is the proper continuation of the festival of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. By His manifestation in the flesh on Christmas He became man, but on the eighth day thereafter through the rite of circumcision He entered the people of God and became an Israelite. Those were eight, grand, sacred, festival days in the manger at Bethlehem! How often may Mary have gazed upon her darling babe, pondering in sacred meditation over the words and the songs of the angels; how often recalled the visit of the shepherds and their heartfelt adoration! The eighth day arrived, since the time of Abraham it was the day with Israel for the circumcision of all new born male children. The holy family is still in Bethlehem. Who were invited to be witnesses of the religious ordinance, whether the near relatives who had come up with them to the assessment at Bethlehem ; whether the pious shepherds who had already celebrated the birth of the child; who performed the prescribed ceremonies, whether the step-father Joseph or some priest accidentally present in the place, these queries are not answered in the Holy Scriptures, because they are non-essential. It is sufficient that the ordinance, imposed, not by man but by God Himself, upon their progenitor for all his male descendants, was performed in accordance with usage in the presence of several witnesses, who participated in the joy of the Father and Mother, and offered their congratulations. Manifestly the hallowed old prayers were employed; "Blessed be Thou, O Lord our God, who hast hallowed us with Thy commandments and hast given us the covenant of circumcision."-" Blessed be Thou, O Lord our God, Thou King of the world, who hast hallowed us with thy commandments and commanded that we should enter into the covenant of our Father Abraham; O Lord, as thou hast admitted this boy into the covenant of our Father Abraham, grant also that he may be enabled to obey the laws of Moses, to live honestly and to do good works."-"O Lord our God, the God of our fathers, strengthen this boy, preserve him to his parents, and let his name be recorded with Thy people Israel; let his father, from whose loins he has come, rejoice over him and his mother delight in the fruit of her womb." But while they were pronouncing these prayers but few of those present could suspect the deeper significance of their language, or how little necessary they were to this babe. Oh the whole transaction seems to have been so unsuited, so unnecessary for Him! Circumcision was a permanent, living testimony of the sinfulness of the human race and a symbol of purification,-it was an antetype and a prophecy of the baptism of the New Testament. Here, however, was a Child, born without spot or blemish, on whom there was nothing

needing to be free from sin and ennobled, who brought along with Him the highest nobility of the true circumcision as a boon to human nature. For which reason the religious rite could not give him anything, but could only bear witness of the divine origin and the willing obedience of His nature, which He subjected to the whole law of God from the first moment of His incarnation when He came under the law; manifestly it was not for Him or His benefit, but for us and our benefit. He is styled in the Holy Scriptures the second Adam, the head and the representative of a new, holy race; and when He was circumcised upon the eighth day the whole human race was circumcised in His person and included in the covenant with God. Exactly as the Scriptures declare, "if one died for all, then were all dead (2 Cor. v. 14); that as He was buried we are also buried with Him by baptism unto death (Rom. vi. 4); and that as He arose and ascended into heaven, so are we raised up and placed with Him in heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Eph. ii. 6). Wherefore St. Paul (Col. ii. 11) says, "in whom also ye are circumcised;" for He was circumcised as the first-born of His brethren in whom the people of God should be made holy, -as the head of His people in whom the members should be included. What a blessing for us who are admitted by faith into the communion of His circumcision, and to whom the benefits of this His first act or shall we say, His first fate?-are not only appropriated and assured, but in whom an actual and essential circumcision of the heart and purification from the sins of the flesh are effected. The circumcision of the child eight days old in Bethlehem was an epitome of His whole work of redemption. To it belonged perfect, unreserved obedience to all the laws and ordinances of God; here He performed the first act of that obedience, which was afterwards glorified and perfected, in filial obedience towards His parents; in ecclesiastical obedience at His baptism, His attendance upon the Synagogue, His reverence for the Sabbath, His partaking of the paschal lamb and presentation of festival offerings; and finally in civil obedience towards the authorities constituted by God. To it belonged the shedding of His blood and His death; here He, a pure, innocent babe had already shed in a painful way the first drops of His blood. The deed at Bethlehem was already a miniature Golgotha, -the first step upon the road to martyrdom and sacrifice,-to all the depths of suffering in body and soul of His whole earthly life. Jesus was even then crucified in His tender years; for what the accursed tree and the hammer and the nails were to the man, the sharp knife and the rough manger were to the child. Jesus was born of a woman, made under the law, that is, was circumcised at the very first, so that He might redeem them

that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons (Gal. iv. 5).

Jesus through circumcision was made an Israelite. It was not only a religious, but also a civil rite,-a performance of a national duty; its omission was connected with expulsion or cutting off from the people (Gen. xvii. 14). Without it Jesus would not

have belonged to the people of God, nor been able to participate in the ordinances and divine worship of Israel; he could have neither visited the temple nor taught in the Synagogues; have neither civil nor religious participation in the rights and privileges of the children of Abraham; have neither partaken of the paschal lamb (Ex. xii. 48), nor exercised His three-fold office in Israel. A Jew could not have believed in Him, nor recognized Him as the Messiah, but would have considered and treated Him as a a stranger, a Gentile,-yes, they would have been forced then to consider and treat Him thus, if Jesus had not, like all Israelites, been circumcised upon the eighth day and received into the covenant of Israel. If salvation to the whole was to some of the Jews (John iv. 22). Then Jesus in all respects must belong to this people and on this account circumcision was indispensable. Jesus was hence an Israelite from birth to death, which first released Him from His traditional duties as an Israelite; on account of the law He must die unto law.

The new-born child, at his circumcision as with us at baptism, was formally invested with His name, so Jesus then received His name, and hence the day of His circumcision was also the day on which He was named. And what a name! He was called Jesus -the name mentioned by the angels before He was conceived in His mother's womb. Angels had first uttered it. God Himself, and no mere mortal, sinful man, had given it; it is a name descended from the invisible world, from heaven, a testimonial whose genuineness was certified to by the heavenly hosts at the birth of this babe. It is true, that the Jews heard this name without any surprise; for several had already borne it before Christ, such as Joshua the son of Nun, Jeshua the son of Jehozadak-the High Priest, who led the Jews back from the Babylonian exile; Jesus the son of Sirach, and that companion of Paul, whose surname was Justus (Col. iv. 11); but in these cases it was either simply a name without any special significance attached to it, or a faint antetype of Him, who was to accomplish the redemption of the world. Bernard says, "My Jesus bears not, like these others, an empty, unfruitful name; He has not the shadow, but the substance of a great name." He is truly our Saviour, and He has saved His people from their sins (Matt. i. 21). This name is the epitome of all the other names He has borne, or which have been given to Him

through the gratitude or adoration of men. Our salvation rests on this name; "it is a strong tower, the righteous runneth into it and is safe;" it is like precious ointment poured out; at it every knee shall bow of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth, and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. There is, however, sometimes another name attached in our calendars to New Year's Day, also a name of the Lord, although not peculiar to Him, because it has been borne, since His time, frequently by His disciples, and our children are still given it in baptism, we refer to the name Emanuel. The reason for this name is given in Matt. i. 22, 23: "Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet saying: Behold a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a Son, and they shall call His name Emanuel, which being interpreted is, 'God with us.' Jesus could bear this name for three reasons; because God or Christ, having again come down to us men, had (1) assumed the human nature in Christ and thus united God and man in one person in Himself; had (2) become reconciled and united through Christ to us sinful men, Christ having become our Mediator; and (3), now standing upon our side, protects us from our enemies for Christ's sake. It is a significant name, designating the essential peculiarities of our Mediator and Saviour, as set forth in Is. ix. 6, Jer. xxiii. 6, Zech. vi. 12. The incarnation of Christ is the real counterpart of Jacob's ladder which reached from earth to heaven, uniting both, and upon which the angels of God ascended and descended; heaven and earth, divinity and humanity are again united together, and the angelic world becomes tributary, so that we may attain the salvation of heaven.

O precious day, New Year's Day, day of the circumcision and of the naming of Jesus Christ, how rich thou art! Thou admonishest me of the flight and transitoriness of time, and likewise showest to me, Him who is the Father of eternity, the same yesterday, to-day and forever. Thou, as a beginning, pointest me to the end; yes, to the end of all things, and at the same time dost reveal Him, who is the beginning and the end, the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last. Finally, thou proclaimest to me a new year; but if it is to be a blessed year, it must be enrolled among those which are called the gracious years of the Lord, and of His salvation, and I must begin, continue, and end it in the name of Jesus. How blessed a privilege to be a Christian through faith, and a partaker of the holy name of Jesus; if I am what I have been called, then I need always both law and Gospel; New Year's Day gives me both; for all the law hangs on the circumcision, and all the Gospel upon the name Jesus.

"NO SECRET, DOCTOR."

"I noticed," said Benjamin Franklin, "a mechanic, among a number of others, at work on a house erecting but a little way from my office, who always appeared to be in a merry humor-who had a kind and cheerful smile for every one he met. Let the day be ever so cold, gloomy, or sunless, a happy smile danced like a sunbeam on his cheerful countenance. Meeting him one morning, I asked him to tell me the secret of his constant happy flow of spirits. 'No secret, doctor,' he replied. 'I have got one of the best of wives, and when I go to work she has always a kind word of encouragement for me; and when I go home she meets me with a smile and a kiss; and then tea is sure to be ready; and she has done so many little things to please me, that I cannot find it in my heart to speak an unkind word to anybody.'' What influence, then, has woman. over the heart of man to soften it, and make it the foundation of cheerful and pure emotions! Speak gently, then; a kind greeting, after the toils of the day are over, costs nothing, and goes far towards making home happy and peaceful. Young wives and girls, candidates for wives, should keep this in mind; as to older wives, experience may have already taught them this important lesson. And what we say to wives, we say also to husbands,-a loving word and kiss go very far with a woman.

LITERARY NOTICE.

SCRIBNER'S MONTHLY takes the place of "Hours at Home," "Putnam's Magazine," and the "Riverside Monthly." It is an illustrated magazine for young people, furnishing apt instruction and entertaining reading from the pens of some of the most popular authors of the age. Its editor, Dr. J. G. Holland (Timothy Titcomb), one of our most popular American writers, is peculiarly fitted for his office. The Holiday Number contains extra pictures, music, stories, and poems, for Christmas reading. A first class magazine, whose large type, paper, illustrations, and pleasing style make it a most agreeable and entertaining visitor. Only one fault have we to find with it. Its leaves are uncut. Imagine the impatience with which one fumbles about for knife or scissors to cut the leaves, in the full dash of a very readable article, so as to get at the next page. Have the enterprising publishers never experienced this annoyance? Please cut the leaves, gentlemen.