Zacharias almost doubted if he heard aright, and required

a sign of the angel.

"Whereby shall I know this?" he inquired.

Then the angel informed him, that for his want of faith he should be stricken dumb till the event took place. And as the angel predicted so came the event to pass; and unto Elizabeth was born a son, and they called his name John.

Six months after the appearance of the angel to Zacharias, the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary, the espoused wife of Joseph, and thus addressed him—“ Hail! highly-favoured among women; blessed art thou!" And Mary was afraid, and knew not what manner of salutation this might be; but the angel comforted her, and said—“ Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favour with God.

"Behold, thou shalt bring forth a son, and shall call his name Jesus.

"He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David.

“And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end."

And God had so ordered that the saying of the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled—“ Behold a virgin shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emanuel, which, being interpreted, is God with us." Jesus is a Hebrew word and signifies Saviour; Christ is a Greek name, answering to Messiah, or Anointed.

And the words of the angel filled the Virgin with holy joy and astonishment; and she sought her cousin Elizabeth, the wife of Zacharias, and imparted to her the blissful news.

And then the two women communed together, and Mary heard, too, the words of heaven's chosen messenger; and, raising up her voice in thanksgiving and praise, uttered that beautiful hymn we hear so often chanted in the service of the church

My soul doth magnify the Lord.

And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.

For he hath regarded the lowliness of his hand-maiden: behold, from henceforth, all generations shall call me blessed.

For he that is mighty hath magnified me, and holy is his name.

And his mercy is on them that fear him, throughout all generations.

He hath showed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and hath exalted the humble and meek.

He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.

He remembering his mercy hath holpen his servant Israel, as he promised to our forefathers, Abraham and his seed for ever.

Thus we see, that it was not to the high and mighty that God vouchsafed this wonderful revelation, but to the poor and humble. He hath chosen the foolish things of this world to confound the wise; and our Saviour himself declares that the humble shall be exalted and the proud abased. “I thank thee, oh Father, Lord of heaven and earth," said he, "that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and revealed them unto babes!"

And it was to a company of shepherds, while they were tending their flocks in the plains of Judea, that God sent his message. As they were watching by night, an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and thus addressed them :—

Fear not for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

And this shall be a sign unto you; ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace and good will toward men. And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.

LUKE ii. 10-15.

But not alone to the shepherds was this glorious news

revealed to the good and pious who were waiting the advent of the Lord, a star appeared; which they, being prompted by the Holy Ghost, arose and followed.

While shepherds watch'd their flocks by night,

All seated on the ground;

The angel of the Lord came down,

And glory shone around.

"Fear not," said he,-for mighty dread

Had seiz'd their troubled mind,—
"Glad tidings of great joy I bring
To you, and all mankind.

"To you, in David's town, this day,
Is born of David's line,

A Saviour, who is Christ the Lord,
And this shall be the sign :-

The heavenly babe you there shall find,
To human view display'd,

All meanly wrapt in swathing bands,
And in a manger laid.”

Thus spake the seraph; and forthwith
Appeared a shining throng

Of angels praising God, who thus

Addressed their joyful song:

"All glory be to God on high,

And upon earth be peace;

Good-will, henceforth, from heaven to men,

Begin and never cease."

Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,

Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. MATT. ii, 1, 2.

And when the star stopped over the place where the young Child was, they were greatly rejoiced.

And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.

MATT. ii, 11.

"These gifts," says the Rev. Henry Stebbing, "may be considered as typical of both the divine and royal origin of Christ;” it being an immemorial custom to present the chil

dren of the world's great with rich and precious gifts; and though the wise men of the east were heaven-directed, and acted purely from the impulse of a godly purpose, there is no doubt that their offerings were intended rather as the fulfilment of a preconceived design on the part of the Almighty, than as an act of mere homage to the youthful king, whom it was impossible to honour or exalt, He being above and before all created beings!

O Zion, lift thy raptur'd eye,
The long expected hour is nigh;
The joys of nature rise again,
The Prince of Salem comes to reign!

See, Mercy from her golden urn

Pours a rich stream to them that mourn;

Behold, she binds with tender care,
The bleeding bosom of Despair.

He comes, to cheer the trembling heart,
Bids Satan and his host depart;
Again the day-star gilds the gloom,
Again the bow'rs of Eden bloom!

O Zion! lift thy raptur'd eye,

The long-expected hour is nigh;
The joys of nature rise again,

The Prince of Salem comes to reign!

Behold, then, the lowly mother and her heavenly Son. Look with what rapturous eyes she gazes on his radiant majesty, seen even in the face of helpless infancy. The Rev. Dr. Louth has rendered the great event in lines that are full of beauty:

The heavenly Babe the Virgin Mother bears,
And her fond looks confess the parent's cares;
The pleasing burden on her breast she lays,
Hangs o'er his charms, and with a smile surveys;
The infant smiles, to her fond bosom press'd,
And wantons, sportive, on the mother's breast.
A radiant glory speaks him all Divine,

And in the Child the beams of Godhead shine.

Possibly amid the cares and trials of his after life the

Redeemer, looking back upon that infancy, so free from sorrow, may have thought how great the sacrifice it was his to undergo. A verse from a beautiful poem by Mr. Henderson may not be inapt :

"These early hours and peaceful days remembrance will recal,

When darkening shadows rest upon his spirit like a pall;

Their dreams, all bright as summer's light, serene, and pure, and calm,
Are wafted back upon his heart, a tranquilizing balm,

Until the mind disdains to droop beneath despairing fears,
Commingling with the beautiful of youth's too blissful years."

The coming of the heavenly King, so humbly born and tended in a manger, has been the delightful theme of the prophets, who have all spoken of his advent as a great and glorious consummation for the ills and miseries of Zion. The inspired prophet Isaiah declares that—

There shall come a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:

And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and under. standing, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.

ISAIAH Xi, 2.

The same prophet in another place speaks in rapturous terms of this blissful coming:

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of Hosts will perform this. ISAIAH ix, 6, 7.

And again, Jeremiah, speaking in the inspiration of his holy calling, says―

In those days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby be shall be called-THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.

Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that they shall no more sny, The Lord liveth, which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt. JEREMIAH Xxiii, 6, 7.