the establishment of the gospel in the world on principles consistant with prophetic testimony. If the religious Jews had believed that Jesus wrought all his miracles by the spirit of God they of course would have received him as the Messiah. If they had thus received him they would not have rejected him, dispised him, nor would they have put him to death. Then surely the testimony of the prophets would have proved false, and the scriptures written by holy men of God moved by the Holy Ghost could never have gained credit among the Gentiles.

As the astonishing miracles wrought by the hand of Jesus were designed by heaven as proper evidence of his Messiahship, the blasphemy of imputing these miracles to the power of an evil agent was the only sin that could prevent the religious Jews from believing in Christ. That this unbelief of the Jews was necessary for the fullfilment of the prophecies we are certified by the following scriptures. St. John, 12. "But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him that the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed? Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again, he hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart, that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them." Romans, 11. "For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief; even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy." In the pas sage quoted from St. John we find it plainly stated that the unbelief of the Jews was necessary for the fulfillment of the prophecy of Esaias; and furthermore it is stated that in consequence of what

God had done, "they could not believe." By the passage quoted from Romans we learn the special utility of the Jews' unbelief; it was that through it the Gentiles might obtain mercy. As the Jews' unbelief led them to fulfil the prophcies, concerning the Messiah, so their unbelief presented to the Gentiles the proper evidence of the divinity of the scriptures of the prophets, and of the mission of Jesus. Here then we may say, we have proved that our heavenly Father has plainly revealed in his word, that he had a divine purpose to answer by means of the Jews' unbelief, which was to communicate his grace to the Gentiles. This being granted, or rather proved, it must follow of course that when this unbelief or blasphemy has effected all which God designed by it, the merciful Father of our spirits will use means to remove it from the house of Israel; and therefore it is said, as quoted from Romans, 11;"Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.' As the unbelief of the Jews was the means of communicating mercy to the Gentiles, so in return the mercy which the Gentiles have by such means obtained will finally be communicated to the Jews. We read again in this chapter the following: "For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, there shall come out of Sion the deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob." When the fulness of the Gentiles shall be converted to Christ, then the blasphemy of the Jews will have answered the purpose for which God designed it, and then the deliverer of Israel will be sent out of Sion and will turn away this ungodliness from Jacob.

The hearer can scarcely avoid seeing that all these things are made plain by the testimony of

divine inspiration; but many find a very great difculty in submitting to the idea that the divine Being ever intended to answer any purpose by means of man's transgression. Yet in the case of Joseph's brethren, it is fully evident, that God made use of their wickedness to promote their brother to great power, and to give him an opportunity of rewarding them good for their evil towards him. So, also, the wickedness of the Jews, their hatred towards the blessed Jesus, and their blasphemy against the spirit by which his miracles were wrought all served and still serve to bring the object of their envy before the world of the Gentiles as the glorious Messiah promised in the law and in the prophets, and to establish the doctrine of God's everlasting love to sinners on a foundation that can never be shaken. And to crown the whole of this divine plan with glory and complete success, after this wickedness of the Jews shall have produced the effects before noticed, the blessed Redeemer, will then, like Joseph, make himself known unto his brethren the Jews, saying, as he did to one of them, "I am Jesus of Nazareth whom thou persecutest." It is worthy of notice that Joseph's brethren, by means of their hatred to him, gave a saviour to the land of Egypt and to many other countries; and also, that thousands of Egyptians rejoiced in this most gracious saviour before his own dear brethren were brought to know him, or to partake of his bounty. So the Jews by rejecting their Messiah, gave a glorious saviour to the Gentiles who rejoice in knowing him and in feasting on his grace, while the Jews who gave him to us are weeping, wailing and gnashing their teeth. But thanks be to God, our, blessed Saviour knows his brethren, his bowels yearn upon them, he has stores of corn for their relief, soon will the burst of joy be heard through all the Gentile church, of Jesus' making himself

known to his brethren. When the Saviour wept. over Jerusalem, he closed his lamentation with these memorable words; "Behold your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.".

We may now enquire for the meaning of the following words in our text; "neither in this world, neither in the world to come." The word wORLD means age or dispensation. Jesus spake these words under the law, during the continuance of the legal priesthood. "This world," referred to the then present order of things, and "the world to come," to the age in which the Gentiles would be visited with the gospel, and the Jews excluded. That this is a definition of the word wOLRD which is according to scripture the hearer may satisfy himself by attending to the following passages : In the 24th of Matthew, the disciples of Jesus asked him when the end of the world was to come; and in his reply he represented to them the destruction of Jerusalem as the end of the world, and told them it would take place in that generation. St. Paul in his Epistle to the Hebrews says, of Christ; "But now once in the end of the world, hath he appeared, to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself." Other passages to the same effect may also be consulted at the hearer's leisure.

It is true that some who believe that this sin against the Holy Ghost will finally be forgiven, carry its punishment into a future world meaning thereby a future state of existence. But as they, after all, are under the necessity of understanding the word WORLD as we have explained it, that is, to mean a dispensation, it seems unnecessary to carry this sin into a future state beyond our mortal existence. And more especially does this appear unnecessary, because all the benefit which it appears was designed to be effected by the unbe

lief of the Jews, seems evidently to appertain to this state of being. If it can be made to appear that God has some good end to answer, by having this sin, or any other exist in a future world we shall cordially subscribe to such a belief; but to suppose that the Almighty will perpetuate any sin in a future state only for the sake of tormenting his dependant offspring is dishonorable to his everblessed and gracious name.-The opinion that the divine Being exercises a disposition of revenge towards man for sin, as a man who has received an injury from his neighbor is influenced thereby to injure him in return, is totally contrary to the religion of Jesus, and is altogether degrading both to God and man. The Father of our spirits, always exercises one invariable disposition towords all his creatures, this disposition is love. It was love that moved God to overrule circumstances so as to send Joseph into Egypt by means of his brethren's envy, and these brethren were the objects of this love, and they finally enjoyed its blessed fruits. The same love moved our Father in heaven so to overrule circumstances as to bring Jesus to the cross by means of the blasphemy mentioned in our text, and it is evidently the revealed determination of God, that the blasphemous Jews shall richly share of the divine grace which they have been the means of manifesting to the world. God is good, and his intentions are good when he permits the evil passions of man to lead him into sin; he is good, and his intentions are all compassionate and kind when he brings on his erring children the most severe of his chastisements; and he is also good in finally producing the peaceable fruits of righteousness in those whom he causes to feel his rod.

After having presented the hearer with what appears to be the true design of the text under consideration, it may be profitable to look at the com