ΑΝ ABSTRACT OF SCRIPTURE-HISTory, By WAY of Question and Answer. LESSON I. Of the Nativity of our Lord and Saviour A T that Time when Herod reigned in Judea, and Cæfar Auguftus was Emperor of Rome, there dwelt at Nazareth, an inconfiderable City of Galilee in the Holy Land, a Virgin, whofe Name was Mary, the Ornament of her Sex, and the fhining Example of unaffected Piety and Sanctity of Manners; one, whe F 2 4 who notwithstanding fhe was efpoufed to Jofeph, a just and upright Man of her own Family, that is to fay, of the Tribe of Judah, and the Houfe of David, had no Knowledge of him, till a long Time after the Solemnization of their Nuptials. GOD Almighty fent his Angel Gabriel down from Heaven to vifit her, and reveal the fecret Purpose of his Divine Will; who at his first Approach addrefs'd himself thus unto her ; Hail thou that art highly favour'd! the LORD is with thee; bleffed art thou among Women. Mary, when the faw him, was troubled at his Saying, and caft in her Mind the Manner of his Salutation: Whereupon, Gabriel further faid unto her, Fear not, Mary, for thou haft found Favour with Go D. And be bold, thou shalt conceive in thy Womb, and bring forth a Son, and shalt call his Name JESUS. Then Mary replied, How fall this be, feeing I know not a Man? But when Gabriel told her, that the Holy Ghost should come upon her, and the Power of the Highest fhould overshadow her; with innate Modefty, and a chearful Submiffion to the Divine Goodnefs, fhe bowed her Head, faying, Behold the Handmaid of the LORD, be it unto me according to thy Word. At that Time the Son of God, the Word, which in the Beginning was with GOD, and was GOD, coequal with his Father, became incarnate; that is to fay, af fumed the human Nature, and was like un to to Man, Sin only excepted. Jofeph and Mary were obliged to go to Bethlehem, a City of Judea, and to take up their Lodgings in a Stable, there being no Room for them in the Inn where they purposed to refresh themselves, and there the Child was born: At the Clofe of the eighth Day he was circumcifed, and, purfuant to Gabriel's: Direction, named JESUS, that is to fay, the Saviour. Not long afterwards there came feveral Magi, or wife Men, from the Eaft, to Jerufalem, plentifully provided with rich Prefents of Gold, Myrrh, and Frankincenfe, faying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have feen his Star, and are come to worship him. When Herod the King heard thereof, he was troubled, and all Ferufalem with him: Whereupon he fent forth, and flew all the Children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the Coats thereof, from two Years old and under But Fofeph fled with the Child Fefus and his Mother Mary by Night into Egypt, and continued there till the Death of Herod,.. Afterwards they returned to Nazareth, where JESUS lived in a State of Obfcurity, till he was about thirty Years of Age, and was fubject to his Mother Mary and Jofeph his reputed Father, who followed the Trade or Profeffion of a Carpenter:.. A. Jofeph fied with him and his Mother by Night into Egypt. Q. How did he fpend the greatest Part of his Life? A. In a State of Obfcurity, and in perfect Subjection to his Parents. Q. Was Jofeph his real Father? A. No; but he was look'd upon as such, by all his Neighbours. Q. What Trade or Profeffion did he follow ? A. That of a Carpenter. TH LESSON II.. Of Saint Join the Baptist. Hirty Years after the Nativity of our LORD JESUS Chrift, there arofe a great Prophet, called John, the Son of Zacharias the Prieft, and of Elizabeth, a near Relation of the bleffed Virgin Mary. He dwelt in the Wilderness, and led a more abftemious Life than any of the antient Prophets. He preached there the Baptifin of Repentance; the Kingdom of Heaven be ́ing, as he faid, near at Hand. He baptized in the River Jordan all fuch as followed him, and adher'd to his Doctrine; that is to fay, he plunged them into the Waters thereof for the Remiffion of their Sins, in like Man |