"the beauty" of their "holiness." Psalm cx. The reason for this difference in the revelation of the same fact is obvious; the day of Christ had just been shown to David as a "day of power," which should make people "willing" to follow Christ, and as a period of gracious and unchangeable priesthood, which should. encourage them to follow holiness; whereas neither of these facts was fully disclosed to Abraham, when he saw the day of Christ afar off. What was shown to him was, chiefly, the certainty of that day, and not the glory of it: and therefore its results were given in numbers, not in characteristics.

This illustration will apply to the prophecies at large. Just in proportion as they unveil the glory and grace of the Saviour to the Church, they exhibit or enforce the necessity and beauty of holiness. The clearer lights they shed upon the mediatorial way of acceptance with God, the stronger lights they pour upon the “ way which leadeth to everlasting life."

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This is an interesting fact. It leads us to

look back among the first disciples of Christ, who followed him in this " regeneration of life," to notice how far they justified the prophecies, which thus" went before," concerning the beauty of their holiness. Did his first offspring, "the dew of his youth," resemble the dew of the morning in character and spirit? Was he at all glorified in his saints then, as well as "admired by them?" Now, so far as moral character is one of the essential beauties of holiness, his first disciples were, in general, eminently holy. Whatever they may have been before they left all and followed Christ, afterwards they were emphatically virtuous and upright. For a long time, indeed, their views of the person, work, and kingdom of Christ were very worldly, and even their spirit was ambitious as well as rash; but their general habits were both circumspect and devotional: even their enemies "took knowledge of them that they had been with Jesus" to some good purpose, so far as exemplary conduct was the effect of their intercourse with him.

Did you ever observe, whilst reviewing the character of the Saviour's early friends, that his female followers soon acquired great beauty of holiness under the influence of his word and example? There is, indeed, a complete halo of loveliness around the character and spirit of John, "the disciple whom Jesus loved;" and there is much sublimity about Peter, notwithstanding all his faults; and the whole eleven, compared with even the best of the Jews of that time, were emphatically "holy men :" but still, "whatsoever things are pure, and whatsoever things are lovely," abound most among the women of Judea and Galilee, who followed him. There is an exquisite and touching beauty about the holiness of the Marys of Bethlehem and Bethany especially, which eclipses even the excellence of the "holy women of old." We almost forget Abraham's Sarah in the presence of Joseph's Mary, and lose sight of Jacob's Rachel whilst Mary of Bethany is before us. Of them we must say, and even the world will respond the exclamation, "Many

daughters have done virtuously," but ye have "excelled them all." Give them of "the fruit" of their own hands, and their "works will praise them in the gates."

It was not without special design, that the Holy Spirit transmitted to posterity so much of the history and character of these distinguished women: he evidently intended them to be models of female holiness to their sex. Hence he inspired both Elizabeth and the angel Gabriel to "HAIL" Mary of Bethlehem as "highly favoured and blessed among women," and taught the evangelists to depict her peculiar excellences: and not less care did he take to embody the character and embalm the memory of Mary of Bethany. No angel, indeed, pronounced her eulogy, but, what was far better, "Jesus loved Mary," and predicted that her love to him should be "told as a memorial

of her" wheresoever the " Gospel should be preached throughout the whole world."

These are not accidents, nor mere incidents in the sacred history: Mary of Bethlehem, like

the star of Bethlehem, is evidently placed in the firmament of the Church, as a leading star, to guide wise women, as well as wise men, to Christ, and to teach both how to ponder his sayings, and revere his authority, and cleave to his cross. In like manner, Mary of Bethany, like her own "alabaster box of precious ointment," is so fully disclosed in all her principles, and so fully poured out in all her spirit before us by the sacred writers, that there can be no doubt but her lovely character was intended to be "as ointment poured forth," inspiring, as well as pleasing. Like the "good part, which shall never be taken from her," the beauty of her holiness can never be uninfluential on either sex, whilst it is the duty of both "to sit at the feet of Jesus," hearing his word; and that will be equally duty and delight in heaven, as well as on earth,

"While breath or being last,

Or immortality endures."

For who, that knows any thing of vital and ex