What astonishing predictions were these, and yet how accurately they were fulfilled; and thus were, at once, determined both the character of their exalted object, and the boundless wisdom of that great Being, by whose Spirit they were inspired! How utterly unlike all human calculations! Men of profound sagacity, great knowledge, and extensive experience, may calculate human events with considerable correctness. Knowing many things which are at present transpiring, and what is the usual course of all earthly matters, it is comparatively easy to form conjectures regarding future contingencies, which may happen as had been anticipated. But what human sagacity was ever able to describe, with the most minute exactitude, a chain of circumstances which were wholly different, contingent, and unconnected; spread over a period of nearly seventeen hundred of years; and many which were contrary to all human probability? Or what human knowledge or experience could ever enable any man to assert, which assertion was actually fulfilled, that nearly five hundred years hence, a person should be born who would sustain a specific character, bear a given name, and perform a well-defined work? To utter such predictions implies the most perfect knowledge of futurity; and that He by whose Spirit they were inspired, not only sees the end of all earthly events from the beginning, but is also able to cause all the beams of light which radiate from him, as the sun and centre of all excellence and glory, to terminate in such a point as will prove who is "the Sun of righteousness;" and that God only possesses power to effect, as well as knowledge to foresee and describe, such plans as are most likely to subserve His benevolent purposes, and issue in the advantage of His apostate creatures!

"When the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son," or, as he is elsewhere called, "His own Son," His "only Son," His "beloved Son." All these are modes of expression which imply, that he who had been so long the subject of such extraordinary prophecies was an object of the loftiest character, one who was properly divine in his essence, and one who was by nature "most high in the glory of God the Father." It is not said, that Christ became "the Son of God," when he was sent forth as man into our world; or that he is called "the Son of God" merely with reference to his human nature, which was "made of a woman "9" by a special effort of the creative energy of the Great First Cause: for it is manifest to every intelligent and candid reader of the Scriptures, that he is frequently so called where there is no special reference to his manhood, and where he must be regarded in his highest character as being over all, God blessed for ever." It was "His Son," whom "God sent forth : but such was his relation to his divine Father when he was "in the form of God, and thought it not robbery to be equal with God," and before he was made in the likeness of men. It was to "His Son" that Jehovah said, "Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever!" But here the highest authority, in the clearest manner, designates him "God the Son," and asserts that to him, as "the Son of God," belongs the incommunicable attribute of eternity! It was to him, in his character

as the "first or only begotten Son," that God the Father, when, at the time of his mysterious incarnation, he brought him "into the world," commanded "all the angels" to render supreme worship. (Heb. i. 6-8.) And it was because the Jews supposed he was guilty of blasphemy, by claiming equality with God the Father, that they took up stones to stone him, and clamoured for his crucifixion: for he said that he was "the Son of God," and thus, according to their apprehension, "made himself equal with God." (See John x. 30-38; Matt. xxvi. 63-66.)

We do not pretend to explain, but readily acknowledge that we do not understand, the manner of the generation of "the Son of God: for " great is the mystery of godliness," especially that part of it which relates to "God manifested in the flesh." But still we hesitate not to maintain that the inspired writers assert that he stands in a filial relation to his divine Father, independently of all reference to his incarnation. That Son of His, then, whom "God sent forth," isto use the beautiful language of the Nicene Creed-" the only begotten Son of God; begotten of his Father before all worlds; God of God; light of light; very God of very God; begotten not made; being of one substance with the Father." Yet, though such was his transcendent character, he "made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant:" for "the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory!"

He came not, however, in accordance with the ordinary laws of human generation; but, in fulfilment of the promises given unto the fathers, he was "made of a woman." Here we have another miraculous confirmation of the divinity of the Christian religion. The first promise of mercy made to apostate man assured him that "the seed of the woman should bruise the head of the serpent." (Gen. iii. 15.) It may be fairly presumed that those words were not then fully understood. But there can be no question that our first parents derived encouragement from them, so as to believe that, as the woman, without the man, had been first in the transgression, so from the woman should descend one whose wisdom and power would be superior to those of the serpent, and who would avenge their cause upon that wily foe by whom they had been seduced from their allegiance to God. Compare this first promise of the Messiah, with Isaiah vii. 14. At the time referred to by the Prophet, the kingdom of Judah was reduced very low. Pekah, King of Israel, and Rezin, King of Syria, had confederated against it, saying, "Let us go up against Judah, and vex it, and let us make a breach therein for us, and set a King in the midst of it." As might be expected, Ahaz, King of Judah, was greatly alarmed, and feared that these enemies would prevail against him, destroy Jerusalem, and annihilate his kingdom. Under these circumstances, the Lord sent the Prophet Isaiah to comfort him, and to remove his fears, by assuring him that the counsels of his enemies should not stand in proof of which he promised that "the Lord himself would give them a sign," or would perform for them a miracle, which they should regard as a proof of

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his ability to fulfil his promise, and as a pledge of his faithfulness; which "sign was indicated thus: "Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel!" Here King Ahaz is assured that, until these words were accomplished, the kingdom of Judah should not be destroyed. But, as such a thing was contrary to all nature's laws, it was natural to conclude it never would take place and even if such a thing were possible,—if a virgin were to conceive and bear a son,-how could his name, with any degree of propriety, be called Immanuel, which means "God with us?"

Now, compare these two portions, Gen. iii. 15; Isai. vii. 14, with Luke i. 26-30, where we are informed that "the angel Gabriel ". the same angel which appeared to Daniel-" was sent from God to a virgin whose name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel said, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God." But we read that all this came to pass accordingly; and that all was done that that which was spoken of the Lord by the Prophet might be fulfilled.

What a series of miracles were connected with the redemption of the world! Four thousand years before the Christian era, and when the words were scarcely understood, it was said, "The seed of the woman shall bruise the head of the serpent." Time rolled on; the promise remained unfulfilled, and was, probably, in that specific form quite forgotten, when, more than seven hundred years before its accomplishment, it was repeated in a form somewhat different, but in substance the same: Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." The promise implied what was wholly contrary to the course of nature; yet the wisdom and providence of God caused it to be realized: for, "when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman." The Evangelists Matthew and Luke record the fact, in proof of the accomplishment of what God had promised. Thus Moses, Isaiah, and the Evangelists concur: between their statements, made in connexion with widely different circumstances, there is the most exact coincidence, and the most unequivocal facts have confirmed the whole.

He was "made under the law." For though he was the divine Lawgiver, and, therefore, by nature superior to its requirements, he voluntarily subjected himself to all its ritual observances. He was, as the law commanded, circumcised on the eighth day after his birth; and when forty days old, he was, in the temple, consecrated to the Lord, according to the law, which said, "Sanctify unto me all the first-born." He had come to take away the first covenant, because it was imperfect, and to establish the second, which was to be lasting as

time: but, till the appointed period arrived, he worshipped in the synagogues, attended the public ordinances of the established religion, observed the great national festivals, and told John the Baptist that "it became him to fulfil all righteousness." To the moral law he always paid the utmost deference. In all he spoke and did he was free from sin; guile was never found in him. In his teaching he so explained the law as to prove that it extends its claims to the thoughts of the heart, as well as to the words of the mouth, and the actions of the life; and he assured his hearers that "he came not to destroy the law, but to fulfil it." By his undeviating obedience to its righteous demands, he magnified the moral law and made it honourable, and thus proved that it is "holy" in its nature, "just" or equitable in "in its requirements, and "good" in its tendency. He then, by the sacrificial offering of himself, abolished the ceremonial law ; and consecrated a new and living way into the holiest of all, a way which he had opened by his own blood. Hence, the text tells us,

II. That the gracious design of his advent was, "to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons." This design, we see, was twofold: it was,

First, to redeem them that were under the law.

"The law" in question may be regarded as meaning either that which was ceremonial, or that which was moral, or both. If the ceremonial law be meant, then the words apply only to the Jews, on whom the Lord had enjoined all its observances. These were various, painful, expensive, and exceedingly onerous. It strictly required all the males of the people to be circumcised on the eighth day after their birth; and it enjoined divers tedious washings, and the offering up of numerous costly sacrifices. It never tolerated the slightest deviation from the prescribed ritual; but "every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward." Even omissions, occasioned by inadvertence or ignorance, required to be expiated by the blood of atonement, before they could be forgiven. (See Num. xv. 27-29.) The ordinances of this law were obligatory on the Jews dwelling in all lands; and in all their generations. Beneath the oppressive weight of these rites they laboured, and were heavily laden. St. Peter says, this law imposed "a yoke which neither they nor their fathers were able to bear." St. Paul calls it "a yoke of bondage," which was imposed on them until the time of reformation." For the law, with all its expensive and wearisome services, was only "a shadow of good things to come;" and therefore it never could make those who observed it perfect. It simply directed attention to the august person of the Messiah; his infinitely meritorious sacrifice ; and the liberty with which he should make his people free. Hence, when Christ" offered himself without spot to God," and by his own blood entered in once into the holy place made without hands," he "obtained eternal redemption" for all that were oppressed by the burdens of the Levitical age.

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The angel Gabriel had told the Prophet Daniel, that, "in the midst of the week," during which the Messiah should "confirm the cove

nant," he should "be cut off, but not for himself, cut off to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease." It was, no doubt, in allusion to these words that Christ, while hanging on the cross, when he knew that all things written in the Prophets, concerning his extraordinary sufferings, were fulfilled, exclaimed, "with a loud voice, It is finished," and then "yielded up the ghost;" for as soon as he had thus spoken, "behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom;" signifying that no more sacrifice for sin was now needed; that the Levitical system was abolished; and that, therefore, the High-Priest should have no more occasion to enter into the holy of holies, to "make atonement for himself and the errors of the people," because Jesus had, by his own sacrifice, entered "into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us." Hence, when writing to the Hebrew Christians, the Apostle told them, that a new dispensation of mercy had been long promised, and variously typified; which necessarily implied, that "there would verily be a disannulling of the commandment going before," a total abrogation of the old law, "for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof. For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope, by the which we draw nigh to God."

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"To redeem them that were under the law." If the moral law be meant, then the words apply to all men, to the Gentiles as well as the Jews. The moral law, we know, was, in a written form, first given to the Jews but the substance of it had been revealed from the beginning, and all men were subject to its claims. Is not this just and reasonable? For what is this law, but a transcript of the moral character of the Deity, and an expression of such demands on his creatures as are perfectly equitable, and in accordance with godliness in its most pure and simple forms? The ten commandments require no more than nature dictates: all that they prescribe "is holy, and just, and good:" they never enjoin anything but what is pure in itself, what is right to others as well as to ourselves, and what is calculated to promote universal happiness. St. Paul tells us, that the obedient "Gentiles, who have not the law," to whom God had not given a written record of his will as he had done to the Jews, "do by nature the things contained in the law," and thus "show the work of the law written in their hearts," and written by the same hand which wrote it on the tables of stone. But this law, which requires universal love to God, and holiness of heart and life among men, has been broken. "For all," whether Jews or Gentiles, "all have sinned," and "all the world has become guilty before God." Guilty! what a dreadful state does that imply! guilty before an all-seeing God, who is not, who cannot be, deceived by appearances, and whose judgment is always according to truth. This God, before whom all are guilty, is a just and righteous Judge, who will by no means clear the guilty: He will not acquit : He will not exonerate from punishment those who have broken His holy law. We therefore read, that God is angry with the wicked," because of their sins; that "sin shall not be unpunished;" and that