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individuals foretold by the Jewish prophets: but there is one person, of whom "all the prophets witness," that is Jesus Christ, and of him they speak in raptures, attributing to him the most noble of all qualities, the most difficulties and the greatest success and honour. Time would fail me, should I tell of all the prophecies concerning Christ uttered by these inspired men. In general, we may observe, that the path of these exact men was as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day." Christ was in the prophecies like one sun in the world; and every age, like every hour, brought new light, till he made his personal appearance; and then he as far outshone all description, as the sun outgoes in a morning, when it rises to sight, all the images that twilight teaches us to form of it. From Adam to Noah mankind were taught, that "the seed of the woman should bruise the serpent's head." From Noah to Abraham they understood, that God would dwell in the person of his Son "in the tents of Shem." From Abraham to Jacob they believed that in a son of this patriarch" all the families of the earth should be blessed." Many years after, when Jacob was dying, the spirit of prophecy informed them that the people should be gathered unto a descendant of Judah, and that he should make his appearance in the world before that tribe should cease to be a distinct tribe of itself. When Moses was about to quit the world, he informed the Jews that the promised Christ would be a "prophet like unto himself," perhaps like him in person, but certainly like him endowed with singular powers to discharge the high trust of delivering mankind from slavery, and teaching them a perfect religion. In process of time more particulars were added concerning the person, the work, the place, the time, the treatment, the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ; and so well was this understood, that the chief priests and scribes, even they at Herod's court, the most ignorant and wicked of all, could tell that tyrant the village where Christ should be born. When there is but one person of a kind, and he of the utmost importance to the world, it is absolutely necessary to be punctual in

describing him, that if God intends a blessing to mankind they may know where to find it. Such punctuality the prophets use concerning Christ, and I would desire no plainer direction to find the best beloved friend in the world. "What think ye of Christ? Whose son is he?" The proper answer is, The Son of God, the son of Adam, the son of Noah, the son of Abraham, the son of Jacob, the son of Judah, the son of David, the son of a virgin, born at Bethlehem in the days of Herod the king, and named Emanuel, that is, God with us. Thus " we have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets did write, Jesus of Nazareth."

Jesus of Nazareth perfectly understood all the Scripture, how it was written, and how it "behoved Christ to suffer, and to enter into his glory." When he read the Scriptures in the synagogues, as his custom was, and found the place in Isaiah "where it was written, The spirit of the Lord hath anointed me to preach the Gospel," he said, "This day is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears." When he conversed with his disciples, he said, "Think not that I am come to destroy the prophets; I am not come to destroy but to fulfil. Verily, I say unto you, many prophets have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them, and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them." After his resurrection, he gave two of his disciples the very idea we are now trying to give you; for "beginning at Moses, and all the prophets," he omitted the fate of kings and kingdoms, and "expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself." What think ye of Christ as an expositor of Scripture His two hearers " said one to another, Did not our hearts burn within us," did we not feel the fire that animated the prophets, did we not enter into both their sentiments and emotions, "while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the Scriptures ?""

Himself was the greatest of all prophets. He not only foretold the actions and sufferings of his apostles, but the fate of all Christians to the end of time. He not

only foretold the destruction of his country, but that of the whole world, laying open the rising of the dead, the last judgment, the joy of heaven, and the horror of hell. He was not only a prophet himself, but he communicated a spirit of prophecy to his Apostles, and taught them to speak "all mysteries, and all knowledge, with the tongues of men and of angels," and, what was more, he communicated to them a charity that will nev er fail, though prophecies, and tongues, and knowledge, shall all fail and vanish away. "He set in the church apostles, prophets, teachers, miracles, gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues," and all to show unto us, blind gentiles, the more excellent way of love to God and all mankind. And now, my brethren, what ought we, forlorn gentiles, to think of Jesus Christ? Shall we, too, "crucify the Lord of glory?" shall we, by imitating the wicked Jews in their vices, call him, "the master of the house, Beelzebub ?" Merciful God! To what a degree of wickedness must a man go, before he can bring himself to utter such a cruel outrage!

The history of the Jews is a history of guilt, and the Saviour, who undertakes to redeem them, must exemplify a new history, the history of one, who could so remove guilt as to render the guilty proper objects of mercy. The Redeemer did this. He wept, he prayed, he died to effect this, and his history is at once the scandal and glory of his country. The history of the Jews sets before us many eminent characters, and no nation but they can show such men as Abraham, Moses, Daniel, and John the Baptist; but take away the life of Christ from the history of the Jews, and you strip it of its chief ornament. Jesus of Nazareth was the most considerable person of that nation, and he is emphatically styled, not only "the desire of all nations," that is, such a person as all nations looked for among themselves in vain, but "the glory of the people of Israel:" the glory of that people, who of all the world had produced the most exalted characters. In this view the Jews are objects of envy, and when all the world was sunk into idolatry, "God was known in Judah, and his name was great in Israel :" but never was God so well known in

Judah as in the days of Jesus Christ. To consider the Jews, as they appear in the history of this ornament of their country, they become objects of pity, and seem the most execrable of all nations in the world; and the crucifixion of Christ hath made a blot in their history, which time can never wipe out. Jesus knew all this; he knew Herod was a crafty fox, the scribes and pharisees, and principal churchmen, ignorant hypocrites, dangerous to society as whited sepulchres to unwary travellers; he knew the common people had given up their understandings, and consciences, and feelings to their blind guides; he knew they all despised his ministry, slandered his character, derided his warnings, attributed his miracles to the devil, and thirsted for his blood; he knew, for he felt, they set him at nought, insulted his sufferings, made game of his person, and numbered him with transgressors; nailed him to a cross, and not satisfied with all the cruelties they exercised upon him, glutted their rage also on all his family, friends, and followers. Brethren, "What think ye of Christ? Whose son is he?" Is he a descendant of the favourite king David, and is it possible a people should be so ungrateful to a family, that deserved so well of their country? Barbarous Jews! What blame, what enormous guilt does your conduct bring upon yourselves? The history of Christ is the scandal of your records.

Amidst all this treatment, you see nothing in Jesus but a firm perseverance in doing good, a mind uninterrupted in its deliberations, a heart unruffled with passion, a conduct inoffensive to all, a doctrine serene and placid, and a life all filled up with good and useful actions; where ordinary means were not sufficient fully to answer the just wishes of all about him, he was ready to exercise extraordinary powers, to feed the hungry, to heal their sick, and to raise their dead. Sometimes he wept over his country; often, very often he taught in all their cities and villages, and when he was dying, he prayed God to forgive them. After his resurrection, he did some of their nation the honour of appointing them to teach all other nations; perfectly free from all resentment, he directed them to begin to preach repent

ance and remission of sins at Jerusalem; forty days af ter he poured out his spirit upon them, and added unto his followers "three thousand souls" of this untoward generation; a few days after he made the number "five thousand;" and, that nothing might be wanting to display the abundance of his mercy, he made " a great company of the priests," his old inveterate foes, "obedient to the faith." Long after this, he inspired an apostle to say to them, "I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ, for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh; my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved:" he left it upon record for all succeeding Jews, that they also, "if they abode not still in unbelief, should be grafted into the church," and that, after all the punishments that should befall them, and all the crimes they should commit, they should "be saved, when the fulness of the Gentiles came in." "What think ye of Christ ?" Did ever, could ever any other person of his own, or of any other country show such a history of unwearied goodness as he? "Whose son is he?" Of what father is he the " express image ?”

Greatly as this history is to the honour of Jesus Christ, all this is little in comparison with the rest. Jesus sent his apostles "into all the world, to preach the gospel to every creature," and they were empowered as well as commissioned to go into the " uttermost parts of the earth," to bring "all nations under obedience to the faith," yea to "bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ." The history of Christ is connected with that of all nations that have received his Gospel, and it is the history of the best benefactor of every kingdom; for the Gospel is a greater blessing to any country than trade and wealth, and even civil government itself. A pardon for all the sins of Jews and Romans, English, French, and all other nations; a pardon for sins of ignorance, and sins against light and knowledge; a pardon coming to us through the bloody death of this illustrious Jew; benefits in consequence flowing down from father to son, from family to family, magnifying and multiplying for "a thousand genera