Son of the moft High God: and God fhall give him an Eternal and Spiritual Kingdom, of which that fhort and temporal one of David was but a Type and Reprefenta tion. 33. For he fhall reign as Lord and Saviour, over the peculiar People of God, for ever; even over them who, by Faith and Obedience approve themselves the true Pofterity and Imitators of those Holy Men of old, the Patriarchs your Ancestors. And this his Kingdom fhall not, like the temporal Kingdom of the Jews, be subject to change, but fhall continne immoveable and without alteration through all Ages. 34. Then faid Mary to the Angel; + How fhall I, who am a Vir- † See ver. gin, conceive and bring forth a Son? 31. 35. The 35. The Angel replied: This thing fhall be effected through the immediate and miraculous Power of God, and by the fecret Operation of his Holy Spirit. Wherefore the Child which you are to bring forth, fhall be called, as upon other accounts, fo in this refpect alfo, the Son of God. 36. And doubt not but what I have now told you by the Command of God, fhall certainly be accomplished in its time. For as a Token to affure you hereof, God has already caused your Coufin Elizabeth to conceive a Son in her Old Age; fo that fhe, who has all her Life been barren, is now fix Months with Child. And the fame Power that caufed her, who was both barren and paft the Age of Child-bearing, to conceive a Son; will caufe alfo, continuing yet a Virgin, to bring forth a Son likewife. you 37. For to God all things are equally poffible and eafie. 38. Then Mary with great Faith and Humility answered: Since it is the good Pleasure of God to make choice of me his unworthy Servant to be the Inftrument of fo wonderful a Mystery, I thankfully accept this fingular Inftance of his Divine Mercy and Favour, and humbly expect that what you have foretold, fhall accordingly come to pafs. And then the Angel disappeared. 39. Soon after this, Mary took a Journey into the Hill-country of Judea, with great hafte and diligence, to the City where Zacharias dwelt. 40. And being come to his House, fhe congratulated Elizabeth upon her conceiving a Son in her old age; and 35 And the angel anfwered, and faid unto her, The holy Ghoft fhall come up on thee, and the power of the High eft fhall overshadow thee therefore alfo that holy thing which fhall be born of thee, shall be called the Son of God. thy coufin Elifabeth, 36 And behold, fhe hath also con ceived a fon in her old age and this is the fixth month with her, who was called barren. And entred into the house of Za charias, and faluted Elifabeth. 42 And fhe fpake out with a loud voice, and faid, Bleffed art thou among women, and bleffed is the fruit of thy womb. 43 And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord fhould come to me? fhe that believed: for Lord. 46 And Mary faid, My foul doth magnify the Lord, 47 And my fpirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. acquainted her at the fame time with the Salutation which the her felf had received from the Mouth of the Angel. 41. Which affoon as Elifabeth heard; the Babe in her Womb, by the wonderful Direction of Providence, as if it had understood and rejoiced at the News of Chrift's Conception, and had foretafted the great Honour which itfelf fhould have in being his Fore-runner; moved itself and leaped. And Elifabeth herfelf was tranfported with the greatest degree of Joy, and with the powerful Influence of the Spirit of God. 42. And the fung aloud, directing her Speech to Mary, and faid: Happielt are you of all the Women upon Earth, that God fhould vouchfafe to honour you with fuch a fingular Favour, as to choose you to be the Mother of the Meftah the Bleed. 43. And herein am I alfo greatly honoured, that I fhould be vifited by the Mother of our Lord. 44. Nay and even the Child in my Womb, as if it were fenfible of this Honour, and rejoiced at the News of Chrift's Conception, moved it felf and leaped within me, affoon as you repeated the Words of the Angel's Salutation. 45. Bleffed therefore and happy are you, for believing the Meffage fent you from God, and not diftrufting his Power. For according to your Faith, all these things which God has promifed, fhall affuredly come to pafs. 46 & 47. Hereupon Mary, moved likewife by the Holy Ghoft, broke forth into a Hymn of Praife and -I Thanksgiving |