of intellectual preeminence. How confpicuous is this in all the works, the conduct, in all the difcourfe of the bleffed Jefus! With the fairest and the best pretence to the applause of mankind, he fought only to give glory to God. In delivering his admirable leffons he spoke indeed as one who had authority and as never man Spake; yet his fole object was, not to win the admiration, but to promote the salvation of mankind. He fought no praise, no glory for himself. All was done from motives of a higher kind. Sometimes his cenfures were fevere. But even this is a proof of the dignity of his character. Having an authority infinitely higher than human, knowing the hearts and the very thoughts, he could not but difcern who merited his reprehenfions, and how great were the enormities of offenders. Here mildnefs would have been inconsistent with the dignity of his miffion; and, while he understood more than man, he could not but act as the intimate of heaven. While therefore with an omnipotent arm he controls all nature, animate or inanimate, nay the

grave itself hears his voice, yet he difclaims all glory for himself. How astonishing is his humility! how immutable his goodness! how amiable his compaffion! how dignified his

whole character and deportment! In all he did, in all he said, we see the example of the perfection which men ought to endeavour to imitate; though human nature can never attain it So astonishing are the proofs of his power, that to suppose him merely man appears inconfiftent with such extraordinary gifts. The whole of his addreffes to the Father, and all the declarations he makes of himself, give us reafon to apprehend, that the union between him and the Father is of a mysterious and intimate nature. They give us reason to apprehend, that his power was not merely delegated, but inherent. Though he had many difciples, yet he did not form them into a school to exalt his name; on the contrary, he told them, that his fayings were too hard for them to understand, He taught rather for mankind than for them, and they were only enlightened when they were to behold his face no more. So far was he from affuming the character of a leader, that he foretold them, that his death would be neceffary for the confirmation of his doctrines, To fuffer for truth has indeed been the fate of many innocent perfons; but then death was not neceffary for the confirmation of their doctrines. The death of Socrates gave time for prejudice to fubfide, and for deliberation to

afcertain the injuftice of his condemnation. In this too was manifefted the innocence of Jefus, and the iniquity of his accufers. But did the disciples of Socrates, from the circumstance of his death, confequently acquire new light, or better comprehend his instructions? Our Lord told his difciples, that another teacher would come, the Comforter, even the Spirit of truth, who should teach them all things. His doctrines became more luminous, even when he could no longer teach; and he could obtain only pofthumous praife. His doctrines were never delivered in writing, but were left to float on the mind of the hearers till they should be fixed by the irresistible impulfe of the divine Spirit. Mahomet attentively compiled his Koran; but our bleffed Lord left his inftructions to the care of Almighty Providence; they were to be tranf mitted by fpiritual infcription, not only to the fight, but to be written in the heart. To fum up the whole, we find that the character of our Lord is in perfect conformity with all the predictions relative to the promised Meffiah.

But further, the fame confiftence is apparent in the description of the characters of the difciples, as delivered to us by the Evangelifts. Before they had received the gift of the holy

Spirit, we perceive them, in every tranfaction, acting as uneducated men, and in their converfation and ideas we may trace all the common prejudices of ignorant minds. Yet in these there is a variety of character. Peter is fanguine and vehement; Thomas incredulous and obftinate; John meek and affectionate. In Peter is contrafted a timidity in the hour of danger, and a weakness under trial. This is extremely natural; for fanguine tempers generally fall into the oppofite extreme under a change of circumstances. Hence his flight when our Lord was about to be apprehended, and his fubfequent denial of his Mafter; following after him at a distance, though he had several times fworn to die with him. The fame characters they in fome measure retained after the descent of the Holy Ghoft; though that great event inspired them with extraordinary powers and very different and more elevated fentiments. Yet we ftill distinguish the prevalence of natural habit. In fome of the incidental perfons of the facred history we trace the fame difcrimination of character. Martha, the fifter of Lazarus, is impatient, active, and fedulous: Mary gentle and attentive. The conduct of Pontius Pilate, in the facrifice of private opinion to popular prejudices and to felf-intereft, is exactly what

we fee every day exemplified in the intercourse of the world. Even the treachery of Judas is reprefented to us in a probable and natural manner. He was led to enormous wickedness by the gradual process of vice. He was not even at first aware of the full extent and of all the evil confequences of his engagement with the rulers, and was a deluded inftrument of their malice. This seems to be probable from his defire of returning the price of his guilt, and from his fubfequent compunction and agony of mind, which led to fuicide; the too common and dreadful refuge of intolerable anguish. It is further a proof of the fidelity and confiftence of the facred writers, that they defcribe, on all occafions, the conduct of the feveral fects of the Jews in a manner exactly conformable to their wellknown characters. The haughty and intole rant Pharisee, the difputatious Scribe, the infidel Sadducee, never act or speak inconfiftently with their prejudices or their habits.

There is another circumstance in the history of the New Testament, which adds to its probability. A principal motive with the Jewish rulers to discourage the doctrines of our Lord, was the apprehenfion of lofing their temporal