they are severally referred, proves with equal force that the writings of the Old Testament in the possession of the Jews are the productions of the ancient prophets. Jews and Christians now have them. They had them a century ago; they had them in the time of Christ. They were then universally acknowledged by the Israelites in Judea and elsewhere. They can be historically traced up centuries before the advent of Christ. Three hundred years before that event, they were translated into the Greek language and widely disseminated. They contain the history, laws, and literature of the people of Judea, whose existence and peculiarities are as well ascertained as those of any people in the world. These writings are essential to account for the known character of that people, for it was in virtue of these sacred books that they were what they werc. Critics have indeed disputed about the particular dates of some of these productions, but no one has had the hardihood to deny that they existed centuries before the birth of Christ. This being admitted, we have a basis for another argument for the truth of Christianity, which cannot be resisted. In these ancient writings, preserved in the hands of the open enemies of Christ, we find the advent of a deliverer clearly predicted. Immediately after the apostasy, it was foretold that the seed of the woman should bruise the serpent's head. This prediction is the germ of all the subsequent prophecies, which do but reveal its manifold meaning. Who the promised seed was to be, and how the power of evil was by him to be destroyed, later predictions gradually revealed. It was first made known that the Redeemer should belong to the race of Shem.* Then that he should be of the seed of Abraham, to whom the promise was made; Ir thee shall all the nations of the earth be blessed ; then that he should be of the tribe of Judah of whom it was foretold that, The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, or a law-giver from between his feet, until Shiloh come, and to him shall be the gathering of the people. Subsequently it was revealed that he was to be of the lineage of David; There shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots, and the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.§ It was foretold that his advent should be preceded by that of a special messenger. Behold I send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me; and the Lord whom ye seek shall sud * Gen. ix. 26. † Gen. xviii. 18. denly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant whom ye delight in, behold he shall come saith the Lord of Hosts.* The time, the manner, and the place of his birth were all predicted. As to the time, Daniel said, Know therefore and understand that from the going forth of the commandment to build and restore Jerusalem unto Messiah the prince, shall be seven weeks and three score and two weeks.t As to the miraculous manner of his birth, Isaiah said, Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. As to the place, Micah said, But thou Bethlehem Ephratah though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel.§ This deliverer was to be a poor man. Behold, O daughter of Zion, thy king cometh unto thee, poor, riding upon an ass and a colt the foal of an ass. He was to be a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, despised and rejected of men,¶ and yet Immanuel, God with us,** Jehovah our righteousness, Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace,‡‡ whose goings forth were of old, from the days of eternity.* The Redeemer thus predicted was to appear in the character of a prophet or divine teacher. The Lord thy God, said Moses, will raise up unto thee a prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me, unto him shall ye hearken.† Behold my servant whom I uphold, mine elect in whom my soul delighteth, I have put my Spirit upon him, he shall bring forth judgment unto the Gentiles.‡ The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because he 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.§ In that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity and out of darkness; the meek also shall increase their joy in the Lord, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. He was also to be a priest. The Lord hath sworn and will not repent, Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. He shall build the temple of the Lord, and he shall bear * Mich. v. 2. § Is. lxi. 1. Deut. xviii. 15. + Is. xlii. 1. Ps. cx. 4. the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne, and he shall be a priest upon his throne.* The regal character of this Redeemer is set forth in almost every page of the prophetic writings. I have anointed, (said God in reference to the Messiah,) my king on my holy hill of Zion. Thy throne O God is forever and ever; the sceptre of thy kingdom is a sceptre of righteousness. Thou lovest righteousness and hatest wickedness, therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. born, and unto us a son is given, ment shall be upon his shoulder. Unto us a child is and the governOf the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David and upon his kingdom to order it, and to establish it with judgment and justice from henceforth even for ever.§ The characteristics of this kingdom of the Messiah were also clearly predicted. They were to be a spiritual, in distinction from the external and ceremonial character of the former dispensation. Behold the days shall come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not according to the covenant which I made with their fathers, &c. I * Zech. vi. 13. Ps. xlv. 6, 7. † Ps. ii. 6. |