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the transgressors, had done no violence, neither

' was there any deceit in his mouth; for Joseph ' of Arimathea, a rich man, and an honourable 'counsellor, (Matth. xxvii. 57.-Mark xv. 43.'John xix. 38.) and Nicodemus, a man of the

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Pharisees, a ruler of the Jews, a master of Israel,

conspired to make his grave with the rich, by ' wrapping his body in linen cloaths, with a mix'ture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred 'pounds weight, and laying it in a new sepulchre, 'hewed or hollowed into a rock, which Joseph ' of Arimathea had caused to be made for his ' own use; circumstances which evidently show, ' that he was not only buried by the rich, but ⚫ like the rich also, according to the prophecy.' (West on the Resurrection, page 210.)

Isaiah

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says, (ver. 12.) Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he ⚫ shall divide the spoil with the strong; because

' he hath poured out his soul unto death.' St.

Paul says of Jesus, (Phil. ii. 8.) Being found ' in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of

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the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly 'exalted him, and given him a name which is

' above every name; that at the name of Jesus knee should bow; of (things) in heaven, and in earth, and under the earth: and that

every

every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ ' is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.' The same doctrine respecting Jesus is taught throughout the whole of the New Testament. (Matth. xxviii. 18.) And Jesus came and spake unto 'them, saying, All power is given unto me in 'heaven and in earth.' (See Acts ii. 33. —iii. 21. Heb. i. 3.)

Finally, Isaiah says, 'he was numbered with 'the transgressors;' and the evangelists tell that 'there were two thieves crucified with Jesus, 'the one on his right hand, the other on his left.' (Matth. xxvii. 38.) Isaiah tells us, he made 'intercession for the transgressors;' and Luke informs us, (xxiii. 34.) that Jesus made intercession for his murderers, saying, Father, for'give them, for they know not what they do.' We are also told in Heb. vii. 25, that Jesus

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' ever liveth to make intercession for them that come unto God by him.'

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I have thus shown, that there is the most exact coincidency between this prophecy of Isaiah, and the life, and sufferings, and death, the character, and offices of Jesus, as described in the New Testament; and this, not in one particular, but in all. Now, as God knoweth, and declareth the end from the beginning, and 'from ancient times things that are not yet ' done,' (Isaiah xlvi. 10.) it follows, that this coincidency must have been foreknown by the Lord when he inspired his servant Isaiah to utter this prophecy; and, consequently, that it must have been designed by Him. Therefore, God did, in this passage, design to describe Jesus as his righteous servant, who should, by his sufferings, atone for our iniquities. Consequently, as Jesus is the righteous servant of God, we must receive his testimony concerning himself; and it follows that he is the Messiah.

Oh that there were such a heart in every one of the children of Abraham who may read

these pages, as to lead them seriously to pray to the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, that he would give them a heart rightly to understand this prophecy of Isaiah! Then I have no doubt that the prophecy of Zechariah xii. 10-14, would also be very soon fulfilled with respect to them. I would now conclude this chapter in the words of the pious psalmist, O that the salvation of

Israel were come out of Zion! When the 'Lord bringeth back the captivity of his people, 'Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad.'

CHAP V.

THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED.

In the twenty-second Psalm, David, speaking in the first person, describes a series of the most dreadful sufferings, which correspond, in the most particular and minute manner, with the sufferings of Jesus, as related by the evangelists. I shall place the following quotations from the psalmist and the evangelists, in opposite columns, that the reader may the more easily discern the exact correspondence between them.