Let us raise the standard of qualifications higher in our examinations of candidates for our ranks. Let us attend as much as possible to our own appointments, seeking at all times to give our congregations that which costs us much. Better to preach a good sermon twice or thrice to the same congregation, than go unprepared with a new subject.* Let us

be more active and zealous in our work, being fools in the eyes of the world, if by that means we may save some.

Let us buy up every opportunity of improving our small stock of knowledge, so that we may present the truth with greater accuracy, force, and skill. Above all, let us seek a richer and fuller measure of the Spirit's power; without whose aid we can never succeed. Then, a sin days gone by, our people will be constrained to acknowledge our position and importance, and may again surrender to us privileges it has been our wont to enjoy.

Go labour on; spend, and be spent,

Thy joy to do the Father's will;

It is the way the Master went;

Should not His servant tread it still?

Go labour on, 'tis not for nought;
Thy earthly loss is heavenly gain;
Men heed the, love thee, praise thee not;
The Master praises; What are men?
Toil on, faint not, keep watch, and pray;
Be wise, the erring soul to win;
Go forth into the world's highway;
Compel the wanderer to come in.

Toil on, and in thy toil rejoice;

For toil comes rest, for exile home;

Soon shalt thou hear the Bridegroom's voice,

The midnight peal, Behold, I come!

GOOD WOMEN OF SCRIPTURE MISUNDERSTOOD AND MISJUDGED.

No. IV.—MARY, THE MOTHER OF OUR LORD.

THIS was a princess of the royal line of David, and one who seems to have retained some little of the ancestral estate in the little town of Bethlehem, about six miles south-west of Jerusalem; but the troublous times which had passed from the return of the Jews from Babylon, and the wonderful rise of the Asmonean family to regal power and authority, had so completely shrouded the descendants of David in social obscurity, that Herod, who was cruelly anxious to cut off all who had any claim to

*A sermon that is worth hearing once is always worth hearing twice, or oftener.

the supreme power, does not appear to have noticed them until the arrival of the wise men from the east.

We hear of her (Luke i. 26, et seq.), as a young lassie living at Nazareth, in Galilee, about eighty miles away from her ancestral home at Bethlehem.

She had been betrothed to another descendant of David, named Joseph, but the marriage had not been completed. To her the angel Gabriel went, and announced that she should be the mother of the Messiah. This troubled her much: her innate modesty, her yet virgin estate, and the dread of such an event before marriage, filled her with natural alarms; but the heavenly message being fully told, Mary's faith in the sure promise of God respecting the coming Messiah, overcame her fears; and she said, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word." But after a time the day for her marriage drew near, and her fruitful state being now evident, Joseph was troubled about it, and wist not what to do, without bringing either shame upon her, or dishonour upon himself. But while he thought on these things, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, told him of the Divine origin of the coming babe, and bade him fearlessly take to his bosom his betrothed wife. He did so; but she was to him as a vestal sister until the birth of Jesus.

Hastily moving up from Nazareth to Bethlehem, in order that he might be taxed (or enrolled in the national register) with his espoused wife, Joseph found the little town too crowded to afford necessary accommodation for his wife indoors; so he took possession of one of those large excavations in the rock which were commonly used for cattle. No doubt the good and kindhearted man made everything as comfortable and as quiet as his means would allow ; and there and then "the Son of Man," the Son of the living God incarnated, was born a babe in Bethlehem, and Mary wrapped him in his infant robes, and laid him in a manger.

Some shepherds, watching over their flocks all night in the fruitful pasture beyond the town, saw the bright glory of an angel of the Lord and heard him tell the good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."

They (the shepherds) went with haste to Bethlehem, and found Mary and Joseph, and saw the babe lying in a manger. And they spread abroad the wonders they had seen and heard. "But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them (weighed them) in her heart."

The presentation in the Temple, when good old Simeon, and Anna a prophetess, beheld and rejoiced over the promised child, would give Mary food for further thought while she continued to reside at Bethlehem. So also would the arrival of the wise men from the east, who presented royal gifts to the young prince; "gold, and frankincense, and myrrh."

Warned by the friendly angel, Joseph took Mary and her son by night, and hasted away into Egypt, where they abode for something less than a year, till that old tyrant Herod, falsely called "the great," was dead; then they returned to Palestine, and went and dwelt in Nazareth of Galilee.

Here, for some ten years, Mary lived in peace and quietness, with her wonderful son and her loving husband; performing according to God's will and command to all the human family, the pleasant duties of wife and mother in that little household.

But here again old monkish writers misinterpret the truth of God, and the blasphemous doctrines of the Church of Rome back them up. Nay, even John Wesley, in his note on Matt. i. 25, would have us believe that Joseph and Mary never lived together as husband and wife; which is a manifest wresting of the words of Scripture, and a contradiction to the angel's message to Joseph, and to the evangelical history. Shall mortal man be wiser than his Maker? Did not the Almighty first make woman to be a helpmeet for man? And did He not Himself condescend to perform the first marriage ceremony in the first paradise?

The perpetual virginity of Mary has no foundation in Scripture, in reason, or in common sense. Fair flower of humanity, she was not born to waste her substance on the desert air; but by her earthly love, to make a good man's heart glad as long as he lived.

Mary's son being twelve years old, was taken up to Jerusalem at the great feast of the passover by His parents; and during the seven days of the feast He would doubtless be taken by them to the courts of the Temple where public worship was rendered; and also to the rooms therein where well-known Rabbi's taught the laws of Moses and answered such questions of conscience and of morals as might be asked of them. It would seem that this took the youth's attention mightily; and, while His parents and the other inhabitants of Nazareth and its neighbourhood gathered themselves together and started on their homeward way, Jesus went again to the Temple; and there, on the third day, His mother found Him "sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions. And all that heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers." Mary said unto Him, "Son, why hast Thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing." And He said, "How is it that ye sought Me? wist ye not that I must be about My Father's business."

"And He went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but His mother kept all these sayings in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man."

And this is all we know certainly of Mary and her illustrious son for eighteen more long years. Most probably Joseph in that time taught Jesus his own trade, and gave Him the mastery of saw, axe, hammer,

plane, chisel, auger and screw; and then he died, leaving Mary to the care of Jesus. And so till He was thirty years old, Mary had her son quietly dwelling in her house, and labouring at the bench with willing toil, to keep replenished the household purse; and she, pondering in her heart the events of His birth, and remembering His high descent, would, doubtless, weave many a plan in which He, being chief actor, should redeem His people, and re-establish the throne of David.

But suddenly news arrived that their cousin, John the Baptist, was preaching in the valley of the Jordan "the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins," and that great crowds of people were flocking to hear him. He, with all the energy and fearlessness of Elijah, was thundering at the sleeping consciences of the people, and waking them to new life. Our Lord's time was now come; and He appears to have made over to His mother all the profits of His business, and everything else that He had, and went to be baptized of John, and to enter upon His public ministry.

But there was a marriage at Cana in Galilee, six miles from Nazareth, and the mother of Jesus was there, and both Jesus and His disciples were invited guests. And here, at His mother's statement and appeal, Jesus turned the water into wine. From this beginning of miracles, Jesus went forward in His course of mercy, until great multitudes hung upon His words, or thronged around Him to see His miracles. On one such occasion (Matt. xii. 46-50; Mark iii. 31-35; Luke viii. 19-21); His mother and some near relatives desired to speak with Him; and when one told Him this, He said, "Whosoever shall do the will of My Father which is in heaven, the same is My brother, and sister, and mother." Another saying, this, for Mary and for all who honour Mary, to ponder over in their hearts. There is no need for any saints on earth, however weak and feeble and erring, to ask for Mary's intercession with her Son. He is Himself their Saviour, and "is able to save unto the uttermost all that come unto God by Him."

After some three years of public ministry, our Lord yielded Himself to the fury of His foes, and " became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." "Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother and His mother's sister and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus, therefore, saw His mother, and the disciple standing by, whom He loved, He bade His mother regard that disciple as her son; and bade that disciple henceforth to regard Mary as his mother. And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home."

We will not worship thee, gentle mother, but we do honour thee as one of the best of the daughters of Eve; and we are glad that the loving care of John made the evening of thy life comparatively happy. And we shall yet see thee, and talk with thee, and ponder over with thee the things that are past, in the life to come.

T. C.

142

THE WESLEYAN METHODIST LOCAL PREACHERS'
MUTUAL-AID ASSOCIATION.

CHAPTER VII.-ANNUAL MEETING AT LEEDS. 1853.

BROTHER JOHN UNWIN, President.

Ir will not be necessary to write now at any great length; this will therefore be a short chapter, containing only a few facts and figures.

The Association had increased this year by 117 benefit and 70 hon. members, making a total of 2829. There is this striking fact in connection with this year. The amount subscribed this year by benefit members was larger than it had ever been before or since, being £1,358 9s. 6d. The Association in consequence increased its funded property by adding £400, making the total invested £3,504. Paid to the sick, the annuitants, and for deaths, £1,729 8s. 4d.

As the first meeting held in 1849 was in October, so the subsequent meetings to this period were held in this month, but as it was found an inconvenient time, it was resolved to alter the time to June. In this month it has been held ever since.

During this year meetings on behalf of the Association were held east, west, north and south. There were workers then as there are workers

now.

CHAPTER VIII.-ANNUAL MEETING IN LONDON. 1854.

BRO. JAMES WILD, President.

THE Committee met on Saturday, June 3rd, at St. Martin's Hall. On the Sunday following sermons were preached by the brethren in chapels placed at the disposal of the Committee in the London, Deptford, and Woolwich districts. Lovefeasts were held in the Queen Street, Hinde Street, Spitalfields, Chelsea, and Southwark circuits on Sunday afternoon. One old veteran when speaking at one of these services said: "That was

a happy day when, many years ago, Jesus washed my sins away; but though that was a happy day, this day is a happier one." So it always should be, for "the path of the just shineth more and more unto the perfect day."

Brother Wild was elected president by acclamation, and although seventy-four winters had whitened his head, his vigour of mind and body was as great as ever.

This year 120 benefit and 41 hon. members were added to the Association, making 2,648 benefit and 342 hon. members; total members 2,990. £300 was added to the funded property, making a total investment of £3,804 6s. 6d. Paid to the sick, the annuitants, and for deaths, £1,206 2s. 10d.

A very important resolution was passed at this meeting: "That no