plished, without the possibility of ever returning, to afford a pretence for a Messiah to come; they have been carried on the wings of time to the house of eternity, where they are registered as awful proofs, that the Hebrews, ever since the time of Christ, have rejected the incontrovertible evidence of their own prophets, that THE MESSIAH IS COME.'*

In this stage of our number, we think we ought to state, for the honor of Jesus and the satisfaction of every true Christian, that if he had designed to act the part of an impostor, or that of a false Messiah, he would undoubtedly have endeavored to accommodate himself to the prejudices of his own people and nation. If ambition had had any influence over him, he might have availed himself of the opinions prevailing amongst the Jews, who expected a powerful and glorious Messiah. When the people, struck with the lustre of his miracles, of their own accord, offered him a crown, he resisted their wishes, and exhorted them to obey the magistrates appointed by the Roman emperor. While he declared that he was the promised Messiah, he renounced all the temporal advantages and political rights which this title might have conferred on him in the opinion of the Jews. Thirty years he lived in obscurity; the last three years of his life he passed in poverty and persecution, and a cross awaited the end of his career. tious man would have strengthened the idea of a warlike and triumphant Messiah, and would have collected under his standard all who were weary of

An ambi

*For a labored refutation of the objections of the Jews against Jesus as the true Messiah, see History of all Religions, etc., page 264. 'By JOHN BELLAMY. Boston, 1820.

the Roman yoke, and who sighed for the re-establishment of the king of Israel. The numerous false Messiahs who appeared soon afterwards showed that the Jews only wanted a head to rise against their conquerors. In such a course, he had every thing, in a worldly point of view, to gain. Fame, wealth, and honor, stood ready to pay him homage. But in the course which he actually adopted, he had every thing to lose, even life itself. Hence the whole reign of the Messiah proves that he came from God, and that his mission was of divine origin.

But then if it be true that Jesus was an impostor, how shall we account for the invention of such a character? Dr. Channing well observes, that 'the invention of it is to be explained, and the reception which this fiction met with; and these perhaps are as difficult of explanation on natural principles, as its real existence. Christ's history bears all the marks of reality; a more frank, simple, unlabored, unostentatious narrative was never penned. Besides, his character, if invented, must have been an invention of singular difficulty, because no models existed on which to frame it.'

In drawing our subject to a close, we feel that, although we have not room to enlarge, we ought to state that there are three other views that may be taken of the reign of the Messiah :

1. The business which he came to perform.

2. His sufferings.

3. The consequences of his sufferings.

The great business of the Messiah is well set forth by the prophet Daniel: 'Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to

finish the transgression, and to make an end of sin, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy. **** And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself."* Many other passages might be cited to illustrate and set forth the business of the Messiah; his sufferings, and the result of his labors; but this is so full and explicit that we have thought proper not to enlarge, because we cannot possibly do justice to the great subject involved. A few remarks on the certainty of the accomplishment of this great work seem necessary. This is presented in various ways. The oath, the promise, the purpose, the pleasure, of the Almighty, are all in favor of the salvation which the Messiah came to effect. The most positive language is employed. The Almighty says, 'I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.'t The great Apostle says, 'And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob.' We have alluded to the poor despised Jew, who is yet looking for a Messiah. But it will not be always so. The light will break in upon his mind. He will at last be brought to 'confess him Lord, to the glory of God the Father.' He may continue to reject him, but the time must

* Dan. ix. 24, 25. We would refer those who wish to see this passage ably explained, to a sermon at the end of the prophecy of Daniel, in a work entitled, 'A short and plain Exposition of the Old Testament.' By JOB ORTON, S. T. P. Vol. vi. † Isa. xlix. 6.

Rom. xi. 26.

come when he with the Gentile will be brought home to the fold above; for 'in the dispensation of the fulness of times, God will gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth.'*

Such then is the character of the Messiah, and the great purpose for which he was sent into the world. Every view we take of him presents us with unnumbered beauties. If we look at his reign, we see it, as an author observes, 'sometimes under the type of a wilderness, newly clothed with bud and blossom; sometimes we see it under the type of a city descending from heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband; sometimes we behold it as a great temple arising out of the earth, and capacious enough to contain all nations.' If we look at the various offices he sustained, we find that so many never met before in a single individual. The Messiah was 'anointed with the oil of gladness above his fellows;' that is, above those who possessed with him a fellowship or similarity of office, as types of himself. Aaron was anointed high priest; Saul was anointed king; Elisha was anointed prophet; Melchisedec, king and priest; Moses, priest and prophet; David, king and prophet; yet none was ever anointed to the union and comprehension of all these offices together but the CHRIST of GOD. Having considered the character of the Saviour in the various ways presented to us in connection with this subject, we cannot help closing in the words of Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, 'We have found the MESSIAS, which is, being interpreted, the Christ.'

* Eph. i. 10.

LVI. MICHAEL.

'And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time; and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.' Dan. xii. 1.

In attempting to embrace all the titles, it is possible that we may present those which only have an apparent reference to the Redeemer. This may be the case with the one under consideration, but we have ventured to place it among the number, leaving the reader to form his own conclusions. Some we have actually omitted because we thought them wholly inappropriate and inapplicable, though others have sacredly applied them to the Saviour.*

This word is found in four other places, Dan. x. 13, 21; Jude 9; Rev. xii. 7.

Cruden renders Micaiah, Michaiah, and Michael, all in the same manner : 'Who is like unto God?' Calmet says, this was the name given to the archangel who is represented as presiding over the Jewish nation.

But for the propriety of applying this word to the Saviour, we rely chiefly on the connexion in which it stands. Three particulars are embraced in the passage.

*See PREFACE.