Page images
PDF
EPUB

CHAP. IX.

V. 13.-JESUS saith, But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

MICAH, Ch. vi. V. 7.—Will JEHOVAH be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my first-born for my transgression-the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? 8. He hath showed thee, O man, what is good, and what doth JEHOVAH require of thee but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

If the two quotations above are read, without any pre-conceived notions having been formed, would it not be evident that both Micah and Matthew refer to the same Divine Person?

CHAP. X.

JESUS saith to his disciples, 16. Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves. 19. But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak, for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak.

EXOD. Ch. iv.-JEHOVAH saith to Moses, 12. Go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.

CHRIST, in the Gospel, says to his disciples the same thing that JEHOVAH did to Moses upon nearly a similar occasion. Is not this uniformity occasioned by the identity of the Divine Person who addresses the different individuals?

CHAP. XI.

V. 5.-The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up, and the poor have the Gospel preached to them.

ISA. Ch. xxix. V. 13.-ADONI saith, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour

me, but have removed their heart far from me: 14. Therefore, behold I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people. 18. And in that day the deaf shall hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity and out of darkness. 19. The meek also shall increase their joy in JEHOVAH, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.

In these two quotations it appears to me that JESUS CHRIST and ADONI are one and the same Divine Being, and that St. Matthew has done all he could to confirm the fact.

V. 10. This is he of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare the way before thee.

MAL. Ch. iii. V. 1.—JEHOVAH, GOD of Israel, saith, Behold I will send my Messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me.

Here is a personal distinction between Him who sends his messenger and CHRIST, before whom the messenger is sent. But nevertheless the Evangelist and the Prophet are both equally correct and true; for though CHRIST be a different person, yet he is one and the same GOD with the Father. And hence it is that, with the Evangelist, the persons are not confounded, with the Prophet the GODHEAD is not divided. Rev. W. Jones of Nayland.

V. 13.—JESUS, speaking of St. John saith, All the prophets and the law prophesied until John, 14. And if ye will receive it, this is Elias which was for to come.

MAL. Ch. iv. V. 5.—Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of JEHOVAH.

Here we have the authority of CHRIST himself for saying who St. John metaphorically is; and the consequence that naturally follows is, that the great and terrible day of JEHOVAH was at hand.

[ocr errors]

V. 28. JESUS saith, Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29. Take my yoke upon you, learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

ZECHARIAH, Ch. ix. V. 9.—JEHOVAH saith, Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion, shout, O daughter of Jerusalem. Behold, thy King cometh unto thee. He is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass. 16. And JEHOVAH their GOD shall save them in that day as the flock of his people. 17. For how great is his goodness, how great is his beauty!

The Gospel history (chap. xxi. of St. Matthew) thoroughly identifies CHRIST with the King above described.

CHAP. XII.

V. 6.—JESUS saith, I say unto you, that in this place is One greater than the temple.

CHRON. Ch. vi. V. 18.—But will ELOHIM in very deed dwell with men upon earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee: how much less this house which I have built!

It is clear, I think, that Solomon had in view CHRIST'S future abode on earth; for the question is not whether GOD's omnipresence shall pervade the universe, but whether ELOHIM will dwell upon earth with man.

V. 17.-JESUS quotes the following prophecy of Esaias as regarding himself: 18. Behold my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall show judgment to the Gentiles. 19. He shall not strive nor cry, neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets.

ISA. Ch. xlii. V. 1.—Behold my servant, whom I uphold, mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth. I have put my spirit upon him, he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.

In the above it is said, CHRIST will show judgment to the Gentiles. And in other places it has been said that ADONI is Judge of the whole world. To learn

the dignity and divinity, therefore, of our blessed SAVIOUR, I refer you to page 39, where you will learn that ADONI is the Great GOD, &c.

V. 39.-When the scribes and pharisees asked a sign of Jesus, he replied, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign, and there shall no sign be given to it but the sign of the prophet Jonas. For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

JONAH, Ch. i. V. 17.-Now JEHOVAH had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah; and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

CHAP. XV.

V. 30. And great numbers came to him (JESUs), the lame, the dumb, and the blind, and he healed them. When they saw the dumb speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and the blind to see, 31. They glorified the God of Israel.

ISA. Ch. XXXV. V. 4.-Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not, behold your God will come with vengeance, even ELOHIM with a recompense, he will come and save you. 5. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. 6. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing; for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.

The plain inference to be drawn from this quotation from Isaiah is, that when GOD, even ELOHIM, shall be come, the above miracles were to be performed by him. When John, (Matt. chap. xi. v. 2.) therefore, sent his disciples to JESUS CHRIST to inquire whether he were HE that should come, our Saviour replies, Go and show John that the blind receive their sight, &c.; and blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in me. Does not this confirm the divinity of CHRIST? for he performed those very deeds which were peculiarly assigned to ELOHIM.

CHAP. XVI.

V. 27. For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father, with his angels, and then he shall reward every man according to his works.

Ps. lxii. V. 12.-Unto thee, O ADONI, belongeth mercy, for thou renderest to every man according to his work.

The phrases Son of GOD and Son of man are indiscriminately applied to our blessed Saviour. In the above he calls himself the Son of man, and appropriates to himself the office of the ADONI of the Psalm, whom Daniel addresses as ELOHIM, and Zechariah (chap. vi.) represents as the Judge of all the earth. At the trial of JESUS CHRIST, the appropriating to himself the term Son of GOD is said to be blasphemy by the Jews, because, they say, that, by assuming that title, he made himself equal with GOD.

V. 26. For what is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

Ps. xlix. V. 7.-None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to ELOHIM a ransom for him; for the redemption of their soul is precious, and it ceaseth for ever.

Or, as better conveys the meaning of the original—

Man cannot possibly redeem his own species, nor make an atonement for them to ELOHIM. The redemption of the soul is set at a great price, but he (man) himself is merely transitory.

These texts show the absolute inadequacy of any mere human atonement; for when the best mortal man that ever existed shall have done his utmost to fulfil all the commands of GOD, he will feel conscious he has nevertheless fallen very short indeed of perfect obedience. The atoning and typical sacrifice required of the Jews was a Lamb without blemish; and the writers of the New Testament repeatedly assert that JESUS CHRIST was the Lamb of GOD that taketh away the sins of the world.

« PreviousContinue »