diction of Jacob

"The sceptre," said he, "was not to depart from Judah till Shiloh came.' Herod the Idumean was the first prince of foreign blood that sat on the throne of David. Though

a proselyte to the Jews' religion, he had nothing in common with the royal family of Judah. Still, under his reign, one year before its close, the Shiloh appeared and verified the prediction of his father Jacob-" Unto Shiloh the gathering of the people has been." What other historical facts are related in the portion read, James, Susan, and William?

James. Zacharias was a Priest in the days of Herod, and Elizabeth his wife was also a Levite, of the daughters of Aaron. He was of Abijah. William. But they had no child and were both far advanced in years.

Susan. They were both righteous persons.

Thomas. According to this representation a "righteous man" is one that walks in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blamelessly.

James. While ministering in the Priest's office it became his lot to burn incense, and he did it.

Susan. "And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing at the right side of the altar of incense."

William. His appearance, however, much disconcerted the good man. The angel perceiving this, bade him lay aside his fear, and intimated to him that he should have a son in his old days who was to be "great in the sight of the Lord."

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Olympas. Notice, my dear children, this phrase, great in the sight of the Lord." This is a very different sort of greatness from that which is called by that name in the common acceptation of

mankind. Many men have been great in the sight of men, who have been exceedingly little in the sight of God.

William. He was to be to his parents a source of joy and gladness, and many were to rejoice at his birth. He was to be filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother's womb.

James. What is this Holy Spirit?

Olympas. It is called "the Spirit of God," "the Spirit of Holiness." It is the author of our holiness.

Susan. What is holiness?

Olympas. It is sanctification-separation to God-or piety. Any thing devoted or set apart to God, is, in Scripture language, holy. God himself is holy; therefore his Spirit is the Spirit of Holiness.

William. I know not how any one could be filled with it. The infant John was filled with it. What does that mean?

Olympas. When a person is said to be full of life, full of love, full of joy, or joyful, he is known to be replete with the effects of life, love, joy, &c. Now where the Spirit of God is felt or is present, it is by such manifestations as these. His gracious effects are there. They are intelligence or light, love, joy, peace, holiness. The Holy Spirit thus replenished the infant harbinger.

Reuben. But was it not extraordinary that an infant child should be so?

Olympas. It was, indeed, extraordinary; and therefore John was an extraordinary person all his life.

Susan. Are any children now filled with the Holy Spirit?

But all those

Olympas. Not as John was. children who believe in the Lord, and who obey him, do enjoy in their hearts the Spirit of God. And sometimes they may be said to be filled with the Holy Spirit, because they have peace with God, and the love of God is in them, and rejoice in his salvation. Then they sing, and pray, and rejoice in the Lord.

What proofs are given of John's inspiration and sanctification, William?

William. I am not sure that I understand this word inspiration. It is indeed said of John that he should turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord, and go before him in the spirit of Elias.

Eliza. What means this spirit and power of Elias? Olympas. What say you, Thomas?

Thomas. Elias, or Elijah, was a bold, zealous, and holy Prophet, who preached righteousness and reproved iniquity with great promptness and decision.

Olympas. When did he flourish?

Thomas. In the days of Ahab king of Israel, about nine hundred and ten years before Christ. He reproved Ahab for his impiety and idolatry, and boldly opposed, and exterminated the false prophets of his day. He was finally translated to heaven, and was in this signal manner approved of God.

Olympas. The return of Elijah from heaven to earth was promised through Malachi to the Jewish people, and that prediction is verified in sending one of his spirit and power.

William. But did not Elijah literally visit Judea before the last end of that nation?

Olympas. Yes, he appeared on Mount Tabor, at the transfiguration, in company with Moses, when Peter, James, and John had a glimpse of these two greatest of men.

Susan. What means the word inspiration?

Olympas. Adam was literally inspired by the breath of the Almighty. This is the origin of the term. Every one who received the Spirit of God as the Spirit of Revelation, was said to be inspired in the figurative sense of the word. But this is not said of any but the holy men of God, who spake and wrote as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.

Thomas. Might not those who now receive the Spirit be said to be inspired as well as they?

Olympas. They might, indeed; but not with the Spirit as the Spirit of a new revelation; but as furnishing them with the principles of divine life. God has promised the influences and consolations of his Spirit to those believers who ask him for this splendid gift. Christians need it as much as they need breath. A man can as readily live without breath as a Christian without God's Holy Spirit, animating and sustaining him with his continual aids and comforts. What a mercy it is then, that, as without the Spirit of Christ we can do nothing, this unspeakable gift is tendered to all his disciples who ask for it sincerely and in faith. But hear we must pause for the present.

CONVERSATION XXIV.

THE first chapter of Luke, from the twenty-sixth verse to the end, being read, Olympas thus began: In our last conversation definitions, rather than deductions, occupied our attention. tions of fact now come before us. Gabriel, William?

Some ques

Who was

William. He is called "an angel of the Lord." Olympas. How old was he at this time, Eliza? Eliza. I know not how old he was. I only know that having been sent to Daniel once or twice, he must have been at least some five hundred years old at this time.

Olympas. How often is he introduced, or how often does his name occur, Thomas, in sacred history?

Thomas. Only four times-twice in Daniel and twice in Luke.

Reuben. He is called "the man Gabriel" in Daniel; and as men are sometimes called angels, why may he not have been a man as much as Elijah, who is called an angel? I have thought that the spirits of good men are sometimes made ministering spirits; and why not, then, Gabriel one of these?

Olympas. He is distinguished as one of the heavenly host; and especially he says of himself that he stands in the presence of God. It is a pleasure for us to know that angels have assumed