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The angel appears to the Virgin Mary,

SECT. nearer to God than others, remember their peculiar obligation to imitate such an example.

111.

Ver. Let us observe, with pleasure, that the prayers which such wor13 shippers offer come up with acceptance before God; to whom no costly perfume is so sweet as the fragrancy of a character like this. -An answer of peace was here returned when the case seemed to be most helpless. Let us learn to wait patiently for the Lord, and leave it to his own infinite wisdom to chuse the time and manner in which he shall appear for us.

Zacharias, accustomed as he was to converse with the God of 12 heaven, was nevertheless, as we see, thrown into great consternation at the appearance of his angelic messenger. And may we not regard it, therefore, as an instance of the goodness as well as wisdom of God, that he determines that the services which these 13, 19 heavenly spirits render us should be generally invisible?-It is de lightful to observe that amiable condescension with which Gabriel, the courtier of heaven, behaved on this occasion. Let it teach us with pleasure to pursue the humblest offices of duty and love which God may assign us towards any of our fellow-servants, even in the lowest stations.

17 Happy was the holy Baptist in being employed in this blessed work of preparing men's hearts to receive a Saviour, and reducing the disobedient to the wisdom of the just. May we be inspired with some degree of zeal like his, in our proper sphere, to pursue so noble a design!

18, 20

SECT. iv.

Luke

We see, in the instance of Zacharias, that some remainders of unbelief may be found even in a faithful heart let us guard against them, as remembering they will be displeasing to God, and hurtful to ourselves.-And, to conclude, when Providence 24 favours us with any peculiarly gracious interpositions, let us attentively remark the hand of God in them; and let religious retirement leave room for serious recollection and devout acknowledgments.

SECT. IV.

The angel Gabriel is sent to the virgin Mary, to inform her of the conception of Christ by her, in which she humbly acquiesces.

Luke I. 26-38.

LUKE I. 26.

IN
N the sixth month after Elizabeth had con-
ceived, the same angel Gabriel, who had been
the
messenger of such good news to Zacharias,
was sent from God to a small and inconsiderable
city of Galilee, which was called Nazareth; be-
27 ing charged with an important commission to a

1. 26

a Nazareth.] A city in the tribe of Zebulun, which was reduced to so low and

virgin,

LUKE I. 26.

AND in the sixth

month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Ga

lilee, named Nazareth.

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97 To a virgin es poused to a man whose the house of David;

name was Joseph, of

And foretells her conception of Christ.

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virgin, who was contracted, according to the Jew. SECT. ish method of espousals, to a man whose name was iv. Joseph: a descendant of the royal house of David; Luke and the virgin's name which illustrious family was now reduced to so I. 28. wer Mary. low a condition, that Joseph followed the employment of a carpenter: and the virgin's name 28 And the angel was Mary, of the same lineage. And the angel came in unto her, and entered in to the room, in which she was alone said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured; the and, standing before her, surrounded her with an Lord, is with thee: extraordinary lustre, he addressed himself unto blessed art thou among her, and said, Hail, O thou distinguished favourite of heaven! I congratulate thy happiness; for the Lord is with thee, and is about to manifest his condescending regard in a manner which shall oblige all around thee to acknowledge that thou art blessed among women, the greatest and happiest of thy sex.

Women.

09 And when she saw him she was trou

Now the pious and modest virgin, when she 29 bled at his saying, and saw this appearance of [the angel,] and heard his cast in her mind what message, as she plainly perceived it to be somemanner of salutation thing of a very extraordinary nature, was much

this should be.

30 And the angel

said unto her, Fear not, found favour with God.

Mary; for thou hast

31 And behold, thou shait conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his

name Jesus.

disturbed at his discourse; and, not imagining
herself at all worthy of such applause and con-
gratulation, she reasoned with herself, for a while,
what kind of salutation this could be, and from
what original it could proceed.

And the angel, inmediately perceiving it, to 30 disperse the doubt she was in, said unto her again, Fear not, Mary; for I am a messenger sent from heaven to tell thee that thou hast found signal favour with God. And behold and observe 31 it with due regard, for I assure thee, in his name, that from this very time thou shalt be with child, and at the proper season shalt be delivered of a son, and shalt call his name Jesus, the divine Saviour; for he shall come on that important errand, to save men from the tyranny of sin and 32 He shall be great, the displeasure of God. He shall be incompa-32 Son of the Highest; rably great and glorious, insomuch that he shall and the Lord God shall justly be called the Son of the Most High God; give unto him the and the Lord God shall give him the throne of throne of his father David his father, from whom thou art descended; so that, like David, he shall be the Sovereign of God's chosen people, and possess that extensive empire

and shall be called the

David:

b She was disturbed at his discourse.] Some would render as tw hoyw avly, on account of kim; and Heinsius hath abundantly shewn how common this manner of speaking is in the sacred writings.

VOL. VI.

c What kind of salutation.] She seems to have suspected it might possibly proceed from the artifice of some evil spirit, to inspire her with sentiments of vanity and pride.

a How

38

iv.

Luke

33 And he shall

reign over the house of his kingdom there shall

Jacob for ever, and of

He conforms her faith in his message.
SECT. empire which was promised to the seed of that
holy patriarch: (2 Sam. vii. 12, 13. Psal. ii. 7, 8.
and Psal. cxxxii. 11, 12.) And he shall inherit
1. 33. the kingdom, with this circumstance of superior
glory, that, whereas David is now sleeping with
his fathers, this exalted Prince shall rule over the be no end.
house of Jacob, even all the true Israel of God, for
ever; and, though the most potent monarchies
of the earth will be successively dissolved, yet of
his kingdom there shall be no end, even as long
as the sun and moon endure. See Psal. lxvii.
5, 17. Isa. ix. 7. Dan. vii. 14.

34 And Mary replied to the angel, O thou heavenly
messenger, permit me to ask, How can this possi-
bly be from this time, as thou hast intimated to
me, since I am as yet a virgin?

35

34 Then said Mary

unto the angel, How know not a mau?

shall this be, seeing I

35 And the angel answered and said unto

dow thee therefore

Son of God.

And the angel, answering, said unto her, There is nothing in that objection, great as it may seem, her, The Holy Ghost for this whole affair is to be a scene of miracle: shall come upon thee, the Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power and the power of the of the Most High God shall thus overshadow thee Highest shall overshaby an amazing energy, to produce an effect also that Holy Thing hitherto, from the foundation of the earth, un- which shall be born of known: and therefore that holy Offspring of thine thee shall be called the shall, with regard to this miraculous conception, as well as another and yet greater consideration, 36 be called the Son of God. And behold, to confirm thy faith in a declaration which might seem so hath also conceived a incredible, I farther assure thee that thy cousin son in her old age: and Elizabeth also hath, by the miraculous power of this is the sixth month God, conceived a son, though she be now in her with her who was calold age; and this is the sixth month of pregnancy with her who hath long been called barren, and spoken of as one who could have no hope of being a mother. And scruple not to believe what I have told thee with regard to thyself

How can this be,-since I am as yet a virgin] Some would render this, What! shall this be if I have no intercourse with a man? as if she would be resolved whether this birth were to be produced in a common or a miraculous manner. But I think it is more natural to suppose that she understood the former words as an intimation that the effect was immediately to take place, to which her present circumstance seemed, humanly speaking, an invincible objection. Our English version, I know not a man, is more literal than what is here given; but I do not apprehend that the strictest fidelity requires to render the Hebraism so exactly; the sense is evidently the same.

as

36 And, behold, thy cousin Elizabeth, she

led barren.

e Who hath been called barren.] I cannot think (with some learned and judicious persons) that to be called and to be, signify entirely the same thing, so as that the former should be thought a mere pleonasm, and rendered just as the latter. The phrase seems to signify, in the language of scripture, not only that the thing shall really be what it is called, but also that it shall be taken notice of in that view: which I think will appear from an attentive consideration of the chief texts which have been produced to establish the opposite opinion. Compare Isa. i. 26. ix. 6. xxxv. 8. xlvii. 1, 5. lvi. 7. Ixi. 3, 6. Mat. v. 9, 19. xxi. 13. Mark xi. 17. 1 John iii, 1.

f Mary

Reflections on Mary's conception of Christ.

othing shall be impossible.

iv.

39

57 For with God as well as her; for thou well knowest that no- SECT. thing is, or ever will be, impossible to God, whose almighty power operates with equal ease in the Luke most miraculous as in the most common pro- 1.37. ductions.

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And, strange as the message was, Mary firmly 38
believed it, and said, with the most amiable
humility and piety, Behold, I am the handmaid of
the Lord, and would approve myself faithful and
obedient; may it be unto me according to thy
word! I thankfully accept the honour, of which
I confess I am unworthy; and humbly resign my
reputation, and even my life, to the divine care
and providence, while I wait the accomplishment
of thy prediction.

Then the angel, having executed his commis-
sion, departed from her, and returned to his abode
in the heavenly regions.

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IMPROVEMENT.

WITH what holy wonder and pleasure should we trace this Ver. notice of an incarnate Redeemer? and how thankfully should 26, 27 we adore his condescending goodness, that for us men, and for our salvation, he did not despise the womb of so obscure a virgin?

We too are ready in our thoughts, with Gabriel, to congratu- 28 late her on so distinguished an honour, and to say, as one did to Christ, in the days of his flesh, Blessed is the womb that bare thee, O Lord, and the breasts which thou hast sucked! (Luke xi. 27.) But let us remember there is yet a nobler blessedness than this attending those, in whose hearts he is so formed by divine grace, that they hear his word and do it.

Let us hear it, with joy, that he is Jesus the Saviour; but let 31, 32 us also consider that he is Christ the anointed Sovereign, who is to rule over God's people for ever. Remember, O my soul, that of his kingdom there shall be no end; and esteem it thine unspeakable honour and happiness to be enrolled amongst his faithful subjects.

f Mary firmly believed it.] It is worthy of our remark, that Mary, though a young virgin, should so readily believe an event, in itself so much more wonderful than that which Zacharias, though an aged priest, had found it so difficult to credit. And it may be observed, that the sacred writers are particularly careful to record instances of this kind in which God doth, as it were, out of the mouths of babes and sucklings perfect his praise.

Resign my reputation, and even my

C 2

The

life.] For both these, humanly speaking,
might have been in danger, considering the
severity of the Mosaic law against those
who had violated the faith of their espousals.
(Compare Deut. xxii. 23, 24.) And though
so impious a prince as Herod, who was then
on the Jewish throne, undoubtedly con-
trolled many of the laws of God, yet the
natural severity and extravagant jealousy
of his temper, would probably engage him
to execute this in its full terror.

a Mary

40

SECT.

IV.

Mary's visit to Elizabeth.

The glories promised to such in the future state are so far beyond. experience, or even imagination, that they might, to sense, appear Ver. as incredible as the message which Mary received: but let us re33 member the eternal truth of what Gabriel suggested to her, that 37 nothing is impossible to God. He can therefore ripen our imperfect souls to all the improvement and pleasures of the heavenly state, as easily as he produces the meanest vegetable on the earth.

Let the temper of the blessed virgin, on this great occasion, be therefore the beautiful model of ours: so, when the purposes of the Divine Love are declared to us, may we resign ourselves unto the Lord; and with such calm tranquillity, firm faith and joyful acquiescence, may we wait the accomplishment of his gracious promise, and say, Behold the servants of the Lord! be it unto us 38 according to his word! So do thou, O Lord, animate and support us! and the weakest of thy children shall not stumble at the greatest of thy promises through unbelief; but, being strong in faith, shall give glory to God.

SECT.

V.

SECT. V.

Mary visits Elizabeth; her faith is confirmed by it, and she breaks out into a song of praise. Luke I. 39–56.

LUKE I. 39.

LUKE I. 39.

IN those days, or soon after the time that she AND Mary arose in those days, and received the extraordinary message mention- went into the hillLuke ed above, Mary arose from Nazareth, where she country with haste in1.39. then was, and went, with all the expedition she to a city of Judah, conveniently could, to what was called the hillcountry, which lay towards the south of Canaan ; and came into a city of Judah, where Zacharias dwelt, with a comfortable expectation that this visit might tend both to confirm her faith and 40 vindicate her character. And accordingly she

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40 And entered into

entered into the house of her kinsman Zacharias, the house of Zacharias, and, to the pleasing surprise of her friend, and saluted Elizabeth.

saluted Elizabeth.

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