this Mystery of Faith. Had the Prophets foretold that a great Man should do great Things; whenever that great Man had come, it might have been doubted whether he was the Perfon foretold, and whether his mighty Deeds were not the common Effects of fuch Might and Power as he was armed with: But when the Prophets declared, that all they foretold should be accomplished by a mean and wretched Man, oppreffed with Sorrow, and worn out with Grief; this was a Cafe that could not be mistaken, hardly two fuch Men could come; and whenever he came, he would be easily distinguished by the Greatness of his Works, and the Meannefs of his Condition. And this leads me to confider,

Secondly, The Evidence of Prophecy concerning the mean Appearance our Lord was to make.

I fhall not need to carry you far in Search of this Evidence; the Chapter of the Text alone is fo full a Defcription of this Part of our Saviour's Character, that it looks more like an History than a Prophecy, and may with more Reason be fufpected to be a Copy drawn from his Life, than not to be a Defcription of it. Yet this Scripture was in Be$ 4

ing

ing long before our Lord was born, was in the keeping of his Enemies, of those who hated and despised him, and at last put him to a cruel Death, and were at once the Prefervers and the Fulfillers of this Prophecy. Here you find him reprefented as void of Form and of Comeliness; as having no Beauty that we should defire him; one despised and rejected of Men; a Man of Sorrows, and acquainted with Grief; from whom we bid as it were our Faces; he was defpifed, and we · efteemed him not. Yet this is He, of whom before the Prophet had prophefied: Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is giver, and the Government fhall be upon his Shoulder; and his Name fhall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace; of the Increase of his Government and Peace there fhall be no End upon the Throne of David, and upon his Kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with Judgment and with fuftice from henceforth even for ever. What Enigma's are these? Shall he be a mighty Prince, and yet defpifed and rejected of Men? Shall he be encompaffed with the Glories of David's Throne, and yet be void of Form and of Comelinefs? Shall he reign for ever, and establish Justice and Judgment for

evermore,

evermore, and fhall he yet be taken from Prison, and cut off from the Land of the Living? Where can thefe Contradictions meet, and in what Manner of Perfon can they be reconciled? But to go on: After this general Description of his low Estate, the Prophet proceeds to point out fome of the moft remarkable Calamities of his Life. He was not only despised and rejected, but he was oppreffed and afflicted, yet he opened not bis Mouth. He was taken from Prifon and from Judgment, and cut off from the Land of the Living; for the Tranfgreffion of the People he was ftricken. And yet he had done no Violence, neither was any Deceit in his Mouth. Yet it pleafed the Lord to bruise him, and to put him to Grief. His Soul was an Offering for Sin. And yet after this, when the Prophet had killed and buried him, he adds, He fhall prolong his Days, and the Pleasure of the Lord fhall profper in his Hand. He fhall fee the Travail of his Soul, and shall be satisfied. By his Knowledge shall my righteous Servant justify many; for he shall bear their Iniquities. Where are we now? Muft he die a wretched Death, and be numbered with the Tranfgreffors; and yet shall he prolong his Days, and fee the Work of the Lord profper in his Hands?

Hands? How fhall we clear these Things? Look into the Gofpel, and there you will find the Scene opening apace: There you will find your Lord defpifed and rejected of Men, perfecuted and afflicted, and put to a cruel Death and open Shame, and yet rifing to Glory and Honour. There you may fee this Prifoner of the Grave afcending to the Glory of his Father, giving Gifts unto Men, and leading Captivity captive,

Let us then, in the last place, consider the hiftorical Evidence we have for the Completion of these Prophecies, which defcribe the calamitous Condition of our bleffed Redeemer.

The Way was prepared before he was born. His Conception led to it; fince the Meannefs of his Parentage could promise nothing for the Child but Labour and Sorrow: And fo it proved. This mighty Prince of Peace made his firft Appearance in a Manger; and we may well fuppofe the other Conveniencies he met, upon his first coming into the World, were answerable to this. No fooner was he born, but his Life was fought after: The distressed Parents fly their Country, and the Child is carried into Banishment, before he knew to diftinguish between Good

and

and Evil. His Youth was spent in the Difficulties of Poverty, and his Hands employed in the Works of it; and when the Time came that he was to be made known unto Ifrael, and ftood forth in the Power of the Lord, confirming his Doctrine with mighty Signs and Wonders, the Oppofition to him increased, and every Act of Charity he did to others brought new Sorrow and Mifery to himself. During this Time, in which he went about doing Good, he had not, as he himself has told us, where to lay his Head. When he caft out Devils, he was immediately charged to be in League with the Prince of them. When he healed the Sick of their Infirmities, and forgave their Sins, then he was a Blasphemer, an Incroacher upon the Prerogative of God. When he restored the withered Hand, and cured the Lame or the Blind on the Sabbath-day, then he was no longer fit to live: These were fuch Offences, as nothing but his Death could expiate. Confider what he suffered, and he was the lowest of the Sons of Men: Confider what he did, and he appears, as he truly was, to be the Son of God.

But still there remains behind the gloomiest Scene of Sorrow. When the Powers of Darkness

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