of other passages which might be cited, but they will readily occur to the reader.

Having elected Jesus, the Father endowed him with every qualification necessary for the completion of the work which he was to perform. 'I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thy hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles: to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prisonhouse.'* Then, that we might be assured of the final accomplishment of the great work, the most positive language is everywhere employed: 'He shall not fail nor be discouraged till he have set judgment in the earth, and the isles shall wait for his law.'t Passages need not be multiplied here, for once admitting Christ Jesus to be the elect of God, it follows that he is every way prepared for the great object of his mission.

II. The Elected. Jesus is throughout the Scriptures considered in a peculiar sense as the elect of God-the beloved Son-the true Messiah. No being stands so near the Father as the Saviour of men. He has raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: and hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.' Universal homage is ultimately to be paid to him, 'to the glory † Ib. 4. Ephes. i. 20-23.

* Isa. xlii. 6, 7.

of God the Father.', Jesus, in several instances, is distinguished by the same titles that are applied to God himself, but then a distinction is uniformly kept up between the two beings. We are aware that many passages would seem to favor the Trinitarian sentiment, but then we do not believe that the sacred writers had any such doctrine in their minds. Their great theme was the sacred nearness and oneness existing between the Father and the Son; and then we are left to draw our own conclusions. The very

language of the motto forbids the idea of the Deity of Christ. It distinguishes Jesus as a servant, as one who is upheld by another, and as one who is to be guided by the Spirit of another, and the one who sends him is represented as delighting in him, which forcibly calls to mind the declaration of God at the baptism in the river Jordan:-This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.**

Possibly, there was an allusión in the motto to an ancient custom of kings, which was to lean on the arm of their most beloved and faithful servant.

III. The object of the election. Extended remarks are not necessary here; for many of the very passages which declare the fact that Jesus is elected and sent, also declare the object: 'For God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, *** not to condemn the world, but that the world through him. might be saved.'t 'It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou

*Matt. iii. 17.

† John iii. 15, 16.

mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.'* Indeed, throughout the Bible we find that in all elections, God designs the benefit of the non-elect. Partial election is a doctrine unsupported by divine testimony, and the world has reason to rejoice that a sentiment so fraught with melancholy, and admitting of conclusions so revolting to the best feelings of the heart, and so disgraceful to the divine character, is fast passing into oblivion. More cheering views are prevailing, and in due time, it will be seen that God, in all his dispensations, invariably designs the greatest good of the whole moral and intelligent creation.

'Not light itself so fitted to the orb

Of mortal vision, nor the vital air

To nourish and maintain the breathing frame,
As my loved Saviour to redemption's work.
My soul, enraptured with the ELECT of God,
Rejoices in the grace that makes him mine:
My own Elect, and I elect in him.'

*Isa. xlix. 6.

XXVI. EMMANUEL.

Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and
they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is,
God with us.'
Matt. i. 23.

THIS passage is a quotation from Isa. vii. 14. The word is only found in one other instance, and that in the same prophet, ch. viii. 8, and here it seems to have reference to the extensive conquests of the king of Assyria in the land of Judah. He shall pass through Judah, he shall overflow and go over; he shall reach even to the neck, and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel.' Notwithstanding this, the prophet was directed to say to the people, 'Take counsel together, and it shall come to naught, speak the word and it shall not stand, for God is with us.' In the 14th verse, the Messiah is promised, and pursuing the history, we find the same gracious intimation frequently presented.

Some MSS. and editions have immanu El, God with us; literally, The strong God. with us.

'In order to perceive the true meaning of IMMANUEL, it is necessary to consider the singular manner in which proper names were formed and applied to the ancient Hebrews. It was common among them to give to their children names, which were in reality short sentences, expressive of some Divine favor con

ferred at the time of the child's birth. Thus Hagar called her new-born son, ISHMAEL, which is, being interpreted, GOD HATH HEARD!-an exclamation, expressive of her joy, that God had heard her affliction. (Gen. xvi. 11.) Agreeably to the same idiom most other scripture names are to be understood.

REMNANT SHALL RETURN.

'In the third verse of the chapter, in which IмmanUEL Occurs, mention is made of one of the sons of Isaiah under the name of SHEAR-JASHUB. This name is a complete sentence. Literally translated it is, a The son of Isaiah was called by this singular appellation, in order that the great and consolatory fact of the return of a remnant of the Jewish nation from captivity, which was the frequent burthen of his prophecy, might, by the appearance of his son, bearing this expressive name, be often recalled to his mind and to the minds of his countrymen. Also in the next chapter, which is a continuation of the same prophecy and relates to the same events, we are informed, that Isaiah had another son, concerning whom the LORD said to him, (ver. 3.) Call his name, MAHER SHALAL HASH BAZ. This signifies, THE SPOILING HASTENETH, THE PREYING COMETH QUICKLY.

'In consequence of this singular custom of giving names to children descriptive of the circumstances of their birth, it became usual with the prophets to denote an event, which was about to accompany the birth of a child, by saying, that the child would have a name descriptive of that event. Among the Jews this remarkable mode of speaking was well understood, although it is little adapted to the habits of our age and nation. These facts must be borne in mind as leading to the exact interpretation of the title