men shall be hid.' And hath not this been seen among you, concerning the Messiah? that sign, that a virgin should have a son; and therefore he calls you in Isa. xxx. ' rebellious children;' when he says, ' woe to you rebellious children, saith the Lord, that take counsel but not of me; that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin.' For, had you been covered with the spirit, you would have seen the sign that God gave you, the virgin having a son, the Immanuel, who came according to Daniel's number: and therefore,' says Isaiah, 'saith the Lord, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for a time to come, for ever and ever; for this is a rebellious people, lying children, that will not hear the law of the Lord.' Isa. xxx. 1, 8, 9. So here you may see what they were in Isaiah's days, and the rest of the prophets'; and you may see what you were in Moses' days, and the rest of the Judges; and what you were when the Messiah came: for did you not say to the seers, 'see not;' to the prophets, prophesy not to us right things, speak to us smooth things, prophesy deceit :' so you may see how you were against the prophets, and how you were all along from Moses to the Messiah.

And Isa. xxxii. 'behold, a king shall reign in righteousness,' &c. And is not this spoken of the Messiah? ‘A man shall be as a hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest, as rivers of water in a dry place, and as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land. And the eyes of them that see, shall not be dim; and the ears of them that hear shall hearken:' and this is witnessed by thousands, though you have ears and hear not, and eyes that see it not.

And Isa. xxxv. where it speaks largely of the Messiah, who hath made the wilderness a solitary place, glad, and hath confirmed the weak hands and feeble knees, and made the fearful heart strong, and opened the blind eyes and deaf ears, and made the lame man to leap, the tongue of the dumb to sing, and the wilderness and the desert water streams, and her parched land to become a pool, and thirsty land springs of water:' we who own the Messiah, the Immanuel, the Son of the virgin, the sign to you whose heads are weak, and knees feeble, and land parched thirsty, wanting the springs that be heavenly, and whose tongues are dumb, concerning the Messiah being come, having not the tongue of the learned to know the times and seasons to be in the Father's hand. And Isaiah tells you of a way, that shall be called the way of holiness, which shall be for those, the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein, and the redeemed shall walk in it, and the ransomed of the Lord.' Now are not your eyes blind to this way, and your ears deaf from hearing it, this way of holiness, where the unclean shall not walk over it? mark, is not this the way, the Messiah? and in Isa. xlii. where he saith, 'behold my servant whom I uphold, my elect in whom my soul delighteth; I have put VOL. V.-9

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my spirit upon him; he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.' And this the Gentiles witness, though your eyes are blind and cannot see this elect, this servant, in whom God's soul delighteth, and hath put his spirit upon him, who hath brought forth judgment to the Gentiles: A bruised reed he shall not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench; he shall bring forth judgment to truth; he shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he hath set judgment in the earth, and the isles shall wait for his law,' &c. and many have received his law, though you Jews have had the law, and the prophets have spoke of him that was to come, who is come; you have shut your eyes and stopped your ears, and have not received his law, though you read in the law and the prophets of him: 'but I the Lord, have called thee in righteousness, and I will hold thine hand; I will keep thee; I will give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles: Is not this the Messiah? is not this the Immanuel that is born of the virgin? Yes, the Gentiles received this light and covenant, many thousands, and witness both the promise of God, and the prophecies fulfilled. And further he saith, the Lord saith, that he will open the eyes of the blind, to bring the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison-house: I am the Lord, that is my name, and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images: behold,' saith he, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them: sing unto the Lord a new song, and his praise to the ends of the earth,' &c. And you may see further; the isles and the inhabi tants thereof shall give glory to God, and declare his praise in the isles.'

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So consider now, you whose eyes are blind, and are yet prisoners in prison, and sit in darkness, and do not behold the new thing that the prophet declared, yea, declared them before they sprung forth; and you who know not this new song, cannot sing it to the Lord; but who knows the Messiah, knows this new song, knows new things: many islands can declare his praise, whom the Messiah hath brought out of darkness, the prison-house, and opened the blind eyes, whom the Lord hath given for a covenant of the people, for a light to the Gentiles, and to be his salvation to the ends of the earth; now ye know ye had the old covenant before. And the Lord says further, I will bring the blind by a way they know not; I will lead them into paths which they have not known; I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight; these will I do,' &c. Hear ye deaf, and look ye blind, that ye may see; seeing many things, but thou observest not; opening thine ears, but hearest not; is not this thy condition? Behold, thus saith the Lord, which maketh a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters,' &c. Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old, because I will make a new thing, and now it shall spring forth,

and ye shall not know it; the beasts of the field shall honor me,' &c. Now consider how ye have not truly minded the old things, nor the new thing.

And Isa. 1. doth not he there speak of the Messiah, of the Son of man who was not rebellious: He that turned not away his back, but said, I gave my back to the smiter, and my cheek to them that plucked off the hair, and hid not my face from shame and spitting? And was not this the Immanuel, born of a virgin, who came among you, according to the number of Daniel, the Messiah? Did not you spit upon him? Did not you whip and scourge him? And did he turn his back from you smiters, whose eyes were blinded; But the Lord had given him the tongue of the learned, that he should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary.' &c. He further saith, The Lord God will help me, therefore shall I not be confounded, therefore I have set my face as a flint: behold the Lord will help me, who is he that will condemn me? lo, they all shall wax old as a garment, and the moth shall eat them up.'

And now ye that will not receive the Messiah, the Immanuel, born of the virgin, according to Daniel's number, that little stone that hath dashed to pieces the four monarchies, and is become a great mountain, and filled the whole earth; and will not this stone fall upon your heads, and grind you to powder? And are not you waxed old like a garment? and have not the moths eaten up many of you? And doth not Isaiah say in the 52d and 53d chapters, Behold my servant shall deal prudently; he shall be exalted and be very high: as many were astonished at thee; his visage was marred more than any man's, and his form more than the sons of men.'

And was not the Messiah served so with you Jews, when he came amongst you, above sixteen hundred years since, were not you astonished at him? Was not his visage marred? But saith Isaiah, 'he shall sprinkle many nations.' This we see, though you whose eyes are blind cannot see; the Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the face of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God. Is not this the Immanuel, born of a virgin, according to Isaiah's prophecy, and Daniel's number; though seeing you see not, and hearing hear not; close your eyes and stop your ears? But Isaiah saith, Isa. liii. 1, 2. who hath believed our report? to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? he shall grow up before him, as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground; he hath no form nor comeliness, and when we see him, there is no beauty, that we should desire him.

And so is not this he that was born of a virgin, the Messiah; that when he came among you, and to this day, you could never see any form or comeliness or beauty, but spit upon him, and buffeted him, and put your

crown of thorns on him; yea, says Isaiah, 'he was despised and rejected of men' and did not you despise him? did not you fulfil the prophets' words? He was a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief, and we have hid our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.' And did not you hide your faces from him, and despise him when he came? Did not you fulfil Isaiah's prophecy here concerning the Immanuel, who was born of a virgin? And saith Isaiah, but he was wounded for our transgression, he was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed; all we like sheep have gone astray, and have turned every one to his own way, and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquities of us all.' All you Jews every where have gone astray after your own way, till you turned to the Immanuel, that was born of a virgin, that was the Messiah, that came according to Daniel's number: 'he was oppressed, he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; he was brought as a lamb to the slaughter; and as a sheep before the shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth.' And was it not you Jews that did oppress him, and afflict him, and brought him as a lamb to your slaughter, as a sheep before her shearer is dumb; were not you the people that did thus deal with the Messiah above sixteen hundred years since? He was taken from prison and judgment, and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of the people was he stricken.'

Now consider this you Jews; was it not you that did take him from prison and judgment? and were not your forefathers and Pilate his judges, who was cut off for the transgression, and was stricken for the people? and you will never come out of your transgression, but through him, the Messiah, the Immanuel, born of the virgin. He made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, because he had done no violence, neither was deceit found in his mouth: it pleased the Lord to bruise him, and to put him to grief, when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin; he shall see his seed; he shall prolong his days; the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.'

Now here you may see, you Jews, here was an offering for sin, who made his soul an offering for sin, and ended your offerings for sin; this is beyond all your offerings, and this is the offering that pleased the Lord; this was he that was born of the virgin; this was the Messiah that Daniel numbers the years of the time when he should come, and who came in your forefathers' days, above sixteen hundred years since, and made his soul an offering for sin; and he did see his seed in the days of his disciples and apostles, and now; and the pleasure of the Lord did prosper in his hand, and doth. Isaiah saith, he shall see the travail of his soul, and

be satisfied; by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many, for he shall bear their iniquity.'

Now you that do not believe in him, though he was an offering for your sin, how can you be justified? or how can you believe in Moses or any of the prophets that testified of him, that do not believe in him? and therefore, saith the Lord, 'I will divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he hath poured out his soul unto death; he was numbered with the transgressors; he bore the sins of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.' Now you that do not believe that he bore your sins, though he was numbered with the transgressors; and you that do not believe that it is he that you crucified, who is the Son of the virgin, that must make intercession for you, you neither believe in the prophets nor in the Messiah, nor ever can come to God, but by him that makes intercession for you, and bears your sins.

Doth not Isaiah complain in chapter lii. how his name was blasphemed every day?' and did not you blaspheme against his son when he came? 'but my people shall know my name in that day, that I am he that speaketh; behold it is I.' Now here was a day to come, and happy were those of you that did behold the day when it came; yea, the day of the Messiah, and do behold it now. And how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that publisheth peace, that bringeth glad tidings of good, that publisheth salvation, that saith to Sion, thy God reigneth.'

In Isa. lv. 'Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters; come he that hath no money, come, buy and eat; yea, come buy wine and milk without money and without price, &c. Incline your ears, and come to me; hear, and your souls shall live, and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, the sure mercies of David: behold I have given him, a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people: behold thou shalt call a nation thou knowest not; nations that know not thee, shall run to thee, because of the Lord thy God.'

Now mark, ye Jews; this everlasting covenant which God would make; you had the first covenant that spoke of this witness which God gives, and this leader, and this commander to the people, that should call a nation, and nations should run unto him; is not this the Messiah and Immanuel, that was born of a virgin, according to Isaiah and Daniel's prophecy; whom you hid your faces from, were ashamed of, and spit upon. And in Isa. lxii. 'The Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory, and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord shall name.'

And is not this brightness, and salvation, and this righteousness, and glory, that the Gentiles and all kings shall see, and this new name which