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CHAP. XXV.

V. 31.-When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory. 32. And before him shall be gathered all nations. And he shall separate them, one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats.

EZEK. Ch. xxxiv. V. 17.—And as for you, O my flock, thus saith ADONI JEHOVAH: Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, between the rams and the he-goats. 20. Therefore saith ADONI JEHOVAH Unto them, Behold I, even I, will judge between the fat cattle and between the lean cattle.

Here we may observe again a perfect coincidence between the account given of our Saviour's future separation of the good from the bad, and that of the ADONI JEHOVAH. Can this agreement be merely accidental, or rather must it not be considered a most confirmatory circumstance.

CHAP. XXVI.

V. 3.-Then assembled together the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders of the people, 4. And consulted that they might take Jesus by subtlety, and kill him.

Ps. ii. V. 2.—The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against JEHOVAH and against his anointed.

All the Evangelists refer to this remarkable fulfilment of David's prophetic Psalm, and by so doing they identify CHRIST with JEHovah.

V. 28. For this is my blood of the New Testament which is shed for many, for the remission of sins.

EXOD. Ch. xii.—JEHOVAH spake unto Moses, and said, 3. Take every man a lamb, a lamb for a house. 5. Your lamb shall be without blemish, and ye shall kill it in the evening, 7. And they shall take of the blood and strike it on the two side-posts, and on the upper door

post of the houses wherein they shall eat it. 13. The blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are, and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.

Jer. xxxi. V. 31.-Behold the days come, saith JEHOVAH, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah.

The sacrifice of the Lamb without blemish was instituted to defend the Israelites from temporal death, but the blood of CHRIST was shed for the remission of the sins of the whole world, and to procure for us eternal life.

V. 53.—JESUS saith, Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then shall the Scriptures be fulfilled that thus it must be?

ISA. Ch. liii. V. 4.—Surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of ELOHIM, and afflicted. 6. JEHOVAH hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

LAMENT. Ch. iv. V. 20.—The breath of our nostrils, the Anointed of JEHOVAH, was taken in their pits. Of whom we said, Under his shadow we shall live among the heathen.

I quote the above parallel passages, because they forcibly point out the sufferings consequent on guilt, and in the hopes they may excite reflections, which will teach us how greatly we stand in need of a merciful Redeemer and Advocate.

V. 63.—JESUS held his peace. And the High Priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the Living God that thou tell us whether thou be the CHRIST, the Son of God? 64. And JESUS saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. 65. Then the High-Priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy—what think ye? They answered, He is guilty of death.

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LEVIT. XXIV. V. 16.—And he that blasphemeth the name of JEHOVAH, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him, as well the stranger as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemeth the name of the LORD, shall be put to death.

Again, in the above quotation, CHRIST applies to himself the first verse of the 110th Psalm, thus teaching the high-priest, &c., that he was the ADONI Who was to be seen sitting in power, and moreover he unequivocally asserts that he is the Son of GOD, in reply to the solemn appeal of the high-priest, who, as well as the other Jews, decide for us the full purport of this phrase, for they all immediately exclaim, "He has spoken blasphemy, for HE HAS MADE HIMSELF EQUAL WITH GOD."

CHAP. XXVII.

V. 63. Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive," After three days I will rise again."

HOSEA, Ch. vi. V. 2.-After two days JEHOVAH will revive us, in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.

Here CHRIST was accused of saying, "I will rise again," thus assuming to himself the power of raising the dead, which power is universally believed to belong to GoD only.

ST. MARK.

CHAP. I.

St. Mark unequivocally asserts in the beginning of his Gospel, that this prophecy of Malachi foretells the coming of St. John, viz., Behold I will send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.

MAL. Ch. iii. V. 1.-Behold I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me, and GoD whom ye seek shall suddenly come to his temple, even the Messenger of the Covenant whom ye delight in. Behold he shall come, saith JEHOVAH of hosts.

Thus St. Mark begins his Gospel by saying that St. John is to prepare the way for the JEHOVAH of the Jews, who is also the JESUS CHRIST of Christians.

V. 3. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make his paths straight.

ISA. Ch. xl. V. 3.-The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of JEHOVAH, make straight in the desert a highway for our GOD.

Thus St. Mark incontestably asserts his belief that St. John was appointed by these prophecies to prepare the way for JEHOVAH, the GOD whom Malachi declares will come suddenly to his temple. And it is as clear, as plain, unsophisticated language can make it, that he thought that JESUS CHRIST was this God, the IMMANUEl.

V. 8. St. John saith, I indeed have baptized you with water, but lie (JESUS) shall baptize you with the HOLY GHOST.

JOEL, Ch. ii. V. 27.—I am JEHOVAH your GOD; 28. And I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh. 29. And upon the servants and the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.

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St. John unhesitatingly acknowledges the very great superiority of our blessed Saviour, whose shoe's latchet he confesses he was not worthy to loosen.

V. 9.-And JESUS was baptized of John, in Jordan. 10. And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the SPIRIT, like a dove, descending upon him. 11. And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

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If we recollect the definition given to the phrase "Son of GOD," in the note affixed to v. 63, ch. xxvi. of St. Matthew, we shall be prepared to read the following Gospel with the attention the history so greatly deserves.

V. 38. Then said JESUS, Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, for therefore came I forth.

ISA. Ch. lxi. V. 1.-The Spirit of ADONI JEHOVAH is upon me, because JEHOVAH hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek. He hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound.

How fully does the Gospel history show that our blessed Saviour, while on earth, did minutely fulfil this prophecy of Isaiah concerning the MESSIAH that

was to come.

CHAP. II.

V. 5.-When JESUS saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee. 7. (Then say the scribes,) Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies ?-Who can forgive sins but God only?

ISA. Ch. xliii. V. 15.-I am JEHOVAH your Holy One, the Creator of Israel—your King. 25. I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.

V. 9. (Our Saviour says) Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee, or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed and walk? 10. But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, he saith to the sick of the palsy, I say unto thee, arise, and take up thy bed and go thy way into thine own house. And immediately he arose.

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.

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