glory, the Spirit which attended Moses, was communicated to the seventy elders, the seventy wise men: "and it came to pass, that, when the Spirit rested upon them, they prophesied" (Num. 11:25).

To the conceited, the sensual, the mocking, the animalized, the Christly life, the life that is crucified to the world, is a stumbling-block and foolishness; "but unto them which are called" [which are awakened out of a state of sensuality and death], Christ represents "the power of God, and the wisdom of God" (1 Cor. 1:23, 24). We do not believe that John the Baptist was an organ of the Holy Ghost, as was Moses, and Elias, and Jesus. He was evidently a God-fearing man as both the Scriptures and history record; and he did what he could toward the restoration of the ancient faith of Israel, and thus in some real measure, he represented "the spirit and power of Elias" (Luke 1:17; Matt. 17: 11).

Legends are often woven about the lives of distinguished persons; and perhaps, the life of no person named in the Scriptures, and who lived in the time of Jesus or before, has been the theme of more legendary comment, than John the Baptist. This may be accounted for from the fact that during the lifetime of John, there was an impression abroad that he was a reincarnation of the prophet Elias. "Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou a prophet? And he answered, No" (John 1:21). A legend of this character in a poetic age would naturally find ample enlargement. Legends that cluster about the lives of famous people are not ordinarily the creations of fiction; they are the creations of true poesy; and often suggest and point the way of the profoundest truths; but when viewed in this light, it stands to reason that

they should not be considered as serious and literal statements of fact. There is a legendary account of John in the first chapter of Luke that certifies to his descent from virtuous and pious people.

The object of this essay is to reveal the true character and office of John the Baptist. It is evident, we think, that John did what he could to restore the "common faith" of Israel (Titus 1:4); and to prepare a people for "the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord" (Mal. 4:5), the day of baptism with fire. What is here said of John, is, we believe, a proper and necessary prelude to the life, the character, and the religious office of Jesus Christ.

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CHAPTER XI

JESUS OF NAZARETH

"It becometh us to fulfil all righteousness" (Matt. 3: 15).

Of the early life of Jesus of Nazareth, little is known. His disciples, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, like their Master, were not specially concerned with the passing, the local, and the personal. "The prophet that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the Lord" (Jer. 23:28). Events in time may be likened to chaff, principles to wheat. Religion is essentially scientific; it deals with principles; principles have no anniversary; and are, therefore, eternal. "Know this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation.” Events in time constitute the essentials of history; but the office of religion is not to record passing events. "Who is my mother? and who are my brethren?" By these words, we understand Jesus to say in effect: Is my life to be devoted to personal considerations? Or is it to be devoted to the promulgation of those truths which are eternal in their nature, and applicable alike to every human soul? Jesus, like Moses and all the great, taught and demonstrated in his own life certain principles which he desired to bring to the attention of all rational beings. "Heaven and earth

shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.' The wise do not believe that man should give heed to fables, and endless genealogies, which give rise to questions, whereby cometh envy, railings, and evil surmisings (1 Tim. 1:4; 6:4).

The genealogy of Jesus, both in Matthew (1:1–17) and in Luke (3:23-38) is traced through the line of Joseph; he was saluted as the son of Joseph and Mary (John 1: 45; 6: 42; Matt. 13: 55; Luke 4:22). Religion is founded in principle; and is, therefore, in no wise dependent upon any fable, supernatural story, or genealogy, which may give rise to speculation, railings, and evil surmisings. Nothing vital, nothing essential to the cause of truth and of religion is a matter of speculation. Faith, that is truly faith, is not founded upon any speculative dogma; it is founded in knowledge; and the faith of knowledge comes to every human being who lives a virtuous and orderly life. "Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God." "That which may be known of God is made manifest to the just" (Rom. 1:19). The man whose soul is upright before God is not solicitous about the future. "The just shall live by faith." God reveals himself to His own; He awakes in the hearts of the just. "If thou wert pure and upright; surely now He would awake for thee" (Job 8:6).

There is reason to believe that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was descended through more than forty generations of monotheists and haters of idolatry (Matt. 1:17); and that her character represented the spiritual beauty of the royal race, and that Joseph was a devout and just man (Matt. 1:19). Mary, like all of her great maternal ancestors, was evidently faithful in the depths of her soul to Israel's heaven-born tradition,

to wit: that woman's first and highest duty before God and man is so to live as to be the mother of a perfect child, knowing that all things bring forth "after their kind." Mary, like every faithful daughter of Israel, no doubt prayed most earnestly that her first-born should be a male child without blemish in mind, and heart, and body; and that he might become a mighty prophet in Israel. All great mothers belong to the race of the regenerate; they have all come out of Egypt; they are the paragons of virtue; they are not bondwomen obsessed by the sensuous life; they are free women; they are the descendants of the divine Sarah; and like her they are the mothers of the children of promise. If we would have children without blemish, we must first have men and women who are devotees of virtue, and are, therefore, fit for parentage.

It is the mother who, in the language of the Scriptures, is said to build the tabernacle of flesh wherein dwells the soul of man. "The Lord make the women that come into thy house like Rachel and like Leah, which two did build the house of Israel" (Ruth 4: 11). Mary, like Rachel and like Leah, was faithful to her heavendescended duty; and like them her prayers were answered; the man or the woman who lives worthy of a divine office, is not denied its fulfillment. Great is the glory of her who is the mother of a perfect child; and great is the degradation of her who is the mother of a blind, a deformed, or a degenerate child. The heaven-born traditions and ideals of ancient Israel have been lost for many centuries. There once lived in the world a royal race; but the descendants of this holy and glorious race have in the main lapsed into the "Gentile state." There seems to be none who believe in the godlike possibilities of man; all seem to be walk