JOSEPH, and Mary the mother of Jesus, stayed in Bethlehem for a while. When Jesus was only eight days old he received his name; he was called "Jesus," as the angel had told Mary. It was the custom of the Jews to take their first son to the temple and present him to God, so Joseph and Mary went to Jerusalem to present Jesus to God in the temple.

At the time when Jesus was born, there was an old man, named Simeon, living in Jerusalem. He was a good man and was looking and wishing for Jesus, the promised Messiah, to come. God's Holy Spirit had told him that he should not die until he had seen Jesus. Simeon went up to the temple to worship God every day. One day while he was in the temple Mary and Joseph brought the child to present him to God.

When Simeon saw them he knew that the infant in Mary's arms was his Savior. He at once took Jesus in his arms, and with a heart full of joy he blessed God and said, "Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace."

Try to be like Jesus.

The Bible tells of Jesus,
So gentle and so meek;
I'll try to be like Jesus
In ev'ry word I speak.

For Jesus, too, was loving,
His words were always kind;
I'll try to be like Jesus
In thought and word and mind.

I long to be like Jesus,
Who said "I am the Truth;"
Then I will give my heart to him,
Now, in my early youth.
—Lillian Payson.

THE BABY JESUS.

The Little Lord Jesus.

Away in a manger,
No crib for a bed,
The little Lord Jesus
Laid down his sweet head.
The stars in the sky
Looked down where he lay—
The little Lord Jesus
Asleep on the hay.
The cattle are lowing,
The poor baby wakes,
But little Lord Jesus
No crying he makes.
I love thee, Lord Jesus;
Look down from the sky,
And stay by my cradle
To watch Lullaby.
—Luther's Cradle Hymn

The Child Promised

THERE was once a time when there was no Christmas at all. There were no beautiful Christmas trees and happy songs and stockings filled with presents. No one shouted "Merry Christmas!" or "Christmas Gift!" No one told the sweet story of Jesus, because Jesus had not come into the world and so there was no Christmas. You see Christmas is Jesus' birthday, and before he came, of course people could not keep his birthday. You have heard of how wicked and unhappy the people were long ago. Although God loved them and tried to make them do right, they forgot about him and did so many naughty, disobedient things that they were very miserable. Then God sent a wonderful message to them. He told them that some day he would send them his own Son, who should be their King and teach them how to do right. He said that his Son would come as a little child to grow up among them to love and help them. God even told them what they should call this baby who was to be their King. God said that Christ would be like a beautiful light showing them where to go. It would be as though some people stumbling sorrowfully along a dark street should suddenly see a bright light shining ahead of them, making everything cheerful and pleasant. They would be joyful like people who gather in the harvest. Jesus makes his children happy, and he wants them to shine out and make others happy. These people who were so unhappy before Jesus came, were very glad to know that some day he would come. They talked about him and waited a long, long time before he came and brought Christmas light into the world.