is at hand: Behold, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel,' deliverance to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, the acceptable year of the Lord."* That Jesus was thus anointed to his office, appears not only from the above cited passage, and from the testimony of St. Peter, who, in his address to Cornelius and his company, says, 'God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost, and with power;' but also from the names by which he is called-Messiah, and Christ; both of which signify, anointed. From the old testament we know, that the ceremony of anointing with oil was in common use, to denote an appointment from God to the office of king, priest, and prophet. Saul, David, and Solomon, were anointed to be kings over Israel. Aaron and his sons to be the priests of God, under the Mosaic economy.§ And Elijah was commanded to anoint Elisha the son of Shaphat to be prophet in his room. The holy oil, or ointment for this purpose was, by the express command of God, compounded of the richest spices, T and kept in the tabernacle, to be used by the children of Israel, throughout their generations. This anointing was emblematical of those gifts and graces of the Holy Spirit, which were conferred on those who filled any office of God's appointment; and is therefore called the oil of gladness,' or exaltation; because they who were thus consecrated, were exalted above their equals, and were made to be glad or rejoice in the favour of God. In this sense is the phrase used of Messiah,** and applied to him by St. Paul.†† In after times, they who were advanced to any office of divine appointment, were said to be anointed to it, though no material oil had been used. This seems to have been the case with our blessed Saviour; the unction of the Holy Ghost superseding the use of all figurative applications. At length, the anointing came to signify the graces, or * Luke iv. 18, 19. 1 Kings i. 39. Exod. xxx. 23, 30, 31, † Acts x. 38. 1 Sam. x. 1. 2 Sam. v. 3. 1 Kings xix. 16. tt Heb. i. 9. presence of the Holy Spirit; and in this sense it is pro bably used by St. John: The anointing,' that is, the Holy Spirit which ye have received, teacheth you all things.* 2. As Christ was sent by the Father to be his prophet, to make known his will; and was for that purpose anointed with the Holy Ghost and with power; so he was sent by the Father to be his priest, to make effectual atonement for sin, to proclaim its remission, to declare the terms on which, and to appoint the means by which, it should be forgiven; and, by working all kinds of miracles, to prove his divine mission, and give assurance unto all men of the efficacy of his atonement, and of the means of the forgiveness of sins by him appointed. Of this there can be no doubt, if we will attend to what St. Paul has said of Christ's priesthood, in his Epistle to the Hebrews.t The peculiarity of the priest's office consists principally in two things-making atonement for sin, and interceding with God for the people. The atonement for sin, made by Christ offering himself a willing victim to divine justice for the sin of the world, and by actually enduring the wrath of God in his agony in the garden, and in the torments of crucifixion, both made more bitter by the dereliction of his Father. Isaiah foretold that the soul or life of Messiah should be made an offering for sin.' St. Paul affirms that God hath made him,' Christ, 'sin,' that is a sin offering, for us.'S And St. Peter asserts, that Christ his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree.' These authorities fully justify the church in teaching, and us in believing, that, by his passion and death, Christ made a full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction, for the sins of the whole world.'T * John xi. 27. † See Jones's four Lectures on the epistle to the Hebrews, annexed to his Loc tures, On the Figurative Language of the Holy Scriptures-a book which the author takes this opportunity to recommend to the careful reading of every person, who wishes to acquire a true knowledge and interpretation of Holy Scripture. $2 Corinthians v. 21. Chapter liii. 10. 1 Peter ii. 24. All those places of scripture which mention Christ as the atonement and propitiation for sin, or as our advocate and intercessor in heaven, stand on the ground of his priesthood; because, to make atonement and intercession are peculiar to the priest's office. And that Christ was sent by the Father to make this atonement, appears from all those places, where he says, he was sent by the Father,'*—that he was to lay down his life for his sheep,t to give his flesh for the life of the world, to give his life a ransom for many, and that the Father had given him commandment to lay down his life and to take it again.'|| He was therefore sent of God to be his priest, to make atonement for sin, and to intercede for his people. Of his intercession we have a clear instance in St. John's gospel, where he prays and intercedes with the Father, for his apostles, and for all who should believe on him through their ministry. But as he was not to continue always on earth, the scene of his intercession is heaven: For, when he had by himself purged our sins,' he sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on High.** And herein consists the unchangeableness of Christ's priestlood, and his ability to save them to the uttermost, that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.'++ 6 3. Another capacity, in which Christ was sent by the Father, was to be governor, head and king of his church. It will be superfluous to cite many authorities to prove that this office belongs to Messiah. So express and strong are the declarations of the prophets to this purpose, that the carnal Jews were led to expect a temporal deliverer in Messiah; and under the influence of that vain imagination, to reject, with scorn, him whom God'exalted with his right hand, to be a Prince and a Saviour, to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins."‡‡ As a prophet, Christ came to make known the will of God, to call and gather his church, and to separate it * John v. 36. John x. 18. ## Acts y. 31. YOL. I. † Chap. x. 15. ¶ Chap. xvii. + Chap. vi. 51. ** Heb. i. 3. H Matt. xx. 28. ++ Heb. vii. 24, 25. from the world.* This church is always described as a society or community. It is styled the body of Christ.† It is called the kingdom of heaven-the kingdom of God.‡ If the church be a society, it must have a governor If a body, it must have a head: If Christ's body, its head must be Christ: If a kingdom, a king must reign over it. Accordingly, the predictions of the prophets which describe Messiah as a king, prince, ruler, or governor, are in the new testament applied to Jesus Christ. That the power and majesty of Messiah are, under the figure of David, represented in the second Psalm, appears by the citations made from it by the apostle, and applied to Christ. The same observation will hold good of several other psalms, particularly the forty-fifth. This prophecy of Jeremiah,¶ "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous branch, and a king shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely; and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUS NESS,' can be applied to none but Messiah; and to him it is applied, either directly, or by allusion, in several places of the new testament.** Indeed, the apostles always speak of Christ with reference to his church, as of its head, and of his being given of God for that office. God, saith St. Paul, hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things to the church, which is his body.tt The same apostle, writing to the Ephesians, exhorts them to unity and sincerity, from this motive, that they might grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ.' And, in another epistle, he asserts of Christ, in direct terms, that he is the head of the body, the church. '§ § That Christ is the king, ruler, or governor of the church, appears from all those places which ascribe supremacy of power to him, and describe him as a Prince * John xvii. 14. † Col. i. 24. iv. 25, xiii. 23. Heb. i. 5, v. 5. ** Luke xxiv. 27. 1 Cor. i. 30. AS Col. i. 18. Matt. iii. 2, xii. 28. Heb. i. 8, ii. 12. Acts ¶ Chap. xxii. 5, 6. ## Eph. iv. 15. and Lord. This also follows from his being head of the church, and the church being his body. These expressions, being metaphorically taken from the natural body, imply, that the church is directed and governed by Christ its head, even as that is directed and governed by the natural head. Having thus ascertained the manner in which, and the purposes for which, Christ was sent of the Father, we will turn our attention to his apostles, and endeavour to shew how, and for what purposes they were sent by Christ into the world. That there must be some great analogy, and striking resemblance between his mission from the Father, and theirs from him, is certain from his own words: As my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.' Christ declares the same thing in another place, namely, in that pathetic intercession which St. John testifiest he made for his apostles, and for his whole church, most probably at the institution of the holy eucharist, when, under the figure of bread and wine, he offered and devoted his body and blood, his life, a sacrifice to God for the sin of the world: As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.' 1. Christ was sent by the Father to be his prophet, to declare his will, to publish the terms of pardon and reconciliation with God, to call and gather his church, and separate it from the world, and to work all miracles necessary to establish the divine authority of his mission. And the apostles were sent by Christ to be his prophets, even as he was the Father's prophet- to make known his will, as he made known the will of the Father. For, the Father having constituted him head over all things, during the continuance of his mediatorial kingdom; his will is the supreme authority, by which all things are to be ordered and governed, to the end of the world. The apostles were also sent to make known the terms of reconciliation with God, and to persuade men to be reconciled to him ;§ to collect Christ's church from the world; and, by bap *Acts v. 31. ii. 36. x. 36. § 2 Cor. v. 20. Chap. xvii. 18. # 1 Cor. xv. 24, 27. |