her soul:-"O thou blessed among women, and O blessed Son whom thou bearest ;-whence is this favour, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? for as soon as thy salutation struck my ears, the child leaped within me. Blessed art thou who hast believed, for whatever has been told thee from the Lord, shall be accomplished!" Then Mary, mingling her joyful thanksgivings with those of her cousin Elizabeth, said, "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. For 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 generation. He hath shewed strength with his arm, and 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."

In these words, the blessed Mary discovers such a sense of the Divine favour conferred upon her; that it appears, she was indeed full of grace.

The magnificat, (the Latin term for Mary's thanksgiving song,) was so esteemed by the primitive Christians, that they used it as a part of their devotions; and hence, it is continued down to the present day, as proper language, to express the affections of a devout mind. Mary, abode with her cousin Elizabeth about three months, and then returned to Nazareth.

In consequence of the edict of Augustus, the Roman governor, Joseph and Mary, being both of the tribe of Judah, and family of David; were obliged to remove from Nazareth, and take a journey of sixty miles into Judea, to be registered in Bethlehem.* At the commencement of the

* BETHLEHEM, (the house of bread,) was a small place, yet the mother city of the tribe of Judah, about six miles southwest of Jerusalem, (the city of Benjamin ;) it was formerly called Ephrath, or Ephrata. (Gen xxxv. 19.) It was the city of Boaz. (Ruth ii. 2.) and fortified by Rehoboam. (2 Chron. xi. 6.) In Matthew ii. 1-5, it is called Bethlehem of Judea, to distinguish it from another town of the same name, situated in lower Galilee, and mentioned in Joshua xix. 15.-In Luke ii. 4, it is called the city of David, because David was born there. (Compare John vii. 42, with 1 Sam. xvii. 12.) This city, though not considerable for its extent or riches, is of the greatest dignity, as the appointed birth-place of the Messiah. (Matt. ii.-vi. Luke ii, 15.) The inn, where Joseph and Mary retired, was probably, (as called by the Turks,) a caravanserah, where guests were received gratis. The ancient writers, mention the birth of Jesus Christ to have happened in a cave cut out of a rock, used for the accommodation of cattle;

thirty-seventh year in the reign of Herod, Joseph and Mary arrived at Bethlehem; where the great conflux of people, had already so filled the inns and houses, that they were obliged to repair for lodgings to a stable; and in this mean place, the blessed Virgin gave birth to her Holy babe, wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid Him to rest in the manger. Thus, the decree of a heathen emperor, was rendered subservient to the accomplishment of the decrees of heaven. What a striking instance, of the infinite condescension of our Lord, who commenced His life among beasts, and spent His last moments among thieves !*

and travellers describe the place, which is still visited by pilgrims, as having three convents remaining; of the Latin, Greek, and Arminian friars, the doors of which open to the chapel of the Holy-manger. A few yards from one of these convents, is shewn the grotto of the blessed Virgin, with which is connected truly ridiculous stories. About half a mile out of Bethlehem, eastwards, the pious may indulge themselves in the field, where according to tradition, the shepherds watched their flocks; when they received from heaven the glad tidings of the Messiah.

* Sacred Chronology, has generally been referred to some of the following points of time :—1. The creation of the world, by which all other epochs are regulated. 2. The deluge, in the year 1656; before Christ 2344. 3. The building of Babel, and confusion of tongues, about the year 1800; before Christ 2200. 4. The calling of Abraham from Haram in 2083; before Christ 1917. 5. The departure of the Israelites from Egypt, in 2517; before Christ 1483. 6. The dedication of the temple, 3001 from the creation; before Christ 999. 7. The end of the Bablylonish captivity in

Jesus, thou man of sorrows born,
To suff'ring here below;
To toil thro' poverty and scorn,
Thro' weakness and thro' woe.

If gaily cloth'd, and proudly fed,
In careless ease we dwell;
Remind us of thy manger bed,
And lowly cottage cell.

If press'd by penury severe,
In envious want we pine;
May conscience whisper in our ear,
A poorer lot was Thine.

Rev. T. Cottrell's Selection.

Notwithstanding the privacy, and obscurity of the place, where our Saviour made His first en

3468; before Christ 532. 8. The nativity of our blessed Lord, in the year 4000, or 4004; according to the established, though erroneous method of computation; occasioned by a mistake that happened among Christians in the year 527 after the nativity; a time when learning was at its lowest ebb in Christendom.

The Nativity, according to Archbishop Usher, took place in the 39th year after the death of Julius Cæsar, by assassination; 4000 years after the creation and fall of man, and four years after the temple was re-built by Herod. Augustus, and L. Sylla, being consuls of Rome; under which power the whole Jewish nation then was tributary: this is the truest æra that can be found of our Saviour's birth, beginning just four years before the customary computation. But, to avoid confusion, the succeeding chronology is adapted to that now used in Christendom. The day, according to the most received accounts, was the 25th of December; though some great men, as Mede, Lightfoot, and others, place it at the feast of Tabernacles, in September. The year falls in exactly with the time, when an old tradition of the Jews, places the beginning of the days of Messiah. Dr. Prideaux.

trance into the world; the same night, God was pleased to make a most magnificent revelation of Him, to some poor shepherds, attending their flocks, in the vicinity; to whom an angel appeared, surrounded with most refulgent rays of glory; while, to dispel their great consternation, and remove their fears, the angel assured them, that he brought such news, as should prove the infinite joy of all people for a Saviour was born, that night in Bethlehem, who was Christ the Lord, (thus intimating, that He was the anointed of God; which the name Christ, signifies;) and also telling them, to prevent their expectation of an earthly prince, that they should know His person, by being wrapped in swaddling clothes, and lying in a manger. After this, there appeared an innumerable celestial company, hymning forth the triumphant doxology,-Glory to God in the highest, peace on earth and good-will to mankind. Thus, the angels sung at the creation of the old world; (Job xxxviii. 7,) so much the more did they, at the beginning of the new creation, for the redemption of fallen man.

When the angels had departed, the overjoyed shepherds immediately hastened to Bethlehem, where they found the Infant in a manger; with