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"fathers"."

Of his appearance it was said,

"He hath no form nor comeliness: and "when we shall see him, there is no beauty "that we should desire him. He is despised " and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, " and acquainted with grief: and we hid as "it were our faces from him; he was des66 pised, and we esteemed him not"." And yet he was anointed as a prophet like unto Moses, in whose mouth God promised that he would put his words, and declared that whosoever would not hearken unto him, must expect to be judged righteously: as a "Priest for ever after the order of Melchi"zedek";" as Jehovah's King upon his holy hill of Zion'. He was called the Son of God, Jehovahs, the Lord God", the Lord; and also the Son of man", the Servant of Jehovah', the Man that is Jehovah's fellow", the Messenger of the covenant"; by which titles the Holy Spirit clearly taught the wonderful constitution of Messiah's person, as being

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a Child born, a Son given," and yet "the mighty God, the everlasting Father"." His sufferings, reproaches, death, and burial, were all predicted. "He was oppressed and " he was afflicted," said the prophet: " he "is brought as a lamb to the slaughter: he "was taken from prison and from judg"ment; and who shall declare his genera"tion? for he was cut off out of the land "of the living: And he made his grave "with the wicked and with the rich in his "death"." The great object of this humiliation was definitely specified. "He was “wounded for our transgressions, he was "bruised for our iniquities: the chastise"ment of our peace was upon him; and "with his stripes we are healed. The Lord “hath laid on him the iniquity of us all: "for the transgression of my people," declares the prophet, " was he stricken." He was revealed as God's covenant": the mercies of this covenant were unfolded to be his mercies; by the blood of this covenant prisoners were to be brought "out of the pit in

a Is. liii. 7-9. b Is. liii. 7-9.

VOL. I.

c Is. liii. 5, 6. 8.
d Is. xlii. 6.
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e Is. lv. 3.

"which there is no water"." He was "to “finish the transgression, to make an end "of sin, to make reconciliation for iniquity, "and to bring in everlasting righteousness"." Assurances were given, that the object of his mission should be certainly and perfectly accomplished. "When thou shalt make “his soul,” i. e. Messiah's, "an offering for "sin," says the prophet, addressing God, " he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the "travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied:

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by his knowledge shall my righteous ser"vant justify many; for he shall bear their

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iniquities." The blessings of his great work of redemption were to be extended to all the nations of the earth"; to all the families of the earth'; to the Gentiles as well as to the Jews. To him "there was given "dominion and glory, and a kingdom, that "all people, nations, and languages should 66 serve him his dominion is an everlasting "dominion, which shall not pass away, and

a Zech. ix. 11. b Dan. ix. 24.

c Is. liii. 11.

d Gen. xxii. 18.

e Gen. xxviii. 14.

f Is. xlii. 6.

"his kingdom which shall not be destroy

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During this period, thus distinguished by a constant increase of knowledge concerning Christ and salvation through his blood, God was pleased to give directions about the manner of worshipping him. In the covenant which he made with Abraham, he confined the visible Church to the posterity of that patriarch, appointing circumcision as the seal of this covenant". Afterwards, by Moses, he directed the keeping of the passover'; and, at a still later period, gave to Israel the ceremonial law, which regulated the whole of their religious worship. By his command the ark of the covenant was made, which was deposited in the tabernacle afterward built: and, finally, the temple was erected by Solomon', where the ark abode until the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. An order of priesthood was established in the family of Levi, who performed the

a Dan. vii. 14. A full and satisfactory account of the prophecies concerning Messiah, is contained in Maclaurin's Essay on the subject.

b Gen. xvii. 1—14.

c Ex. xii. 1-28.

f 1 Kings vi-viii.

d Ex. xxi. and onward. Lev, throughout.

e Ex. xxv. 27.

various ceremonies of worship; and a succession of prophets raised up, who, besides predicting future events, in conjunction with the priests instructed the people.

Under the influence of the light which shone upon them, enlightening them in the knowledge of the truth, the posterity of Abraham made great improvements. As they were sojourners in the land which God gave them, and in neighbouring countries, until the days of Joshua, we must look to the different people among whom they sojourned for these improvements. From the testimonies of heathen writers, there is abundant evidence, that to them the Egyptians and Phoenicians were indebted for their knowledge of arithmetic, astronomy, geometry, and the use of letters". We have also reason to believe, that many of the great works of architecture, whose remains still attract the wonder of travellers, were erected by Joseph, after he was made ruler over the land of Egypt'. From his days that country became "the parent of literature, and

a Gale's Court of the Gentiles, p. 2. b. i. chap. i. Delany Rev. Exam. &c. vol. iii ch. ii.

b Delany Rev. Exam. &c. vol. 3. ch. 7, 8. 10.

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