CHAPTER XIII.

THE BLESSED MOTHER.

St. Luke i., ii. St. Matthew i., ii.

TO-DAY, dear friends, we are to study the history of that mother, who was said by an angel of the Lord to be "blessed among women.' All that we know truly of her history is to be found in the gospels.

We will look first at St. Luke, first chapter, beginning at the 26th verse: "And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him,

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she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not Mary for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and thou shalt 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. Then said Mary unto the angel, how shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, the Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And behold thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. For with God nothing shall be impossible." What a striking difference there was between Elisabeth and Mary! Elisabeth was old, and had been many years married to Zacharias; but had had no

children; Mary was a young woman, and at present unmarried. Well might the angel say, "With God nothing shall be impossible." This assurance was enough for Mary: she at once received and believed the angel's message to be sent by God: "And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her."

St. Matthew gives us the result of the angel's visit, and introduces us more particularly to Joseph, who is generally thought to have been much older than Mary. "Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise. When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily. But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a

son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus; for he shall save his people from their sins.

Then

Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife; and knew her not till she had brought forth her first-born son, and he called his name Jesus."

The next event in Mary's life seems to have been her visit to her cousin Elisabeth, as related by St. Luke: "And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda; and entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth." And it was after the salutation of Elisabeth that Mary spoke her well-known song of praise, called in our Prayer-book the " Magnificat." "And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. For He hath regarded the low estate of His handmaiden: for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For He that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is His name. And His mercy is on them that fear Him, from generation to generation. 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 exalted them of low degree. He hath filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He hath sent empty away. He hath holpen His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy; as He spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever."

In this song, which in some points, is very much like Hannah's song, Mary praises the Lord for the great and exalted privilege, she, a poor woman, enjoyed in being chosen to be the mother of the man Christ Jesus; while at the same time she acknowledges herself a sinner, for you will remember she says: "My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour."

Mary had been told by the angel to call her son Jesus, which name means Saviour, and was thus explained to Joseph: "Thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins." Mary believed that her child would prove to be that Saviour, so long promised to the world that Messiah the Jews had so long expected; therefore she goes on to say: "from