The Lord himfelf fhall give you a fign. Behold, a virgin fhall conceive, and bear a fon; and fhall call his name Immanuel.

Afterwards the fame prophet, proceeding with more exa&nefs, marks the principal circumftances of the Meffiah's life. But ftill as if to caution the world not to expect in his kingdom the fplendor of an earthly prince, he cries out, When we shall fee him, there is no beauty, that we should defire him. He was defpifed and rejected of men-a man of forrows, and acquainted with grief; and we hid as it were our faces from him. He was defpifed, and we efteemed him not.-Afterwards he goes on still farther, and opens the very cause of his fufferings. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our firrows. He was wounded for our tranfgreffions; he was bruifed for our iniquities. The chafifement of our peace was upon him; and with his fripes we are healed.

All the later prophets alfo following Ifaiah, con. tinue to fill up the great outlines, which had been marked by the earlier prophets, with various particulars of the Meffiah's life and death. Even the precise time of his death is fixed by the prophet Daniel. After three-fcore and two weeks* from the going

* In the prophetic language, as many years are fignified, as there are days in those weeks.

going out of the decree to rebuild the temple, fhall the -Other Meffiah be cut off-but not for himfelf.

prophets fix the time of his death to happen, as it did, before the deftruction of the fecond temple.

Thus you fee in what a wonderful manner God fpake in times paft, in divers manners, unto the fathers by the prophets. From the firft of thefe pro, phecies to the laft, elapfed a space of time not lefs than 3,600 years; each prophecy ftill unfolding fomething more than the preceding, till at length the prophetic hiftory of the Meffiah was compleat; and every candid Jew, who diligently read the prophets, was convinced, when Christ appeared, that he was the very perfon, whom thefe prophets had foretold. Such was the holy Simeon, who waited for the confolation of Ifrael. When he faw the bleffed child brought into the temple, fully convinced, that all the prophecies relating to his birth, were now fulfilled, and that this was the very Chrift, the promised Meffiah, he took him in his arms, and with holy rapture cryed out, Lord now letteft thou thy fervant depart in peace; for mine eyes have feen thy falvation.

Such alfo was the prophetess Anna, who, in the fame manner, spake of him to all, that looked for redemption in Jerufalem.

B 4

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The fecond

part of the text remains to be confidered-what is meant by God's fpeaking in thefe laft days unto us by his fon.

By the last days, the latter days, the last times, and other expreffions of the fame kind, the Jewish writers always meant to exprefs, as their best interpreters inform us, the kingdom of the Meffiah; which was to compleat, and finifh all the defigns of providence, Thefe words therefore, the last days, have no reference to the conclufion of all things the end of the world-or any thing of that import-but just imply, that God having, through a fucceffion of ages, prepared the world by degrees, for the reception of the gospel, had, in thefe laft days, or at length, compleated his whole fcheme, by fending Jefus Chrift into the world —that this was the last great revelation he intended to make; in which he now fully opened, what had been obfcurely traced by the prophets, the introduction of fin by the fall of our first parents-the restoration of a loft world by the death and facrifice of a Saviour-the conditions of the gofpel-covenant; faith in Chrift, and a good life-and laftly, the joyful hopes of a bleffed refurrection.

Too true it is, that few of mankind, in any age of the world, have made their full advantage of

this gracious difpenfation, by living up to that holinefs of life, which it enjoins. We must not however judge of the truth of the gofpel by the little influence which it hath on the minds of men. We must remember, it was predicted by that very gofpel, that the way to life is narrow, and few would find it. With regard therefore to thofe deluded people, who chufe rather to give up the comforts of religion, than fubmit to its laws, the goodness of God is furely vindicated by offering them the gofpel. In the mean time, they who have never heard of this gracious difpenfation; yet have lived up to the lights they have had, will undoubtedly, through the facrifice of Chrift, meet with favour from that gracious master, who reaps only where he hath fown.

Thus then, from the time of Adam to this prefent hour, first by the prophets, and afterwards by the fon of God himself, hath this gracious fcheme of providence been opening more and more; and we have reafon to believe from prophecy, will ftill continue to spread wider and wider, till it hath made its progrefs over the face of the earth.

David in the Pfalm of this day,* illuftrating probably through the fpirit of prophecy, this univerfal range

* CHRISTMAS DAY, Pfalm 19.

Day

range of the Meffiah's kingdom, compares it të the fun, which goeth forth from the uttermoft part of heaven and runneth about unto the end of it again; and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof. And indeed nothing can be a more beautiful, or more juft illustration of this grand event through all its darker and lighter periods. light is firft dimly discovered through the twilight of morning. The eaftern clouds are ftreaked with a faint light. We fee through all this fplendid obscurity, that fomething grand is approaching. The feveral fhades of darkness by degrees give way. Day comes on more and more-till at length the fun rifes in all its glory; and opening into the fulleft fplendor, furrounds the earth from one end of it to the other.

Having thus explained the text, I fhall conclude with a few fhort obfervations, which it fuggefts.

In the first place, this gradual progrefs of prophecy furnishes one of the strongest proofs of the Christian religion; to the truth of which the fpirit of prophecy thus makes every age of the world bear teftimony. About four hundred years indeed before the coming of Chrift, all prophecy ceased.

It