comes a disciple of Christ? Am I sincerely disposed to receive the instruction which he communicates, and to bring my will and affections, and conduct, into entire obedience to his commands? "So seek, and you will find. So knock, and it will be opened to you."

But every one, who is accustomed to read the Scriptures, is aware that they contain names of sects and offices, of which it is desirable to know more than the sacred writers have informed us; that there are in them many references to sentiments and customs which were perfectly intelligible in the times in which they were made, but are now necessarily obscure to those who have no source of information concerning them, but the Scriptures. The influence, which established sentiments and customs have upon modes of thought and of expression, is well known to those who have traced phraseologies and opinions to their sources; and it is universal. Indeed so many examples of this influence might easily be exposed in our common conversation, that no one who knows anything of the nature of language, will, for a moment, consider the obscurity which is occasioned by such references, as an objection to the Scriptures. It would have required many volumes, in addition to the Bible, to have given such an account of every name, and such an illustration of every slight reference which it contains, as would have conveyed all the knowledge which many readers in common life would gladly have possessed. But happily we have volumes, which contain the information which we want; and, though they are not accessible to all Christians, much labour is not demanded either to acquire or to communicate it. Confining our attention to the New Testament, we intend, under this title to give our readers a series of these illustrations.

Our object is, first, to excite attention to the Gospels; and second, to assist those who love the Word of God, and are endeavouring better to understand it. We are persuaded that this will be interesting to many who read the New Testament with care and seriousness, but who have neither the leisure nor books, which are requisite for a regular and minute investigation; and we cannot but hope, that by the momentary gratification of curiosity, whieh in some instances we may give to others, they may be induced to read the Records of our Religion which they have neglected; and that in the pursuit, to which they are thus prompted, of the most valuable knowledge, they may catch the spirit of their Master, and become in truth, his disciples.

Luke i. 15. "He shall be called great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink, and shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb."

The words which we have printed in italics indicate that John was to be a Nazarite from his birth. But what is a Nazarite ?

The name was derived from the Hebrew verb nazar: that is, he was separated. It was first applied to Joseph who was separated from his brethren; but though it had no such meaning in its application to him, it was afterwards used to imply a peculiar separation and devotedness to God; and on that account was applied to the Nazarites. A Nazarite was separated by a profession of holiness, beyond the common prescription of the law; and he who made this profession, and practised the purity to which it bound him, was ranked with the High Priest, and was supposed to possess the highest sanctity of character. There were, however, two sorts of Nazarites. 1. Those who in their infancy, or before their birth, were devoted to God by their parents. 2. Those who devoted themselves. The first were always Nazarites for life. The second, only for a limited time. The Rabbies say, that the shortest term for which this vow of separation could be made was thirty days.

The Nazarites who voluntarily separated themselves to God, when the days of their vow were fulfilled, shaved their heads at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and burnt their hair in the fire under the sacrifice of the peaceofferings. Hence, probably the Gentiles obtained the custom of sacrificing their hair to their Gods; a custom which Lucian represents as common, and with which he himself complied. Suetonius says also, that Nero cut off his first beard, and put it into a golden box set with jewels, and consecrated it to Jupiter Capitolinus. Apollo is called in Homer, "the nourisher of hair." And Eschylus speaks also of hair, which had been nourished and consecrated.

"The law of the Nazarites" may be read in the sixth chapter of Numbers. But a remarkable passage concerning this class of Jews occurs in the book of Amos, "I raised up of your sons for prophets," said God, "and of your young men for Nazarites. Is it not even thus, O children of Israel, saith the Lord? But ye gave the Nazarites wine to drink, and commanded the prophets, saying, prophesy not," (Amos ii. 11, 12). These expressions indicate that the Nazarites

enjoyed no small degree of the favour of God. The interdiction concerning wine was more strict upon them, even than upon the priests, for they were forbidden " to taste any thing that came of the vine tree, from the kernel even to the husk." It was probably from this prohibition, that the Jewish doctors derive the opinion, which they assert without the least hesitation, that the vine was the tree in Paradise, by tasting the fruit of which Adam disobeyed and fell.

But three instances of Nazarites from their birth are named in the Scriptures: Samson, Samuel, and John the Baptist. The habit worn by a Nazarite during his separation, was a garment of hair. Such a one was worn by John, and by Elijah before him; and Grotius thinks it not unworthy of remark, that he who came in the spirit and power of Elias, and who was called Elias by the prophets, should resemble his prototype in his dress.

So high was the estimation in which the Jews held those who were separated to God as Nazarites, that they were considered, says Maimonides, as possessing for the time the sanctity of the High Priest; the purpose of their separation being their closer attention to the study of the law, and the other exercises of religion. In this sentiment of the Jews, we find perhaps the best illustration of the words of our Lord in Matthew xi. 18, 19, "John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, he hath a devil. The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, behold a man gluttonous and a wine bibber, a friend of publicans and sinners." At least his reproach, in this application of it, has great force. In reference to their sentiments of the holiness of a Nazarite, he reminds them that John, the promised Elias, whom they had rejected, was a Nazarite from his birth. But to intimate at the same time the divine benignity of his own dispensation, and the greater freedom to which the Gospel admitted its believers, he told them that the Son of Man came eating and drinking:-he eat and drank with publicans and sinners. (See Jenning's Jew, Antiq. vol. i., p. 415; and Seq. Lewis' Orig. Heb., b. ii., chap. xix; Lightfoot's Hor. Heb. in text; Grotius in Matt. iii. 4.) Luke i. 63. He asked for 66 a writing Table," Not for

a writing table" but for a tablet. The ancient tablets were made of wood, of brass, or of ivory. They were square or oblong, with a hole either on one side or at one end, by which they might be suspended against the side of a room. Children were taught to read and to write upon them; and they

appear to have been used as registers of domestic expenses, &c. The sort of tablet for which Zacharias asked, was made of pine, from which it derived its name, and was covered with wax, on which it was very easy to write. It is apparent, therefore, how easily he might be accommodated, when he asked for a writing tablet. (See Schleusner on the word; and Taylor's Fragments, 1st hundred, p. 128.)

Luke ii, 7. "She brought forth her first born son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn."

The place which is here called an inn, is called by travellers in the east, a caravansary;" some of which are simply places of rest, (by the side of a fountain if possible,) and being at proper distances to accommodate travellers, are so named, though they be merely naked walls. Others have an attendant, who is supported by the benevolence of passengers; and others are more considerable establishments, where families reside, and where travellers may be supplied with provisions. Of this sort, without doubt, was that at Bethlehem. Just behind these caravansaries, says Tavernier, are the stables, where the lodgings are many times as comfortable, as in the chambers of the house, and some on account of their warmth, prefer them in winter. The manger of the caravansary of Bethlehem, was probably well-known to the shepherds, and was therefore as accessible by night, as by day. (See Taylor's Frag., 1st hundred, p. 45; and 3rd hundred, p. 160.)

Luke ii, 8. "There were in the same country, shepherds, abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flocks by night.

These were flocks of the desert, which were driven out for pasture, about the time of the Passover, which answers nearly to our March, and returned home at the first rains, which are said to begin on the third, or the seventh of the month Macheshvan, which corresponds to parts of our October and November. Even now in the East, they drive their flocks into the deserts or plain-fields, and there feed them through all the summer, watching them through the day and night. Our Lord was therefore probably born between the months of March and November.

If we consider what was the winter climate of Judea, it will appear still more improbable, that the birth of our Lord should have been on the 25th of December. "He giveth snow like wool," says the Psalmist; "He scattereth the hoar

frost like ashes; He casteth forth his ice like morsels; who can stand before his cold p"

Nor is it probable, that Augustus would, at that season, have required all persons, women as well as men, to repair to their respective cities, to be taxed, or enrolled That it

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was a time most inconvenient for travelling, may be inferred from the admonition which our Lord gave to his disciples, in predicting the destruction of Jerusalem, and the sufferings of the Jews, Pray that your flight be not in the winter." William of Tyre, in speaking of Saladins' troops, after their defeat in the neighbourhood of Ascalon, says, that they sank under the cold, and the tediousness of the ways, and were not only taken prisoners every day, but sometimes threw themselves in the way of their enemies, rather than perish with cold and want. And one of the Jewish Rabbies mentions it as an instance of the clemency of God, that the destruction of the first Temple occured in the summer, and not in the winter.

The question, what was the exact date of the birth of Christ is indeed of little importance. There is however much more evidence that it was in the summer, or autumn, than in the winter. But one emotion of sincere love of his character, or one act of obedience to his will, will advance us farther in his favour, than the knowledge of all mysteries, while our hearts are unrenewed by his instructions. (Lightfoot's Hor. Heb. on the ver. and on Matth. xxiv. 20. Jenning's Jew. Antig. v. ii. p. 240. Harmer's Observ. v. i. 21, 22.)

REVIEW.

Davison's Improved Ready Reckoner. pp. 188. Alnwick, W. Davison. Davison's Universal Measurer. pp. 224. Alnwick, W. Davison. GRAY in his beautiful "Elegy written in a country Churchyard," has truly imagined that in "this neglected spot," rested many an individual in whose heart, whilst living, dwelt earnest, benevolent and godlike purpose, the " dauntless" "guiltless" breast, the "heart once pregnant with celestial fire." Village, country chronicles, tell of many who in their sphere of action have nobly bestirred themselves for individual improvement and human good, men whose actions have proved that social usefulness is not confined to any locality, nor limited to the crowded city. Happily there are not wanting living examples of this truth, persons whose ardour and enterprise have outstepped the trammels which circumscribe