millions, leading captivity captive, and crushing Satan, sin, and death under his triumphant foot. The line of demarcation drawn by the law, and which had rendered the followers of Judaism alone apparently the objects of the Divine favour, was now to be withdrawn. Jesus was come not only for the glory of Israel, but to be a light to lighten the Gentiles; to destroy the wall of partition, which was composed of ceremonies and divers ordinances, and from henceforth to form one great and mighty building, whereof He Himself would be both the foundation and chief corner stone.

"Such was the infant that Simeon blessed. Nor was he a solitary witness to the incarnation of the Deity; we are told there was one 'Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser; she was of a great age,' and had been a widow for eighty-four years. Her residence was mostly in the Temple, where she occupied herself night and day in serving God. She likewise beheld the child in Simeon's arms, and by the influence of the Spirit was led at once to acknowledge him as the long-expected Messiah. Nor was she contented to keep the blessed fact to herself; no, she openly confessed him amongst her people: 'she spake of him to all who were looking for redemption in Jerusalem.' May we go and do likewise! May we imitate the example set us by Simeon and Anna, and may we each labour for the extension of our Master's kingdom, and endeavour to lead our ignorant fellow creatures to that Saviour whom we have found. As soon as all these interesting events terminated, and the various ceremonies enjoined by the law were concluded, it appears that the Holy Family returned to Galilee, to their own city Nazareth. There perhaps they stayed only a short time, and again visited Bethlehem, for at the time the events in the Temple occurred that we have just noticed, our Lord was only forty days old, whereas the events we are now arrived at took place, we are led to believe, somewhere about his first year.'

"After the kind permission you have given us, Sir," said Mr. Lawrence, "to make any remark that may suggest itself relative to the subject under consideration, I shall not apologize for saying a few words before you proceed with your most interesting discourse, and to which the meeting of Simeon and Anna has given rise. These aged saints appear to have united in thanksgivings to the Most High for his wondrous gift to man; and Anna is not behind old Simeon in proclaiming the arrival of the anticipated

Messiah. From hence I would remark, that both under the Jewish and Gospel dispensations, women are emancipated from that inferior position which they hold in heathen countries, and where ignorance and error are combined. I have travelled, Sir, into foreign lands, where I have seen the female degraded into the crouching slave, performing the hardest labour, and treated as a being of inferior mould. I have seen her kneel at the feet of him who was both her master and her husband, and ask even for a smile, which was given or withheld as humour prompted. I have heard man, proud man, proclaim himself Lord of Creation, and woman formed only for his pleasure and convenience, a creature of to-day, but unworthy of immortality. And since my return to England, Christian England, I have entered the abode of the rough, untaught labourer, he who had no fear of God before his eyes, and I have seen and heard him abuse his wife, and treat her as a brute; and I have beheld the tear trickle down the pale cheek of her whom at the altar he promised to love and to cherish, and the poor thing has turned away when she saw I was a spectator of the cruel scene. Oh, Sir, it is only religion that places us all in our just position, and the fruits of that religion are observable in the beautiful manner wherein a Christian family is conducted; the husband kind, affectionate, and confiding; the wife gentle, attentive, and cheerful; the children obedient, respectful, and submissive; the servants faithful, honest, and willing. What a contrast does this present to the wretched abode of ignorance, superstition and vice!" "Your observation, Sir," said Mr. C., “is very just. In many parts of the Bible, both in the New and Old Testament, but particularly in the former, much honour is put upon females; as if the Most High would teach men that He regards them with equal favour, and as heirs with them of the grace of life. When the Redeemer entered upon his mission of love, the glad tidings were spread abroad, as we have just seen, by a man and a woman; women ministered to his wants; women were healed by Him of their diseases; women followed him to Calvary, and stood at the foot of his cross, undismayed by the multitudes of his murderers; women were the first to visit his tomb, and the first to proclaim that the Lord was risen; women have not shrunk at torture, but boldly confessed their Saviour, and received the martyr's crown; and in our own day we find them unwearying in their exertions, and most powerful assistants to us, the Ministers of the Gospel, often

making their way, and finding access to many we could not reach, until the words of truth persuasively set forth by them has touched the heart of the hitherto stubborn sinner. But now we must turn our attention to the next event that occurred in the early part of our Lord's career. As I before said, the adoration of the eastern sages was some time after his presentation in the Temple; these men were ignorant of the hatred Herod bore the infant, and after their interview with him, which we noticed before, they unsuspiciously wended their way to Bethlehem, where they found the object of their search, and by their adoration acknowledged his Divinity. Undoubtedly they purposed retracing their steps, but this was overruled by God himself, who warned them in a dream not to return to Herod, but to take another route for their homeward journey. This cruel, suspicious prince waited in the utmost anxiety for the re-appearance of the travellers; upon their report he determined to act, and, if necessary, to put to death the rival he so greatly dreaded. Day after day passed away, and still all was miserable uncertainty; at length he received the unwelcome tidings that not only were the Magi returned home, but the family he was watching had disappeared, whither he knew not; 'for the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.' (Matt. ii. 12, 13.)

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"Joseph immediately obeyed the Divine command; he knew the murderous character of the King, and that there was no time to lose; that night, therefore, it would appear, he set forth with his treasures for Egypt, and, protected by Omnipotence, arrived in safety. In that country, once the land of Israel's bondage and of suffering, the family dwelt until the death of the tyrant allowed them to return to their native abode. But observe what the Evangelist adds in reference to this circumstance, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, out of Egypt have I called my Son.' (Verse 15.) This prophet was Hosea, and let us turn to the 11th chapter, 1st verse, and read it. When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my Son out of Egypt.' The prophet, when he uttered these words, no doubt was considering the state of his countrymen in former days, when, as an infant nation, they endured the affliction of slavery, but being objects of Jehovah's love, he called them, and finally brought

them out of the land; but the Holy Spirit had a higher and more enlarged meaning. He applies the words to the Messiah as the incarnate Son of God, and Head of his Church, that multitude whom he has redeemed out of the world, whereof Egypt is always the type, and who are and have been continually protected by Almighty love. We must admit the intimate union of Christ and his Church, otherwise there are many portions of God's word that would be unintelligible, and deprived of much of their sublime beauty. The passage before us, out of Egypt have I called my Son,' is of this description; as Christ in reality came out of Egypt, so does he spiritually bring forth his people. They are the body, whereof he is the Head; he withdraws himself from the entanglements and service of a sinful world, and his people in Him; as he leads so they follow; the head influences the body, and guides it onwards to heaven, the spiritual Canaan, where, complete in him, it dwells for evermore.

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"But now we must return to the history, and learn in what manner Herod acted when he found his victim had eluded his vengeance. Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wrath, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coast thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time that he had diligently inquired of the wise men. (Verse 16.)" Well, Sir," said Hyford, "I have many and many times read this verse, and I believe never thought a bit about it; why, Sir, of all the cruel deeds that were ever committed by bad men, surely this was one of the worst. Poor babies! or, rather, miserable parents, for the infants themselves were soon out of their misery, and were saved a world of sorrow. Their hour of trial was very short, for the sword of the king soon cut it asunder." "True," replied Mr. C. "What sort of man was Herod in his general conduct, Sir?" said Mr. Smith. "He was ambitious, tyrannical, and horribly cruel, always suspicious, and of a hateful temper. He had one of his wives, his eldest son Antipater, and many of his relatives put to death. So we cannot be surprised that the murder of the infants should be ordered without a pang of remorse. He was made governor of Galilee about forty-six years before the birth of Christ, and in sixteen years afterwards he was advanced to the dignity of king of Judea, over which country he reigned thirtyseven years, dying a few months after the awful massacre of the Bethlemite children. His end was dreadful, and

marked by bloodshed and cruelty; for it is related that when the news was spread abroad in the city that he could not possibly recover, two Jewish doctors, men of eminence and learning, unfortunately induced several of the young men to commence destroying different structures that the king had erected contrary to their laws. The tumult came to the dying monarch's ears, who ordered them to be conveyed to Jericho, whither he followed in a litter, and after a kind of trial condemned all the prisoners to be burnt alive; and this not being sufficient, he commanded the principal Jews to repair to Jericho, for he was too ill to return to Jerusalem, where he had them put into prison, and gave strict orders to his sister and her husband to have them put to death as soon as he died himself, in order, as he said, to secure a real mourning amongst the people." " And was this order performed, Sir?" said Hyford, whose attention was deeply fixed, historical events being quite unknown to him. "No," replied Mr. C- -, "for though his sister and her husband were as bad as possible, and well matched with their savage brother, on this occasion they acted well; they were really ashamed of the order, and endeavoured to conceal it from the people, desiring the gates of their prison to be opened, and commanding the inmates to depart to their respective homes. So much for Herod, a man who was surnamed the Great, but whose violence and thirst for blood rendered him a perfect monster."

"And those parents whom he no doubt in many instances rendered childless, what of them, Sir?" interrupted Mr. Hill. "Yes," replied Mr. C-, "their bereavement is most affectingly described: 'In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.' St. Matthew only quotes the commencement of this prophecy, but no doubt he intended his readers to observe the entire, which is very beautiful, and runs thus; (Jeremiah xxxi. 15, &c.) 'Thus saith the Lord, refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears; for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the Lord, and they shall come again from the land of the enemy. For there is hope in thine end, saith the Lord, that thy children shall come again to their own border.' Here were precious words of comfort for these afflicted mothers: and not for them only, but for all those who have been called upon to consign their beloved ones to the tomb. What do they say? what tones of consolation do they produce? They say, weep