Rachel, when she suddenly died; and he buried her there, setting a pillar on her grave. Gen. 35:19, 20. Even at this day, her grave is pointed out to the traveller, in the neighborhood of the town. In Bethlehem also lived Jesse, 1 Samuel, 17:12, whose youngest son was David, the stripling who, with a sling and stone, slew the great giant Goliath, and who, from being a humble shepherd-boy, was elevated to the throne of Israel. Of this same David, Mary was a descendant, and it had been foretold for long ages, that the Messiah, who was to come, should be

of his race. Isaiah 11:1, 10. And in the prophecy of Micah, it was predicted that Bethlehem should be the birthplace of one greater than David. Mic. 5: 2. As you approach this village from Jerusalem, from which it is distant about six miles, you enter a deep valley, on the north side of the town, luxuriant and beautiful. The steep hill-sides which surround it are terraced, and covered with fruit-trees. Like most of the towns and villages of Palestine, wars have desolated it, and the incursions of enemies have discouraged the inhabitants in their efforts to cultivate its fertile soil. It contains now about four thousand people, chiefly Christians.

Not many months after the wonderful events recorded in the preceding chapter, the emperor Cesar Augustus ordered all the people of the land to be taxed, or to have their names enrolled in the Roman registers. Luke 2: 1. The Jews were now subject to the Roman power, and while there was a general expectation that the Messiah was to come, most of the nation supposed that he was coming to be their temporal king: that he would appear with great pomp and power, attired in royal splendor, such as the kings of the East were wont to maintain; that he would crush their oppressors, and that they would no longer be in bondage to the Romans. But there were a few among the Jews who were looking for the true Christ; a Saviour, who would be born into this world to deliver them from a bondage more cruel than that of any earthly oppressor, the bondage of sin and of their own wicked hearts; who, although not an earthly king, would reign over them spiritually here, and in another world, with a glory of which mortals cannot conceive; and would not only manifest himself to them, but even permit poor sinners, who should believe on his name, and trust in him for salvation, to sit down with him on his throne in heaven.

They probably all thought the taxation hard and unjust; nevertheless, obedient to their rulers, Mary and Joseph went, with all the people of Palestine, to be taxed. It was a long journey, and for Mary a difficult one, Bethlehem being nearly seventy miles from Nazareth. It is not probable that either Joseph or Mary imagined that, by making it, they were to be instruments in fulfilling the prophecy of Micah, uttered hundreds of years before. How little did the Bethlehemites, how little did the many travellers who met this lowly pair, as, on foot, or riding on asses perhaps, they bent their steps towards the little village of Judea, think that Joseph and Mary were at all concerned in the coming of the King of the Jews! And how did it happen that they went to Bethlehem to be taxed? Because, for this purpose, every one was required to go to his own city, that is, the city to which his family had belonged; therefore, as both Joseph and Mary were descended from David, it was necessary that they should go to the city of David, which was Bethlehem.

When they reached the town, they found great numbers assembled there for the same object; and longing for some resting-place, they sought the inn.

An inn was probably what is now called a khan— often merely a place of shelter, where one finds neither provisions nor cooking utensils, and where, if the traveller brings a camel, or an ass, he will find no one to assist him in taking care of it. In some khans, men and cattle were under the same roof, the former occupying one side, and the latter the other. In others, there were apartments designed for strangers, and the keeper of the inn merely kept the key. At best, an inn was a very humble affair, and any one who should visit a hotel of modern days, with its rich furniture and entertainment, could form little idea of the lowly inn at Bethlehem. But there was no room in the inn for Joseph and Mary, and they were forced to be contented with a stall, or stable. In the better class of khans, the stables were on a level with the court, lower than the floor of the building, and being covered, those travellers who could find no apartments in the inn, were obliged to resort to the accommodation of stables, if the nights were cold, and the weather severe.

While Mary was in that stable, God sent her the greatest treasure she could have-a little infant; a glorious, royal child; a King! Yet, he was wrapped

in swaddling clothes, he was cradled in a manger,
and his "softest bed was hay." Who was this child,
so humbly born, and yet so great? Can
Can you tell?
Yes, you well know; it was Jesus, the infant Saviour.
"Was there nothing but a manger,

Sinners could to him afford,
To receive the heavenly stranger?

Did they thus affront the Lord ?"

If any of you, dear children, are unhappy because your parents are not rich, think of this heavenly child, who was the son of a poor carpenter. If any of you are sighing for finer clothes, or a better home, think of this glorious infant, wrapped in swaddling clothes, and lying in a manger; and be contented and happy. "Soft and easy is thy cradle;

Coarse and hard thy Saviour lay,
When his birthplace was a stable,
And his softest bed was hay.
Blessed babe! what glorious features,
Spotless, fair, divinely bright;
Must he dwell with brutal creatures?
How could angels bear the sight?

How much better thou 'rt attended
Than the Son of God could be,
When from heaven he descended,
And became a child like thee."