even for ever; the zeal of the Lord of Hosts will perform this." Will any one presume to say, that these glorious and sublime expressions of the Prophet have no reference to any thing more than a common natural birth, and the coming of a mere mortal? Turn then to the description given by St. Luke of the miraculous and supernatural birth. Look at the astonished shepherds, who were terrified by the extraordinary glory of the Lord (the Shechinah) shining round about them. Listen to the voice of the angel bringing them good tidings of great joy, "For unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." Listen to the acclamations of a multitude of the heavenly host, who suddenly came to the angel, and sang together this animating hymn, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good-will towards men." As soon as the angels had returned into Heaven, the shepherds hastened to Bethlehem "to

see what had come to pass which the Lord had made known unto them ;" and, after witnessing the truth of the fact, the shepherds returned to their own country,

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glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen as it was told unto them." Let such presumptuous disputers read this accomplishment of Isaiah's prophecy with humble and devout attention, and I would then say to them, "Be not faithless, but believing, for this is the Lord's doing, and therefore so marvellous in our eyes," Rather would I admonish them to partake of the exultation of the aged and dying Simeon, and of Anna the prophetess. The case of Simeon is peculiarly striking, as related in this chapter by the Evangelist, "And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was. Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Ghost was upon. him; and it was revealed unto him by

the Holy Ghost that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ; and he came by the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him after the custom of the law, then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said, "Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of all people, a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people, Israel:" and Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of him; and Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold this child is set for the falling and rising again of many in Israel, and for a sign which shall be spoken against; (yea, a sword shall pierce through thine own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed." Mary did not yet comprehend that she was blessed by being the chosen in

strument, through whom Christ was to come in the flesh, nor had she a clear conception of the divine nature of the Holy Infant, but she pondered and kept all these things in her heart. Let us consider the strength of the testimony of Simeon he being a just and devout man, believing in the truth of prophecy, especially that in the 40th chapter of Isaiah, respecting the promised consolation of Israel, was favored by the divine assurance of the Holy Spirit, that before his death he should see the Lord's Christ: is it not clear then that he was convinced that this child, so supernaturally born, was the promised Messiah and Saviour? "Mine eyes have seen thy salvation:" the following and concluding words of the address of Simeon to the virgin mother, are strikingly descriptive of the Messiah's character, and the consequences of his coming. It may be asked, how do the Socinians answer or refute the strong arguments of Christ's divinity, so evident

in the two first chapters of St. Luke? nothing more easy: they take the liberty of expunging every word of them: certainly the Ebionites and Marcion exceeded the modern Socinians in presumption, for they thought proper to reject three of the Gospels, and mutilated the original copy of the Gospel of St. Matthew. By such methods as these any thing may be either proved or disproved. The truth of all history, whether sacred or profane, may be rendered questionable: but, though such mutilators may resolve to close their own eyes so as not to see the light of revelation, that light will shine glorious and unextinguishable to the consolation of all pious and spiritual readers to the end of the world: it will be "a light to lighten the Gentiles, and to be the glory of thy people, Israel." In the improved version of the Bible,* as

* Vide Nares on the New Version, and Dr. Magee, Archbishop of Dublin's admirable work on Atonement and Sacrifice.