the matter is settled by a passage in the Gospel of St. Luke, which those who have investigated this cuestion of the two genealogies nave generally overlooked. in Luke i. 32, when the angel makes the annunciation to Mary that she should become the mother of the Messiah, he says, ' He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of HIS FATHER David,'—terms which could not have been used, unless Mary herself had been David's descendant. It may be added to this, that unless it had been a matter sufficiently well known and acknowledged, that Mary and Joseph were of the same house and lineage, it could have answered no end for Matthew to have copied from the public genealogical tables of the Jews the descent of Joseph from David, since he himself closes the list of descents with an account of the conception and birth of Jesus, which declares that he was not the son of Joseph, but of Mary only. But the family relationship of Mary and Joseph being well known, the one genealogy was as well suited to his purpose as the other. Besides that, it has also this advantage, that it established our Lord's legal right to the throne of David, through Joseph, of whom he was the son by adoption. And this was of importance in arguing with the Jews; for, although Mary was descended from David, yet, had she married into the tribe of Levi, under the same circumstances as she married Joseph, our Lord would have been reckoned in the Jewish genealogies as of the tribe of Levi, and his legal claim to the throne of David could not have been maintained on the ground of descent; but, having married into her own tribe, our Lord was the descendant of David, both in law and by nature. With respect to other difficulties in these tables of descent, they are to be referred to the Jewish records, and not to the evangelists who copied them. As, however, the Jews exerted particular care in preserving the pedigree of their priests, and also the line of David, in which they expected the Messiah, the discrepancies are probably apparent only, and the obscurity arises from the circumstance that their mode of keeping them, as being affected by their changes of name, or the practice of bearing double names, and by their laws of succession, is now but partially known. The tables are, however, sufficiently clear to prove the only point for which they were introduced, that Jesus was the son of David, and the son of Abraham;" and by consequence the legitimate

heir of David to the throne of Israel, and heir to the dominion of the world promised unto Abraham.-Rom. iv. 13.

But Jesus of Nazarath had far higher claims to the dominions and power of David, and to the sovereignty of the world; for he is the Only-begotten Son of the Living and True God. Such he was declared to be by the prophetic Spirit, Ps. ii. 7. "I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee." And this language distinctly teaches us that he alone is the proper representative of the invisible Deity, and the legitimate heir of God as the supreme King of Israel, and the Lord of all Creation; and as such peculiarly beloved by his Father, and truly possessed of his peculiar perfections or infinite excellencies. That these transcendently glorious features were to be beheld in the Messiah, is manifest throughout the Divine Revelation by Moses and the prophets; and that they were recognised in Jesus of Nazareth by his disciples, is not less evident in almost every page of the New Testament. His miraculous formation in the virgin's womb demonstrated him to be the most beloved Son of God. By this he was distinguished in excellence from Adam and all his race, and was truly seen to be "that holy being" who was worthy to be called the Son of God. That he was in the highest sense the beloved of God was also declared at his baptism, when the Spirit of God descended like a dove and rested upon him, and a voice from the excellent glory thus addressed him: "Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased." God a second time announced, in a similar manner, his complacency in him, in the hearing of his most honoured disciples, after they had seen him clothed with the symbolical cloud of glory; for a voice from the cloud said, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him." A testimony resembling this, God pronounced a third time from heaven, in the hearing of a multitude, when, in answer to this public prayer, "Father, glorify thy name," a voice loud as thunder said, “Í have both glorified it, and will glorify it again." More marvellous and decisive still did his resurrection from the dead, without his body being subjected to corruption, prove God's peculiar delight in him. This unparalleled event Jesus predicted, and appealed to it as the complete confirmation of his high claims. His enemies felt the force of the appeal, and employed all that human wisdom and power deemed necessary to retain his body in the tomb. But it was impossible that he should be chained by death or hell; for God had pledged

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himself to raise him from the dead, and thus to declare him his only-begotten, and well-beloved Son.

However astonishing and incomprehensible to the human mind may be the fact that Jesus, as God's own Son, is the equal of his Father, and therefore the proper heir of all things, its truth he incontrovertibly confirmed by his works; for who that reflects on the nature of what he performed in his own name, will presume to say that the whole was within the power of a mere creature, how exalted soever might be the dignity and capacities conferred on it by the universal Creator? He showed himself possessed of the most perfect knowledge of all the secret operations and unrevealed thoughts of man, and the sovereign and Almighty Lord of all nature. It was visible to all that all the perfections of Deity resided in him; and to his various works of Almighty power to heal all kinds of incurable diseases, to multiply at pleasure the means of human subsistence, and to raise the dead to life, he referred in proof not only that God was with him, but also that he was the Son of God, and that he who had seen him had seen the Father.

The great truth of the Divine dignity of his nature is also clearly showed by the authority and honour to which he is exalted. The prophets predicted Messiah's exaltation to the throne of the Divine Majesty, in the heavens, and investiture in the offices of Saviour, Sovereign, and Judge of the human race. Jesus announced that these offices were to be conferred on him, and, that he would ascend unto heaven in order to exercise them. Hundreds of his disciples saw him ascend; and waited for the fulfilment of the promise of the Holy Spirit, which would demonstrate that he was admitted into glory, and had taken possession of the high honours to which he was destined. How complete was the evidence given that he was seated on the throne of God, in the gifts received by his followers, by which they were enabled, in his name, to perform miracles equally great and more numerous than he had himself wrought. Being thus raised to an equality with his Father in dignity and power, so as to appear worthy of all adoration, worship, and praise; or in the language of the Holy Spirit, having thus received a name above every name, that in his name every knee should bow, and tongue confess that he is Lord, it remains no longer doubtful that he is the Son of God, and Heir of all things in heaven and earth.

These things proclaim to all that he had finished the work for which he confessed that he came into the world, for had

he not done this, is it credible that he should have been publicly approved by God before angels and men? That work chiefly consisted in delivering himself up as a sacrificial victim to death for the sins of mankind, that he might obtain eternal redemption for every one who shall obey him; and this is the great truth which forms the basis of his kingdom. There is no name given under heaven among men by which we must be saved, but the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

This is the King of the new empire; and for this end he confessed that he was born, and that he should rule all nations, and reign till all his enemies were made his footstool. But he distinctly limited the visible administration of his kingdom in this world to religious and moral affairs. The entire government of Israel was his native right, as the heir of his father David; and every one also who assumed the supreme rule over them without being called of God, whether a native or foreigner, was unquestionably an usurper. He, however, explicitly announced that he came not into the world to aspire to a worldly throne, or secular dominion. He voluntarily renounced all temporal rights, and appeared on earth not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many." His royal predecessors were each successively appointed as deputy of Jehovah, Israel's Supreme Sovereign, the visible head or superintendant of the whole community, in all things relating to religion as well as to worldly interests. Jesus took the charge of the former, and carefully avoided interference with the latter. He cleansed the temple instructed the worshippers how to serve God acceptably, and made known to them His mind. But he desired not to preside in the councils of the nation, nor to conduct their armies, or to receive any of the national revenues. When the multitude desired to make him a temporal prince, he withdrew from their society, and proceeded to discharge his duties as the prophet of the Lord. And at a later period, when one of his hearers requested him to examine and decide on some worldly matter, he replied, "Man, who made me a ruler or divider among you?" Scarcely any of the people, including his most eminent disciples, seem to have interpreted correctly his conduct, or comprehended his plainest instructions, in respect to the objects of his mission. They had no just conceptions of limited royal power. Their minds were full of the ideas of Messiah's absolute and uncontrolled dominion; and imagined that he would exercise it in this world altogether after the manner of the despots of the East.

Hence, when Jesus chose his twelve apostles, they and his other followers expected that he would next restore_the_temporal kingdom to Israel, and constitute the Holy Land the seat of universal empire. This false conception excited the ambition of his chief ministers, and strife threatened to destroy their peace. They disputed who should be greatest. To check their pride, and prepare them for the humble, arduous and holy work to which they were destined, he set a child in the midst of them, and declared that none was fit to serve in his kingdom who were not teachable, unassuming, and humble as a child, who implicitly bows to the authority of its parents, and depends wholly on them for its safety and comfort. And, that all worldly ambition and hopes should be repressed in them, he distinctly stated that in his kingdom he who was the humblest and most active in serving and advancing the interests of his fellow-subjects, would be accounted deserving the highest honour. The only authority they were to acknowledge was that of the Supreme King, and the only applause and honour to be sought was his approbation: "Ye know," said Jesus, "that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them, but it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; and whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant," Matt. xx. 25-27.

One of the last and unexpected scenes of his most wonderful life, was the singular procession which he deigned to permit his disciples to conduct to testify their belief in his royalty. The only part he took in it strongly expressed the unworldliness of his kingdom, and fulfilled in him certain remarkable predictions respecting Messiah. None of the mighty or noble surrounded him; his poor disciples and the multitude whom the rulers contemned, were his attendants. No crown or diadem adorned his head; no chariots, horses, or armed band, displayed splendour to attract or dazzle the eyes, or strike terror in the hearts of the spectators; nor was there any kind of grandeur to produce admiration, nor magnificence to awaken any. He rode on an ass; and children were loudest in his praise. He was manifestly no rival of the princes and great men of the earth. He acknowledged himself chiefly delighted with the plaudits of the children, who hailed him the promised Prince, come in the name of Jehovah. The only sceptre or arms which he used were small cords; and these were found sufficient to expel from the tem