heart of a Jew, however loath to abandon the long-cherished hope of his race, how can these prophecies be true, if the Messiah be not come ; or where, from the first words of Moses to the last of Malachi, can there be found such marks of the time when Shiloh was to come, or Messiah the prince to be cut off, as pertained to the period when their forefathers crucified Jesus-a period which closed over the glory of Judah, and which, in the continued unbelief of the Jews, has not heretofore left, for nearly eighteen centuries, a bright page in their history beyond it.

Though the countrymen of Christ when he came would not receive him, yet it was of the Jews that Jesus was to come; and the human lineage of the Messiah is as clearly marked in the prophecies as the time of his appearance. The divinity of the person of the Messiah, and his taking upon himself the likeness of sinful flesh, is declared in the Old Testament as well as in the New. He whose name was to be called the Wonderful, the Counsellor, the Mighty God, was to become a child that was to be born, a son that was to be given. (Isa. ix. 6.) It was the Seed of the woman that was to bruise the serpent's head. (Gen. iii. 15.) The line of his descent, according to the flesh, and the place of his birth, were expressly foretold. It was in the seed of Abraham that all the nations of the earth were to be blessed. (Gen. xxii. 18.) It was from the midst of the Israelites, of their brethren, that a prophet like unto Moses was to arise. (Deut. xviii. 15.) And He was to be not only of the tribe of Judah

(Gen. xlix. 8, &c.,) but also of the house or family of David. From the root of Jesse a branch was to grow up, on which the Spirit of the Lord was to rest, and to which the Gentiles would seek. (Isa. xi. 1—10.) It was unto David that a righteous branch was to arise, a king, whose name was to be called The Lord our Righteousness. (Jerem. xxiii. 5, 6.) And it was in Bethlehem Ephratah, in the land of Judah, little as it was among the thousands of Israel, that He was to come, whose goings forth had been of old from everlasting. (Micah. v. 2.) And Jesus is He alone of the seed of the woman, of the descendants of Abraham, of the tribe of Judah, of the house of David, in whom all the families of the earth can be blessed; to whom the Gentiles seek, and who, ere the family genealogies of the Jews were lost, was shown by them to be born of the lineage of David, and in the town of Bethlehem.

The history of the life of Christ, by the four Evangelists, is simply a record of what he said and did, and his character is illustrated by his words and actions alone. Christians have often tried to delineate it; and if, in the attempt, their thoughts have harmonized with the divine records, their hearts may well have then felt, as it were, the impression of that divine image, after which man was at first created. Even some who never sought to be the champions of the christian faith, have been struck with irresistible admiration of the life of its Author. Rousseau acknowledges that it would have been nothing less than a miracle, that such a character, if not real, could

ever have been thought of by fishermen of Galilee. And Lord Byron not only called Christ diviner han Socrates, but he has no less truly than nobly said, that if ever God was man, or man God, he was both.' But the divine character is such that none but a divine hand could draw ; and seeking in the prophecies what the Messiah was to be, we read what Jesus was, while he dwelt among men.

Thou art fairer than the children of men ; grace is poured into thy lips, therefore God hath blessed thee for ever. The sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre-thou lovest righteousness and hatest iniquity.* The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of knowledge, and of the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears. But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth. And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.† He shall feed his flock like a shepherd, he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom. He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the streets. A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench.§ Thy king cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation, lowly and riding upon an ass. hath done no violence, neither was there any deceit in his lips. He was oppressed and afflicted,

* Ps xlv. 2, 6,

Isa. xl. 11.

1

Zech. ix. 9.

7.

Isa. xi. 2-5. § Isa. xlii. 2, 3 Isa liii. 9

He

yet he opened not his mouth; he was brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth.* I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheek to them that plucked off the hair; I hid not my face from shame and spitting.† He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth. I have set my face as a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed.§ He shall deliver the needy when he crieth, the poor also, and him that hath no helper. He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence, and precious shall their blood be in his sight. Men shall be blessed in Him—all nations shall call Him blessed.||

The death of Christ was as unparalleled as his life, and the prophecies are as minutely descriptive of his sufferings as of his virtues. His growing up as a tender plant; his riding in humble triumph into Jerusalem; his being betrayed for thirty pieces of silver,** and scourged and buffeted, and spit upon; the piercing of his hands and of his feet, and yet every bone of him remaining unbroken; the last offered draught of vinegar and gall; the parting of his raiment, and casting lots upon his vesture;†† the manner of his death and of his burial,‡‡ and his rising again without seeing corruption,§§ were all as minutely predicted as literally fulfilled. The last three verses of the fifty-second and the whole of the

* Isa. liii. 7.

I Isa. xlii. 4.

Ps lxxii. 12, 14, 17.
**Zech. xi. 12.
‡‡ Isa. liii. 9.

C

+ Isa. 1. 6.
Isa. 1. 7.

Isa. liii. 2.
tt Ps. xxii. lxix.
§§ Ps. xvi. 10.

fifty-third chapter of Isaiah,-written above seven hundred years before the christian era, and forming, word for word, a part of the Jewish as well as of the christian scriptures,-prophetically describe, like a very history of the facts, the sufferings and the death of Christ; his rejection by the Jews; his humility, his meekness, his affliction, and his agony; how his words were disbelieved; how his state was lowly; how his sorrow was severe; how his visage and his form were marred more than the sons of men; and how he opened not his mouth but to make intercession for the transgressors. In direct opposition to every dispensation of providence, which is registered in the records of the Jews, this prophecy represents spotless innocence suffering by the appointment of Heaven-death as the issue of perfect obedience-God's righteous servant as forsaken by him-and one who was perfectly immaculate bearing the chastisement of many guilty-sprinkling many nations from their iniquity, by virtue of his sacrifice-justifying many by his knowledge-and dividing a portion with the great, and the spoil with the strong, because he had poured out his soul unto death.

The prophecies concerning the humiliation, the sufferings, and the cutting off of the Messiah, need only to be read from the Jewish scriptures to show that the very unbelief of the Jews is an evidence against them, and the very scandal of the cross a strong testimony to Jesus. For thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, according to the scriptures. And those things