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now under the dominion of the Romans, and that their own king Herod was merely appointed by the great Roman emperor, Cæsar Augustus, to govern them under him. Now it had long been a custom among the Romans to have an account taken every fifth year of all the Roman citizens. For this purpose officers were appointed whose business it was to enter into a register or book, their names, their wives, and children, with the age, qualities, trades, offices, and estates of them all. This account had at first been confined to the actual provinces of the Roman empire, but was extended by the emperor Augustus, just at this time, to all the kingdoms also which were attached to it. You must attend carefully to this circumstance; for it is a most remarkable one. Now when this account was to be taken in any country, the inhabitants were obliged to resort to those cities to which they belonged, to avoid confusion and mistake, and to make the whole matter more simple and easy. In Judea however a little alteration had been made in this rule; for instead of being summoned to the city in which they resided, the people were ordered to go each to his native city, or to the place where the inheritance of his fathers lay; and this is the reason why we read, immediately after the account of the taxation, that Joseph also went out of the city of Nazareth into Judea, unto the city of David, to be taxed with Mary his espoused wife. Thus was an alteration trifling in itself overruled by the Providence of God, so as to confirm the truth of his own prophecies! I dare say Joseph and Mary little thought, as they set out on this long and troublesome journey, that it was God himself who was conducting their steps so as to fulfil

his own word. Still less could it occur to the ambitious Cesar, when he was merely seeking to add to the wealth and glory of his wide dominions, by issuing a decree that all the world should be taxed (all the world was the proud name arrogantly given to the Roman empire), that he was but an instrument in the hands of the Almighty, accomplishing the purposes of that God whose name he neither knew nor honored! Thus were the steps of Mary and Joseph guided to the very spot, which had been chosen, ages before, for the birth place of the Redeemer of the world.

To Bethlehem they came; and whilst they were there, we read that the infant Jesus was born, and laid in a manger; because there was no room for him in the inn. And here round that lowly manger-bed, let us, dear Edward, pause for a little while, and think of the wonderful humility of the Son of God!

That His love to sinners should be so great as to lead him to lay aside his glory, that glory which he had with the Father from all eternity, and visit our fallen world at all, seems astonishing enough to us. Had he come as some great earthly prince and been treated with all the honour and respect that is paid to the greatest monarchs among men, we might still have been surprised; for what have we in this world that would not seem mean and poor to Him, who had left behind Him the great and eternal glory that surrounds the throne of God? But it was not even thus that our Redeemer came. When it pleased Him to take upon Him our nature, He chose to take it in its most humble form. Mary and Joseph, his earthly parents, were most likely too poor even to afford to pay for a room, in the inn at Bethlehem, which was crowded with [Second Series.]

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persons far richer and greater, to all human appearance, than they; and, fatigued with their long journey, they were glad to be allowed to take shelter in a stable. And here, in this mean and miserable place, the infant Redeemer was laid.

"No peaceful home upon his cradle smiled;

Guests rudely came and went where slept the royal child."

How many a Christian mother might compare the comforts and blessings, which her own child is enjoying, with the rude cold blasts that swept by the mangerbed of the infant Saviour and the rude noises and rough steps that disturbed his repose!

It is by dwelling on every little circumstance connected with our Saviour's birth that we get some idea, though a very faint one, of his great humility. To understand it fully, my child, we must wait till we get to that world where we shall see Him as He is. Then, and not till then, shall we be able to form any just idea of the love that brought Him down to our world; and of the infinite condescension which led Him to take upon Him the form of a poor suffering infant. Meanwhile we may each take up the song of infant lips and say—

"How I wonder when I see

His unbounded love to me!"

And perhaps, Edward, we shall continue to wonder at it through all eternity; for the more we know of the love of Christ, the more cause shall we find for wonder; the more persuaded shall we be that it is indeed a love "which passeth knowledge." We learn from the Bible, that even the angels round the throne of God look upon the redemption of our lost world

with aston shment. “ 'The Word made flesh and dwelling among men' draws the eyes of those glorious beings, and fills them with admiration to see the Almighty Godhead joined with the weakness of man, yea even of a helpless infant; to behold him that stretcheth forth the heavens' bound up in swaddling clothes." See Luke i. 1-4. 26-56. Matt. i. 18-25. Luke ii. 1-7.

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THIRD SUNDAY EVENING.

ANGELS ANNOUNCE THE SAVIOUR.

M. I am sure I need not remind you, Edward, of the subject of our last conversation; I saw plainly that you were too much interested in it to be able to forget it very quickly. I should be happy to believe as I hope I may, that, amidst the duties and enjoyments of the last week, you have often stopped to think of all that you then heard, and that, whilst remembering how greatly the Son of God humbled Himself, you have not forgotten how very ugly and sinful all proud and haughty tempers are in those who call themselves His followers. In reading the history of our Redeemer, which the Holy Spirit has given us in His word, we shall indeed be happy if we seek earnestly to follow His blessed example, and to have, in some faint degree, the same mind in us which was also in Christ Jesus. Let this be our endeavour, my child; so shall we not read in vain, but have reason, through all our lives, to recol

lect with satisfaction the evenings which we now spend together in dwelling upon the life of Christ.

You have seen how greatly the Son of God abased Himself at His first entrance into our world; it pleased God, however, at many periods during His short stay on earth, to crown Him with extraordinary honour and glory; faint glimpses indeed of the glory which surrounded Him on the throne of the eternal God, and yet such honour and glory as the greatest of earthly kings have never known. We have seen how an angel was sent to announce His birth, and how the Bible tells us not of one angel only, but of multitudes of the heavenly host, who hovered round the place where Jesus was born.

E. Did the angels then surround the manger where Christ was laid?

M. No, there were no angels there visible to mortal sight; but in the country around Bethlehem "shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flocks by night," were visited by these heavenly beings. The simple hearts of these humble men were to be gladdened with the sound of the strange news which angel lips were to proclaim to them. The Bible says that "the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid." Strange, no doubt, and dazzling was that light; no wonder that the shepherds were disturbed at it; for none even of God's most favoured servants have been able to behold his glory. We know how Moses said at the sight of it, "I exceedingly fear and quake," and how Elijah wrapped his face in his mantle whilst the Lord passed by; and yet both Moses and Elijah had been

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