time to time, and this laft period upon the clofe of two thousand years; the greatest contumelies, reproach, and the most grievous burdens; why? because we remain firm to our God, and religion of our fore fathers. Yet Ifrael has finned, or why banished.

Boy. Meffiah cut off, his covenant confirmed, city, temple, and facrifice destroyed, Ifrael caft out, and country parcelled out to the Gentiles.

Mofes. A bitter draught I confefs, the wound. enters deep, but ftill I am in the dark, Ifrael cannot be guilty of fo black a crime, and not know her guilt.

Boy. Ifaiah 53 chap. Who hath believed our reports, and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed, for he fhall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground; he hath no form nor comelinefs; and when we fhall fee him, there is no beauty that we should defire him. He is 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 furely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our forrows, yet we did efterm him ftricken, fmitten of God, and afflict d. But he was wounded for our tranfgreffions, he was bruifed for our iniquities; the chaftifement of our peace was upon him, and with his ftripes we are healed. All we, like fheep, have gone aftray, we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was opprefied, and he was afflicted;

yet,

yet, he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the flaughter, and as a sheep, before her fhearers, is dumb; fo he openeth not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment; and who fhall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living; for the tranfgreffions of My people was he ftricken, and he made his grave with the, wicked, and with the rich in his death; becaufe, he hath done no violence; neither was there, any deceit in his mouth; yet it pleased the Lord to bruife him. He hath put him to grief; when thou shalt make his foul an offering for fin: he fhall fee his feed, he fhall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord fhall profper in his hands. He fhall fee of the travail of his foul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge fhall my righteous fervant justify many; for he fhall bear their iniquities; therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he fhall divide the fpoil with the ftrong; because he hath poured out his foul unto death, and he was numbered with the tranfgreffors; and he bore the fin of many, and made interceffion for the tranfgreffors.

Mofes, Thefe are dark and hidden mysteries, fealed up in the vifion of God from the begining the prophecy of our father Jacob concerning the Meffiah's (when the fceptre should be taken from Judah) appearing, and the prophecy as we took notice of Daniel's feventy weeks, reflects and marks out the epoch; alfo confirming his covenant. Ifaiah goes farther, and treats of ingratitude, fufferings, and igno

minious

minious death of the Meffiah; hated, despised, villified, fcorned, and derided as the fcum or dregs, not worthy the name of man: executing him with the malefactors, as a most base culprit. That he died for others, both Daniel and Ifaiah agree; this proves him to be more than man, they being all involved in the fin of our first parent, and this against the Deity; which guilt could not be cancelled by a creature; for had man maintained his innocence, or even the higher order of angels, they have nothing they can claim or offer, but belongs to their Creator. This reflection involves my mind, and like a dagger pierces my heart: where have I been wandering in the fhades of night, for four-fcore years, ever learning, but never learned my purfuit limited to the narrow boundaries of Palastine, and my Meffiah an earthly prince; O the mifery of terrestrial glory, it robs us of all that is truly glorious; how often have I confidered, Mofes, our great legiflator, and king Solomon, as types of our Meffiah, but him in a far more perfect and fublime fphere, with a long feries of years and tranfending blifs; but ftill terreftrial, and him not God; for the thought I should be condemned blafphemeous. But now a ray of celeftial light breaks through, and discovers to my deluded understanding the weakness of the human mind, left to its own reafoning in the way of fpirit; four-fcore years travelling over fea and land in fearch of truth; this from my youth, my chief concern, but alas to no effect; fcripture has ever been my chief companion,

but

but no fpiritual nourishment could I receive, being tenacious to maintain the law of my forefathers, which I confidered as the law of my God; whereof it was nothing more than the early impreffion 1 imbibed in my infant ftate, which ripened into maturity as I grew up, and became mistress both of my reafon and actions, for I always made it a rule that my actions thro' life fhould be conformable and coincide with the fentiments of my mind: but still there was a dark mift that for ever clouded and caused a fecret dread, which hung on my mind; and when I reverted to the fcriptures for relief, and difpelling the gloom that hung before me, I found none, but rather added to my grief: my adhering close to the letter as I was taught, fettered my reason, so that all seemed one mass of contrarieties; but now the fcripture unfolds, the light of reafon brightens and difpels the mist of ignorance and vain prefumption, under whose captivity I have been long an alien and ftranger to my God; his divine truth was no truth to me, as I reprobated and changed this truth to my condemnation; nourishing and inculcating tenets oppofite and deftructive to this truth; my foul callous, and crusted as a toad lay perdue to spit its poifon and fester the minds of others; but the night is paft, all thanks to my God, for unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given, and the government fhall be upon his fhoulder, and his name fhall be called Wonderful Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and

peace

peace there fhall be no end, and upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom to order it and to eftablish it with judgment and with juftice from henceforth, even for ever; the zeal of the Lord of Hofts will perform this. Here is my God manifested in human flesh, the infinite God manifefted in man's flesh, the eternal born in time, the Creator become a creature; the infinite, to whom the universe is not more than a grain of fand; who creates, nourishes, fupports, and keeps the whole in a ballance, to be a fellow companion with man, ordering, directing, and, training them to be fit jewels for replacing and filling the thrones that became vacant by the fall of angels. What can we exprefs worthy of this God Man; man raised to the infinite height of taking his feat upon the right hand of the Infinite Majefty, and placing his friends in feats of glory.

Boy. David in the 24th Pfalm gives us the exalted glory of the afcenfion of Christ. Life up your heads, O you gates, and be you lifted up you everlafting doors; and the king of glory fhall come in. Who is the king of glory? it is the Lord, ftrong and mighty, even the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O you gates, and be you lifted up, you everlafting doors, and the king of glory fhall come in. Who is the king of glory? even the Lord of Hofts, he is the king of glory. Alfo in the 16th Pfalm gives our Lord's refurrection: I have fet God always before me, for he is on my right hand, therefore I fhall not fall; wherefore my heart was glad, and my glory rejoiced,