thing in him,-nothing on which he could fix his temptations, and make them effectual as in sinful men,yet to give the world a proof of love to his Father, and, in obedience to his command, Jesus had condescended to enter into a contest with Satan and his adherents. In this contest, his heel had been bruised. He had been despised, rejected, and persecuted, and was brought down to the dust of death. But, "through death, he had destroyed him that had the power of death." He had now bruised the serpent's head, and obtained a final victory over him and all his progeny. It was not fitting then that the Son of God should afterwards appear amidst his enemies, as he had formerly done. This would have exposed him again to the same humiliating insults he had hitherto experienced. They who could resist the evidence of the miracles he had wrought in the temple, in their presence, before his death-the extraordinary appearances that took place at his crucifixion-the indubitable information they had received of his resurrection—and afterwards the miracles which his Apostles performed, would not have been persuaded by seeing him after he rose from the grave.

The scheme of redemption required, that before the passion the form of a servant should be predominant in the Redeemer's appearance; that after his resurrection the form of God should be conspicuous. His familiar conversation with the world before his death was a principal branch of his humiliation; and his humiliation was an essential part of those sufferings by which the guilt of man was expiated. But the atonement being once made, the form of a servant was to be removed, and Christ was to reassume his glory. That he would not again appear to them on earth,

Jesus Christ had distinctly informed the Jews, before his crucifixion: "Behold your house is left unto you For I say unto you, ye shall not see me

Blessed is he that cometh "Ye shall seek me, and

desolate. henceforth, till ye shall say, in the name of the Lord.” shall not find me." All that was "behind of the sufferings of Christ," was to be filled up by his disciples, and through them only he was henceforth to address the world.

Had the public appearance of the Messiah, after his death, been otherwise admissible, nothing, even on the ground of evidence, would have been gained; but rather the reverse. Many of the Jews had seen him but occasionally, others at a distance, or perhaps only when hanging upon the cross. This would have given rise to doubtful or contradictory testimony. Whereas now, we have the unanimous, unvarying evidence of a sufficient number of witnesses, who had long enjoyed familiar intercourse with him, and could not be mistaken as to his appearance. Besides this, these witnesses (who died for the truth which they asserted) publicly wrought miracles in his name, after his resurrection, in the midst of Jerusalem; and this as fully stamped the truth of their testimony as if Jesus Christ himself had been visibly present.

Before his resurrection, Jesus Christ more frequently designated himself the Son of Man than the Son of God. But after he had risen from the dead, he no more calls himself the Son of Man. This appellation indicated the weaknesses and sufferings to which he had, as man, rendered himself subject. But after he had emerged from that state of abasement, and by his resurrection had been declared the Son of God with power, he changes the style. From that period he

conversed frequently with his disciples, and set before them the necessity of his death; but he no longer calls himself the Son of Man. Before his death he said it was necessary that the Son of Man should suffer; but being risen, he says, "Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory ?"

After his death he returned to the city of Jerusalem, but he entered no more into the temple. It was not proper that the great and everlasting High Priest, having consummated that sacrifice which annulled all the sacrifices of the temple,—of which he had rent the veil on his being about to make his entry into the heavenly sanctuary,-should again enter an earthly temple which was only a figure of that which is celestial, and which, having now served all the purposes intended by it, was speedily to vanish.

As the miracles performed by Jesus Christ, in the course of his ministry, to which he appealed in attestation of his divine mission, hold a very conspicuous place in relation to his manifestation in the flesh, it is proper, before closing this account of his appearance, more particularly to advert to them. These miracles were credible in themselves, whether we consider the character of him who wrought them, or the purpose for which they were exhibited. Owing to their nature and their publicity, their reality was ascertained with certainty by every one who witnessed them; while considered as palpable and tangible facts, they were as properly the subject of testimony as any transaction whatever. They were not only very numerous, but also of various kinds; and not merely adapted to lie at the foundation of that system of religion which he taught, but likewise to illustrate its nature. He raised the dead, gave sight to the blind, cured the diseased,

multiplied loaves for food, changed the substance of things, as of water into wine, calmed the winds, and stilled the raging of the sea. In these ways he proved the reality of his miracles, and distinguished them from the tricks of impostors; for one or two insulated actions may impose on the world, and pass for miraculous, but it is impossible that this can take place in such as are frequently performed at different times, and of different kinds. He wrought his miracles in public, in the sight of all the people, thus exposing his actions to the judgment of the world. In this way also, they are distinguished from false miracles of impostors, said to be wrought at a distance, or in a concealed manner, before a few interested persons.

The use of the miracles of Jesus Christ was to fix the attention of the people, and to lead them to give ear to his words, and to consider his person as the Son of God, and the true Messiah, whose words were of divine authority. At the same time we must remark, notwithstanding the empty scoffs of infidels on the subject, that the holiness and purity of his doctrine confirmed his miracles, while, on the other hand, the doctrine was confirmed by them. These two things contributed mutually to the establishment of each other; for a new doctrine, such as that of Jesus Christ, however holy and pure, would have passed for incredible, both on account of its novelty and its grandeur, if it had not been supported by divine and supernatural works, which strike the eyes and the senses. On the other hand, actions in themselves so surprising might have been suspected as the miracles of a false prophet, if they had not been conjoined with a doctrine so pure, and holy, and admirable in itself. The light and the heat of the sun, which naturally go together, recipro

cally confirm and verify one another. If we were illuminated with great light without heat, it would not be the illumination of the sun; neither, if we were warmed with great heat without light, would it indicate his presence.

The miracles of Jesus Christ were distinguished from those of Moses and the other prophets, inasmuch as these last frequently issued in the destruction of human nature. These were miracles of justice and of vengeance, as the plagues with which Moses visited the Egyptians, the fire from heaven which Elijah brought down on those who were sent to him, and the wild beasts which came out of the wood and devoured the children who mocked Elisha. But all the miracles of Jesus Christ were beneficent and merciful. He caused none to die, but he raised the dead; he took the sight from no one, but he opened the eyes of the blind; he inflicted no diseases, but he cured them; he raised no tempests, but he allayed them ;-which discovers to us the mild and gracious character of his ministry. When his disciples requested him to allow them to command fire to descend from heaven to consume a village of the Samaritans, he replied in these memorable words, "Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of; for the Son of Man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them." And accordingly he says, "Learn of me, for I am meek and lowly of heart;" that is to say, always beneficent, accessible, and kind.

The miracles of Jesus Christ are distinguished from those of his servants, by being performed by his own. power, while theirs were done by power communicated to them. Jesus Christ acted in his own strength, derived from his divine nature; but the prophets and