nah, or visible manifestation of the presence of Jehovah; all of which were wanting in the second.

The prophecy, therefore, that this house should be more glorious than the former, has not been and never can be verified, unless the presence of the Messiah, was the circumstance to which it referred as that which should give truth to the declaration. The presence in the second house of the incarnate Son of God, would completely and most signally verify the prediction; because, as he was the great object to which every symbol, and indeed the whole Jewish dispensation pointed, his coming into this temple would make it as much superior to the former, as the substance is superior to the shadow-the thing which is signified to that which is only a faint emblem of it. There was moreover, no other person or thing, so far as we know, that could with any show of propriety be denominated the Desire of all nations; so that it seems impossible not to believe that it was the Messiah, to whom the prophet here referred: And if the Messiah was really the object pointed at, our Lord Jesus Christ must unquestionably be he. For although there were others who laid claim to this character during the existence of the second temple, yet they have long since been considered as impostors, both by Jews and Gentiles; and from the nature of the case can never hereafter be considered in any other light. Christ Jesus, therefore, is the only individual who can ever be supposed, with any degree of probability, to have possessed the character of the Messiah, the anointed of the eternal Father, and Immanuel, God with us, during the period of which I speak; and he, consequently, must be the illustrious personage whose presence in this temple was to do it an honour, with which nothing that belonged to Solomon's could pretend to vie. In this temple he, accordingly, did make his appearance-In this temple he was presented to the Lord, while an infant, according to an established ordinance; and was, on that occasion, solemnly recognised as the Messiah, by holy Simeon and Anna, acting under the influence of divine inspiration. He honoured the temple by his presence again, when he visited it with his parents, at the age of twelve years: And he purified it from the abuses that were practised in it, when, after his triumphal entry into Jerusalem, he scourged from it those who pursued an unlawful merchandise there. Nay, we are told that he daily preached in the temple; and that after his crucifixion and resurrection, the apostles began to publish the gospel here. This it was that eminently constituted the glory of the second temple. It was from this, as from its central point, that the rays of the glorious gospel began to dawn on the benighted world. Here first broke forth that fountain of living water, whose salutary streams shall never cease to flow, of which whosoever drinketh shall never thirst, in which whosoever washeth shall be cleansed and healed from every spiritual pollution and malady, and from the efficacy of which all who drink of it imbibe the principles of eternal life. This was an honour infinitely transcending all the pomp and splendour of the world-And thus was the prophecy most illustriously and strikingly fulfilled in Jesus our Saviour; and thus evident is it that he is the glorious person spoken of, as "the Desire of all nations." Let us now consider, more particularly, II. In what respect he might, with propriety, be thus denominated or described. Here I begin with remarking, that if we take the word all, as we often must, in a qualified rather than an absolute sense;—as implying many nations, and these contiguous or known to the Jews, rather than every tribe, or community of men who inhabit the earth, Christ might with literal propriety be called "the Desire of all nations."

From the fall of man to the time of his appearance in the world, he had been the object of esteem and love, of hope and trust, to all the faithful, not only among the Jews, but among other nations who had heard of his name; and they looked forward to his advent with great desire and expectation, as a period at which much light and spiritual advantage and consolation should be conferred on the world. Some knowledge of his name and character was, no doubt, handed down by tradition from Adam to Noah. They had at least heard of the promise, that the seed of the woman should bruise the serpent's head. Of this knowledge the descendants of Noah would, we may be sure, scatter some remnants in the various parts of the earth which were populated by them. The more distinct predictions of the Messiah which were given to Abraham, would be made known by him among the nations of the East where he dwelt; would be carried by his posterity into Egypt, which was then the school of science to the world, and augmented by the memorable prophecy of dying Jacob, in regard to the posterity of Judah, would be widely diffused. The nations bordering on the land of Canaan, after it was possessed by the Israelites, and many of whom became proselytes to the Jewish religion, would acquire and disseminate the information on this subject which the Hebrews possessed during the whole period of their judges and their kings. The same information would be carried by the Jews to Babylon, when they were led captive there, and be communicated freely in the capital, and throughout a considerable part of the Assyrian empire. In particular, the clear revelations of the Messiah which were made to the prophet Daniel, would be likely, from the influence and high station which he possessed, to be heard with reverence and regard, and to be extensively circulated—In addition to all, there seems to be some reason to believe that the heathen oracles themselves, were made instrumental in publishing that a Saviour should one day come into the world. We, at least, know, that the soothsayer Balaam, was made to utter an unwilling but very remarkable prophecy, of the coming and character of Christ. From the causes now cursorily noticed, it is certain that there was some knowledge of the Messiah among almost all the Eastern nations, even from the remotest periods of time, and that this knowledge gradually increased and became more precise, till at length the very time of his appearance was generally understood, and as it approached, excited much attention and expectation.

The sacred records give us, at a very early period, a short but very interesting account of Melchisedeck, who, as he was an eminent type of our Redeemer, we may reasonably conclude possessed some information of his character. Abimelech, the king of Gerar, flourished nearly at the same time, and as he appears to have been truly pious, was certainly not altogether ignorant of the Messiah. Job, who probably lived not long after this, and who appears to have been an Eastern prince, had such clear views of Christ, and such a lively faith in him, that he could say, "I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth." The case of impious Balaam has already been stated: And we know from the records of the evangelists, that when our Lord actually assumed our nature, and was born in the land of Judea, such was the expectation and desire of his appearance, not only there, but among the surrounding nations also, that wise men from the East were deputed, and actually came, guided miraculously by a singular star or meteor, and paid their homage and made their of ferings to the infant Saviour. With strict propriety, then, might he be

called the Desire of all nations, when his advent was so long and so anxiously desired, contemplated and looked for, by them.

2. Christ might with propriety, be called the Desire of all nations, by a very common figure in which the abstract is put for the concretethat is, the circumstances and necessities of those nations were such, that his coming and the consequences of it were very desirable, a thing which might well be earnestly wished for by them.

Although there was, as you have heard, some general knowledge, among the nations contiguous to the holy land, that a Saviour should arise, yet this knowledge was imperfect in itself, it was not possessed by the great mass of the people, and it had little or no practical influence on their moral and religious character. This character, indeed, was truly melancholy and shocking. "Darkness covered the earth, and gross darkness the people." The multitude, at least, possessed no knowledge of the true God. Their worship was in exact opposition to the command of Jehovah to his chosen nation, relative to idolatry, and no doubt was the ground of the prohibitory precept-The likeness of every thing in heaven above, and in the earth beneath, and in the waters under the earth, was the object of their adoration. Nay, vices and passions of the most abominable nature, were treated by them with religious reverence, and imputed to their imaginary deities-In a word, their whole religion was a degrading compound of ignorance, error, impurity, cruelty, and impiety.

Even among their philosophers, where notions of the great First Cause of all things, in some measure just, were possessed, at least by a few, difficulties of an insurmountable kind still existed. Although some of them hoped for a future state, none of them were sure or satisfied about it; for after all the reasonings on this subject, certainty can only be obtained by an express revelation from God. They were, moreover, in much doubt and uncertainty whether the Deity could consistently, or would in reality, forgive the sins of men.-The circumstances which excited their hopes and their fears on this topic, seemed to be equally balanced; and one of the wisest and best of them declared, that no one could decide with certainty, unless God should please to reveal it. Among the Jews themselves, although a much better state of things existed, yet their knowledge of a future state, and of the way of pardon, was imperfect and obscure; and the ceremonial part of their religion had, in practice, almost absorbed its spiritual and moral design. The church of God, moreover, was, at this time, confined to the Jewish nation. The whole Gentile world, with the exception of a few proselytes, was excluded. The breaking down of the middle wall of partition between the Gentile and the Jew, was not to take place till the advent of the Messiah. How inexpressibly desirable, in this state of things, was the coming of Christ? How desirable that the church of God should be opened for the entrance of the whole world? How desirable was it that the clear knowledge of the unity, spirituality, and holiness of his nature, and of his other glorious attributes, should chase away that awful ignorance, which had debased and sunk the greater part of mankind, in point of knowledge, almost to a level with the beasts that perish. How desirable that a just system of instruction, in regard to the divine character, should raise the human mind from its prostrate subjection to superstition, immorality and vice, and teach it wherein true piety consists? How desirable that life and immortality should be brought to light by the gospel, and mankind, be assured, by their Creator himself, that he had formed them for an endless existence, and that they should live eternal

ly beyond the grave? How desirable that he should inform them that he had provided a way in which he could consistently, and in which he was ready actually, to forgive the sins of every penitent offender? How desirable that this way should be explained, both to Jews and Gentiles, -that the great atonement and finished righteousness of the Redeemer should be presented to their view, as the unfailing foundation of their hopes; that thus they might see how it is that God is just, while he justifieth the believing sinner? How desirable to know that the Holy Spirit should also be given, to renew and sanctify the human mind, to quicken and comfort it, and to prepare it for glory? A general diffusion of the knowledge of these things depended on the coming of Christ. By his coming these truths were actually published, first in Judea, and then, in a very short space, to all the neighbouring nations; and finally they will be published to all the nations of the world. In this view of the subject, where shall we find language that shall express, with sufficient energy that Christ was, at the time the prophecy was uttered, the Desire of all nations.

3. Christ Jesus may be called the Desire of all nations, as he hath been, in all ages, the object of the highest esteem and affection to the people of God, and will eventually be so to all the kindred of the earth.

That our Redeemer is "all the salvation and all the desire" of those who are saved by him, is a truth to which each of his sincere disciples will most cheerfully subscribe. It is the language of his church, as dictated by the spirit of inspiration in an early age, that he is the chief among ten thousand-yea he his altogether lovely. From the first promise that was made of his coming after the fall, till his Archangel shall call the whole human family to judgment, he was, and is, and shall be, the "corner stone" on which the hopes of his people rest,— the source of their purest and sublimest joy. They look to him as the great Captain of their salvation: They view him as their Almighty friend: They see that if it had not been for his work they had been undone forever: They see in his obedience and death, the only ground of their pardon and justification: They see in his infinite fulness, the fountain from which all their spiritual wants are supplied: They see, in his faithful promises, the food, and support, and consolation of their souls: They perceive, in his intercession, the only medium of an acceptable approach to God: And from the infinite efficacy of all, they expect the heavenly inheritance to be conferred upon them. He is therefore dearer to them than all earthly friends and possessions. Rather than renounce his friendship, they are ready to forsake father and mother, wife and children, yea and life itself. "His favour is life, and his loving kindness is, in their esteem, better than life." In one word, he is their "all in all." As soon as they begin to see their need of him they desire, and seek, and esteem his favour beyond all that the world calls good and great-Thrones and empires, if they possessed them, they would cheerfully give for a saving interest in Christ; and when they obtain it, the dominion of the universe would not tempt them to give it up. In this high and emphatic sense is Christ the desire of all his real disciples, among all the nations that ever did, or that ever shall, people the earth.

J

And swiftly is the period advancing, when all the nations of the world shall, in this manner, be his people,-be "the nations of our Lord and of his Christ." He shall reign on earth a thousand years, and during this period, he shall be the Desire of all nations, in all the extent and strictness of the statement you have just heard; for he shall be "king of

nations as he is king of saints." To him " every knee shall bow and every tongue confess;" and this guilty world, so long the theatre of crime and carnage, and of aversion to the Saviour, shall lay its homage at his feet; and its inhabitants shall turn their eyes on him as the highest desire and delight of their souls, become the subjects of his peaceful kingdom, and most cheerfully consecrate themselves to his glory and praise.

Thus, then, it appears that Christ may with propriety, be denominated "the Desire of all nations"-1. Because, in a qualified sense, all nations desired his coming: 2. Because the spiritual necessities of all nations rendered his coming, in the highest degree, an object of desire: 3. Because he hath ever been the desire and delight of his faithful people, in every nation and age, and will eventually be so, in the strictest sense, to all the nations of the earth. It remains,

III. Briefly to improve the subject.,

First, then, from what has been said we see in a striking light, the blindness and obstinacy of the Jewish nation, in rejecting the Saviour; and we should be led to pity their unbelief, and to pray and labour for their conversion to the faith of the gospel. In the preceding discussion it has been shown, that a plain and express prediction of one of their acknowledged prophets, and of one who lived nearest to the time of the Messiah, is incapable of explanation, and must absolutely be given up as false, unless it be confessed that Jesus was the Christ. For the temple of which the prophet spake, and in which he declared the Messiah should make his appearance, has long since been destroyed; and consequently, if he hath not actually appeared-if he did not appear in that temple-this prediction never can be fufilled. The same thing, indeed, is true of several other prophecies. Yet such is the effect of obstinate prejudice-or such, rather, is the consequence of that awful imprecation "his blood be on us and on our children," that no arguments or circumstances have hitherto prevailed to convince them as a people, that Christ Jesus was the Messiah promised to their fathers. They look, and wait, and wish, and pray, for a Messiah yet to come. Unhappy people!-he will never come, till he come the second time, to judgment. Blessed be God! he has come already. On this morningif this be his natal day-On this morning, near eighteen hundred years ago, Messiah became incarnate. The angelic host, in "choral symphonies," filled earth and heaven with hallelujahs at his birth. This Saviour-seed of Abraham-is your only hope; for it was inspired and eternal truth which his dauntless apostle proclaimed to your persecuting priests and rulers-"This is the stone which was set at nought of your builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is their salvation in any other; for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved." Brethren, let us pity and pray for the descendants of the ancient Israel of God, and use every means in our power to bring them to the knowledge of the truth that they may be saved. We have reason to believe that we press hard on the time, when they shall again be grafted into the church, from which they have so long been broken off by unbelief. Let us carnestly, and frequently, and perseveringly beseech. of God, that he would hasten the accomplishment of this glorious event; and that with it, he would also bring in the fulness of the Gentile nations, that there may be one sheepfold and one Shepherd, that all Israel may * This discourse was delivered Dec. 25th, 1797.

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