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MARY. Very gladly will I fulfill your wish, my heavenly brother? The remembrance of my former earthly life, and my intercourse with the Lord as man, heightens my happiness.

Jesus was a well-formed man. His whole body was faultless. He was a little above medium in stature, rather slender than strong, and He had the physiognomy of the house of David. Even now in His glory you will still discover some likeness between Him and David; His hair was a light brown, and his countenance ruddy; His eyes were mild, bright blue, and beautiful. His hair hung in softly curled locks around His neck, and upon His shoulders. With all this He was not so beautiful as to attract special attention; only when one observed Him closely, and for some time, was the noble, the great, the beautiful, and the lofty discovered as well in His form, as in His entire bearing. In general, when it was not known who He was, and He was only carelessly observed, nothing was noticed in Him except the ordinary good, kind, and excellent man. In common intercourse He spoke very little; but what He said, was always striking. When He was quiet, a deep, somewhat sad earnestness rested upon His forehead, and at such times He always appeared as one who has a secret suffering sorrow.

Once I asked Him: My dear Son! you always appear sorrowful, does anything ail Thee? He cast a penetrating glance toward me, looking solemnly earnest and tender, and said: Mother! Call to mind the sword of which Simeon prophesied! But I beg of you to inquire no more in regard to this; I'must fulfill the will of Him that sent me.

When He spoke with His countenance, His soft eye discovered something which inspired reverence-something extraordinary—in a word, something divine in His face. This divine was especially seen upon His forehead, in the heavenly fire which shone from His eyes, and in an indescribable feature around His lips. From this time forth I had a presentiment-a deep sense of some extraordinary sorrow, which, however, I did not know how to reconcile with His vocation. I therefore committed the matter to God, and was silent.

This same countenance, and this glance, He also had when he spake with the Pharisees and rulers of my people. Often I felt myself unable to comprehend how it was possible that even the proudest and most daring soul did not sink into the dust and worship before this resistless power of His glance, and the unction of His utterances. But they were blind; and the more the divinity which lived in Him challenged their attention, the more raving did they become.

Indescribable was His countenance and his glance when He comforted the suffering, or when he poured forth His loving heart in the circle of His friends. The divine, the tender on His lips, the eternal love in His eyes, the bliss of sadness upon His foreheadO, all this wrought so powerfully on all that were present that it was impossible to refrain from worshipping. I have never seen a man upon whose countenance the soul revealed itself so fully and

purely as it did upon His. This, however, is not to be wondered at; for neither passion nor dissimulation had ever moved a lineament of His face, much less controlled it. Every feature was in the highest degree pliable, and obedient to the power of the indwelling divinity. From this it came that every one, not possessed of prejudice against Him, was attracted in love and reverence toward Him. To this feeling of the secret, unspeakable, majesty which dwelt in His inmost being is to be attributed the singular fact that not a single female, even in the most remote manner, ever loved Him in a fleshly human love, however beautiful and attractive He was in person. He constrained us to love Him tender

ly; but this love was the purest friendship.

We shall translate the remainder of this poetical vision for the next number. Stilling himself says, "It may be regarded as a moral poem, and many useful lessons may be drawn from it." Stilling lived in an age of rationalism and unbelief, when the religious instincts of men had been dreadfully abused; and, though he held some views which a more sober theological thinking could not always approve, yet his writings did much good in preserving the hearts of the common people from the prevailing epidemic of death-dealing unbelief and impiety. Though surrendering himself in his writings to the lead of a bold imagination, he is always reverent and humble, full of the spirit of child-like piety toward His Saviour, and ever moved by the most genial love toward all human beings, past, present, and future, on earth and in heaven. He loved all the good in this world, and he expected to meet and know them all hereafter.

UNDER THE ROSE.-A floating paragraph explains the origin of of this expression. The term "under the rose" implies secrecy, and had its origin during the yoar B. C., 477, at which time Pausanias, the commander of the Confederate fleet, was engaged in an intrigue with Xerxes for the marriage of his daughter and the subjugation of Greece to the Median rule. Their negotiations were carried on in a building attached to the temple of Minerva, called the Brazen House, the roof of which was a garden forming a bower of roses; so that the plot, which was conducted with the utmost secrecy, was literally matured under the rose. It was discovered, however, by a slave, and as the sanctity of the place forbade the Athenians to force Pausanias out, or kill him there, they finally walled him in, and left him to die of starvation. It finally grew to be a custom among the Athenians to wear roses in their hair whenever they wished to communicate to another a secret which they wished to be kept inviolate. Hence the saying "Sub rosa," among them, and now among almost all Christian nations.

EIN' FESTE BURG IST UNSER GOTT.*

LUTHER'S CELEBRATED HYMN.

TRANSLATED BY THE EDITOR.

God is our tower of strength and grace,
With shield and sword He arms us:
He makes us strong our foes to face,
No dangers now shall harm us.
The old fearful foe,

Would fain bring us low;
His malice and mail,

Make firmest courage quail;

On earth there is none fiercer.

If our own power should lead the van
We should be foiled and riven;
But for us fights the proper Man,
Whom God Himself hath given;
He, the Holy One,

Jesus Christ, the Son;
Lord of Hosts is He,

Which was, is, and to be,
He wins for us the battle.

Did swarming devils fill the world,
All bent on our destruction;

We could not from our faith be hurled,
Nor lured by their seduction.
This world's prince may stand,
With grim error grand,

We fear not his nod,

For he is judged of God:

A word can over-whelm him.

God's word shall stand for all their rage.

Its wealth we shall inherit:

God acts with us upon this stage,
By His own grace and Spirit.
Though they take our life,
Goods, fame, children, wife,
All shall freely go,-

We seek no gain below

God's kingdom stands forever.

* This heroic Christian battle-hymn of Luther, based on the 46th Psalm, and composed, as is thought, after the Diet of Spires in 1529, has been translated by Thomas Carlisle, by H. Mills, by W. H. Bunting, by Miss Catherine Winkworth and many others. We hope our effort may not seem to imply the remotest idea that we regard it as more successful than those of our predecessors. Let it be taken rather as our mode of showing honor to the Hymn itself. Of the original, an old divine, Nicholas Selneker, says: "It has such spirit, power, and is associated with such soul-stirring melody, that even the evil spirits tremble and flee when they hear this noble song chanted."

THE CITY OF GOD.

FROM THE GERMAN OF THE REV. F. W. KRUMMACHER. D. D.

BY. L. H. S.

Behold thy King cometh unto thee! These words of Matthew. announce the arrival of the joyous Advent Season. Our Hosannas are sounded forth in honor of a King,-and such a King! David and Solomon were rich in their glory; but the glory of the most glorious the world has ever gazed upon is, when compared with the splendor of its Lord, but as the smoky night to the all-illuminating sun. When I reflect on the Being, Might and Majesty of that King, I feel in my soul that these are subjects which will not only not accommodate themselves to human words but not even to human apprehension; and then if I survey the manifold forms, offices and relations in which that King allows Himself to be seen, I know not how to speak, and become speechless with admiration? Wouldst thou see the King in the insignia of His royalty? Light is the garment with which He is clad, and the star of the Godhead glitters upon His breast. His is all the Might and Glory of the Father: for He is born God of God, blessed forever. Wouldst thou see Him in His earthly attire? It is plain and poor and insignificant. Bethink thee, He bore thine own form of a servant; within the veil of thy poor mortal flesh He laid the foundations of His kingdom,— He established the well-being of His subjects. Wouldst thou see Him in His path of victory? O how mysterious and wonderful! Never has a Conqueror appeared on the stage like Him. Lo! a crown of thorns about His head, a garment of reproach on His shoulders, bleeding wounds from crown to sole; and yet in this very form He has smitten His enemy, and deprived him of his lands and people. Wouldst thou see Him in the beauty of His victory,-go, three days after the battle, to Joseph's garden at Golgotha and see Him standing glorified at the rent tomb, angels doing homage before Him, the Dragon with crushed head at His feet, Death overcome and robbed of his sting, Sin wholy destroyed and forever annihilated. Wouldst thou see Him in His triumph? See Him taking along with Him to the city of God the poor sinner-the pardoned malefactor at His side. Who has ever before so gloriously, so magnanimously, so lovingly celebrated His victory? Wouldst thou see Him in His present estate? He is sitting on the throne of Majesty, the diadem of the Godhead on His brow, the reins of the government of the world in His hands, and on the hem of His shining robes is the inscription: King of kings and Lord of lords!

But shouldst thou ask after His habitation and abode on earth. Come, and see! It is our design to exhibit this to day.

"Look upon Zion, the city of our solemnities; thine eyes shall see Jerusalem a quiet habitation, a tabernacle that shall not be taken down; not one of the stakes thereof shall ever be removed, neither shall any of the cords thereof be broken. But there the glorious Lord will be unto us a place of broad rivers and streams; wherein shall go no galley with oars, neither shall gallant ship pass thereby. For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king: He will save us. Thy tacklings are loosed; they could not well strengthen their mast, they could not spread the sail; then is the prey of a great spoil divided; the lame take the prey! And the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity." Isaiah xxxiii, 20-24.

A prophecy of the Church of the New Testament, rich, deep and heart-stirring. A prophecy, which at the very beginning was already being accomplished. The New Testament Church stands forth in it, and thousands were then blessed in its bosom and still are to this hour. Let us fix our eyes more closely on this lovely habitation (Behausung) and look at

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Look upon Zion! the prophet begins. Not, look upon this or that separate Church communion, but upon Zion. How like a kernel from its shell he lifts Zion out of the external churches, of which no one is Zion, but through all which Zion lives. The Protestant Church in its members as well as the Catholic, may become a Babylon under the curse, and it has often been so in separate countries, and alas! here and there is so still. Before the judgment seat of God no importance will be attached to what part of the visible Church organizations here below thou wert attached. Thy certificate of baptism and confirmation, as well as thy Churchtestimonials, will not avail thee on that day, in which the everlasting award shall be made. There thou must produce in fact other and better proofs, certificates of birth and letters of legitimacy, or -thou art lost.

Look upon Zion! Then Zion is to be looked upon? Is it not true that heretofore thou hast heard of Zion only as of an invisible city? But the name of invisible, when applied to the Church is only relatively true. Search through history and you will find it: Zion also always has been looked upon. How can a city be concealed, whose foundations rest upon a mountain? How can a light burn upon a lofty Light-house without sending forth its rays far and wide. The Jews looked upon Zion, dragged its citizens to judgment and drove them forth from their cities with the casting of stones. The Heathen looked upon Zion, persecuted its children and threw them on their funeral piles. The Romish Church discovered Zion amid all concealments and disguises, and the Jezebel was drunken on the

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