furely it may with truth and, propriety be faid, that John the Baptift, by inculcating both in his precepts and example, the duty of offering up to God an heart pierced by repentance, and a life of righteoufnefs, purity, and abftinence, taught Judah and Jerufalem, although in a lefs perfect way, to offer to the Lord a pleafant facrifice, fuch as was offered to him by the patriarchs of old; in fhort an offering of righteousness.

Let us now confider how very ill-grounded are the ob jections of infidels to the completion of this prophecy by the Gofpel difpenfation.

They obferve first, that the perfon or perfons here prophefied of by Malachi, was to be a refiner of the people of Judah, and particularly of the city of Jerufalem. They then Jecondly affert, that Judah and Jerufalem are predicted of as offering up to God facrifices more acceptable than those of times paft: and thirdly affert, that this prediction could not be completed in the times of Chriftianity, becaufe although we should allow that the Chriftian facrifices are more rational, and therefore more acceptable to God, than the bloody Jew ifh facrifices abolished foon after the time of Chrift; yet it cannot be true, fay they, that these were offered to God by Judah and Jerufalem, fince it is notorious that very few of the Jews were converted to Chriftianity, in comparison of the whole body of the nation; infomuch that Judah and Jerufalem could not, with tolerable propriety, be faid to offer their figurative and fpiritual facrifices to God; in short, that Judah and Jerufalem were not actually refined by the Gofpel, as is afferted by the Chriftian writers, and supposed to be predicted in this place.

Thus we find that the whole of the objections of infidels to the Chriftian account of the famous prophecy of Malachi being completed, arifes from the confideration of the converts from Judaism to Chriftianity being too inconsiderable to authorize any impartial judge of hiflory to call them Judah and Jerusalem. On this point then we will join iffue with our adverfaries, and maintain, that the numbers which have been converted from Judaifm to Chriflianity have been fo amazingly great, that we cannot with any tolerable propriety deny them the glorious title of Judah, according to the Spirit of God, and the New Jerufalem, of which fuch glorious things are here predicted. To evince this cruth, it is only neceffary to look into the Acts of the Apofles, which is confirmed by a fubfequent authentic hiftory. The fimple,

fact

fact recorded in the Acts of the Apoftles of the converfion of multitudes of the Jews to Chriftianity, is fo notorious, that it cannot be neceffary to do more in order to establish it, than to refer to one or two places in that hiftory.-We are affured in one place, A&ts ii. 41. that "in one day about three thousand Jews were added to the Church;" and in another place, A&ts xi. 17. "that fear fell on all the Jews at Ephefus," and in confequence hereof "the name of Jesus was magnified." In fhort, the whole both of facred and profane hiftory, fhews that the whole number of converts from Judaifm to Chriftianity continually increased, till thofe who through the influence of bad habits and violent paffions, adhered to the old religion, and conftituted the Jewish Church; having filled up the measure of their iniquity, Providence deftroyed their civil and ecclefiaftical conftitution, and left them nothing but the name and fhadow as it were, of a people, in a fet of detefted and degenerated vagrants; while the converted Jews enjoyed every thing which was really valuable in the Jewish economy, viz. all the spiritual bleffings of Abraham, to whom they were the true and legitimate heirs.

To confirm this answer to the objections of infidels here noticed, let us confider the reafoning of the excellent St. Paul, viewed only in the light of an uninfpired writer. In the conclufion of his fecond chapter of the Epistle to the Romans, this maller of eloquence and juft reafoning, fhews what ought to be confidered as the definition of a Jew, viz. "A follower of the faith of Abraham ;" and he still further obferves, that "he is not a Jew which is one outwardly; but he is a Jew which is one inwardly, and circumcifion is that of the heart, in the Spirit and not in the Letter, whose praise is not of men but of God."-Again; when St. Paul applies himself, in the fame epiftle, to anfwer an objection grounded on a fuppofition that God had deferted his favourite people, he denies the fuppofition, and fhews, that the name of Jews belongeth unto thofe who were converted to Chriftianity. "I fay then," cries he, "hath God caft away his people? God forbid!" "At this prefent," continues he, "there is a remnant, according to the election of Grace: that is, the name of the Jewish people as God's favourite peopleas the heirs of Abraham and of the Promises, is due to Chriftians converted from Judaifm.

To conclude our anfwer to the objections of infidels, to the Chriftian account of the completion of the prophecy of

Malachi,

Malachi concerning the refining of Judah and Jerufalem, fuppofed to be fulfilled by the influence of the Gofpel on the hearts of Jews converted to Chriflianity, let us only read the picture of the manners of that nation, as it appears in the Evangelifts, when a wretched cafuiftry had deftroyed the morality of the Old Law, compared with the manners of those of that nation who had become converts to the Faith of Christ, and we muft of neceffity acknowledge that the Fuller could not more effectually clean the fouleft garments, or the Furnace refine Gold better than the maxims of Christ purified the fons of Judah.

Let us now confider what appofite reflections arife from the subject we have now been inveftigating with fo much minutenefs.

In the first place, we may remark, that the Evangelists frequently cite the prophecies of the Old Teftament to the fenfe and not to the words, as in the prefent cafe Malachi fpeaks in the first person, and declares" I will send my Meffenger to prepare my way, &c." But the Evangelist delivers himself as though God the Father addressed God the Son, and promifed to fend his meffenger to prepare the way before him. In fact the fenfe is the fame in both places. What the speaker in Malachi calls his way is God's way, or Chrift's way, and, in fact, the Baptift was the forerunner of Chrift, and no otherwife prepared the way before God than as Chrift was fuch.

In the fecond place, how noble and explicit is the character here given of Chrift-" The Messenger of the Covenant." God had defcribed the former Covenant which he had made with his favourite people in Abraham, as a lasting or everlafting Covenant; and the Jews understood it fo very literally in the strict sense of the words, that they had no idea of a fecond and better Covenant in Chrift: and yet this fecond Covenant, of which Chrift is the Meffenger or Mediator, is moft evidently fhadowed out in the imperfection of the former, which was to be done away, as St. Paul admirably argues in his Epiftle to the Hebrews. It is really amazing that this fingular expreffion, " The Meffenger of the Covenant," in Malachi, did not contribute more to open the eyes of the Jewish people to this great truth, than it appears to have done. If no fecond Covenant was to fucceed to the former, to what purpofe was the Meffenger of the first to come and be ushered in with fo folemn a prophecy as this in Malachi.

Vol. XIII. Churchm. Mag. for December 1807.

In the third place, although it is to be confeffed, that the effect which Chriftianity has on the minds of men, is not fuch as might reasonably be expected from the genuine fpirit of fo excellent a religion, yet the alteration in the manners of men, is very confiderable fince the world became converted to Christianity; and very great indeed was the alteration for the better, which was produced in the firft ages of this religion. The reformation in morals which this religion effected, and had a strong tendency ftill further to effect, was caused in feveral different ways, as, in the first place, by exploding falfe maxims of morals.-Secondly, by establishing juft ones.--Thirdly, by giving new and much better motives, than had ever hitherto been known, to inforce obedience to its precepts. And, laftly, by binding the performance of its feveral duties by better fanctions, than any other religion had ever before propofed.-In fhort, the comparison of a Fuller, who by his foap, and of a Refiner, who by his fire, reftores garments to their original purity, and feparates the gold from the drofs, remarkably well expreffes the cleanfing and purifying nature of the Gospel.

In the fourth place, the queftions in verse the second,"Who may abide the day of his coming?" and "Who fhall ftand when he appeareth?" may in a primary and lefs-perfect sense, express the impoffibility of any man's abiding the examination which the pure and holy Gospel of Jefus Christ prescribes; but ultimately and fully expreffes the unpreparednefs of the human race to abide any but a gracious trial of the eternal judge at his fecond Advent.

In the fifth place, all the Tribes of Ifrael, were to be refined by the Messenger of the Covenant, but the tribe of Levi only is expreffed, as it was the duty of those who meddled with holy things to be refined in a peculiar manner. How applicable is all this to Chriftianity! all the profeffors of which ought to become an holy priesthood.

In the last place, the offering in righteoufnefs pleasant unto the Lord, which Malachi prophefies fhall be made by the fpiritual Judah and Jerufalem, in confequence of the refinement of the Meffenger of the Covenant, is admirably defcribed by St. Paul, in the twelfth chapter of his Epifle to the Romans, in the following emphatic terms, viz. "the prefenting our own bodies [in lieu of thofe of brute beafts] a living [inftead of a dead] facrifice, holy [and therefore] acceptable to the Lord; which is [and always was in the days

of

of old, under the patriarchal difpenfation, and all others] a reasonable service, as that of men."

From the view which we have here taken of the interesting prophecy contained in the text, it appears that fome circumftances of the first part of it, (like many other prophecies relating to our bleffed Lord and his miniftry) have a primary and lefs-perfect reference to fome other perfon than our Saviour, viz. in this cafe to St. John the Baptift, but ultimately, and in the most perfect and full fenfe, it points to Jefus Chrift, in whom alone it can in this full sense be accomplished. The feveral particulars in which these different circumstances related to the Baptift have been minutely pointed out, and thofe alfo, wherein they relate to our Saviour Chrift. The objections which Infidels have at different times raised against the fulfilment of this remarkable prophecy, have been candidly pointed out, and as plainly, and it is to be hoped as fatisfactorily answered. The obfervations which we have drawn from the investigation of the prophecy now before us, are fuch as naturally arife from thence, and will be very useful to us in illuftrating this remarkable paffage of the facred writings, and will tend confiderably to explain it to us. It only therefore remains, that we, who are entered into a better Covenant with God, by that Meffenger whom he hath fent upon earth, "The Man Christ Jefus," than the Jews who were nevertheless called "the peculiar people of God," and "the favorites of God," fhould effectually avail ourselves of the gracious terms upon which it holds forth to us "everlafting life: "that we fhould endeavour, by and with the affiftance of the good Spirit of God aiding our infirmities, to live holy, good, and pious lives, whilft we continue upon earth, that we may in God's good time, when it is his good pleasure to remove us hence, receive a crown of glory, of honour, and of blifs, in the regions of immortality, for ever and ever; Amen.