IV.
A JOYFUL SURPRISE.
Before our Lord came, the holiest place in the world
was the Temple of Jerusalem. Only there would God
allow sacrifice to be offered, and there twice a day it was
offered—a little lamb was slain, and the smoke of sweet-smelling
incense rose from the golden altar in the Holy
Place. At the hour of incense the people assembled in
their part of the Temple, the open Courts, and prayed
silently, in union with the priest who was within.
One day there was a great stir among them. A priest whose name was Zachary had been a long time in the Holy Place, and when he came out he was trembling—and dumb. What had happened? They crowded round him to ask, but he made signs to show he could not speak. The news spread fast that Zachary had seen something wonderful, and that he looked as if he had heard good news.
Good news! Indeed he had; he was dumb because he had thought it too good to be true. For many years he and his wife Elizabeth had longed to have a child, in the hope that the Messiah, now so near, might be of their family. But God had not seen good to hear their prayer, and when all expectation was gone, they had made His Will their own, and encouraged one another to bear their disappointment bravely.
Now, on this day, just as Zachary was going to pour the incense upon the flame, he saw a glorious vision—an Angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar. And seeing him he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. But the Angel said to him:
