had passed! How glad were they that they had succeeded in saving their son from the pitiless sword of Herod's soldiers! With what serene pleasure did they watch the unfolding of their beloved boy's faculties, and see him grow in favour with God and man'! Home is a happy place when pervaded by kind affections. What more becoming, what more delightful, what on earth more pleasing to God, than the warm love of wise parents, the ready obedience and simple affection of good children, when both are consecrated by the present influence of heartfelt religion? Yes, Mary and Joseph, in the enjoyment of these pure and tranquil pleasures, were well repaid for the sufferings they had undergone. It is not all dark in this world. If we have night, we have also day, and brief storms are followed by permanent sunshine (Matt. i. 1—17, ii. 1—23; Luke ii. 39—iii. 38).

CHAPTER VI.

AT TWELVE YEARS OF AGE, JESUS GOES UP TO JERUSALEM, AND, HAVING ATTENDED THE FEAST OF THE PASSOVER, RETURNS AND DWELLS AT NAZARETH.

762 U. C.; A. D. 9 of the Common Era.

The days, months, and years, must have passed pleasantly there—in that fine climate, on those smiling hills, and over those verdant fields-to one who, like Jesus, was beloved at home, esteemed abroad, and high in favour with the Almighty. What his thoughts and emotions were, it would require an inspired tongue to tell. The almost inspired Milton is least unfit to convey to us some notion of his state of mind. He represents Jesus, when about to commence his public ministry, as thus speaking:

When I was yet a child, no childish play
To me was pleasing; all my mind was set
Serious to learn and know, and thence to do,
What might be public good. Myself I thought
Born to that end, born to promote all truth,
All righteous things; therefore above my years,
The law of God I read and found it sweet,
Made it my whole delight, and in it grew
To such perfection, that ere yet my age

Had measured twice six years, at our great feast
I went into the temple, there to hear
The teachers of our law, and to propose

What might improve my knowledge or their own;
And was admired by all: yet this not all
To which my spirit aspired; victorious deeds
Flamed in my heart, heroic acts; one while
To rescue Israel from the Roman yoke;
Then to subdue and quell, o'er all the earth,
Brute violence and proud tyrannic power,
Till truth were freed and equity restored;
Yet held it more humane, more heavenly, first
By winning words to conquer willing hearts,
And make persuasion do the work of fear.

There was a synagogue at Nazareth. In it the law was read and religious instruction given. Thither, by his mother's side, would Jesus go, and gather wisdom from the holy page and from venerable lips. Nor would he fail to receive direct instruction from Joseph and Mary, for they would not be disobedient to the Divine command which enjoined on all Israelites to bring up their children in a knowledge of the law and in the fear of God (Exod. xii. 26, seq.; Deut. vi. 20, seq.). Indeed, the indirect discipline of every Hebrew house was highly instructive and impressive to its young inmates; for religion with the Jews entered deeply into all the relations of domestic life, and to a great extent consisted in such outward acts as could not fail to arrest the attention, excite the curiosity, and reward the study of youth. When, for instance, an intelligent boy saw his father, with the whole household, perform all the ceremonies connected with the Passover, how could he fail to receive impressions deep, lasting, and operative ? And doubtless it is in good part owing to this domestic discipline that, after all the cruel persecutions they have undergone, the Jews yet remain a people, a nation in the midst of nations, having clung together the more closely the more severe was the pressure they suffered from without. The weight of calamity which has fallen on them would have crushed a less religiously educated race. Shame, indeed, is it that Christians, who are taught to love their enemies (Matt. v. 43), should have pursued with all manner of evil a people who at least have this claim to regard, namely, that they gave to the world its Light, its Lord, and its Saviour!

Among the most influential portions of the indirect education through which all Israelites passed, must be reckoned the solemn religious services of the temple at Jerusalem. From trustworthy Jewish sources of information, we learn that as soon as a boy could speak, his father gave him instruction in short sentences regarding God and his commandments. If the father was unable to perform the task, he sent his son to a teacher; for in every place which numbered one hundred and twenty families a school was established, where the young learnt to read and received suitable instruction. In the third year the boy was made familiar with

the alphabet, so that when five years old he was able to read the Sacred Writings. In agreement with the substance of these statements, Paul says to Timothy, 'From a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation, through faith which is in Christ Jesus' (2 Tim. iii. 15). Timothy had not only read, he knew the Scriptures. Important passages were learnt by heart, in order that they might be held in memory and brought forth for use on needful occasions. All were obliged to be familiar with the Ten Commandments, the kernel of the Mosaic system. This elementary instruction lasted till the age of ten. Then was the boy made acquainted with the psalms and with prayers composed by eminent divines. When he had reached his thirteenth year, he became an independent member of the church, acquiring the right of sharing in its higher religious instruction as communicated in the synagogue.

That Jesus went through such a course of instruction, is evident from his conduct among the doctors in the temple. And as he was endowed with higher susceptibilities than ordinary, so must it have produced in him unusual fruits. Nor could the pious affection of Mary, or the good-nature of Joseph, have failed to exert on him a beneficial influence which would take a religious direction, the more decidedly in consequence of the very striking circumstances that had already marked and distinguished his history. Chief, however, in forming his mind, must have been his own consciousness of having before him a great national and religious calling. Even in his boyhood, Jesus could scarcely have wholly been without the idea that he was to prove the long and ardently desired Messiah, since so many tokens met in him-such as his being David's seed, his birth at Bethlehem, and his recognition by devout persons. To these Mary added other reasons, which were no less weighty with her than peculiar. Her conviction would recognise and strengthen his own consciousness. The two would work on each other to their mutual confirmation. The opening and direction of the son's powers would confirm the mother's assurance, and the moral effects of that assurance would make the son at once more confident and more lofty. The feelings of both may not have been very definite, but they could scarcely fail to have comprised a general belief that Jesus was, under Providence, to accomplish some high destiny. A state of mind resembling this seems to be implied in the events which we proceed to narrate.

Among the requirements of the Mosaic law, there was one in obedience to which all male descendants of Abraham paid a visit to Jerusalem three times a year: at the feast of the Passover (Easter), the feast of Pentecost (Whitsuntide), and at the feast of Tabernacles (autumn). The feast of Passover was at hand. The heads of the family about to visit Jerusalem, resolved to

take Jesus with them. True, he was only twelve years of age. But at that time of life the powers are less immature than in our colder regions. And already had Jesus manifested religious aptitudes and tendencies which showed a fitness for higher instruction and demanded special nurture. Mary and her husband determined, therefore, to take with them this year their highlygifted, divinely-called, and beloved son.

Pursuing their way towards the south, the travellers passed the rich plain of Esdraelon. It was early spring. Flowers and fruit greeted them at every step. The air was full of melody and incense. Nature in her gayest attire was chanting the praises of the Great Benefactor, whose goodness is set forth by the Psalmist (Ps. civ. 10—15) in words descriptive of what Joseph, Mary, and Jesus saw:

He sendeth the springs into the valleys

Which run among the hills;

They give drink to every beast of the field;

The wild asses quench their thirst;

By them the fowls of heaven have their habitation,

Which sing among the branches.

He watereth the hills from his chambers;

The earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy works;
He causeth grass to grow for cattle,

And herb for the service of man,

That he may bring forth food out of the earth,
And wine that maketh glad the heart of man,
And oil to make his face to shine,

And bread which strengtheneth man's heart.

As they crossed the Kishon and made their way through the waving corn-fields, their eyes enjoyed on the right hand, on the left, and in the front, the most ravishing sights, in lovely forms, rich and varied hues,-the splendid banquet spread for man and beast by the bounteous hand of the heavenly Father. This fine plain, which, even in the neglected state of the country, presents vegetation so rank that horses can with difficulty make their way through it, and which alone is sufficient to produce bread for the whole land, was, when passed by Jesus, in the full rich verdure of approaching summer. From the luxuriance of its fields, and the happy sights and sounds of neighbouring uplands, the soul of the young pilgrim would naturally be borne in devout gratitude upwards to his God, the Author of all this bounty and loveliness, and might well feel that any work which his Father gave to be performed was a high privilege, claiming love as well as obedience.

Gentle and pious were the emotions of the three travellers. Their religious purpose harmonised well with the scene, and the scene sanctioned and encouraged their religious purpose. Gentle were their emotions; glad were their hearts. Heaven and earth

were in unison with themselves. How dissimilar the state of feeling which too often, both before and since their day, has predominated there! for the plain of Jezreel has been the great battle-field of Palestine, and there, in the midst of rage, slaughter, and blood, has the political fate of nations been again and again decided. That youth of twelve years old is but a mean spectacle in comparison with the gaudy array of embattled thousands. Yet out of so tender a plant did there grow the tree whose fruit shall be for the healing of the nations. The gospel is bringing about the happy time when war shall be no more.

No mention is made of the places through which the pilgrims passed. The sights and objects which they met with were familiar to his parents, for, as pious Jews, they went every year to the feast of the Passover. What pleasure would they experience in pointing out what was most interesting and instructive to their intelligent son! They travelled not alone. With a view to safety as well as pleasure, parties were formed in different towns, and different parties joined each other at some appointed place. Thus they formed a large travelling company or caravan. Different caravans came from different parts of the land, finding their common point of union in the holy city. The Galileans, among whom were Mary, Joseph, and Jesus, enlivened their way, according to the general custom, by music and conversation. The flute gave forth its sweet sounds; the voices of men, women, and young persons, rose in song or swelled in chorus. From all parts of the land streamed bands of rejoicing Israelites towards the great centre of their national unity. As they arrived in Jerusalem, some were received with open doors; others, failing room, threw up their tents on the highways or the suburbs. The Passover was celebrated in spring. The fine season and the nature of the climate made the shelter of a roof of small consequence. As the several groups entered the city gates or sat down under its walls, what greetings, smiles, tears, delights, regrets, prevailed on every side, as, after long separation, friend met friend, and parents were again united with children! And then did the full moon look down on above a million of persons, assembled to pay their vows to Jehovah, whose hearts under the silence of night beat more strongly with piety, friendship, love, and patriotism. An unbounded hospitality made the city one great home. Thus wisely did their great legislator take measures for cementing together the members of his commonwealth, and rendering their country, their race, and their law, dear to all of Hebrew blood.

The Passover was a commemoration of the goodness of God in the redemption of Israel from Egyptian servitude, and specially of his mercy in passing over the homes of the Hebrews in the night when his avenging angel smote the first-born in every Egyptian dwelling, and so subdued Pharaoh's heart that he allowed Moses to lead his people forth from their bondage (Exod.