waited for through so many ages. She who had been, till now, her younger cousin,-poor Mary of Nazareth, became all at once highly dignified in her sight by the warning of a wonderful perception: "and she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And whence is this to me, that the mother of Lord should come to me? For lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.'"

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Faint was the song of Moses, and faint the answer of Miriam on her timbrel, by the Red Sea ;1 faint was Deborah's song triumph at the river Kishon; and Judith's by the fountain of Bethulia,3 compared with that prophetic strain of holy joy, which Elizabeth uttered in the house of Zacharias the priest. They sang of victories over horsemen and chariots, and captains of hosts; she exulted in a mighty conquest to be made over the spiritual enemies of a World,—the triumph over sin and death by a Saviour, Who should redeem Israel, and establish an everlasting covenant of peace. But still more beautiful and impressive was the Canticle which burst from the lips of Mary: for the joyful notes of Elizabeth's hymn sounded to her like a voice from Heaven. That which she had before believed through the grace of humility and faith, was now more clearly understood by a consciousness of the blessing to be conferred upon her. When the angel saluted her at Nazareth, she had meekly replied, "Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word:" but now she exclaimed with rapture, in the notes of the " Magnificat," which has been the hymn of the Church for eighteen centuries,

"My soul doth magnify the Lord;

And my spirit hath rejoiced in God MY SAVIOUR.

For He hath regarded the lowliness of His handmaiden : For behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed," &c.

1 Exod. xv. 1-21.

2 Judges, v.

3 Judith, xvi. 1-17.

See Bishop Jebb's comparison of the hymn of the blessed Virgin with the song of Hannah, 1 Sam. ii. 1-10, marking their distinctive characters. Sacred Literature, pp. 393-398.

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Mary's Son was to be also Mary's SAVIOUR; because Mary, as well as all others, had need of the Redeemer's merits to free her from that original sin, which, by reason of her natural conception and birth, she inherited in common with them.1 For it is written, "By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, so death passed upon all men; for that all have sinned:" and again," that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God:" "for all have sinned, and come short of the Glory of God; being justified freely by His grace through the Redemption that is in Christ Jesus:"3 and once more, "As in Adam all die, so in Christ shall all be made alive." The happy Virgin, therefore, in her song of praise, exclaimed, "My spirit hath rejoiced in GOD MY SAVIOUR."

And Mary abode with her cousin about three months. Doubtless they rejoiced together in the interchange of solemn thoughts, and promises of hope, to which their hymns gave such forcible expression. Knowing by the Spirit that each, in her degree, would be a witness to some secret purpose of the Lord, what yearnings must they have had to penetrate the wonderful mystery! With what deep reverence must they have searched the books of the ancient Scripture, to gather from the prophecies of David, Isaiah, Malachi, and others, the meaning of Gabriel's words! The child of Elizabeth was to be the herald of Christ; "the voice crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.'"5 "Behold I will send My messenger, and he shall prepare the way before Me;"6"he shall go before Him in the spirit and power of Elias." Great promises from on high! But of the Son of Mary unspeakably more glorious was the Heavenly

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1 Controversy is foreign from the objects of this narrative: but what is here said of the blessed Virgin is the doctrine of the Gospel. Amongst other passages in the works of S. Augustin, the following, in his Commentary on Genesis, lib. x. cap. 18, is not the least remarkable ;

"Quid incoinquinatius illo utero Virginis, cujus caro, etiamsi de peccati propagatione venit, non tamen de peccati propagine concepit." "Proinde corpus Christi, quamvis ex carne feminæ assumptum est, quæ de illâ carnis peccati propagine concepta fuerat, tamen quia non sic in eâ conceptum est, quomodo fuerat illa concepta, nec ipsa erat caro peccati, sed similitudo carnis peccati.” 2 Rom. v. 12. 41 Cor. xv. 22.

Isai. ii. 3.

3 Rom. iii. 19-23.

6 Mal. iii. 1.

announcement; for the angel had said, "He shall be called the SON OF GOD;" and Isaiah had before declared, "The Lord Himself shall give you a sign; Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His Name IMMANUEL,' which is, being interpreted, ' GOD WITH US.'"

After three months, when Elizabeth's full time drew on, Mary departed again for Nazareth. Conscious of her innocence, she was to pass through the severe trial of making her wonderful condition known to Joseph. She could not but anticipate his distress at the bare mistrust of the chastity of his betrothed wife. She might find herself an alien from her own home, rejected of her kinsfolk, the scorn of the women of Nazareth. On the other hand she would remember the miraculous salutation from Heaven, "Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women." Those words, "Fear not, Mary for thou hast found favour with God," would inspire feelings which no heart but her own might know; and in such assurance she would travel back to Nazareth. There God had prepared for His handmaid a verdict of acquittal, to be pronounced by no less than the voice of an angel. Whilst Joseph, who was a just man, full of compassion and tenderness, thought of these things, and not being willing to make her a public example, " was minded to put her away privily," he received clear notice from Heaven that his expected shame should be turned to the highest praises of Mary and himself. “Behold the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, 'Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take

1 Isai. vii. 14. "Vocatur Jesus Emmanuel; quia ita est, quòd in eo est verè Emmanuel. Nam Emmanuel interpretatur nobiscum Deus,' id est, cum naturâ nostrâ Deus, scilicet naturâ humanâ simul cum personâ divinâ, quod soli Christo convenit, qui simul est Deus et homo, et utrumque plenè. Considerandum, quòd in hoc vult probare Matthæus illud, quod dixerat angelus, scilicet, 'et vocabis nomen ejus Jesum,' et propheta dixit, ‘et vocabitur nomen ejus Emmanuel.' Et sic vult idem nomen esse Jesus et Emmanuel. Et verum est, quia Emmanuel significat Deum et hominem simul, scilicet in eodem supposito; et hoc significat Jesus, quòd interpretatur Salvator, maximè cum angelus dixerit, quòd salvaret populum suum à peccatis.' Hoc autem non poterat facere nisi qui esset simul Deus et homo, scilicet homo ut pateretur, Deus autem ut per hoc in infinitum mereretur. Et sic vocare aliquem Jesum, id est Salvatorem, si verum est quòd salvat, nihil aliud est, quàm vocare eum Deum et hominem. Idem ergo nomen est Emmanuel et Jesus." Tostatus Abulensis in Matt. i., Quæst. xliii.

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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 [Saviour]; for He shall save His people from their sins."" Thus was vouchsafed to him the peace of restored confidence, all the more precious after the sadness of past suspicion. Those few words from Heaven were the message of a long line of mysteries, reaching from before the world was unto the end of all things,—a revelation too high, too deep, for the utmost range of Joseph's understanding. In simple faith he believed the promises of God, although he could not penetrate their meaning; and he had his reward. He was highly exalted to be the foster-father and guardian of the holy Child; to carry Him in his arms; to guide His young footsteps; to watch from their first dawn the rays of Divine grace, which beamed more and more unto the full noontide, shining forth from the Saviour,-the Light of the World. Joyful news soon reached Joseph and Mary from Hebron : "now Elizabeth's full time came, that she should be delivered; and she brought forth a son." Thus in the order of events the first message of Gabriel was fulfilled; a sure token of that greater miracle, which they faithfully believed should come to pass. They could not but rejoice;—as did also Elizabeth's neighbours and cousins at Hebron, "when they heard how the Lord had showed great mercy upon her." And on the eighth day, when the child was to be admitted into the Jewish covenant by circumcision, they came together, and would have called him "Zacharias, after the name of his father." But Elizabeth had treasured up in her memory the words of Gabriel; " and she answered and said, 'Not so, but he shall be called John.' And they said unto her, 'There is none of thy kindred that is called by this name."" So they appealed to Zacharias, making signs to him how he would have him called. "And he asked for a writing table, and wrote, saying, His name is John."" All marvelled; and the more so, because the power of speech was immediately restored to the aged priest. "His mouth was opened, and his tongue loosed, and he spake and praised God." "He was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied," in the words of the

1 "Datus est Zachariæ filius, quo major non surrexit inter natos mulierum, et restituta est ei vox, quæ anteà ex colloquio Angeli adempta erat. Proinde, ut

"Benedictus," "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for He hath visited, and redeemed His people," &c. It was revealed to him that their Redemption was nigh at hand by the coming of the Christ. Then, addressing the unconscious infant, he declared, "And thou, child, 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 [for] the remission of their sins." The words of Zacharias, which are now the Christian hymn, sung daily in the Church, called forth the wonder of the people of Hebron, who joined in the hope of Israel's restoration through the expected Son of David.1 "And fear came upon all that dwelt round about them: and all these sayings were noised abroad throughout all the hill country of Judæa. And all they that heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, 'What manner of child shall this be?""

declaret erga Deum gratitudinem animi sui, laudat nomen Domini cantico, et magnificat eum laude: ac quemadmodum prius coram Angelo prodidit voce incredulitatem suam, ita nunc testatur voce coram totâ Ecclesiâ eximiam fidem suam. Repletus est, inquit Lucas, Spiritu Sancto et prophetavit.' Prophetare est tam prophetias antedictas explicare, quàm de futuris rebus vaticinari. Utrumque facit Zacharias in hoc carmine suo. Explicat enim eas promissiones, quæ multis retrò seculis de Christo et Joanne per prophetas publicè vulgatæ erant, et vaticinatur etiam ipse, quod officium administraturus sit Joannes, et quanta beneficia populo per adventum Christi, cujus viam Joannes præparaturus sit, contingant." Brentius, in Evang. Luc., Hom. x. p. 570.

'The Jews expected the Messiah to appear, both as a Deliverer from their temporal sufferings under the Romans, and also as a spiritual Teacher. The popular mind dwelt principally on the hope of His restoring their national greatness: but Zacharias, Simeon, and other holy men, looked to His higher attributes; they had read the prophets aright, and had a true notion that the looked-for Christ should reconcile them, through repentance, to their offended God, who had delivered them into the hands of their enemies, as a punishment for their national sins. The teaching of the Priests, overlaying the pure Scriptures with their vain traditions, also the controversies of the different sects, Pharisee against Sadducee, and the subtle devices and fallacies of the Scribes, had weakened the force of the great truth, that the Messiah was to be a spiritual Saviour. The people too, were exceedingly profligate; and the voice of prophecy had been silent for four hundred years: therefore, although the Scriptures were read and explained to them in their synagogues, and they anxiously expected the coming of Christ, the whole history of our Lord's ministry exhibits their confused state of mind as to the evidences which they looked for. Nevertheless, to Zacharias, now "filled with the Holy Ghost," the true nature and offices of Messias appear to have been clearly revealed, according to the teaching of the prophets from the beginning.-Chemnitius, Harm. Evangel., vol. i. p. 75.