The wise men, deceived by Herod's pretended desire to do honor to the young Prince, proceeded on the road to Bethlehem. They had but just got out of Jerusalem, when, in the sky before them, they saw the very same star which they had seen in the East. This gave them great joy, and God, who was pleased with their pious intention, did not leave them to wander about without a guide in that strange country, but sent the star to cheer and guide them on their way.

And we, too, have a star to cheer and guide us on our journey through life. We ought also to journey in search of our Savior, for that Savior declares himself to be The bright and Morning Star;' and promises, if we will follow him, to lead us to that holy land where we shall not pay him a short visit only, but live with him forever and ever.

So the wise men followed the star, till it stopped and appeared to settle over a particular house. They entered the house, and found that the star had indeed led them into the presence of Him whom they sought; for they stood before their infant Redeemer.

With reverence they opened their treasures, and presented the gifts they had brought, gold, frankincense, and myrrh, and worshipped the Holy Child.

And now, having paid their homage, they prepared to return to tell Herod that they had found the young Prince :

but God warned them in a dream not to go back to Jerusalem, as Herod only wanted to kill the young child; so they returned to their own country another way.

When Herod heard of their departure from Judea without having been to tell him of their success, he was filled with rage, and had the wickedness and cruelty to order every little boy under two years old to be put to death, in hopes the young Prince might be among the number; but God watched over the safety of His Son, and warned Joseph to escape with the child and his mother Mary into the land of Egypt. This journey, which is commonly called the Flight into Egypt, Jesus and His parents safely performed, and they remained there till the death of the tyrant Herod, which happened not long afterwards, and then they returned to Judea, and lived at Nazareth.

THE PASSOVER.

AFTER the return of the holy family to Judea out of Egypt, we hear nothing more about our Savior for several years, except that he was filled with wisdom, and that the grace of God was with him.

Now you must know, that once every year there was a very solemn feast at Jerusalem, then called the Passover,

and now called Easter. This feast God had commanded the Jews to keep, in remembrance of their having been delivered from the Egyptians many hundred years before; and it was called the Passover, because God, as the means of delivering them, had sent a destroying angel to visit the families of the Egyptians with death, while he passed over, and left untouched, the houses of the Jews.

The observance of this great feast had been particularly enjoined upon the whole Jewish people, so that even if they lived a long way off, they always endeavored to visit Jerusa lem at the time of the feast. Joseph and Mary, therefore, being pious people, regularly attended; and when our Savior was about twelve years old, they determined that the next time they went, they would take him with them.

Now as a great many families came up from the country at the same time, they used to join company and travel together, and sometimes these companies were very large; so when the time of the Passover drew near, Joseph and Mary, the child Jesus, and all their friends and acquaintance, went up to Jerusalem; and, after celebrating the feast, they set out on their return home.

At the end of one day's journey, and when each family collected together for the night, the child Jesus was missing; but as there were so many people, and many different companies, his parents thought that he might perhaps be

with some of their friends, and they immediately went to every family, making the most anxious inquiries; but nobody knew any thing about him, and no one had seen him since they left Jerusalem. Then Joseph and Mary were much alarmed, and in great distress; for besides their expectation that he was to be a great and holy person, his constant gentleness and obedience had peculiarly endeared him to his parents. Never, I suppose, till now, had he caused them a moment's uneasiness, and with a heavy heart they turned back towards Jerusalem to seek for him. Three whole days they continued their search, looking for him in every place they could think of; but they could not find him.

Wearied and almost in despair, they at last thought he might be in the temple; so they went there, and to their infinite joy and delight, they found him sitting among the doctors, or teachers of the Bible, listening to all they said with great attention, sometimes asking questions himself, and sometimes answering their questions, but with so much wisdom and clearness, that all the people who were there were perfectly astonished, and were watching him with the greatest admiration.

Joseph and Mary, when their first feeling of joy at finding him was over, were greatly surprised to hear a child of twelve years old answer and converse with learned men,

whose whole lives had been given to study. His mother then asked him why he had given them so much pain and uneasiness. She told him that she and his father had spent several days in sorrow seeking him.

But he said to her, 'Why did you seek me? did you not know that I must be about my Father's business?' He did not mean that he was doing the worldly business of Joseph, his reputed father, but the higher business of his heavenly Father, by explaining the Holy Scriptures. That was his business.

We all of us shall have the usual business of the world to attend to, in order that we may provide ourselves with food, clothes, and other necessaries of life; but we must remember that we have a heavenly Father whose higher business we are bound to perform, by going to church, by learning to read and understand the Scriptures, and imitating, as far as we can, in our lives, the piety and love for holy things, of which our Savior gave so early an example.

When Jesus found it was his parents' wish that he should return with them to Nazareth, he immediately left the temple, where his wonderful abilities had excited so much admiration, and cheerfully accompanied them to their humble home. Here he lived with them many years, paying them all the respect and obedience of a dutiful and affectionate Son.