who went about every where doing good to the poor, and comforting the distressed. We see Him feeding a famished multitude by a miracle, because His compassionate heart would not permit Him to send them away fasting, lest they should faint. We behold how His tender and feeling bosom was moved by the tears of those who surrounded the grave of Lazarus; and we see Him at the bier of the widow's son, led there by a heart that was melted with compassion for the sorrows He witnessed; then, no longer let us think, that so loving and merciful a Saviour, will hide His compassion from any man who, feeling his need of consolation, has gone to Him for blessing.

Then, reader, if still thou dost reject Christ and His salvation, I beseech thee to look, once more, at the evidence which is given by His miracles, of His authority and power, and be no longer rebellious, but believing. Dost thou not see in these mighty works the proof of His Divinity, and the strength of His arm? Who could have accomplished such deeds, unless he possessed Divine power? and, if Christ possessed Divine power, shouldst thou not submit to His commands? Yes, surely this is thy best and wisest course. Doing so, Doing so, that power which could so easily accomplish the works which Christ performed on earth, will be put forth to rescue thee from hell, and snatch thy trembling soul from the iron grasp of Satan; but, refusing so to do-if thou dost reject that power for thy salvation, thou must expect to feel it in thy eternal destruction. He who could

say to the barren fig tree, "let no fruit grow on thee henceforth for ever," can say to rebellious men, "depart ye cursed into everlasting fire;" and, as that tree, under His curse, withered and died, so shall their hope wither within them, and their souls perish in eternal death. But, now, this kind yet powerful Saviour, is waiting to be gracious, and is as ready to heal our spiritual diseases, as He was to restore by His miraculous power, the bodily diseases of men. All that He looks for, is confidence in His word, and faith in His power to save; and when He beholds the sinner thus trusting, He can say to Him, as He exclaimed to many, "thy sins be forgiven thee," (Matt. ix. 2.), "thy faith hath saved thee, go in peace," (Luke vii. 50.), "thy faith hath made thee whole." (Matt. ix. 22.)

CHAPTER XVII.

OUR COVENANT REDEEMER'S DIVINE AUTHORITY CONFIRMED BY HIS PROPHETIC POWER.

"O God, we have heard with our ears, and our fathers have declared unto us the noble works Thou didst in their days, and in the old "time before them."

Litany.

In the preceding chapter, it was attempted to show, that the purpose of Christ's miracles, was chiefly to prove the Divinity of His mission, and the authority of His word—that they were the credentials of His office, and a portion of the work which His Father sent Him to accomplish.

To those who witnessed the miracles of Christ, they would be the most convincing proof that He could present, of the truth of His word, and of His authority as a Divine teacher; but, as the world, throughout all ages, must likewise be convinced, it was necessary that He should present other evidence; and, therefore, to those who could not behold His miracles, He has given the testimony of prophecy.

Fulfilled prophecy is as wonderful a manifestation of Divine power, as any miracle. Prophecy is the prediction of an event which is to take place at a period

of time, remote from that at which it is delivered; and it is quite clear, from our knowledge of mankind and experience of ourselves, that no human creature has in himself such power-no man, unaided by God, could foretell what even a day or an hour shall bring forth. Any one may say at night, that on the morrow the sun shall rise, and again diffuse his light over the earth, but this is not a prophecy; it is only a plausible conjecture grounded on experience. We know, that for a long period, the motion of the earth around her axis has been uniform, and that the succession of day and night has never ceased; therefore, we presume that this rotation will continue as it has hitherto gone on; and may safely predict, that, if the globe is not destroyed in the meanwhile, the sun will, as usual, arise on the

morrow.

The same may be said of the predictions made by astronomers. These learned men, by carefully observing the motions of the heavenly bodies, and knowing that their revolutions are all performed with the nicest regularity, are able to tell us, when they will be in such positions relative to each other, as to produce those phenomena, called eclipses; but, these predictions are not prophetic, because, the event predicted, is not separated from present or past circumstances, and depends upon the observation and experience of those circumstances. It is not on any foreknowledge of future events, that these predictions depend; but, on a knowledge of past events, which we know will, in the

cycle of ages, occur again, just as they occurred before. A prophecy, on the contrary, is a prediction which has no connexion with any thing past or present; but, depends upon a power which no man ever possessed, or can possess, of raising up the veil which hides the future from our view, and showing unto us the designs of God's providence, in the control and direction of events that are to happen at some ulterior period. Such were the prophecies of the Old Testament seers, who, being directly inspired, were, by God, enabled to foretell changes among the nations, which no human foresight or sagacity could have anticipated.

These prophets were, however, only instruments in the hands of God. They never spake, but in the name and by the authority of the Lord. The communications made to them were directly from the mouth of God; and they were sent forth as His messengers, to make known His purposes to others.

The prophecies of the Apostles were similarly dependant upon direct inspiration. They spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost, and beyond the permission and direction of God they could not proceed one step.

But this was not the case with Christ. He was, indeed, as a man under the influence of the Holy Ghost, and required for his hnman nature those helps from on high, which we need ourselves, As a man, He had no more power than we have to perform miracles, or to prophecy. He voluntarily took our