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These two facts must help to fix our faith steadfastly on the atoning sacrifice of our blessed LORD and SAVIOUR.

CHAP. XXI.

JESUS saith, 5. Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass.

ZECHARIAH, Ch. ix. V. 9.—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; a colt, the foal of an ass.

JESUS, in this quotation, identifies himself with the salvation and the king mentioned in Zechariah. In this instance we are not left to select the corresponding text from the Old Testament, which, we think, is applicable, for this he appropriates to himself.

V. 9. And the multitudes that went before and that followed after cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David; blessed is he that cometh in the name of the LORD. Hosanna in the highest. 11. And the multitude said, this is JESUS, the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.

These devotional salutations are not suited for a mere mortal man, however great or holy; and yet our blessed Saviour not only did not check them, but said, "I tell you, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out."

V. 42.—JESUS said, Did ye never read in the Scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner? This is the LORD's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes. 43. Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of GoD shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken, but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.

Ps. 118. V. 22.—The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.

ISA. Ch. viii. V. 14.—And JEHOVAH shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel; for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 15. And many among them shall stumble and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken.

JESUS CHRIST again applies these prophecies to himself, and in so doing he identifies himself with JEHOVAH. This inference appears to me undeniable, for we read in the original passage in Isaiah, that it is JEHOVAH Who is the sanctuary and the stone of stumbling; and thus is the divinity of CHRIST confirmed by preserving the original name JEHOVAH.

CHAP. XXII.

JESUS asked the Pharisees, What they think of CHRIST, and whose son is he? They reply, the son of David. Then he saith unto them, 43. How then doth David in spirit call him LORD, saying, “JEHOVAH saith unto ADONI, Sit thou on my right hand till I make thine enemies thy footstool?" If David, then, call him LORD, how is he his son? And no man was able to answer him a word, neither durst any man, from that day forth, ask him any more questions.

Ps. cx. V. 1.-JEHOVAH saith to ADONI, sit thou at my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool.

Who is the ADONI with whom CHRIST identifies himself in the 110th Psalm? Daniel, ch. ix. v. 4, tells us he is the ELOHIM his GOD, the Great and Terrible GOD. Who, then, is CHRIST, to whom the above quotation is applied by the Evangelists, as well as by himself? The answer is obvious, and the doctrine of the Divinity of CHRIST is much confirmed by this reference to the original Hebrew name.

The difficult verse thus quoted could not be explained by the Pharisees, and our LORD did not do it. It is not possible for us to understand the mystery of the Trinity; but from the above, the incredulous of

these days may take example from the haughty Pharisees, for they were ashamed of their cavilling, and durst no more ask questions.

CHAP. XXIII.

V. 37.-O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not.

Ps. xci. V. 3.—Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. 4. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust; his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.

How pathetically does our Saviour lament over the crimes and hardness of heart of the inhabitants of Jerusalem! and he unequivocally declares his individual power and willingness to have gathered them under his protecting wing, if they had merited deliverance. Read over the whole of this beautiful Lamentation, and may its Divine Author influence you with his Holy Spirit, to enable you to trust in him with all your heart, and all your soul, and all your

mind.

CHAP. XXIV.

And JESUS said, 2. See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, there shall not be left here one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down.

MICAH, Ch. iii. V. 5.-Thus said JEHOVAH concerning the prophets that make my people err, 6. Therefore night shall be unto you, that shall not have a vision. 7. Then shall the seers be ashamed, ye and the diviners confounded, yea they shall all cover their lips, for there is no answer of ELOHIM. 12. Therefore shall Zion, for your sake, be ploughed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house, as the high places of the forest.

Can even the infidel deny that this awful prophecy has been minutely fulfilled? This fulfilment alone ought to intimidate and shake his confidence, for at least it teaches him to fear the God to whom he may see that vengeance belongeth.

With such inducements to faith and repentance as holy writ offers, O why will ye die, O house of Israel?

V. 5.—And many shall come in my name, saying, I am CHRIST, and shall deceive many. 6. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars. See that ye be not troubled, for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet: 7. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes in divers places.

JER. Ch. xiv. V. 14.-Then JEHOVAH said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them.

2 CHRON. Ch. xv. V. 6.—And nation was destroyed of nation, and city of city, for ELOHIм did vex them with all adversity.

Compare these prophecies with Josephus's account of the siege and destruction of Jerusalem.

V. 15.—When, therefore, ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth let him understand;) then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains; 21. For there shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no nor ever shall be.

DAN. Ch. ix. V. 25.—Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince, shall be seven weeks and three score and two weeks. The streets shall be built again, and the walls, even in troublous times. And after three score and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself. And the people of the Prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary, and the end

thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined; and he (the Messiah) shall confirm the covenant with many for one week, and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations, he shall make it desolate.

If any one will attentively study the Jewish history till Jerusalem was totally destroyed, this prophecy will prove to have been minutely and even miraculously fulfilled, and yet enemies had no intention to verify the prophet's denunciations against this devoted city.

V. 23. Then if any man say to you, Lo here is CHRIST, or there, believe it not; 24. For there shall arise false Christs and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders, insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. 29. Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heaven shall be shaken.

DEUT. Ch. xiii. V. 1.—If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and he giveth thee a sign or a wonder; 2. And the sign or the wonder come to pass whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them, thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: For JEHOVAH your God proveth you, to know whether ye love JEHOVAH your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

JOEL, Ch. ii. V. 10.-The earth shall quake before them, the heavens shall tremble, the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining; 31. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of JEHOVAH come.

How exactly do Christ's denunciations against Jerusalem resemble those of the prophets, and no wonder; for the latter were pronounced by JEHOVAH ADONI, whom St. Paul and other inspired men declare to be our Blessed Redeemer.

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