an ass.'* 'His name shall endure forever: his name shall be continued as long as the sun; and men shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him blessed.'† 'And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him.' Such were the beautiful strains of prophecy. And when at last the auspicious hour arrived for the Prince of Peace to be born, and to commence his reign, the earth was lulled into repose, and he was ushered into our world amid the song of angels, uttering, in strains unknown before, 'Peace on earth, and good will to men.' 'In heaven the rapturous song began, And sweet seraphic fire Through all the shining legions ran, Swift through the vast expanse it flew, The theme, the song, the joy was new, Down through the portals of the sky To bear the news to man.' In this new kingdom, all the implements of war are to be destroyed or burned with 'fuel of fire.' There is a very beautiful illustration of this prophecy found in the customs of some heathen nations, which was, to gather from the field of battle heaps of armor, ‡ Dan. vii. 14. * Zech. ix. 9. † Psa. Lxxii. 17. and make an offering to the god supposed to be the giver of victory. Virgil mentions the custom :— 'Cum primam aciem Præneste sub ipsa En. lib. viii. 561. 'Would Heaven (said he) my strength and youth recall, 1 Such as I was beneath Prænesta's wall Then when I made the foremost foes retire, And set whole heaps of conquered shields on fire.' DRYDEN. But the implements and weapons of war will not simply be burned up, but the disposition to use them will be removed. The heart will be converted, and will become the residence of gentleness, kindness, and compassion. The very nations themselves who have met on the field of battle will 'beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning-hooks.' Violence and bloodshed will no longer be known. Every passion will be hushed, and love and good will reign triumphant. Such was the meaning of the language where the prophet says, 'The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf, and the young lion, and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them.' It is in this way then that war and violence shall be removed from the earth; not simply by conversion of the implements to agriculture and the peaceful arts, but by a conversion of the very hearts who have loved war and gloried in its victories. The 'nations shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.' Yes, they shall cease to learn, to study the art of war. For in this kingdom, there will be no lessons to learn, but those of peace and good will to men. Blessed be God, the time is coming when superstition and ignorance, pride and passion, bloodshed and misery, will yield before the dominion of the Prince of Peace; when the hand of cultivation shall spread bloom and beauty through all the valleys, and up the sides of every hill and mountain, and over all the continents and islands of the earth. And at last he will sit down upon his throne, the grand pacificator and restorer of a world. How glorious! What a vast object lies before the Prince of Peace! If such be his mission, then his followers should be children of peace. How numerous are his injunctions: 'Have peace one with another.' 'But I say unto you, that ye resist not evil; but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.' 'This is my commandment, that ye love one. another.' 'By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.' Such are a few of the commands of the Prince of Peace. How blessed is the spirit of peace. It kindles with the hopes of the just made perfect; its piety emulates the adoration of angels; its love is pure and fervent as the love of seraphs; its dominion immortal as the soul. 26 LXII. PROPHET. 'Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that Prophet that should come into the world.' John vi. 14. JESUS is distinguished as a Prophet in nine instances: Indeed, we may say, he is thus considered throughout all the Scriptures. Moses speaks particularly of him, Deut. xviii. 15; and Stephen, in his address before his murderers, quotes his language, Acts xvii. 37. The Jews expected the Messiah would appear under this very title and character, as appears evident from their conversation with John the Baptist, John i. 19-22. Moses also spake of Jesus as a Prophet, Deut. xviii. 15; and if we had room, we could show a very, exact comparison between the Jewish prophet, and 'that Prophet that should come into the world;' but we have preferred to confine our remarks to the prophecies of Jesus himself.* This is an exceedingly interesting title. Jesus was a Prophet in the highest and most emphatical sense. He is the great, the supreme, the abiding Prophet of his church. He came to make a full disclosure of * On this point, as well as on the prophecies of Jesus himself, the reader would do well to consult an excellent work, entitled 'Dissertations on the Prophecies.' By THOMAS NEWTON, D. D. Dissertations vi. and xviii-xxi. Jehovah's will, and to confirm and complete the whole system of revelation. A few remarks on the nature of the prophetic character of Jesus will be offered, and then a parallel will be drawn, pointing out, on the one hand, the prophecies, and on the other, their fulfilment. I. The clearness of his prophecies. II. Their minuteness. III. Their improbability. All these particulars deserve to be mentioned and carefully considered, that the character of this Prophet may stand out before the world as the greatest that has ever appeared. We have presented them rather more for the benefit of the reader than because we have room to carry them out. I. The clearness of his prophecies. They are generally delivered in plain, historical language. There is nothing obscure or ambiguous, like the ancient oracles, Every thing was delivered with the utmost plainness and perspicuity. If figures were employed, they were such as the people were accustomed to hear in their sacred writings. II. Their minuteness. A few examples under this head will be sufficient to illustrate the whole. The first relates to the death and resurrection of Jesus; the second, to the denial; the third, to the final overthrow of Jerusalem. 'The Son of man shall be mocked, and spit on, and the third day he shall rise again. All ye shall be offended because of me this night. This generation shall not pass away till all these things be fulfilled.‡ *Luke xviii. 32. † Matt. xxvi. 31. Ib. xxiv. 34. |