to the temple at the feast of the Passover, by His mother and foster-father. There would be many persons from the same place, in the company or caravan; for the state of society throughout the East, and the defective means of communication, have ever been such as to prevent any lengthened journey except in large companies. Joseph and Mary, then, accompanying one of the caravans from Nazareth, would have many acquaintances and friends among the multitudes at Jerusalem collected from all parts of Galilee.

We may be quite sure, without detracting the least from the piety of His mother and her husband, that our Lord's delight in the temple of God and its services would far exceed that of any of the band of worshippers from Galilee. In a way that no other living being could do, He would feel that house to be His home. With far deeper and truer meaning than His great forefather would He say, "Oh, how amiable are thy dwellings, thou Lord of hosts! My soul hath a desire and longing to enter into the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh rejoice in the living God." He would be all day there, whilst those connected with Him, after they had fulfilled the requirements of the law, would pass more time with their friends and acquaintances. If such were the case, (and we can scarcely believe it to have been otherwise,)

the whole company of Nazarene worshippers might have set off on their journey homeward, whilst He had no notice of their departure. "They were accustomed, (as I said,) on these occasions, for their greater security against robbers on the road, to travel in large companies, carrying food with them, and tents for their lodging by night. This account of their manner of travelling furnishes a ready answer to the question, how could Joseph and Mary make a day's journey without discovering before night that Jesus was not in the company? In the daytime we may reasonably suppose that the travellers would mingle with different parties of their friends or acquaintances, but that in the evening, when they were about to encamp, every one would join the family to which he belonged. As Jesus did not appear, when it was growing late, they first sought Him where it was most probable that He would be, in the tents of some of His relations or acquaintances, and not finding Him they returned to Jerusalem."* When they had once set off and left the Holy Child behind, there was no help for it; our Lord being but twelve years old, and subject to all the conditions of childhood, must wait till they who had the care of Him either returned themselves or sent some one to fetch Him. They returned themselves. Now, *Note in "Treasury Harmony."

will of His heavenly Father, He allowed the company with which He had come to Jerusalem to depart without Him; and God so ordered it that His mother and her husband should find Him after their long search when He was giving to the assembled doctors of the Jewish law such proofs of heavenly and supernatural skill in the Scriptures. Unlikely as it may at first sight appear, I cannot help looking at this incident in much the same light as I look at the Transfiguration. It seems to me to have been intended to be to His mother and her husband, during the first years of our Lord's life, what the Transfiguration was to the disciples afterwards; a sudden gleam of glory streaming through, and dispersing, for a moment, the cloud of humiliation which hid our Lord's Deity from men's eyes. Just as the disciples were vouchsafed for a few minutes the vision of our Lord as He will appear at the last day, His countenance bright as the sun, His raiment glistening with light, in order that they might see how glorious He was in Himself who condescended to suffer a shameful death, so God showed to Joseph and Mary, by the sight of our Lord among the great doctors of the law, astonishing them by His wisdom and knowledge, something of what He really was whose youth they were permitted to watch

over.

Now, my brethren, in order to form some

it is very probable that some friend, whom they least expected, had given our Lord food and lodging, and He spent His days in the temple. When apparently Joseph and Mary had sought our Lord in every other place, then they bethought them of the temple, there the very place in which they should have first gone to seek such a child-they found Him. His mother, almost in terms of reproach, says to Him, "Son, why hast Thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought Thee sorrowing." And our Lord answered her, "How is it that ye sought me ?" -i.e. so long and so anxiously;-"wist ye not that I must be in my Father's house? Ye know what delight I have here: this was the first place in which to seek me when ye found ye had lost me."

All this explanation goes, of course, upon the supposition that our Lord's staying behind was partially, or wholly, what we call accidental, or unintentional, on His part. It may, however, have not been so. The Divine, Eternal Father may have revealed to the Divine, Eternal Son that, on this one occasion, His apparent duty to His earthly parent and her husband was to be set aside, in order that, but for a moment, they might see how great and wise He was, the guardianship of Whose tender years was committed to their care. In this case, then, in obedience to some clearly declared