Sion, the City of the living God, in the heavenly Canaan, the true land of promise for the chofen and the bleft of God.

To this intent was the interpretation of our Lord in the fynagogue of Nazareth. Though the discourse itself is not recorded, yet the purport of it is fufficiently implied; and the effect which it had upon his audience is explicitly told. So great was the energy of truth in what he said, that, notwithstanding the prejudice entertained against him, a temporary fentiment of his prophetic character prevailed. They all bore him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth."

Thus guided by our Lord himself in the interpretation of this Prophecy, let us examine and apply it in that evangelical sense which he has fixed upon it.

This embaffy of grace is opened with a declaration of the authority on which it was delivered. In the character of a person greater than himself the Prophet fays, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for the purpose, for which he hath anointed me. The Spirit of the Lord had been on the ancient Prophets through a series of ages; by which they wrought righteousness, and obtained promifes; by which they performed miracles,

and foretold events to come. But if there ever was a person, on whom this divine Spirit was diffufed in unlimited abundance, it was that special Minister of grace, in whom dwelt bodily all the fulness of the Godhead. Thus he is styled in prophetic language, Immanuel, or, God with us. And indeed through the whole of his miniftry he fhewed himself to have been not merely gifted with an extraordinary measure of divine wisdom and power,

but to have been himfelf the wisdom and the power of God. This indeed was partially acknowledged even by the Jews, who were witneffes of his miniftry. When they heard his doctrines, they teftified, faying, "Never man fpake like this man." And when they faw and felt his miracles, they alfo teftified, faying, "It was never fo feen in Ifrael."

Our Lord indeed was not anointed with oil, according to the letter of the Legal ordinance. But in the fpiritual import of that external rite he was anointed in a manner incomparably more divine, "he was anointed with the Holy Ghoft and with power." Which may be referred to the time of his Baptism; immediately upon which the Spirit of God defcended in a vifible form upon him, and a Voice from heaven proclaimed,

"This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

Now this gift of the Spirit was conferred upon our Lord for that important purpose for which he was anointed; namely, to perform all those more exalted offices, to which among Jews anointing was the inaugurating rite of a Prophet, as he was to declare the will of God to man: of a Prieft, as he was to yield a facrifice, and to make an interceffion, for the people: of a King, as he was to establish a Kingdom over men, very different indeed from the kingdoms of this world, of a divine and fpiritual kind, consisting of two different states, of present grace and of future glory. And hence he derived his moft diftinguished name, as expreffed in different languages to the fame effect, of the Meffiah, the Chrift, or the Anointed.

After stating the commiffion and authority of Christ, the Prophecy enumerates the bleffings which he was to administer. All these may be taken in a literal and in a figurative, in a temporal and in a spiritual fenfe. In the former fenfe they were limited to the Cotemporaries and Countrymen of Jefus, in the latter they were extended to the whole Chriftian World. But thefe two fenfes have a close and intimate connexion; inafmuch as the temporal

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temporal benefits, which he conferred on those within the fphere of his perfonal ministry, were no other than pledges and emblems of the fpiritual bleffings, which he diftributes impartially to all ages and nations of Believers.

He bath fent me to publish good tidings to the Meek; or as we read in our verfion of the Evangelift, to preach the Gospel to the Poor. Through all the holy Scriptures the Gospel is represented as an embaffy of gladness. In this character it was repeatedly foretold by the Prophets In this it was announced by the Angels at the birth of Chrift: And thus was it invariably styled by Chrift himself and his Apoftles. And well does it deferve the name and character; fince it communicates the greatest bleffings, which could flow from the fource of every good; comprising no less than redemption from fin, and pardon on repentance, the affifting and supporting grace of God, acceptance into his favour here on earth, and adoption into his household in the realms of heaven.

Now thefe bleffed tidings he was pleafed more immediately to communicate to the Meek, or to the Poor, for these in holy writ are frequently combined as kindred characters, and are fometimes put indifferently for

one

one another. The Meek in the language of the Prophet are the fame with the Poor in the language of the Evangelift. And how well these prophetic words were fulfilled in our Lord appears from that appeal, which he made to the common exercife of his ministry. Among the feveral works of benevolence, in which he was continually employed, he mentions this the last, as giving more appropriate evidence of the true Anointed of the Lord, than all those miracles which produced astonishment among the people. Under his miniftration "the blind received their fight, and the lame walked, the lepers were cleansed, and the deaf heard; even the dead were raised." But a fuller exercise of mercy still remained to testify his miffion and to illuftrate his character; "And the poor had the Gospel preached unto them." Paffing by the great, the wealthy, and the wife of this world, who were too much attached to the things of this life, to receive with due regard an embaffy from heaven, he visited the dwellings of the lowly, he converfed with the common people, he chofe his difciples from the unlettered orders of fociety. We are not however to understand that he looked