CHAP. II. Presage of the birth of John the Baptist. Salutation of the Blessed Virgin Mary by the angel Gabriel. The Holy Virgin visits her cousin Elizabeth. Birth of John the Baptist. Conception of the Virgin Mary. Augustus Cæsar issues a decree for a general taxation. Birth of Christ, and his manifestation to the shepherds. His Circumcision and presentation in the temple. His manifestation to the wise men of the east. Herod, king of Judea, seeks to destroy him, but his intentions are frustrated. The flight of Joseph into Egypt. Horrid massacre of the infants at Bethlehem. Death of Herod. THE temple of Janus was shut* at Rome-Peace was within the walls of Jerusalem-and the time approaching, when the Great Creator of the Universe was about to fulfil the covenant he had long before made to his chosen people, by sending into the world his only son in order to recover mankind from the wretched state into which they had been so long involved by the sins of their first parents. In pursuance of this, and for the completion of many other promises which God, by his holy prophets, from the beginning, had made to his people, he was pleased first to send his harbinger to prepare the way before the Saviour of the World, who was now about to make his public entry into it. And that the fulfilling of these prophecies might be still the more wonderful, the concep *It was the custom, in times of war, for the gates of the temple of Rome to be laid open, but shut in times of peace; and it was now the fifth time, since the building of that city, that the gates of the temple had been shut. The first time was in the reign of Numa: the second, after the end of the first Punic war: the third, after Augustus's victory over Antony: the fourth, upon his return from the Cantabrian war in Spain: and the fifth now, in the 26th year of his reign, and the 23d of Herod's; when a general peace (which lasted for twelve years together) prevailed over the world, and was a proper prelude for ushering in the Advent of the Prince of peace, even Christ, our Lord, who, according to the most general computation, was born in the 4004th year of the world's creation. tion of John the Baptist, the harbinger,* or forerunner of Christ, was introduced with a distinguished miracle; whereby God not only displayed his Omnipotence (which is not always circumscribed within the bounds of scanty nature) but at the same time excited the minds of men to an expectance of something extraordinary from such supernatural means. Towards the latter end of the reign of Herod the Great, king of Judea, there lived at Jerusalem a certain priest named Zacharias, who was of the tribe of Levi, as was also his wife Elizabeth. They were both of peculiar descent, he being a priest of the course of Abiah (which was the eighth according to the division of David) and she lineally descended from the daughters of Aaron. ye *There are two places referred to in the prophets, wherein the Baptist is described under this character. The first is in the prophet Isaiah: The voice of one crying in the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make strait in the desart an highway for our God, chap. xl. 3. The latter, which is much more plain and express, is in Malachi, Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me, &c. chap. iii. 1. Both these passages allude to harbingers, and such other officers as, upon the journies of princes, were employed to take care that the ways should be levelled, and put in order, and all such obstructions removed, as might interrupt their passage, or render it less commodious: and the manner in which the Baptist thus prepared the way of the Lord, was by his Preaching, and by his Baptism. By his preaching, he endeavored to bring the Jews to a due sense of their sins; and to forewarn all those of the dreadful effects of God's anger, who did not bring forth fruits worthy of repentance. And by his Baptism, when administered to such persons as were under the obligation of the law, he plainly shewed, that he was therein admitting them to some privileges, which they had not enjoyed before, viz. the remission of their sins upon their faith and obedience to him, who was the Messenger of the Covenant. Since, therefore, the Baptist was not only born, but entered upon his ministry, six months before our Saviour, and since his baptism referred every one to Christ for acceptance and salvation, he is very properly said to be his harbinger, a messenger sent to prepare his way before him, or to set all things in readiness for his approach, by putting an end to the old, and making an entrance into the new dispensation. In this sense he is represented by the Fathers, as a kind of middle partition between the Law and the Gospel: of the law, as a thing now come to a period; and of the gospel, as commencing under him, who was shortly to make his appearance on earth for the redemption of lost mankind. Nor were their characters inferior to the excellency of their extraction, they being just before God, and unblamable in their conversation. Hitherto God had not been pleased to bless them with an issue; and both being far advanced in years they had not any reason to hope for, or expect, any offspring. But the peculiarity of their descent, and the innocence of their lives, recommended them to the particular care and protection of God, who was pleased to make them the instruments of his glory, by exercising on them his Omnipotence in a manner of the most extraordinary nature. While Zacharias was one day executing his priestly office before God, in the order of his course, (which was to burn incense in the temple) the very same angel, who had appeared to Daniel the prophet with a certain information as to the period of the Messiah's coming, as well as his transactions in this lower world, suddenly appeared before him, and foretold that a child should spring from him and his wife Elizabeth (notwithstanding their very advanced age) who should be endowed with extraordinary gifts from heaven, and should be honored with being the forerunner of the great Saviour of the World. The good old priest was no less astonished at the subject of the mission, than he was at the appearance of the messenger. The sense of his own great age, as well as his wife's long sterility, had made him express a kind of diffidence in his promise, and, for his farther satisfaction, desire some miracle in confirmation of it. It is true he was not insensible that the authority of the angel was derived from the Divine Majesty above. But, as it is the lot of humanity to err, he had, at that time, forgot that nothing was impossible to Omnipotence, as well as that it would not be the first time that the aged were caused to conceive, and bear a child. The least reflection would have reminded him, that Sarah conceived, and bare Isaac, when she was far advanced in years; and that Samuel was born of a woman, who had been long reputed, and even called, barren. But these things Zacharias had forgot; and therefore, when he asked for some sign of a confirmation of the promise made by the Divine messenger, the angel told VOL. iii. $ s him, that he was no less than Gabriel, a special attendant on God's throne, and dispatched on purpose to inform him of his great happiness; but that since he was so incredulous as to require a sign, he should have such an one as would be both a punishment of his unbelief, and a confirmation of his faith; for, until the birth of the child, he should be totally deprived of his speech. Behold, (said he) thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that those things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season. It was not long before the denunciation of the angel was fulfilled, for no sooner did Zacharias leave the temple, than he was instantly deprived of his speech. When, therefore, he saw the people (who waited without to receive his benediction) he made signs to them that be was not able to speak, from whence they concluded that he had seen some extraordinary vision within. Zacharias now returned home, soon after which his wife Elizabeth (according to the prediction of the angel) found herself with child, though her modesty made her conceal it for the space of five months. Thus was the reproach of barrenness taken off from Elizabeth, in her old age, by her conception of the Baptist; soon after which the birth of the Messiah was ushered into the world by no less wonderful, but rather more extraordinary means. That a woman, generally esteemed barren, and far advanced in years, should bear a child, was within the verge of possibility; but that a virgin, who had never known man, should conceive and bear a child, exceeded all natural reason and credibility, and could only arise from the great wisdom and dispensations of the Divine Being. This the Almighty had promised, and now most punctually performed. Within six months after Elizabeth's conception, the same angel Gabriel was sent to Nazareth,* a city of Galilee, to a * Nazareth was a city of the Lower Galilee, situate in the south part of that province, and, therefore, not far from the confines of Samaria, to the south, and nearer to the territories of Tyre and Sidon, to the north-west. It is at present, only an inconsiderable village, lying in a kind of concave valley. Mr Maundrell says, "Here virgin named Mary (a near relation to Elizabeth, and of the house of David) who had, a short time before, been espoused* to one Joseph, a person of the same pedigree, but of no higher profession than that of a Carpenter. As soon as the angel entered the house where the virgin abode (for as yet she had not been taken to her espoused husband) he saluted her with this heavenly benediction: Hail! thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women! The sudden appearance of the Angel struck Mary with amazement and surprize, to remove which the angel farther said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favor with God. And behold, thou shalt conceive, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. The Holy Virgin, conscious of her own virtue, and yet surprized at this uncommon salutation, began to expostulate with the heavenly messenger on the impossibility of the thing, since she had all along lived in a strict state of virginity. But the angel, to satisfy her in this particular, told her, that this wonderful work was to be effected by the invisible power and operation of the Holy Ghost; and, to convince her that nothing was impossible with the Almighty, gave her to understand that her cousin Elizabeth (notwithstanding her old age, and former sterility) was at that time six months with child. In consequence of this information, and in reverence to the person who delivered "is a Convent built over what is said to be the place of the Annun"ciation, or where the Blessed Virgin received the joyful message "brought her by the angel." *Espousing or betrothing was nothing more than a solemn promise of marriage made by two persons, each to the other, at such a distance of time as was agreed upon between them. After such espousal was made (which was generally when the parties were young) the woman continued with her parents several months, if not some years, before she was taken home, and the marriage consummated. This was the case with the Blessed Virgin, who was discernably with child before she and her intended husband came together. The custom of espousing or betrothing in this manner was instituted, that the parties contracted might have some intermediate time to think seriously of the great change they were going to make in their condition; to discourse more freely together on their do mestic affairs; and to implore God's blessing and protection over them and theirs, in all the changes and chances of this mortal life, |