[130]Mary, the mother-to-be of Jesus, was approached by the angel of the Lord, who said to her:  “Fear not, Mary; for thou hast found favor with God.  And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son and shalt call his name Jesus.  He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:  and of his kingdom there shall be no end.  Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?  And the angel answered and said unto her:  The holy spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee; therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.”—­Luke 1:30-35.

[131]Then Mary, seemingly directed by the power of Jehovah, said:  “My soul doth magnify the Lord and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior.  For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden; for behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.  For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name.  And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.  He hath showed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.  He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree.” (Luke 1:46-52) Her words draw the contrast between the once favored family of Solomon and the humbler family of Nathan, Solomon’s family being abased and Nathan’s now exalted.  Thus the proof is brought forth that the Lord did raise up unto David a righteous branch.

IN EXPECTATION

[132]The promise made to Abraham, which was subsequently repeated to others, thoroughly impressed the minds of the devout Israelites with the thought that at some future time there would be born of a woman of the Jewish people a holy child, and that in some way to them not understood this child would be the means of blessing all the families and nations of the earth.  They expected the Jewish nation to become the greatest nation of earth, and looked for all other nations to flow unto it, be subservient to it and receive their blessings through it.  These conclusions they based upon the words of the prophets, even though they did not fully understand the meaning of those prophecies.  To them the prophet Isaiah had said:  “And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.  And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us his ways, and we will walk in his paths:  for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” (Isaiah 2:2,3) And again:  “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given:  and the