l'rutome, willingly obedient to the.t Divine the Dabe shining like 8 pill&r of light In Law un<ler whioh ahe wu born e.nd hitheroo hie mother's e.rms. There is an ohl l\nd he.d lived. striking legend which speaks of this devout Ver. 22.-When the de.YI of her purifloa- Jew being long puzzled and disturbed by tion aooording to the Law of Moses were the Messianic prophecy (Isa. vii. 14), "A aooompliahed. Thie period lflsted forty dnya v1'.gm shall conceive;" e.t length he re- from t.be birth. The forty d1Lys. nocording ce1ve<l a supernatnrol intimation that ho to the date of the nativity nccepted unive~ should not see death until he had seen thB PAily by the Catholic Church, would bring fulfilment of the strange prophecy, the the Fenat of the Purification to l<'ebrue.ry 2. meaning of which he had so long failed Ver. 2-1.-.l pair of turtle-doves, or two to see, • young pigeons. The proper offering we.e a Ver. 27.-Alld when the parents brought l!Lrub for a burnt offering, and e. pigeon or in the Child 1eall8. This wns evidently the dove for a sin offering; but for the poor nn n~ue.l expression which the Nazareth family alteme.tive was allowed-instee.d of the adopted when they spoke of the Child J esns more costly present of a lamb, a second (see, e.gain, in ver. 48 of this chapter; and pig-eon or dove might be brought. The also in ver. 33, where the older authorilies deep poverty of Mary and Joseph is shown read" his fatller" instee.d of" and Joseph"). In this offering. They would never have The true story, which they both kuew so put the ee.notue.ry off with the humbler had well, was not for the rough Ge.lilroan the richer gift been in their power. peBSan t, still leSB for the hostile Herodian. Vera. 25-35.-The epuods of Si'TllllOJI and The mother knew the truth, Joseph too, lie inspfred hllffl'l. and the house of Zache.rie.s the priest, and Ver. 25.-And, behold, there wu a ma.n probably not a few besides among their In 1erusalem, whose name was Simeon ; and devout friends and kinsfolk. The Nazareth the same IIHlll we.a just and devout, waiting family, resting quietly in their simple faith, for the oonaol&tion of Israel : a.nd the Roly left the rest to God, who, in his own season, Ghost wu upon him. Me.ny expositors have would reveal the secret of the nativity. believed that this Simeon wae identical . Ver. 29.-Lord, now letteet thou thy with Simeon (Shi.mean) the son of the famollB servant depart in peaoe. The beautiful Hillel, and the father of Game.lie!. Thie little hymn of Simeon was no doubt pre- Simeon became president of the Se.nhedrin served by the Virgin Mary and given to in A.D. 13. Strangely enough, the Mishna, St. Luke. The Nunc dimittia has been used which preserves a record of the sayings and constantly in the liturgies of Christian works of the great rabbis, passes by this Churches for fourteen centuries. The thought Simeon. The curions silence of the Mishna which runs through the hymn has been well here was. perhaps, owing to the hatred put by Godet: " Simeon represents himself whic', thi.i; famous teacher incurred because UDder the image of e. sentinel, whom his of his belief in Jeans of Nazareth. Snob muter has placed in an elevated position, a.n identification, although interesting, is, and charged to look for the appearance of 11 however, very precarious, the name Simeon star, and then to announce it to the world. being so very common among the people. He sees this long-desired star; be proclaim& Waiting for the consola.ticm of Israel. There its rising, and aeks to be relieved of the was a general feeling among the more post on the ·watch-tower he has oocupied so earnest Jews e.t this time that the advent long. In the same way, at the opening of of Messiah would not be long delayed. lEschylus's • Agamemnon,' when the sen- Joseph of Arimathma is especially men- tinel, set to watch for the appearing of the tioned as one who "waited for the kingdom fire that is to announce the to.king of Troy, of God" (Mark xv. 43). Dr. Farrar refers beholds at last the signal so impatiently to the common Jewish prayer-formula then expected, he sings at once both the victory in use: "May I see the consolation of of Greece and his own release." Israel I" A prayer for the advent of Messiah Vera. 31, 32.-llefore the face of all people; was in daily use. a Light to lighten the Gentiles ; more Ver. 26.-Tha.l he should not see death. e.ccurately rendered, all peoples. l\len The idea of the aged Simeon comes from e. like Iso.iah, who lived several centuries notice in the apocryphal ' Gospel of the before the nativity, with their gloriou~ fer- Nativity,' which speaks of him as a hundred reaching prophecies, such as Ien. Iii. 10, and thirteen years old. These legendary were far in e.d vance of the narrow, seltfah "Gospeli!" are totally devoid of all authority; Jewish schools of the age of Jesus Clirist. here and there possibly a true "memory" It was, perhaps, the hardest lesson the not preserved in any of the "four" may apostles and first teachers of the faith had exist, but in general they are extravagant to master-this full, free a<lmiseion of the and improbable. The Arabic 'Gospel of vast Gentile world into the king,1011, of thoir the Infancy ' here speaks of Simeon aeeing God. Simeon, in his aong, however, did- mr, n. 1-62.] THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. LUKE. 41
tinctly repents the broad, generous se.yings fulfilled. Bleck, qn0tcil by Goilet, mJtkeR of the older prophets. an intorrsting su.ggcRtinn on tho ouhjert of Ver. 83.-And Joeeph e.nd hi.a mother the sworrl piercing l\fary's henrt: "Thou me.rvelled. It was not so much tbe.t Simo"n sl,nlt feel in thine own heart their oontro.- foretold new things respecting the Child dictinn in rcgarrl to thy Son, when thou Jesus thnt they mnrvelle,1; their surprise thyself "hfllt l,,, seized wiLh doubt in re~arJ w11s rother thnt e. stranger, evidently of to his mission." t,