passing in Judea since their last visit, were they who were moved (as well they might be) with wonder and astonishment, when Jesus, so humble in his equipage, so honoured in his numerous attendants, appeared within the city-gates; and every one asks his neighbour, "Who is this?" It was replied by some of the natives of Judea— but, as I conceive, by none of the disciples; for any of them at this time would have given another answer-it was replied, "This is the Nazarene, the great prophet from Galilee." Through the throng of these astonished spectators the procession passed by the public streets of Jerusalem to the temple, where immediately the sacred porticos resound with the continued hosannas of the multitudes. The chief priests and scribes are astonished and alarmed: they request Jesus himself to silence his followers. Jesus, in the early part of his ministry, had always been cautious of any public display of personal consequence; lest the malice of his enemies should be too soon provoked, or the unadvised zeal of his friends should raise civil commotions: but now that his work on earth was finished in all but the last painful part of it,-now that he had firmly laid the foundations of God's kingdom in the hearts of his disciples,-now that the apostles were prepared and instructed for their office,-now that the days of vengeance on the Jewish nation were at hand, and it mattered not how soon they should incur the displeasure of the Romans their masters-Jesus lays aside a reserve which could be no longer useful; and instead of checking the zeal of his followers, he gives a new alarm to the chief priests and scribes, by a direct and firm assertion of his right to the honours that were so largely shown to him. "If these," says he, "were silent, the stones of this building would be endued with a voice to proclaim my titles:" and then, as on a former occasion, he drove out the traders; but with a higher tone of authority, calling it his own house, and saying, "My house is the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves." You have

now the story in all its circumstances, faithfully collected from the four evangelists; nothing exaggerated, but set in order, and somewhat perhaps illustrated by an appli cation of old prophecies and a recollection of Jewish customs. Judge for yourselves whether this was not an advent of the Lord Jehovah taking personal possession of his temple.

Thus, in one, or in all, but chiefly in the last of these three remarkable passages of his life, did Jesus of Nazareth display in his own person, and in his conduct claim, the first and greatest character of the Messiah, foretold and described by all the preceding Jewish prophets, as well as by Malachi in the text-" The Lord coming to his temple." The other characters, when we resume the subject, will with no less evidence appear in him.

SERMON XXXIII.

And the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the Messenger of the Covenant, whom ye delight in: Behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of Hosts. But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth. MALACHI iii. 1, 2.

This text of Malachi has turned out a fruitful subject; more so, perhaps, than the first general view of it might seem to promise. We have already drawn from this text ample confirmation of some of the chief articles of our most holy faith: we have seen their great antiquity: we have found that they affirm nothing of our Lord but what the Jews were taught to look for in the person whom we believe our Lord to be, the Messiah: we have had occasion to expound some important texts-to open many passages of prophecy-to consider some remarkable passages in the life of Jesus-to make some general observations en the style of the sacred writers-to recall the remem

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brance of some customs of the ancient Jews; by all which, we trust that we have thrown some light upon interesting texts of Scripture, and have furnished the attentive hearer with hints which he who shall bear them in remembrance may apply to make light in many other places for himself. This harvest of edification which hath been already collected, encourages me to proceed in the remainder of my subject, with the same diligence and exactness which I have used in the former part of it; and I trust that it will engage you to give me still your serious attention.

We have already found in Jesus of Nazareth that great character of the Messiah, "the Lord of the Jewish temple." Such Jesus was; and such, by three remarkable actions in three different periods of his ministry, he had claimed to be. Let us now look narrowly for the second character that of the Messenger of the Covenant; of that covenant of which the establishment was so explicitly foretold by the prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel.

In general, that Jesus was the proposer of a covenant between God and man, is much too evident to need any laboured proof. Did he not announce blessings on the part of God? Did he not require duties in return from men? Now, au offer of blessings from God, with a demand of duties in return from men, is, in the Scripture language, a covenant between God and man. It was thus that the promises to Abraham were a covenant: it was promised to Abraham, that his posterity should become a numerous nation, prosperous in itself, and a means of blessing to all the families of the earth: it was required, in return, of Abraham and his posterity, to keep themselves pure from the general corruptions of idolatry, and to adhere to the true worship of the true God. Thus, also, the Mosaic institution was a covenant: the land of Canaan was given to the Jews: a strict observance is required of the rituals of the Mosiac law, and obedience to the prophets who should succeed Moses. And thus the Christian institution is a covenant: the sins of men are

forgiven, through the sacrifice of Christ; eternal happiness is offered to them in the world to come: Christians are required, in return, to fear, love, and honour Godto make open profession of the faith in Christ-to love one another-to do good to all men-to forgive their enemies-to control their passions, and to deny all sinful ap petites. Jesus, therefore, it is evident, propounded the terms of a covenant: and he made the proposal on the part of God; for he declared that he came from God; and the works which he did by the finger of God bore ample testimony to him. But this is not sufficient: it must be examined whether the covenant which Jesus propounded bears the character of that which is described in the writings of Jeremiah and Ezekiel; for that being the covenant intended by Malachi in the text, if the covenant propound by Jesus were any other, although he would still be the messenger of a covenant, he would not be that messenger whom Malachi predicts-that messenger which the Messiah was to be; and, by consequence, he would not be the Messiah. Now, the first remarkable character which we find in Jeremiah and Ezekiel, of the covenant which they describe, is, that it should be new, or different from the Mosaic institution. And this same character we can be at no loss to find in the covenant propounded by Jesus. The Mosaic institution required duties of a ceremonial service: Jesus requires the natural devotion of the heart, the reasonable sacrifice of an innocent and holy life. And the social duty, under the law and under the gospel, is in its first general principles the same: yet Jesus, in his sermon on the Mount, points out imperfections in certain particulars of the Mosaic law, in some of its political institutions; arising from that necessary accommodation to inveterate prejudices and general corruptions with which every rational scheme of reformation must begin; and the Mosaic institution is to be considered as the beginning of a plan of Providence for the gradual amendment of mankind, which Christianity was to finish and

complete. He tells the multitudes, that it would not be sufficient that they should abstain from such criminal actions as were prohibited by the letter of the Decaloguethat they must master the passions which might incline them to such actions. He taught that the law was fulfilled in the true and undissembling love of God and man; and although he did not, during his own life on earth, release men from the observance of the Mosaic rites, he seized all occasions of explaining to them the higher works of intrinsic goodness. Nor does his covenant differ less from the Mosaic in the blessings it offers than in the du ties it prescribes. The promises of the Mosaic covenant were of temporal blessings: the disciples of Christ are taught to look for nothing in this world but persecution and affliction, with the grace of God to support them under it: but they are to receive hereafter an inheritance that fadeth not away. Thus new, thus different from the Mosaic, is the covenant of Jesus; agreeing well in this particular with that which is described by Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Another circumstance of the covenant foretold by these prophets was, that it should be universal, comprehending all the nations of the earth. And such was the covenant of Jesus: he commanded the apostles to go into all nations, and to preach the gospel to every crea ture; with a promise of salvation to every one that should believe; and he scrupled not to tell the unbelieving Jews, "that many should come from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south, and sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of God.” A third character attributed by Jeremiah and Ezekiel to the covenant which they foretold was, that it should be everlasting. And such the covenant of Jesus in the very nature of the thing appears to be: it has no respect whatever, either in its requisitions or in its promises, to any pecularities of place or time. In the Mosaic institution, we find much attention to the particular tempers and manners of the Jewish people-to the notions they had