tire Levitical economy was a divinely established system of delusion-a grave imposture palmed upon a whole nation by the express appointment of God. The admission of the doctrine of Christ's atoning sacrifice can alone save us from this blasphemous assumption. On this principle, the legal dispensation admits of an easy solution; it appears to be not simply harmless but useful, highly useful, and every way worthy of its righteous and beneficent Author. It is not possible to conclude this section, without recommending to our readers the diligent study of the Levitical institutes, particularly those respecting sacrifice. This we would enjoin, not as matter of vain curiosity, but of profitable and delightful instruction. Without this, the beauty and force of many parts of the new testament scriptures must be lost. An acquaintance with the laws respecting the daily oblations, the paschal lamb, the scape goat, and such like, cannot fail to afford valuable assistance in understanding the most important doctrines of the Christian faith. The spiritual reader, as he peruses the pages of the law, will never be without sufficient matter to remind him of the great High Priest, who is passed into the heavens, the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world, the Lord Jesus Christ by whom we have receiv. ed the atonement. When burdened with sin, he will learn to put his hand by faith on the head of the blessed Surety, by whom all his iniquities may be carried to the land of forgetfulness. From the bleeding victim of Calvary, his thoughts will be conducted to the heavenly sanctuary, where the true Priest appears in the presence of God for us, not without blood. In connexion with the institutes of the law, let the epis. tle to the Hebrews be made the subject of devout inves tigation. The latter records the fulfilment of the former. This masterpiece of skilful reasoning is adapted not to Jews only, but to all who need a priest, a sacrifice, a Saviour. Every sinner of the family of man will find here what is suited to his case, if he has only the wisdom to perceive and the grace to improve it. The dignity of the Christian high priest, the worth of his sacrifice, the efficacy of his intercessions, are here set forth in the most lucid and impressive style; and nowhere can the sin-burdened soul, panting for salvation, go, with such prospects of finding relief, as to this incomparable composition, an acquaintance with which will do more to establish the faith, and comfort the heart, and direct the conduct of an humble inquirer, than all that has been written since the days of the apostles. Happy they who read, believe, and apply. Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus. We have such an High Priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; a minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle which the Lord pitched and not man. SECTION VI. PROOF-PROPHECY. THE glorious Person, of whose work we are now treat. ing, is He of whom Moses in the law and the prophets did write, Jesus of Nazareth the son of Joseph. From the legal institutes we naturally pass to prophetic intimations, in proof of Christ's atonement. In proceeding thus, we advance into still clearer light. The evidence adduced, it will be remarked, is not merely cumulative, each successive proof being only an addition to the number of arguments; but progressive, each being, in its own nature, stronger than that by which it is preceded, inasmuch as it is drawn from a source in which the light is more perfect, the evidence more direct, and the reasoning less open to dispute. The light derived from the law is brighter than that derived from the ancient and universal practice of mankind; and the light derived from prophecy is brighter still than that furnished by the law. If, on the one hand, the law may be regarded as a key to unlock the more difficult wards of prophecy; on the other, prophecy may be looked upon as an exposition, an inspired exposition, of the law. Prophecy lifts the veil which had previously concealed the mystery of man's redemption, and rescues it from the shade of these ceremonial rites, through which, comparatively speaking, it could be but faintly discerned. The mystery of redemption forming the proper subject of a revelation from heaven, it was to be expected that the prophecy which came not in old time by the will of man, but which holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost, should treat distinctly of this matter. This expectation is justified by fact. and by the assertions of the new testament. The apostles not only declared that the spirit of Christ which was in the prophets, testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow,' but protested that, in their public ministrations, they 'said none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come, that Christ should suffer.** Nay Jesus himself, in conversation respecting his sufferings with two of his disciples after his resurrection, made express reference, more than once, to the writings of the prophets on this very subject :—' () fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? and beginning at Moses and ALL THE PROPHETS, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself These are the words which I spake unto you while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the law of Moses and in the prophets, and in the psalms concerning me. Then opened he their understand. ing, that they might understand the scriptures, and said unto them, thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer.'t The passages in the prophecies which treat of the sufferings of Christ are innumerable. Indeed God hath showed, by the mouth of ALL the prophets, that Christ should suffer.' But, instead of going over the whole of the prophetical testimonies, it will serve our purpose better to confine our attention to two, in which not merely the fact, but the nature and the reason, of the Messiah's sufferings, are stated with great fulness, clearness, and force. ISAIAH liii. The first of these is the distinguished description of the sufferings and death of Christ given by Isaiah in his fifty. 1 Pet. i. 11. Acts xxvi. 23, 24. + Luke xxiv, 25-27, 44-46. third chapter, which has been justly called one of the brightest constellations in the prophetic hemisphere. 1. The prophecy, which commences at the 13th verse of the preceding chapter, notwithstanding the objections of certain enemies of the truth, bears an obvious reference to the MESSIANI. The Targum or Chaldee paraphrase of Jonathan Ben Uzziel supports this view, as well as other early Jewish expositors: not to speak of the earliest Christian fathers. Indeed the testimony of the new testament writers is too decided on this point, to admit of any room for doubt, in the minds of all humble and candid interpreters of the word of God. Matthew quotes, with reference to Jesus of Nazareth, the fourth verse of this chapter:-- Himself took our infirmities and bare our sicknesses.** Mark and Luke refer, with the same view, to the twelfth verse: And he was numbered with the transgressors.'t John, speaking of the unbelief of the people with regard to the miracles of Christ, finds in it a fulfilment of the first verse :- Lord. who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed?' In the Acts of the Apostles, that beautiful part of the prophecy which speaks of the Messiah be ing led as a sheep to the slaughter, is represented as the text from which Philip preached to the eunuch concerning Christ Then Philip began at the same scripture and preached unto him Jesus.' And Peter, in his first epistle, has obviously a view to the prediction of Isaiah, when he speaks of Christ thus: Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth. Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree-by whose stripes we are healed.'|| These testimonies will be sufficient to convince all who regard Christ and his apostles as correct interpreters of the old testament scriptures, that this prophecy of Isaiah refers to the Messiah. That this should ever have been called in question, by any who claim the Christian name, might have excited surprise, had we not known, that, in every age, there have been those who have resisted the clearest evidence in support of the most vital and important gos. pel truth. 11 The grounds on which it has been denied that this pre + Mark xv. 29. Luke xii. 37. John xii. 3?. Matt. viii. 17. 1 Pet. ii. 22, 24. diction refers to the sufferings of the Messiah are most untenable. No small stress has been laid by some on the want of all allusion to it, in illustration of the doctrine of substitution, in the writings of Paul. The fact is singular enough, it must be acknowledged; but the inference deduced from it is far from being conclusive. We are not at liberty to say from what source the infinitely wise God should draw his confirmations or illustrations of the precious truths he is pleased to make known to us by his Spirit. Our duty is to receive and improve what he has seen meet to give; without complaining, either that he has not given us more, or that that which he has given is not different from what it is. The application of the language of some parts of this remarkable portion of revealed truth, has been thought to proceed on the principle of accommodation. Without denying that such a use is ever made, in the new testament scriptures, of the language of the old, it is sufficient at present to remark, how preposterous it is to resort to this method of interpretation in a case like the present, where the passages quoted are expressly declared by the inspired writers to have a reference to the Messiah.* II. This prediction treats of the SUFFERINGS of the Messiah. These are set forth with a plenitude and variety of expression, which it is deeply interesting and highly instructive to mark and consider. The terms and phrases made use of for this purpose, are truly worthy of notice, and a consideration of these lies directly within the line of our argument. It may also serve a good end, to note the translations given of the original of these respective expressions, by some of our most distinguished modern biblical scholars, even such as do not accord in sentiment with the doctrine which it is our object to establish. The following classification of terms and phrases may help to give us some idea of the amount of evidence which the prophecy contains, to the extent of Messiah's sufferings : אישים נבזה .3 .v * Other objections to the application of Isaiah's prophecy to Christ have been started by Neologians. Such as take an interest in these matters will find them all stated and refuted in a very able note by Dr. Pye Smith.-Disc. on Sac., pp. 260-271. These translations are given at length by Dr. Smith, in the Note last referred to. |