sons whom he called to some certain offices; so was this holy person Jesus to be separated or distinguished, not by such an outward anointing as. men were, for those offices to which they were appointed, by God's command, under the LAW, but by a far more powerful consecration, viz. by the invisible power and grace of the Holy Spirit; and hence the Apostle affirms (Acts, x. 38), that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power. But our blessed Lord was not without an outward testimony also, of his being called to his peculiar office; for we read in Matt. iii. 16, 17, that the Holy Ghost came upon him-(this was his inward or spiritual anointing); and that God also, by a voice from heaven, declared him to be his beloved Son, and commanded all the world to hear him (xvii. 5); and he received of the Spirit without measure, for the needful discharge of all his holy offices (John, iii. 34).

It was necessary he should be called the Christ, or Anointed, because by this particular name he was foretold in the Old Testament. And as the offices to which men were appointed, and consecrated by the ceremony of anointing in the law, were those of Prophet, Priest, and King; and there being, before our Lord's coming into the world, express prophecies that all these characters belonged to HIM; it became likewise absolutely necessary that he should be

consecrated to them all. Among the many prophecies concerning the Messias, or Christ, those which speak more particularly to these characters are the following: the title of Prophet is given him in Deuteronomy, xviii. 15—18: I will raise them up a PROPHET from among their brethren, like unto thee; and will put my words into his mouth, and he shall speak unto them all that I command him. Of his priesthood, the Prophet David speaks in Psalm cx. 4: The Lord hath sworn and will not repent, Thou art a PRIEST for ever after the order of Melchisedek. And in Isaiah, lxi. 1, the exercise of his ministry is fully declared; The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because the Lord hath anointed me to PREACH GOOD TIDINGS unto the meek: he hath sent me to BIND UP THE BROKEN-HEARTED, to PROCLAIM liberty to the captives. And that we must receive him as a KING, we have the authority of that very remarkable and sublime description concerning our Lord, given by the Prophet Isaiah (ix. 6, 7), wherein he is called the PRINCE of Peace; and further, that of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

Thus far you have Scripture proof, even the

word of prophecy itself, for these titles. Let us see further, how far he has fulfilled them. Now, he was strictly a Prophet, because he foretold things to come, as the history of his life will abundantly convince you. He declared God's will to the world, and he commissioned his disciples to go and publish the same doctrine of salvation to all mankind; under which commission, we must doubtless understand, that in his wisdom he allotted to them their respective posts and stations, and directed them to appoint the same regular offices to their successive followers, whom they should think fit to ordain to the work. It was impossible that the Apostles in their own persons could go and teach all nations, and therefore they received authority from Christ to appoint others to assist them; by the due and diligent discharge of whose labours towards those over whom they were set, all mankind were in the way to receive the doctrine. It is clear from Scripture, that many were not sent to one place, but each had his distinct charge; and they were answerable to their temporal overseers, for their conduct, as well as to the chief Bishop of their souls. If any other inode had been more competent to the work, we may safely conclude, divine wisdom would have adopted it. On the contrary, the ill effect of a promiscuous ministry is registered past all dispute, in the rebuke of St. Paul to the churches

which were partially divided as to the merit of various teachers. We read that he had no little difficulty to restore the order that was broken, by the unwarrantable preference of private persons to their favourite preachers, who, like those of itching ears, in the present day, were one for Paul, another for Apollos, and a third for Cephas:-but this by the way.

Again, our blessed Lord fully performed every part of the priestly office, 1st, in that he offered up himself as a sacrifice for our sins (Heb. vii, 27, who needed not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins and then for the people's; for this he did once when he offered up himself. 2dly, In that he still intercedes for us at God's right hand ; as it is said, Heb. ix. 24, For Christ is not entered into the high place made with hands, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the And, 3dly, in that he

presence of God for us.

blesseth us, not only by delivering us hereby from the punishment of our sin, but by sanctifying our souls through the working of his grace, and so freeing us in great measure from the present power of them, as the Apostle speaks, Heb. ix. 14: For how much more shall the blood of Christ, who, through the eternal Spirit, offered himself without spot to God, purge your consciences from dead works, to serve the living God? Attend to these last words, my

brethren-FROM DEAD WORKS, &c.-by which we are not to understand that the Apostle means, as some would insinuate, to lower the value of GOOD WORKS: no; the DEAD works he mentions are clearly, CARNAL WORKS, or works of THE FLESH, which would burden the conscience, and of which works, consequently, it must be purged. And nothing can mark this more strongly, than what he opposes thereto, viz. THE SERVING THE LIVING GOD, which no man can be said to do, while he continues in any WILFUL SIN. We have now only to inquire how far our Lord may be considered to have completed the KINGLY office.

While on earth, he did what became that character, in giving laws to his church, for the regulation of the lives and actions of those who should become members of it. (Matt. vii. 24, 26.) Whosoever therefore heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him to a wise man, &c. These laws he established by a royal sanction of rewards and punishments: Every tree, saith he (Matt. vii. 19, 21), that bringeth not forth good fruit, is hewn down and cast into the fire. Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but HE WHO DOETH THE WILL of my Father who is in heaven.

As another act of princely power, he settled a ministry for the conduct of his church,