life. The persons destined to be parents to this extraordinary man, were Zacharias, a pious priest, and his wife Elizabeth; who were both of the family of Aaron, and blameless in the observance of the law. But, though they had lived from their youth in the married state, they were not blessed with any offspring, and were both so far advanced in years, that according to the course of nature, no issue could be expected from them. The priests that officiated in the temple of Solomon, were divided into twentyfour courses; every course began its service on the Sabbath day, and continued all the week. Only four of these courses returned from the Babylonish captivity; the rest were either extinct, or tarried behind. But, that the number of twenty four might still subsist, each course divided itself into six; the new ones taking upon themselves the names of those who were wanting. Zacharias was of the course of Abia, one of the new ones in this sub division, and the eighth in the order of the twenty-four.It was the lot of this aged priest to burn incense in the holy place; and while the smoke of the incense ascended, the people, according to custom, were praying in the outward court. As the good priest stood by the altar of incense, the angel appeared in view, all bright and glorious, as a native of the sky. Zacharias, at the sight of the heavenly messenger, was filled with terror and dismay; but the angel, with condescending goodness, thus addressed him: Fear not, Zacharias, for thy prayer is heard, and thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. And thou shalt have joy and gladness, and many shall rejoice at his birth: for he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall neither drink 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 unto the Lord their God. And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the dis bedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. As Zacharias was one of the pious Jews who waited for the consolation of Isreal, doubtless he had often prayed that he might live to see the Messiah come, which was the prayer that the angel assured him was heard; but that his wife Elizabeth should bear a son, who should be the forerunner of the Redeemer of 1sreal, seemed a thing so extraordinary, and out of the course of nature, that the priest could not believe it, though asserted by an angel; and therefore replied to the heavenly mes senger: Whereby shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years. The bright commander of the angelic squadTons seemed displeased that Zacharias should question the truth of his prediction; and therefore proceeded to let him know his dignity, and the high place he occupied in the heavenly world; and the consequential impossibility that he should deceive him. Know, said he, that I am Gabriel that stand in the presence of God, and am sent from heaven, to speak unto thee and to shew thee these glad tidings. But, as thou hast presumed to call in question the truth of the heavenly message, thau shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until these things shall be performed: for though thou hast not believed my words, they nevertheless are true, and shall be performed in their season. The priest, astonished at the vision, stayed longer in the holy place than usual; at which the people who waited without for his benediction, were much surprised at last he came to them, but found the prediction of the angel awfully fulfilled for when, according to the course of his office, he was to bless the people, he could not speak; but signified to them by signs, that he had seen a vision, which was the cause of his dumbness; and, the week of his administration being accomplished, he returned to his house. Soon after this, his wife Elizabeth found herself with child, but made a secret of her conception for the first five months, contenting herself with giving God thanks in private, for his great goodness in taking away the reproach of her barrenness; and revolving im

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her mind, with wonder and praise, the unsearchable counsels of God, and his great goodness to the children of men.

Six months after this, the angel Gabriel, the same who had appeared to the prophet Daniel, and foretold the very time of our Redeemer's birth, and had lately predicted to Zacharias the birth of his forerunner, was sent from the heavenly regions, to the city of Nazareth, to an amiable and virtuous virgin, named Mary, supposed to be about fifteen years of age.She was of the house and lineage of David, and was espoused to a good man, supposed to be a widower, and pretty far advanced in years, ramed Joseph, who was also of the royal line of David. The husband had not taken home his wife, but she remained a virgin at her father's house; and while, as supposed, at her private devotions, the angel appeared to her arrayed in heavenly brightness; and, with a condescending smile, saluted her in terms of the highest respect: Hail Mary, he cried, thou art highly favored; the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou amongst women.The pious maid was not more surprised at the blaze of heavenly glory which shone around her, than at the salutation of the cœlestial messenger, to whom she knew not how to reply. When the angel rejoined, with looks and accents of such kindness, and heavenly goodness, as dissipated every fearful apprehension. Fear not, Mary; for thou hast found favour with God. And behold thou shalt conceive, and bring forth a son, and shall call his name Jesus; he shalt be great and shall be the Son of the Highest and the Lord God shall give him the thronee of his farther David, and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. The holy maid, not immediately recollecting that the prophet Isaiah had, in his predictions of the Messiah said, "Behold a vir gin shall conceive and bear a son:" and being conscious of her purity, did not, like Zacharias, require a sign; but modestly inquired how her preg nancy could be effected in her virgin state. "How" said she "can this be, seeing I know not a man ?" To which the angel, with condescending goodness, replied, "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 though the ho ly maid had not required a sign, whereby she might be assured of the certainty of an event so wonderful, and contrary to the established order of nature, the heavenly guest was pleased to give her this satisfaction: "And behold," said he, " thy cousin Elizabeth, 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." This reply was accompanied with such a manifestation of Divine Presence, that it removed every fear, and filled the wondering maid with heavenly gladness, which she had not known before. The expectation of the MESSIAH was general at this time throughout the Jewish nation, and strong were the desires of Judah's daughters for the honor and happiness of being the mother of the Redeemer of Israel; and the holy maid, it may be expected, had ardently wished for this great blessing; so that, with growing joy and exultation she immediately replied to the bright arch-angel, "Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it unto me according to thy word."

Soon after the departure of the angel, the holy virgin, regarding with joy of heart what the heavenly messenger had related concerning her relation and friend, went to the hill country of Judea, to pay a visit to her cousin Elizabeth. It is supposed that Zacharias lived at Hebron, the city of David, before he went to Jerusalem, formerly inhabited by giants, but taken by Joshua; and, when the land was divided, given to the tribe of Judah; which city was about seventy miles from Nazareth. The joy that inspired the blessed virgin, gave her such a flow of spirits, that she lightly tripped over the mountains; and as soon as she arrived at the house of her dear relative, the pious matron was filled with divine illumi

nations, and so affected at the sound of the maiden's voice, that the evangelist informs us, "the babe leaped in her womb." And, being filled with heavenly rapture, she addressed the wondering maid in the same language which she had lately heard from the angel, "Blessed art thou amongst women;" to which she added, " and blessed is the fruit of thy womb" and still continuing full of heavenly ardor, she exclaimed, "And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me!" She then proceeded immediately to inform her of her happy pregnancy. "For," sad she, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy." And then, in full assurance of the falfilment of the divine predictions respecting them both, she added, And blessed is she that believeth, for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord." The divine flame of holy love and joy, which glowed in the heart of the pious matron, soon catched in the bosom of the holy virgin; who, confirmed beyond all pos sibility of a doubt, in the truth of the angel's prediction, by what she had now heard from her dear relation, proceeded with a heart full of gratitude and holy joy, to bless, and praise, and magnify the name of the Lord, for his great goodness to her, in appointing her to be the mother of the Mes

siah.

After three months stay with her dear relative, the virgin Mary returned to her own city Nazareth; and being now the fourth month, her pregnancy plainly appeared; which gave great concern to Joseph her espoused husband. But though he apprehended she had been seduced, yet having a sincere affection for her, and being of a kind compassionate disposition, he was not willing to proceed to the severities of the law; which in this case, was no less than her being stoned to death at the door of her father's house. But as he had just reason to suppose that her honor could not be vindicated, and being a strict observer of the law, he was not willing to take her to his bed, but stood determined to break the marriage contract as privately as possible. While with great vexation and trouble, he was ruminating on these things, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, and informed him of the nature of his wife's pregnancy; giving him at the same time full satisfaction concerning her innocency. Fear not," said the heavenly vision, " Joseph thou son of David, to take unto thee Mary thy wife; for that which is conceived in her, is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS, for he shall save bis people from their sins." It was with unspeakable joy, that the good man received this information; and, not hesitating a moment respecting the truth of the heavenly message, he took the lovely maid home to his house. But the evangelist informs us, that “he knew her not, till she had brought forth her first born Son."

While these things were in agitation at Nazareth, Elizabeth the wife of Zacharias the priest, and relative of the favoured virgin, having completed the full time of her pregnancy, was delivered of a son. The reproach of her barrenness being thus removed, her neighbours and friends rejoiced with her ; the whole family smiled at the event, and every heart was glad. On the eighth day, when they attended on the sacred rite of circumcision, the relations proposed that he should be named Zacharias, after his father; but the mother informed them that his name must be John. All the guests wondered at this, because it was a name never known in the family, and for the decision of the affair, they applied to the father. The good man being dumb since the appearance of the angel who predicted the birth of the child, could not inform them, but made signs for a writing table, and wrote, "His name is John." The relations wondered at this, but more at observing the old man's dumbness to cease from that moment, whose voice, rising clearer and stronger for having been so long suppressed, raised loud strains of joy and gladness, and lofty praises, to the God

of Israel for his great goodness, in remembering and visiting his people; and, full of prophetic rapture, turning to his infant son," And thou child," said he, 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, through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the day spring from on high hath visited us, to give light to them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace." Such were the circumstances which attended the birth of the forerunner of our great Redeemer; the report of which soon spread through the hill country of Judea, and vari ous were the conceptions of the people concerning the future greatness of the child. The infant soon grew strong and robust, he was remarkably simple and abstemious in his diet, plain and careless in his dress, and addict ed to solitude and contemplation. Sacred history gives us no information what afterwards became of his parents; but there is a tradition that the mother fled into the deserts with her infant son, to preserve him from the rage of Herod ; and that the father was slain in the outer court of the temple, by the orders of that tyrant; and is that Zacharias which Christ mentions, whose blood was shed between the temple and the altar.

The Birth of CHRIST, with all the various Circumstances that attend. ed it, viz. An Angel bringeth the News thereof to the Shepherds; the heavenly Host praise God; the Shepherds, finding it to be as the Angel had said, glorify God; and the Circumcision of CHRIST.

THE great King of the creation and righteous Governor of the universe, having fixed in his eternal counsels, both the time and the place where his only son was to be born; so ordered the affairs of the world, as to bring his great predictions and gracious designs to pass. And as he over-rules the counsels of princes, and determines the actions of men, so as to answer the wise ends of his governemant, and accomplish the designs of his grace; so in this present instance, there is a remarkable manifestation of divine wisdom and power co-operating to bring about this great event. The holy Virgin and her husband dwelt at Nazareth; and, according to the prophet's prediction, the Messiah was to be born at Bethlehem, which was at a considerable distance; but to bring the great prediction to pass, Divine Providence so ordered it, that about three years before the time of our Redeemer's birth, a decree passed at Rome, by the order of the emperor Augustus, that a survey should be taken, and a register made, of the persons, estates and wealth, contained in his vast empire. This survey seems not to have been taken with an immediate design of taxation, but rather from views of ambition, or that the emperor might know the number and riches of his subjects; for there were no taxes gathered by the Romans till eleven or twelve years after this, when Archelius the son of Herod, was deposed for his tyranny and oppression, and Judea reduced into the form of a Roman province; for Herod, and the rest of the tributary kings, received the taxes of their subjects, and paid such tribute to Rome as was stipulated between them and the emperor. This survey, baving been carried through various provinces and kingdoms which were subject to Rome in the two years past, was now making in Judea; and every fam ily received orders to repair to their own city, to give an account of their

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real or personal estates, and there to be registered. Joseph and Mary hie wife, being both of the family of David, were obliged on this occasion to take a journey to the ancient city of Bethleham. The evangelists Matthew and Luke have each inserted in their gospels, the genealogy of Jesus CHRIST, in which there is so great a variation, that it is with reason concluded, that Matthew gives us the genealogy of Joseph, and Luke of the Virgin Mary; that it may appear they were both of the house and lineage of David; one rising through Solomon, and the other through Nathan, another son of that prince. Though the holy virgin was great with child, and near the time of her delivery, she could not be excused from this long journey. The town of Bethleham was crouded on this occasion; every inn, & every house of hospitable entertainment was full: the extraordinary persons who are the subjects of our present attention, made no great appearance in the world, and could not command the best accommodations: and while those, whose superior affluence commanded respect, took up the best apartments of the inns, the mother of the great Messiah was content to lodge in a stable; & there, having accomplished the full time of her pregnancy, she was delivered of her heavenly son. Some have supposed, that, as she had conceived by the mighty power of God, she brought forth. her son without pain, or common assistance. The stable in which our great Redeemer was born, is said to be a cave cut out of a rock; and it is not unlikely that he was born in the night.. In this situation the holy Virgin, having brought forth her son, wrapped the infant in swaddling clothes, and, having no better accomodations, laid him in a manger.what an amazing instance of condescension was this! The son of the Eternal God! The Heir of all things! The Darling of the skies! who was worshipped by angels, and heid in veneration equal with heaven's Great Supreme; to become man; to take human nature upon him in its most helpless and feeble state; to lay aside his starry crown, and all the glories of his heavenly dignity, and become a suckling child; One would have thought, that when the Great King of the universe condescended to become man, and appear in this world; that he would have been received by the inhabitants of the earth with tokens of the highest regard; and that every thing great and good, every thing grand and noble, would have been prepared to honour and accommodate the Mighty prince. It might have been particularly expected, that the nation which he chose for his residence, that people whom he condescended to make his countrymea, would have received him with the highest acclamations, and warmest tokens of honour and respect. But how contrary to this were the councils of heaven! how opposite to this, the appearance of our great Redeemer! When great princes are born, the city of their birth rings with acclamations, and the illuminated night shines like the day. But when our exalted Redeemer was born, all was silent, all was still. Not the poor peasant, who first draws breath in the homely cottage, steals into the world less unobserved, than did the Son of God. He, in all probability was born in the night, perhaps without light, or by the glimmering of a winking taper. When great princes are born, they are wrapped in fine linnen, and adorned with mantles of purple fringed with gold: the floors of their apartments are decorated with splendid carpets, the windows are adorned with noble hangings, and they lie on a bed of state, which shines with crimson and with gold. But our great Redeemer, and Saviour of mankind, the greatest Prince that ever was born into the world received no honour, no tokens of respect; was received with no demonstrations of joy; had no splendid apartment, no rich decorations: but was brought forth in a stable, without any person to pat on the poor habit prepared for him, but his virgin mother, who herself wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger: but though our glorious Redeemer was received, by the inhabitants of the earth, with no tokens of respect, or demonstrations of joy; though he was brought