world."* The main object of runner is set forth by St. Luke.

our Lord's fore"As the people

were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ or not, John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose; he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire; whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into his garner, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.""+

I hope I shall not have occasion to take further notice of those divines whose opinions on the subject of the application of ancient prophecies differ from the sentiments of the generality of Christians, there being prophecies acknowledged by all professing Christians to belong to the Messiah sufficient to establish the fact that Jesus of Nazareth was the Christ.

Whoever shall read the Old Testament attentively will perceive that almost every one of the prophets foretells the advent of the Messiah in various passages; speaks of the fortune of his own countrymen, throughout distant ages,

* John i. 8, 9,

+ Luke iii. 15, 16, 17.

for good or evil; and announces the purpose of God to call the Gentiles into his Church-that strayed portion of his flock which, in future times, through the mediation of his Son, he had determined to restore to his safe fold. It is no wonder, therefore, if that great personage who came in the character of the Messiah, foretold by the Prophets, should take up their strain, and himself prophesy of future events. In the present chapter I shall briefly show that the Prophets generally prophesied of Christ, and that Jesus was the Christ.

In the ministry of Jesus, as well as in his birth, a great number of circumstances occurred which assumed the character of being miraculous. One of the most prominent of these was the testimony borne to him by a voice from heaven, immediately after his baptism. A heathen poet has observed, that the presence of a God ought not to be admitted unless the occasion be altogether worthy of it. On the supposition that the Christian religion is true, no event could call for the interposition of heaven more than this. A learned writer, alluding to miracles, says, "the boldest infidel will not deny that the immortality of the soul, a future

and eternal state,' (connected) with our present good or bad conduct, not to mention the doctrines concerning the divine unity and perfection, are tenets which carry no absurdity in them. And let the unbeliever say whether he can conceive an object worthier of the divine interposal, than to reveal those truths to mankind, and to enforce them in such a manner as may give them a suitable interest in the heart and life.'*

St. Matthew informs us that "Jesus came from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him; and that Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water, and lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a døve, and lighting upon him. And lo, a voice from heaven, saying, This is whom I am well pleased."+ On the above supposition, that the Gospel is true, and that Jesus was the Son of God, nothing can be conceived more appropriate, at the commencement of his ministry, than this divine evidence borne to his mission.

my beloved Son, in

* Campbell's Essay on Miracles.

+ Matt. iii. 14, 16, 17.

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When, in the course of his ministry, and as it drew towards a close, "Jesus took three of his disciples, Peter, James, and John, up into a high mountain, and was transfigured before them," a similar testimony was borne to him; a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him."* As the voice at his baptism was evidently intended to show to the assembled multitude the dignity of the person baptized, for the purpose of promoting the success of his ministry, so, on this occasion, was such a witness calculated deeply to impress the minds of the three disciples, and to enable them to support the trials which they were destined to undergo in seeing their master torn from them by a cruel and ignominious death. These, if the witnesses who heard the voice at his baptism, and at his transfiguration on the Mount, be credible witnesses, are undoubted testimonies to the sublime character of Jesus.

The evidence borne to the mission of Jesus by the ancient Prophets is of a different nature. Here are prophecies of a certain person who,

*Matt. xvii. 5.

at a future time, was to come into the world, which were uttered many centuries before the birth of Jesus, and which were generally esteemed by the Jews as foretelling the advent of their promised Messiah. The only question, then, is, whether these prophecies were accomplished in Jesus of Nazareth, who confessedly assumed the character of the Messiah promised to the Jews, and who, according to the confession of heathen historians, suffered a violent death under Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor? The prophecy of the Prophet Haggai, and that of Malachi (to the latter of which I have before alluded) are both of this stamp, having been always expounded by the ancient Jews as foretelling the coming of the desire and hope of Israel. Haggai says, "Thus saith the Lord of Hosts, Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land. And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come, and I will fill his house with glory, saith the Lord of Hosts. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the Lord of Hosts. The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the Lord of Hosts; and in this