The spirit of prophecy was upon this man of God, and while Joseph and Mary stood by, wondering at his words, he blessed them, and said unto Mary, "Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against; (yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed."

Simeon sees the wonder that shines out of their astonished looks; and the spirit of prophecy imparted—that spirit which had been mute in Israel since the days of Malachi, but which now once more lifts up its voice within the temple—he goes on, after a gentle blessing bestowed upon both parents, to address himself particularly to Mary, furnishing his words to her fresh material for wonder, while opening a new future to her eye.¹⁹ "Behold," he said to her, "this child of thine is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel." He may have meant, in saying so, that the purpose and effect of the Lord's showing unto Israel would be the casting down of many in order to the raising of them up again; the casting down of many in their earlier, worldlier thoughts and expectations, in order to the lifting to higher, worthier, more spiritual conceptions of his character and office. Or, perhaps it was to different and not to the same persons that he referred, the truth revealed being this: that while some were to rise, others were to fall; that the stone which some was to be a foundation-stone elect and precious, was to others to be a stone of stumbling and rock of offence; that Jesus was to come for judgment into the world, that those who saw not might see, that those who saw might be made blind; his name to be the savor of life unto life to the one, the savor of death unto death to the other.

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From all Mary had yet heard, she might have imagined that her child would be welcomed by all Israel—so soon as the day for his revelation came—as its long-looked for deliverer; and that a career in whose honors and bliss she could scarcely help at times imagining that she should have a share. But now, for the first time, the indication is clearly given that all Israel was not to hail her child and welcome him as its Messiah; that hostility was to spring up even within the ranks of the chosen people; that he was to be a "sign which should be spoken against;" or rather—for such is the more literal rendering of the words—a butt or mark at which many shafts or javelins should be launched. Nor was Mary herself to escape. Among the many swords or darts levelled at his breast, one was to reach hers: "Yea, a sword shall pierce through thine own soul also." [This paragraph continues for another 12 full lines. See comparison for paragraph 18.]

And Joseph and his mother marvelled . . . . And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against; (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed. (Luke 2:33-35)