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Whereby fhall I know this?, for I am an old man, 19 and and my wife well ftricken in years. And the angel answering faid unto him, I am Gabriel, that ftand in the prefence of God; and am fent to speak unto 20 thee, and to fhew thee thefe glad tidings. And behold, thou fhalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things fhall be performed, because thou believeft not my words, which fhall 21 be fulfilled in their feason. And the people waited for Zacharias, and marvelled that he tarried fo long 22 in the temple. And when he came out, he could not speak unto them: and they perceived that he had feen a vifion in the temple: for he beckoned (g) 23 unto them, and remained speechlefs. And it came to pafs, that as foon as the days of his miniftration were accomplished, he departed to his own houfe. 24 And after thofe days his wife Elifabeth conceived, 25 and hid herself (b) five months, faying, Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men (i). 26 And in the fixth month, the angel Gabriel was fent from God, unto a city of Galilee, named Naza27 reth, To a virgin efpoused to a man whofe name was Jofeph, of the houfe of David; and the virgin's 28 name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and faid, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee blessed art thou among women (k). 29 And when the faw him, fhe was troubled at his faying, and caft in her mind what manner of falu

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(g) He made figns.

(h) Did not

abroad out of her house.

go (i) Barrennefs was reckoned a great difgrace among the Jewish

women.

(k) See an higher expreffion of this kind applied to Jael and Ju dith, Judges v. 24. Judith xiii. 18. they being pronounced blessed above women; whereas the Virgin is faid to be bleffed among women. No argument then can be drawn from this paffage for the religious worship paid to her.

30 tation

30 tation (1) this fhould be. And the angel faid unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou haft found favour 31 with God. And behold, thou fhalt conceive in

thy womb, and bring forth a fon, and shalt call his 32 name (m) JESUS. He fhall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Higheft; and the Lord God fhall give unto him the throne of his father 33 David (n). And he fhall reign over the houfe of Jacob

for ever, and of his kingdom there fhall be no end. 34 Then faid Mary unto the angel, How fhall this be, 35 feeing I know not a man? And the angel anfwered and faid unto her, The Holy Ghoft fhall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest fhall overfhadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which fhall be born of thee, fhall be called the Son of God. 36 And behold, thy coufin Elifabeth, fhe hath alfo conceived a fon in her old age: and this is the fixth 37 month with her who is called barren. For with 38 God nothing fhall be impoffible. And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

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39

And Mary arofe in those days, and went into the hill-country with hafte, into a city of Juda, 40 And entered into the houfe of Zacharias, and falut41 ed Elifabeth. And it came to pass that when Elisa

beth heard the falutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb and Elifabeth was filled with the Holy 42 Ghost. And fhe fpake out with a loud voice, and faid, Bleffed art thou among women, and bleffed is 43 the fruit of thy womb. And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord fhould come to me?

(1) The word Hail was in fact, as it is here called by the bleffed Virgin, a mere falutation, expreffive of kindnefs rather than of reverence, and was fo ufed by our Saviour himself to the women as they were returning from the fepulchre. Matt. xxviii. 9.

(m) Matt. i. 21.

(2) In a fpiritual fenfe.

44 For lo, as foon as the voice of thy falutation founded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. 45 And blessed is the that believed: for there fhall be

a performance of thofe things which were told her 46 from the Lord. And Mary faid, My foul doth 47 magnify the Lord, And my fpirit hath rejoiced in 48 God my Saviour. For he hath regarded the low

eftate of his handmaiden for behold, from hence49 forth all generations fhall call me bleffed. For he

that is mighty hath done to me great things, and 50 holy is his name. And his mercy is on them that 51 fear him, from generation to generation. He hath shewed ftrength with his arm, he hath (o) scattered 52 the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

He

hath put down the mighty from their feats, and ex53 alted them of low degree. He hath filled the hungry

with good things, and the rich he hath fent empty 54 away. He hath holpen his fervant Ifrael, in re55 membrance of his mercy, As he fpake to our 56 fathers, to Abraham and to his feed for ever.

And

Mary abode with her about three months, and returned to her own house.

-57 Now Elifabeth's full time came, that fhe fhould 58 be delivered; and fhe brought forth a fon.

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her neighbours and her coufins heard how the Lord had fhewed great mercy upon her; and they re59 joiced with her. And it came to pass, that on the eighth day they came to circumcife the child, and they called him Zacharias, after the name of his 60 father. And his mother answered and faid, Not fo: but he fhall be called (p)- John. And they 61 faid unto her, There is none of thy kindred that

(0) Mary probably thought that the deliverance to be effected by Chrift was no more than the overthrow of the Roman power. Zachariah feems to have looked further, to the spiritual benefits of it. See Verfe 74..

(p) John fignifies the favour, or gift, of God, the child being born when his parents had lost all hope of having iffue..

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62 is

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62 is called by this name. And they made figns to 63 his father, how he would have him called. And

he afked (q) for a writing table, and wrote, saying, 64 His name is John. And they marvelled all. And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue 65 loofed, and he fpake, and praifed God. And fear came on all that dwelt round about them: and all these fayings were noifed abroad throughout all 66 the hill country of Judea. And all they that had heard them, laid them up in their hearts, faying, What manner of child fhall this be? And the hand 67 of the Lord was with him. And his father Zacha

rias was filled with the holy Ghost, and prophefied, 68 faying, Bleffed be the Lord God of Ifrael, for he 69 hath (r) vifited and redeemed his people, And hath

raifed up an (s) horn of falvation for us, in the house 70 of his fervant David; As he fpake by the mouth

of his holy prophets, which have been fince the 71 world began (t), That we fhould be faved from our

enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us. 72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and 3 to remember his holy covenant: The oath which 74 he fware to our father Abraham, That he would

grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hands of our enemies, might ferve him without 75 fear, In holinefs and righteousness before him, all 76 the days of our life. And thou, child, fhalt be called the prophet of the Higheft: for thou fhalt before the face of the Lord, to prepare his ways; 77 To give knowledge of falvation unto his people, by

go

: (9) He afked by making figns.

(r) God is most frequently faid to vifit when he punifheth: but here, as conferring an act of grace and favour. See alfo Chap. xix. 44.

(s) Horn is ufed by the Jews for power. A horn of falvation therefore means a powerful Saviour.

(t) The first prediction of a Saviour was in the curfe pronounced upon the ferpent immediately after the fall of man. Gen. iii. 15.

78 the

78 the remiffion of their fins, Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the day-fpring from 79 on high hath vifited us,, To give light to them that fit in darkness and in the fhadow of death, to guide 80 our feet into the way of peace. And the child grew, and waxed strong in fpirit, and was in the defarts till the day of his fhewing unto Ifrael (u).

CHA P. II.

AN ND it came to pafs in those days, that there went. out a decree from Cefar Auguftus, that all the 2 (a) world fhould be taxed. (And this taxing was firft made when Cyrenius was governor of Sy-. 3 ria) (b). And all went to be taxed, every one into 4 his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, (because he was of the house and lineage of David). 5 To be taxed with Mary his efpoufed wife, being 6 great with child. And fo it was, that while they

7

were there, the days were accomplished that the fhould be delivered (c). And the brought forth her first-born fon, and wrapped him in fwaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

(u) Till the time of his entering upon his miniftry, and preaching publicly to the people.

(a) Auguftus ordered every perfon in the land of Judea, which was fometimes called all the world, to be registered. See Acts xi. 28.

(6) In the time of Cyrenius or Quirinius, fo well known after-: wards for being Governor of Syria.

(c) Obferve how the providence of God directed the Roman Emperor's decree to be the means of bringing the bleffed Virgin to lie-in at the very place, where it was foretold Chrift should be born See Matt. ii. 5. xxi. 4

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