Joseph, and Mary, and the babe lying in a manger. In due time-that is, forty days after his birth-the infant Jesus was carried to the Temple at Jerusalem, where the child was presented to the Lord, and the purification of Mary was performed according to the Mosaic law, with the payment of the usual ransom for a first-born son. On this occasion, a strain of thanksgiving and prophecy was uttered by a devout man named Simeon, who, like other good men of his time, had been" waiting for the consolation of Israel;" and this utterance was confirmed by a similar declaration on the part of an aged widow named Anna.

About the same time a star appeared to certain magi,—or learned men belonging to some eastern country, perhaps beyond the Euphrates, which they regarded as a token of the birth of a wonderful personage, in accordance with an expectation that had now become prevalent among the heathen. Following the guidance of this star, they came to Jerusalem, saying, "Where is He that is born King of the Jews?" and expressing a desire to offer him their homage. This inquiry created a great sensation in Jerusalem, and excited the jealousy of Herod; and, when it had been declared by the expounders of the law that Bethlehem was the place appointed for the birth of the Messiah, Herod instructed the "wise men" to search for the child in that place, and to report to him the spot in which he lay. They went accordingly to Bethlehem, and by the continued guidance of the star were conducted into the presence of the new-born babe, to whom, prostrating themselves in his presence, they made offerings of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Having thus accomplished the object of their journey, they were warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod and they returned into their own country by another way. Upon this, in a fit of rage and jealousy, Herod ordered all the infants at Bethlehem under two years old to be put to death, hoping by this cruel measure to make sure of his victim, whom he had begun to regard as his rival. The infant Jesus, however, had been removed beyond the reach of his malice; for, in consequence of a Divine monition conveyed to Joseph in a dream, the holy family had already set out for Egypt; in which country they remained until after the death of Herod, when, under Divine direction, they returned to Palestine, and settled in Nazareth, a town of Galilee. The tyrant who commanded this massacre of innocent children was "that Herod whose crimes, committed in violation of every natural feeling, ever urged him on to new scenes of cruelty; whose path to the throne, and whose throne itself, were stained with human blood; whose vengeance

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against conspirators, not satiated with their own destruction, demanded that of their whole families; whose rage was hot, up to the very hour of his death, against his nearest kindred; whose wife, Mariamne, and three sons, Alexander, Aristobulus, and Antipater, fell victims to his suspicions, the last just before his death; who, in a word, certainly deserved that the emperor Augustus should have said of him, "Herodis mallem porcus esse, quam filius.' It was that Herod who at the close of a bloodstained life of seventy years, goaded by the furies of an evil conscience, racked by a painful and incurable disease, waiting for death, but desiring life, raging against GoD and man, and maddened by the thought that the Jews, instead of bewailing his death, would rejoice over it as the greatest of blessings, commanded the worthies of the nation to be assembled in the circus, and issued a secret order that, after his death, they should all be slain together, so that their kindred, at least, might have cause to weep for his death." "Thus in the very beginning of the life of HIM who was to save the world, we see a foreshadowing of what it was afterwards to be The believing souls, to whom the lofty import of that life was shown by Divine signs, saw in it the fulfilment of their longings; the power of the world, ever subservient to evil, raged against it, but, amid all dangers, the hand of GoD guided and brought it forth victorious." *

Herod died, at Jericho, in April, a.u.c. 750 (common ers B.C. 4), shortly before the Passover. He was succeeded by his sons, Archelaus as Ethnarch of Judea, Samaria, and Idumea, Herod Antipas as Tetrarch of Galilee and Peræa, and Philip as Tetrarch of Batanea, Gaulanitis, and Trachonitis (countries included in the ancient Bashan).

Jesus passed his early years at Nazareth †, in the house of Joseph, who was by trade a carpenter.

It was the custom of

* NEANDER, Life of Christ, book i. chap. iii. § 20.

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"It is one peculiarity of the Galilean hills, as distinct from those of Ephraim or Judah, that they contain or sustain green basins of tableland just below their topmost ridges. Such is Nazareth. Fifteen gently rounded hills 'seem as if they had met to form an enclosure' for this peaceful basin, - 'they rise round it like the edge of a shell to guard it from intrusion. It is a rich and beautiful field' in the midst of these green hills, abounding in gay flowers, in fig-trees, in small gardens, hedges of the prickly pear; and the dense rich grass affords an abundant pasture. The village stands on the steep slope of the south-western side of the valley. From the crest of the hills which thus screen it, espe cially from that called Nebi Said, or Ismail, on the western side, is one of the most striking views in Palestine; Tabor, with its rounded dome, on

Joseph, in obedience to the law, to go up to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover. On these occasions he was accompanied by Mary; and, when Jesus had attained the age of twelve years, a period which the Jews regarded as the date of transition from childhood to youth, he also was included in the party. On their return, the child, after having been supposed to be, probably with other young persons, in the company or caravan of neighbours and friends, was found to be missing; a circumstance which immediately led, first to a strict inquiry throughout the company, and then to the return of Mary and Joseph to Jerusalem with a view to prosecute the search. At length, on the third day, they found him in the Temple (i. e. within the precincts of the Temple), among the doctors, engaged in listening, and asking questions: when, in answer to their natural expression of surprise, conjoined with an intimation of the anxiety which they had experienced on his account, Jesus said, "How is it that ye sought me? Wist ye not (did ye not know) that I must be about my Father's business ?" Neither Joseph nor Mary comprehended the meaning of this saying; but it remained among those which Mary treasured up in her memory, and pondered in her heart.

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After this Jesus returned to Nazareth. Here he "increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man (Luke ii. 52.); living in dutiful subjection to his mother and his reputed father, and, most probably, in the society of brothers and sisters, the children of Joseph and Mary after their marriage (Mat. i. 25.; xiii. 55.; Mark iii. 31.; Luke viii. 12.; John ii. 12.; vii. 3.).

ELEMENTARY AND GENERAL QUESTIONS.

937. When, where, and under what circumstances, was our Saviour born?

938. Who was emperor of Rome at that time? Who was king of Judea? 939. Relate the visit of the magi, or wise men from the east, to Bethlehem.

the south-east; Hermon's white top in the distant north; Carmel and the Mediterranean Sea to the west; a conjunction of those three famous mountains probably unique in the views of Palestine; and, in the nearer prospect, the uplands in which Nazareth itself stands, its own circular basin behind it; on the west, enclosed by similar hills, overhanging the plains of Acre, lies the town of Sepphorieh. ; on the south and southeast, lies the broad plain of Esdraelon. . . These are the natural features which, for nearly thirty years, met the almost daily view of Him who increased in wisdom and stature within this beautiful seclusion." ―STANLEY, Sinai and Palestine, part ii. ch. x.

940. What measure did Herod adopt in consequence of that visit? 941. Describe the character of Herod the Great.

942. How was the infant Jesus protected from his cruel design?

943. Where did the holy family take up their residence after their return from Egypt?

944. Relate the circumstances connected with the first visit of Jesus to Jerusalem, when he was twelve years old.

945. What was his subsequent mode of life, until the beginning of his public ministry?

ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS.

946. Describe the Divine preparations for the coming of Christ and the publication of the Gospel.

947. With what subject do the Gospels severally commence?

948. What is the difference between the genealogies of St. Matthew and St. Luke?

949. State, generally, the character and contents of each Gospel.

950. What was, probably, the true year of our Saviour's birth, A. U. Ç. and B. C.? How does it differ from the common era A. D. ?

951. Date the death of Herod the Great.

952. By whom was Herod succeeded, and how were his dominions par titioned?

953. Describe the situation of Nazareth, and the prospect which the neighbourhood commands.

CHAPTER XLIV.

BEGINNING OF OUR LORD'S PUBLIC MINISTRY.-FIRST PASSOVER.-CIRCUIT OF GALILEE.

OUR Lord lived in retirement until he was about thirty years of age; when a signal for the commencement of his ministry was given by the acts of a divinely appointed harbinger. It was How A. U. c. 779, A. D. 26. Tiberius was emperor of Rome, having been associated with Augustus in 765, and having become sole emperor in 767. From the time of the deposition of Archelaus in 759, Judea had been a mere province of the Roman empire, under the local government of procurators, one of whom, Pontius Pilate, entered on his office in the spring of 779. The other two sons of Herod retained their tetrarchies in absolute dependence on Rome. The high priest was Josephus, surnamed Caiaphas (778-790); and the president of the San hedrim was Annas, the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who had been high priest (760-767).*

"Hardly a state or kingdom in the world experienced so many vicissitudes in its government and political relations as did Judea during the

Six months before the birth of Jesus, John was born of Elizabeth, the wife of Zacharias, a priest who resided in the hill country of Judea. Zacharias and Elizabeth were far advanced in years when the angel Gabriel (who had formerly ap peared to Daniel declaring the date of the Messiah's coming) appeared to the aged priest in the Temple, whither he had gone to burn incense in the discharge of his office, and declared to him that in due time his wife should have a son, who should turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and should go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to make ready a people prepared for him. The message thus conveyed to Zacharias encountered in his mind a culpable hesitation and unbelief; on account of which, according to the denunciation of the angel, he was afflicted with dumbness, which lasted until after the birth of the promised child. When, however, Zacharias had confirmed by writing the decision of Elizabeth that the child should be called John (grace or favour), a name which had been appointed in the message of the angel, the power of speech was restored to him, and he uttered a song of thanksgiving, including a prophecy concern ing the future destination of the child as the forerunner of the Lord.

Before the commencement of his public ministry, John was for some time in the deserts (i. e. in the mountainous region towards the Dead Sea, or, the hill country of Judea, south of Jerusalem), where he led an austere life, having his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins, and feeding on locusts (i.e. most probably the insect locust, not, as some have supposed, the beans of the carob-tree) and wild honey. He afterwards repaired to the banks of the Jordan, where he proclaimed the approaching manifestation of the Messiah, preached the necessity of repentance and reformation, enforced the duties of the moral law in the spirit no less than in the letter, and called on men of various ranks and classes (soldiers,

period of the Gospel history. It was successively under the government of Herod the Great, of Archelaus, and of a Roman magistrate; it was a kingdom, a tetrarchate, and a province; and its affairs, its laws, and the administration of justice, were all involved in the confusion and uncertainty naturally to be expected from recent conquest. It would be difficult to select any place or period in the history of nations for the time and scene of a fictitious history and imposture, which would combine so many difficulties for the fabricator to surmount, so many contemporary writers to confront him, and so many facilities for the detection of falsehood."-GREENLEAF, Examination of the Testimony of the Evangelists,

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