will be accomplished, that the work must be executed, that all power centres in him; and, although the church may be proud, self-righteous, and deeply corrupted by unbelief and sin, yet God will eventually be glorified, his kingdom established, his will done in earth as in heaven; and the time is at hand, when the saints will possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever.

Amen

LECTURE XIX

MATT. xvi. 3.

But can ye not discern the signs of the times?

OUR text is a question proposed by Christ to the Pharisees and Sadducees, at a time when they came to him, tempting him for a sign from heaven; and is a reproof upon them for their unbelief in the signs already given by the Old Testament writers, which they professed to believe, and which were actually fulfilling before their eyes, yet disregarded. The Pharisees and Sadducees were two of the most learned and popular sects among the Jews; many of them were scribes, lawyers, doctors, and teachers of the law; yet so perfectly blinded, that they could not or would not apply the most simple rules of interpretation to the law or prophets. They would apply the rules of common observation and common sense to the weather, but neither the one nor the other were used in understanding the Scriptures. They were well versed in the skill to tell the weather for the morrow, but had no skill in the promises, prophecies, and word of God. "When it is evening, ye say it will be fair weather, for the sky is red; and in the morning, it will be foul weather to-day, for the sky is red and lowering. Oye hypocrites! ye ean discern the face of the sky, but can ye not (by the same simple rule) discern the signs of the times?

All the signs given in the word of God, concerning the first coming and person of the Messiah, were fulfilling before their eyes; yet they were demanding more

and greater signs from heaven. Christ had, and was then performing miracles which no man on earth could perform, and they ascribed it to the power of Beelzebub. No evidence had or could be presented, which they were not ready to evade or deny; and yet they claimed all the learning, all the wisdom, and all the piety of that day. This was the character of those whom Christ calls hypocrites, and to whom he addresses the question, "But can ye not discern the signs of the times?" And happy would it have been for us, who live in this day of gospel light, when the gospel shines with greater effulgence than at any other period of time since the world began, if hypocrisy had died with the Pharisees and Sadducees; but it was not so. Any man, of common capacity of mind, who can divest himself of prejudice, or who will try to see the character of man as developed at the present day in matters of faith, will discover the same unbelief, the same disregard, the same taunting, tempting spirit, concerning the second coming of the Messiah, as the Pharisees and Sadducees manifested in their conduct and conversation with our blessed Redeemer. And the question may with equal propriety, and I fear with tenfold force, be put to us at this day, if Christ was here, as then. And I have much reason to fear, that many may be found among our great, learned, and teachers of divine things, who would receive from our divine Master the same reproof, were he as then a teacher among us. "Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed, lest he fall." I shall, then, in treating on this subject, use my text as a reproof to us.

I. I shall show a number of signs which the Jews had in that day, as evidences of Jesus being the true Messiah.

II. Show the signs that Jesus Christ, the prophets, and apostles have given us of his second coming, now fulfilling in this day in which we live.

Under my first head, the signs of Jesus being the true Messiah, were,

1. The universal peace at his birth. Of this Isaiah ii. 3, 4, had prophesied 760 years before, "And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to

shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people; and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." This prophecy was accomplished at his birth. For the temple of Janus was shut the very year our Savior was born, which denoted universal peace; and this must have been known to the Jewish rulers. Also the doctrines of Jesus Christ taught that they should forgive and pray for their enemies, and learn war no more. "Peace on earth and good will to men," was sung by the heavenly band when they announced the birth of the Savior in the city of David.

2. The star that appeared and guided the wise men to the place of his nativity, prophesied of by Balaam, Num. xxiv. 17. "There shall come a star out of Jacob," &c.

3. A root out of Jesse. Isa. xi. 10, "In that day there shall be a root out of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek," &c. That he was a descendant of David was well known to the Jews, for they were very scrupulous in their genealogies, and from the fact that he was born in the city of David when his parents went up to be taxed where their names were enrolled.

4. Born of a virgin. Isa. vii. 14, "Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." This was evidently fulfilled.

5. At Bethlehem. Micah v. 2, "But thou, Bethleheın Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel, whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting." This was fulfilled, according to their own showing, to the wise men from the east.

6. Herod slaying all the children in Bethlehem, from two years old and under, prophesied of by Jeremiah, xxxi. 15, "A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation

and bitter weeping, Rachael weeping for her children,” &c. This must have been known in all Judea.

7. Land forsaken of both of her kings. Isa. vii. 16, "For before the child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings." Herod and his successor both

died before Jesus was of the common age to refuse the evil and choose the good.

8. Called out of Egypt. son out of Egypt."

Hosea xi. 1, ❝ And called my

9. His forerunner John. Isa. xl. 3, "The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God." All Judea and Jerusalem went into the wilderness to John, and of course must have seen this sign.

10. Coming suddenly to his temple. Mal. iii. 1," And the Lord whom ye seek shall suddenly come to his temple." For the fulfilment of this prophecy, read John vii. 11—14, “Then the Jews sought him at the feast, and said, Where is he? Now about the midst of the feast, Jesus went up into the temple and taught."

11. The gospel preached. Isa. xi. 1, "The spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord 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 captive, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound."

12. The covenant confirmed one week or seven years. Daniel ix. 27, "And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week." John preached three years and a half, and Christ three and a half.

13. The blind see. Isa. xlii. 7, "To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison-house."

14. The lame walk. Isaiah. xxxv. 6, "Then shall the lame man leap as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing."

15. The deaf hear. Isaiah xxxv. 5, "Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped."

16. The dead are raised. Isaiah xxvi. 19, “And the earth shall cast out the dead."