tion of the miraculous advent of the Deliverer. This was just six months before the same angel appeared to the Virgin Mary and announced the birth of the infant Christ. By so much time only was the forerunner to precede the Messiah.

During this period Elizabeth went into retirement in the mountainous region of Carmel, and here Mary came to visit her just after the annunciation. To Elizabeth was given the privilege of being the first human being, after Mary, to whom the parentage and impending birth of Jesus were shown. The happiness of her own approaching maternity and the coming into her presence of the future mother of the Lord, produced in Elizabeth a peculiar excitement which impelled her to predict the birth of a son to Mary. Thus a sympathy and unity of feeling was established between the two women, which manifested itself in the song of praise they sang in the joy of their meeting-the Magnificat.

In due time the notable and miraculous birth occurred. As the relatives and friends of the aged mother assembled to congratulate her on the auspicious event, they suggested that the boy be named Zacharias, for his father. But Elizabeth astonished them all by saying, in the most positive way, "His name shall be John:" although there was no one of that name in her family or that of her husband. The miracle of the naming was made complete by Zacharias writing on his tablets, in answer to their inquiries, "His name shall be

John." This double acknowledgment by Zacharias
and Elizabeth of the precious gift they had re-
ceived, was looked upon by relatives and friends as
a further miracle; and we are safe in supposing that
not a few of them began to treasure the hope that
And to make a fitting climax‍
he was the Christ.
to the striking scene, Zacharias was suddenly re-
lieved of his dumbness, and burst forth into a
beautiful, triumphant song of praise and gratitude.

This is the last mention of Elizabeth in the Gospels. The brevity of the account of her life is significant, in that it seems to emphasize the fact that her work, like that of her son, was merely preparatory. Though doubtless much pleasant and profitable intercourse occurred between her and her kinswoman Mary, and their children, giving joy and comfort to Elizabeth in her declining years, yet we are safe in venturing the opinion that the mother of John the Baptist was spared by previous death the knowledge of his self-sacrificing, abstemious life; his vast power in calling the Jews to repentance; his long, lonely imprisonment; his cruel death; the persecutions Jesus endured; But may we not and the manner of his death. think that in the spirit world, with the enlarged, refined knowledge there given her, she was permitted to see and understand the glory of Christ's atonement, the perfect redemption of the world, and the triumph of the resurrection, of which her son was doubtless one of the earliest fruits.

Elizabeth is a perfect type of the woman of

faith. Spiritual insight and foresight were strongly manifested by her. What mysterious power it was that enabled her to predict in unmistakable terms the birth of Messiah, on the occasion of Mary's visit to her, is best understood when we remember that her son John was to be filled with the Holy Ghost from before his birth. Under the influence of that Spirit, by which alone it is possible to say that Jesus is the Christ, the unborn babe and his expectant mother bore witness to the great truth of the advent of Messiah. The privilege of being the first mortal to know, through the promptings of the Spirit, of the coming of the Christ, was no small honor. On account of her perfect faith and spirituality, this honor was bestowed upon Elizabeth, and it may also be suggested that this knowledge was given her in order that she might impress it the more forcibly on her son, and prepare him to perform the better his great mission as the forerunner of Christ.

Perhaps another thought may be permitted. It is probable that her knowledge of the coming of the Son of God included a partial knowledge of the nature of his mission. It may have been permitted for her to know that his kingdom was not of this world, his glory of heaven, not of earth. If this were so, we may suppose that she impressed upon her son the necessity of strict abstemiousness and self-denial in his life, to make him a fully acceptable forerunner of the selfsacrificing Jesus. And in the midst of the wide

spread misunderstanding of the real nature of Christ's mission, and the terrible persecution which grew out of this misunderstanding, John doubtless stood well-nigh alone in the true knowledge of Christ's divinity; and this knowledge may well be looked upon as a precious heritage from his sainted mother, Elizabeth.

It was indeed a great privilege to prepare for so important a work the man of whom Jesus said, "Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist." To be his mother, his guardian, his guide, was an honor second only to that of being the mother of Messiah. "She (Elizabeth) had learned from the spirit of Christ within her, that only one other It mother was more blessed in a son than herself. had been given her to see face to face what Eve and Sarah and Rebekah and Rachael had yearned. for, the Hope of Ages in a mother's arms on a mother's breast, and she died happy, as woman before her never died."

III. HERODIAS AND SALOME.

The two evil women of the New Testament, like their prototypes in the Old, were mother and daughter. The incident in connection with which they are mentioned, is so closely associated with the life of John the Baptist, that it is thought well to treat their work and character after Elizabeth's.

Herodias had been the wife of Philip, son of Herod the Great; but she had left him and was living in open sin with his half-brother, Herod Antipas. Salome was her daughter by Philip.

The mother was in many respects the counterpart of Jezebel. That she was unscrupulous and immoral is proved by her deserting her husband, and living in adultery with Herod. This fact also proves that she was selfishly ambitious; for her husband was living in political retirement in Rome; and becoming weary of so inactive a life, she willingly left him and joined in the intrigues of Herod. Like Jezebel, she was unwilling to trust her usefulness and happiness to the labors of the home; she must court the dangers and triumphs of publie life.