"Grace is poured into Thy lips;' and with that of Isaiah, "The Lord God hath given unto Me the tongue of the learned, that I might know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary.' His work and teaching are beautifully pointed out by Himself where He said, in the synagogue of Nazareth, in quoting a prophecy in respect to Himself: The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor: He hath sent Me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.' But while His teaching was one of grace to those who accepted Him as the Lord their righteousness was acceptable to those who possessed the, spirit of those who waited for redemption in Jerusalemit was also faithful in its character. His personal mission to the Jews, (Mat. x. 5-6: xv. 24: Rom. xv. 8.) preparatory to the extension of the kingdom of God by the calling of the Gentiles, was pointed out by the prophets, and intimated by Himself. And in ministering to the circumcision to whom He was sent, He was faithful in His teaching towards them. Hence, in His communications with them, He called upon them to repent, assuring them, that, if they did not repent, they would perish, and, as a people and a nation, perish with violence, be utterly destroyed; since, while He had to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, to proclaim a message of love and mercy to those who received Him as the sent of God, He had also to proclaim the day of God's vengeance' upon those who disobeyed Him. And that day of vengeance came, as He told them it would, and it swept them away from their land as with the besom of destruction. He mourned over the prospect, and would have saved them from it; but they would not hear His words, neither see, nor understand, their day of merciful visitation. Lamenting the calamities which were coming upon the Jews, His own people, (John, i. 11.) He exclaimed in anticipation of their destruction, 'O Jerusalem, Jerusalem! thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see Me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord.'

But, not to dwell on the doings and speakings of Christ while He tabernacled in the flesh, let us turn to

The time of His thus being employed; The former treatise I made, O Theophilus, of ail that Jesus began both to do and to teach, until the day in which He was taken up.'

The prophet Daniel gives us a clue to the period in which He was employed in His ministry of acting and teaching. He informs us that, while seventy weeks, or 490 years, had to transpire, there would intervene sixtynine weeks, or 483 years, between the going forth of a command to restore and to build Jerusalem, and the coming of the Messiah. From that command going forth to the time Jesus entered on His ministry at His baptism and his being anointed by the Holy Spirit sixty-nine weeks or 483 years elapsed. One week, or seven years, remained; and of Messiah it is stated, 'He shall confirm the covenant with many for one week,' that is, for seven years. 'In the midst of the week,' however; that is, at the end of three and a half years He was to be cut off, but not for Himself.' His personal ministry, therefore, was to last for three and a half years, or for the first half of the last week of the seventy weeks which were determined upon the people Israel; and being cut off in the middle of the week, and yet having to confirm the covenant for the week, or being cut off at the end of three and a half years from the time he entered on His ministry, and yet having to confirm the covenant for the week or seven years, the Apostles took His place, and confined their teaching to the circumcised for the second half week, or the second three and a half years, as Christ had confined His teaching for a half week, or three and a half years: and thus His half week and their half week, or His three and a half years and their three and a half years of confined and exclusive teaching to the circumcised made up the last week of the seventy weeks, or the last seven years of the 490 years. These seven years added to 483 years made up the 490 years which were determined upon Israel. And when these seventy weeks, or 490 years, ended, then came the great crisis when the Gentiles, or the uncircumcised were to have the gospel preached to them-when the kingdom of heaven was to be opened, not merely to the Jews, but to all who believed, whether Jew or Gentile, Barbarian, Scythian, male or female, bond or free,-when the Jew

was no longer to be favoured exclusively as he had been, but when both races were to be made one-when both Jew and Gentile were to have access by one Spirit unto the Father-when the Gentiles should become fellow-heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of God's promise in Christ by the gospel.' Then the Church became catholic or general-embraced persons of every race and blood; but before that, even from the entrance of Christ on His ministry seven years before, the gospel had been confined in its operation, was exclusively preached to the circumcised. We have next to notice

The high sanction which Christ had for His doings and teachings. The former treatise I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and to teach-through the Holy Spirit.' Every word, therefore, that He spake, and every act which He performed, had the sanction of heaven, was at the instance of His heavenly Father. Hence, on one occasion, He said to the Jews, My doctrine is not Mine, but His that sent Me' And again, He whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto Him.'

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On the day of His consecration to the hallowed work on which He was sent the Spirit descended upon Him: 'The heavens were opened, and John saw the Spirit of God descending on Him like a dove, and lighting upon Him; and lo, a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.' And set apart to His office on that memorable occasion as He was, He went forth and said, 'The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me.' The seal of Heaven was then and afterward stamped on all that He did and said. 'In Him,' saith St. Paul, dwelt all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.' And He said of Himself: 'The words that I speak unto you, I speak not of Myself, but the Father that dwelleth in Me, He doeth the works;' and then He called upon those that heard Him to believe in Him for the very works' sake.' And His works testified of Him, and whence He came, and that He was full of grace and truth. Everything in connexion with Him as detailed in Scripture goes to show, that through the whole of His ministry He acted by the influence and power of the Holy Spirit, and as testified by prophecy that He should: 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 counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.' And again: Behold, My servant, whom I uphold: Mine elect, in whom My soul delighteth: I have put My Spirit upon Him.'

The next particular referred to is

His passion, or suffering :-'The former treatise I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and to teach, until the day in which He was taken up, after that He through the Holy Spirit had given commandment unto His Apostles whom He had chosen, to whom He showed Himself alive after His passion.

It pleased the Lord,' we are told, to bruise Him." And who was He who was bruised? He who is represented in Scripture as a lamb without blemish and without spot; He in whom was no sin; He in whom, when the prince of this world came to Him, he could find in Him nothing to accuse Him of in coming short of the perfect law of God; He in whom the Roman governor could find no fault at all. And this perfection constituted the reason of His being put to grief. Had He not been faultless His death and passion could not have accomplished the purpose which the Divine Being had in view in His sending Him into this our world. Man who had sinned had to be redeemed, God could not pass by his transgression till a sacrifice for his offence had been offered without the least taint or spot of imperfection being connected with it. None could offer it but His own Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. He, therefore, took our nature upon Him, fulfilled the law in our stead, and made it honourable, and then offered up Himself in sacrifice for our sins to atone for our transgressions. The sacrifice of His precious blood procured our redemption: 'The Lord laid on Him the iniquity of us all;' and God in Him is well pleased with all who come to His footstool through Him. When He first announced to the Jews the doctrine of the atonement, He declared that all might be saved if they would only accept of Himself as their atoning sacrifice, saying: 'As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.' He was at length lifted up. The sacrifice for sin was made by a sinless victim, even by the Lord our righteousness.'

We are 'justified freely by the grace of God through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus; whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; to declare His righteousness, that He might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.'

We see, then, why He suffered. 'He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed." But though He died, though He was put to death in the flesh, His soul was not left in the grave; God did not suffer His Holy One to see corruption. Although crucified, although He expired on the cross, and was afterwards consigned to the tomb, and every precaution taken by His enemies to prevent His friendsthose who loved Him-coming by night and taking Him away, and then saying that He was risen, He rose from His tomb, as He said He should do, on the third day, and that to the utter confusion of His enemies. Yes,

He rose from the dead-rose triumphantly from His tomb, and by His resurrection from the dead He was 'declared to be the Son of God with power.' Had He not risen, all our hopes of redemption through His sacrifice must have sunk in the grave with Him. Had He not risen, our hope and faith would be in vain: we should yet be in our sins, and all who fall asleep would perish. But we have no such despair before us. No; as believers in Him we have every encouragement-ground for the deepest assurance, the most solid hope, that in Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. In God's raising Him from the dead He put His seal of approval on all that He did. It attested the truth of the doctrines which He taught; it imparts the fullest assurance to us that we may rely upon Him as our prophet, priest, and king; that through His atoning blood we may come confidently to the throne of grace, and obtain mercy, and find grace to help us in time of need. It proves, that as He rose from the dead as the first-fruits, we shall rise also. And this is that which so cheers the believer in the prospect before him, when he comes to quit this earthly scene of things. He has hope beyond the grave. He knows that he will not rest there always. He can say with St. Paul,