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things whatsoever he shall say unto you. x. 43. To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name, whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins. xxvi. 22, 27. Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue unto this day witnessing both to small and great, saying none other things than those, which the prophets and Moses did say should come. - King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest.

13. Q. How then came it to pass, that they did not more readily receive him?

A. Because they had flattered themselves with the expectation of a temporal prince, who should deliver them from their enemies, and restore again the kingdom unto Israel. Luke, xxiv. 21. Acts, i. 6; and therefore they could not bear the disappointment of receiving such a Messias as our Saviour professed himself to be. Acts, xiii. 27. For they that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew him not, nor yet the voices of the prophets which are read every sabbath-day, they have fulfilled them in condemning him.

14. Q. What security have we that this was indeed the Messias, of whom Moses and the prophets spake?

A. The greatest that can be imagined. He came at the exact time that the Messiah was to come. Gen. xlix. 10. The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, vor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. Malachi, iii. 1. Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye de

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light in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. Dan. ix. 25, 26. Know therefore, and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem, unto the Messiah the Prince, shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.

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" He descended of the tribe out of which the Messiah was to proceed. Gen. xlix. 9, 10. Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come, and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. Isaiah, xi. 1. Compare Matt. i. 1. Luke, iii. &c. And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. Matthew. The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham-Jesse begat David the king. Luke. Nathan the son of David, which was the son of Jesse.

He was born at the place where the Messiah was to be born. Micah, v. 2. Thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. Matt. ii. 1, 5, 6. Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of Herod the king, there came wise men from

the east to Jerusalem-Herod demanded of them where Christ should be born, and they said unto him, in Bethlehem of Judea; for thus it is written by the prophet, And thou, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah; art not the least among the princes of Judah: for out of thee shall come a governor, that shall rule my people Israel.

He was conceived of a virgin, as the Messiah was to be conceived. Isaiah, vii. 14. Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Matt. i. 21, 25. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins.-Joseph knew her not till she had brought forth her first-born son: and he called his name Jesus. Luke, i. 27, 34. In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.-Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing that I know not a man.

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Besides all which, he had such extraordinary witness borne to him, as is not to be gainsaid. God raised up a singular forerunner to prepare the way for him. Being come into the world, he owned him by a voice from heaven to be his Son. Matt. iii. 17. And lo, a voice from heaven, saying, this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Luke, xvii. 5. While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and, behold, a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased: hear ye him.

*He himself wrought such miracles as no one ever

́did. . John, vii. 31. And many of the people believed on him, and said, when Christ cometh, will he do more miracles than these, which this man hath done.

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He empowered his disciples to work the same miracles in his name, and for the confirmation of his authority. Matt. x. 7, 8. And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give. Mark, xvi. 17, 18. And these signs shall follow them that believe: in my name shall they cast out devils: they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they skall re

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Being put to death at the instigation of the Jews, he was by God raised again the third day from the dead; and in the presence of his disciples, visibly taken up into heaven, where he now sitteth at the right hand of God. Acts, i. 3, 9. To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.—And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received them out of his sight. See below, Sect. XII.

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PROOFS SUBJOINED.- Matt. xii. 23. And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David? xxii. 42. While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, saying, What think ye of Christ? Whose son is He? They say unto him, The son of David. Hebrews, vii. 14. For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Judah: of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood.

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' John, vii. 41, 42. Others said, This is the Christ. But some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee? Hath not the Scripture said, that Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was? Luke, ii. 4, 11. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, (because he was of the house and lineage of David,) to be taxed with Mary, his espoused wife, being great with child. For unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. Isaiah, xl. 3. The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Malachi, iv. 5. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. Luke, i. 17. And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. Matt. iii. 3. For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Mark, i. 2, 3. As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee: the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

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Matt. xi. 5. The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the Gospel preached to them. John, iii. 2. The same (Nicodemus) came to Jesus by night, and said unto

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