described at large, in the first and second chapters of his prophecy, the ruin that should come upon Judea and the neighbouring countries, he proceeds to foretel the vengeance that should come upon all nations: “Wait ye upon me, saith the Lord, until the day that I rise up to the prey for my determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger : for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy. Then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve him with one consent. From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia my suppliants, the daughter of my dispersed, shall bring mine offering. The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth : for they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make them afraid." Zephaniah iii. 8—13. In prospect of this glorious time, the prophet calls upon the church, under the ancient name of Zion, Jerusalem, and Israel, to break forth in praise to Jehovah the Redeemer, who will then be indeed "Emmanuel, God with us : "Sing, O daughter of Zion shout, O Israel: be glad and rejoice with all thine heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. taken away thy judgments: he hath enemy; the King of Israel, even Jehovah, is in the midst of thee: thou shalt see evil no more. be said to Jerusalem, Fear thou not: thine hands be slack. The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty he will save: he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love; he will joy over thee with singing. Behold, at that time," adds the Lord, "I will undo all that afflict thee, and I will save her that halteth, and gather her that was driven out; and I will get them praise and fame in every land where they have been put to shame. At that time I will bring you again, even the time that I gather you; for I will make you a name and a praise among all people of the earth, when I turn back your captivity before your eyes, saith the Lord." Now, sir, who is this King of Israel that is in the midst of us and is mighty, and who declares he will save, but the

The Lord hath cast out thine

In that day it shall and to Zion, Let not

"Word made flesh, that dwelt among us," and came to save his people from their sins?

Zechariah speaks to the same purpose. In the second chapter, having mentioned the vengeance that should be taken upon the Babylonians and other nations that had spoiled God's people of old,—an emblem of the wrath that will be poured upon the modern Babylon,-he describes the days of refreshing in the following words :-" Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come and dwell in the midst of thee, saith the Lord." (This seems to refer primarily to the coming of Christ in the flesh.) "And many nations shall be joined to the Lord in that day," (namely, the gentile nations,) "and shall be my people and I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto thee. And the Lord shall inherit Judah his portion in the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again,”—which plainly foretels the conversion of the Jews, and their restoration to their own land. And perhaps the following words, "Be silent, all flesh, before the Lord, for he is raised up out of his holy habitation," may be intended as an intimation of the conversion of all mankind, their attendance upon the Lord in his ordinances, and their worshipping him in spirit and in truth.

Malachi also, the last of the prophets, foretels, and that with great clearness, this twofold work of the Messiah. Having pointed him out as the Lord that should come to his temple, the Messenger of the covenant, in whom (to be shortly revealed) the pious Jews delighted, rejoicing, like faithful Abraham, in the foresight of his day, he next informs us what would be the effect of his manifestation in our flesh. "But who," says he, "may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap: and he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and" by the spirit of judgment, as well as spirit of burning, "he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness." Then the times of refreshing shall succeed the days of vengeance, "and the offering of

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Judah and Jerusalem shall be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in the former years." For while the Lord "comes near to judgment," and is a swift witness, against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn away the stranger from his right, and fear not the Lord;" they that fear him speak often one to another, and the Lord hearkens and hears, and a book of remembrance is written for those that fear the Lord and think upon his name; and they shall be mine, saith the Lord, in the day when I make up my jewels. Then shall ye turn and discern between the righteous and the wicked; between him that serveth God, and him that serveth him not." And he speaks more clearly still in the next (the last) chapter. He first describes the days of vengeance: 66 Behold, the

day cometh that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, and all that do wickedly, shall be as stubble: the day cometh that shall burn them up, and leave them neither root nor branch." He then foretels the days of refreshing which shall succeed: "But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts."

Now, sir, he before whose face Jehovah's messenger, John the baptist, was sent, and before whom he cried, "Prepare ye the way of the Lord; make his paths straight:" he who suddenly comes to his temple, and, appearing in it as the desire of all nations, gives it a glory, such as even Solomon's temple had not, though besides the splendour and magnificence of the wonderful fabric, overlaid with silver and gold, it had five signs of the divine presence, as the Jews themselves have acknowledged, which were wanting in this second temple; viz., the Urim and Thummim, by which the high priest was miraculously instructed in the will of God; the "ark of the covenant," containing the two tables of the law written with the finger of God;

the fire upon the altar, which came down from heaven; the Shekinah, or visible display of the divine glory; and the spirit of prophecy :-he, who is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap, and who sits upon the souls of men, as a refiner and purifier of silver, purifying them from all pollution of flesh and spirit: he who comes near, by his spiritual presence, as a swift witness against sinners of every description, while as the Sun of righteousness he rises upon those that fear the name of the Lord, with healing in his wings, so that they go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall: he surely must be more than a mere man. Leaving you to reflect, sir, on the contrariety of your doctrine to that of the prophets,

I remain, &c

LETTER VI.

REV. SIR,

How could you assert that none of the prophets gave the Jews any other idea of the Messiah, than that of a man like themselves, when Isaiah had given him names which are above every name, that at the names of our Saviour every knee should bow, and every believing Jew should confess that the Messiah is Lord God omnipotent? Had you forgotten this prophetic exultation, "Unto us the child is born, unto us the son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulders: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of peace?" Isai. ix. 6.

Your assertion is so much the more astonishing, as Isaiah in other places speaks of the Messiah in terms as magnificent. Take two or three instances. That prophet describes the Messiah's humanity, as a branch growing out of the roots of Jesse, as a holy prince which shall judge with righteousness, reprove with equity, smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, slay the wicked with the breath of his lips, and so perfectly restore peace in the earth, that they shall not hurt nor destroy in all his VOL. VII.

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holy mountain, or happy dominions, where even the gentiles shall enjoy a glorious rest: "for the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off, and Ephraim shall not envy Judah, nor shall Judah vex Ephraim: and the Lord shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea." Isai. xi. 1, &c. After this description of the Messiah, the Son of God manifested as son of David and Jesse, to destroy the works of the devil, and to reign with his ancients gloriously, the prophet, in the name of the church, sings, beforehand, a song of thanksgiving to God our Saviour for these mighty achievements. In that day, says he, thou shalt say, The work of redemption is finished; "behold, God is my salvation, the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he is become my salvation. Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. Sing unto the Lord; for he hath done excellent things. Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Sion; for great is the holy One of Israel in the midst of thee." Isai. xii. 1, &c. It was impossible for a spiritual Jew to read this description of the Messiah's peaceful kingdom, without seeing that this root of Jesse, this "holy One of Israel," so great in the midst of Zion, was the same wonderful person whom the prophet had just before called "the son given" and "the mighty God." And our Lord gave the Jews an assurance of it, when he cried, on the great day of the feast, "If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink :" and this he did, when they had just been singing, as they did at that feast, those words of Isaiah, "You shall draw with joy water out of the wells of salvation:" plainly intimating to them, as he had done to the woman of Samaria, that he was the divine spring of our joy, the holy One of Israel in the midst of us, and the Jehovah become our salvation, and sung by Isaiah.

The same prophet, personating John the Baptist, and foretelling the coming of the Messiah, says, "The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord," the way of Jehovah, “make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain shall be made low, and the rough places plain; and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed." "O Zion, that bringest good tidings,"—or, as the bishop of