and SAVIOUR, JESUS CHRIST, and his APOSTLES, &c. 399 theyear ofCHRIST thirty-four, and vulgar Gera thirty-one, that as Jesus CHRIST was teaching in a houfe at Capernaum, fo great a crowd of people flood about him, that neither be nor, his difciples had time to take anyrefrefhment; which caufed a report to be fpread abroad, that he had fainted away, or was fallen into a fwoon ; thus Grotius interprets the word ËE rn. The virgin, and the brethren or relations of Jesus came to fee what had given occa- flon to this report ; and when they could not get into the houfe for the throngs of people, they caufed a meffage to be con- veyed from one to another, till it was told Jesus, " That his mother and his brethren were at the door, and defired to fpeak with him." Jesus being accordingly in- formed of their coming, and that they waited to fpeak with him, being at that inflant engaged in the work of his miniflry, preaching the wordof God, he made this reply, Who is mymother, and who are my brethren ? And looking upon thofe that were round about him, he Paid, Thefe are my mother and brethren ;. declaring, That whofoever did the will of his heavenly Fa- ther, thefame was his mother, andfiler, and brother. This was what CHRIST had taught in another place, that we muff pre- fer God to all human relations, and give the preference to his fervice : but this fay ing could not reflex upon his mother, who was amongft the principal of . thofe who did the will ofhis heavenly Father. Immediately upon Mary's approach, a woman of the company Paid with a loud voice, direfting her words to Jesus: Blef- fed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou haftfucked. To which he re- plied, Yea, rather bleed are they that hear the word ofGod. and keep it. Not intima- ting hereby, that the who had the honour to bear him, did not deferve to be called bleffed throughout all generations ; but that even her happinefs confifled more in doing thewill ofCHRIST than in giving him a human body, which was indeed not her own aft, but effefted by the power of God. We have no further account of the holy virgin from this time, till we find her in Jerufalèm at the laft paffover our Saviour celebrated there ; which was in the thirty- fixth year of CHRIST, and thirty -third of the vulgar sera. In . this city file law all that was tranfafted againfi him, followed him to Mount Calvary, and flayed at the foot of the crofs during the paffion of her bleffed Son. WVe cannot doubt but her foul was at this time pierced through, as old Simeon, had prophefied, with the moft acute pains, for the death of fuch a Son. Yet her conflancy was remarkable : for when the apoftles were all frightened away from their Master, the, with a courage un- daunted, and worthy of the mother of CHRIST, continued even in the midit of the executioners, being prepared to die with her Son, who was now become her Savi- our, who being now ready to leave the world; and feeing his mother at the foot of the crofs, and his beloved difciple St, John near her, he bequeathed her to him by his laft will' and teflament, Paying to his mother, Woman, behold thyfon; and to the difciple, Behold thy mother. And from that hour the difciple took her home to his own houfe, and provided for her. Some authors of the fifth century think the virgin Mary died and was buried at Jerufalem, or rather in her fepulchre at Gethfemane, near that city, where, to this day, it is (hewn in a magnificent church dedicated to her. The ancient fathers of the Eaflern, and Weflern churches, affected her perpetual virginity, and St. Augufline tells us, that this is one of thofe points which we ought to receive as of apoflolic traditition, fines the holy Scripture gives us no more ac- count of it, than by only remarking how fully the bleffed virgin was refolved to ferve God with an entire purity, The title which bath been conflantly appropriated to her in all ages, as often as fhé is men- tioned, is .a good argument to confirm our belief concerning this : See Ezek. xliv. 2. MARY
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