dictions of the prophets, the one God of Israel, the Maker of heaven and earth, was acknowledged through the world for the only true God: that the Law given to Israel was taken for the true Law of God, but as given to that people, and so to cease when they ceased to be a people; except the moral part thereof, which, as a universal rule common to all people, is still acknowledged for the Law of God, given unto all, and obliging every man: that all the oracles of the heathen gods, in all places where Christianity was received, did presently cease, and all the idols or the gods themselves were rejected and condemned as spurious. For the Lord of Hosts had spoken concerning those times expressly, "it shall come to pass in that day, that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall no more be remembered: also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land." (Zech. xiii. 2.)

Now being this general reception of the Gospel was so anciently, so frequently foretold, being the same was so clearly and universally performed; even this might seem sufficient to persuade that Jesus is Christ. But lest any should not yet be fully satisfied, we shall farther shew, that it is impossible Jesus should have been so received for the true Messias, had he not been so; or that his doctrine, which teacheth him to be the Christ, should be admitted by all nations for divine had it not been such. For whether we look upon the nature of the doctrine taught, the condition of the teachers of it, or the manner in which it was taught, it can no way seem probable, that it should have had any such success, without the immediate working of the hand of God, acknowledging Jesus for his Son, the doctrine for his own, and the fulfilling by the hands of the apostles what he had foretold by the prophets.

As for the nature of the doctrine, it was no way likely to have any such success. For, first, it absolutely condemned all other religions, settled and corroborated by a constant succession of many ages, under which many nations and kingdoms, and especially at that time the Roman, had signally flourished. Secondly, it contained precepts far more ungrateful and troublesome to flesh and blood, and contrariant to the general inclination of mankind; as the abnegation of ourselves, the mortifying of the flesh, the love of our enemies, and the bearing of the cross. Thirdly, it enforced those precepts seemingly unreasonable, by such promises as were seemingly incredible and unperceivable. For they were not of the good things of this world, or such as afford any complacency to our sense; but of such as cannot be obtained till after this life, and necessarily presuppose that which then seemed as absolutely impossible, the resurrection. Fourthly, it delivered certain predictions which were to be fulfilled in the persons of such as should embrace it, which seem sufficient to have kept most part of the world from listening to it, as dangers, losses, afflictions, tribu

lations; and, in sum, "all that would live godly in Christ Jesus should suffer persecution." (2 Tim. iii. 12.)

If we look upon the teachers of this doctrine, there appeared nothing in them which could promise any success. The first revealer and promulger bred in the house of a carpenter, brought up at the feet of no professor, despised by the highpriests, the Scribes and Pharisees, and all the learned in the religion of his nation; in the time of his preaching apprehended, bound, buffetted, spit upon, condemned, crucified; betrayed in his life by one disciple, denied by another; at his death distrusted by all. What advantage can we perceive towards the propagation of the Gospel in this author of it, "Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling-block, and unto the Greeks foolishness?" (1 Cor. i. 23.) What in those which followed him, sent by him, and thence called apostles, men by birth obscure, by education illiterate, by profession low and inglorious? How can we conceive that all the schools and universities of the world should give way to them, and the kingdoms and empires should at last come in to them, except their doctrine were indeed divine, except that Jesus, whom they testified to be the Christ, were truly so?

If we consider the manner in which they delivered this doctrine to the world, it will add no advantage to their persons, or advance the probability of success. For in their delivery they used no such rhetorical expressions, or ornaments of eloquence, to allure or entice the world; they affected no such subtilty of wit, or strength of argumentation, as thereby to persuade or convince men; they made use of no force or violence to compel, no corporal menaces to affright mankind unto a compliance. But in a plain simplicity of words they nakedly delivered what they had seen and heard, "preaching, not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in the demonstration of the Spirit." (1 Cor. ii. 4.) It is not then rationally imaginable, that so many nations should forsake their own religions so many ages professed, and brand them all as damnable, only that they might embrace such precepts as were most unacceptable to their natural inclinations, and that upon such promises as seemed not probable to their reason, nor could have any influence on their sense, and notwithstanding those predictions which did assure them, upon the receiving of that doctrine, to be exposed to all kind of misery: that they should do this upon the authority of him who for the same was condemned and crucified, and by the persuasion of them who were both illiterate and obscure: that they should be enticed with words without eloquence, convinced without the least subtilty, constrained without any force. I say, it is no way imaginable how this should come to pass, had not the doctrine of the Gospel, which did thus prevail, been certainly divine; had not the light of the Word, which thus dispelled the clouds of all

former religions, come from heaven; had not that "Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith," (Heb. xii. 2.) been the true Messias.

To conclude this discourse. He who was in the world at the time when the Messias was to come, and no other at that time or since pretended; he who was born of the same family, in the same place, after the same manner, which the prophets foretold of the birth of the Messias; he which taught all those truths, wrought all those miracles, suffered all those indignities, received all that glory, which the Messias was to teach, do, suffer, and receive; he whose doctrine was received in all nations, according to the character of the Messias: he was certainly the true Messias. But we have already sufficiently shewed that all these things are exactly fulfilled in Jesus, and in him alone. We must therefore acknowledge and profess, that this Jesus is the promised Messias, that is, the Christ.

Having thus manifested the truth of this proposition, Jesus is the Christ, and shewed the interpretation of the word Christ to be anointed: we find it yet necessary, for the explication of this Article,* to inquire what was the end or immediate effect of his unction, and how or in what manner he was anointed to that end.

For the first, as the Messias was foretold, so was he typified: nor were the actions prescribed under the Law less predictive than the words of the prophets. Nay,t whosoever were then anointed, were therefore so, because he was to be anointed. Now it is evident, that among the Jews they were wont to anoint those which were appointed as kings over them:‡ so "Samuel said unto Saul, The Lord sent me to anoint thee to be king over his people, over Israel." (1 Sam. xv. 1.) When Saul was rejected, and David produced before Samuel, "the Lord said, Arise, anoint him, for this is he." (1 Sam. xvi. 12.) And some may have contented themselves with this, § that the Messias was to be a king. But not only the kings, but beside and long before them, the high-priests were also anointed; insomuch as the anointed, || in their common language, signified their high

For though at the first the sons of Aaron were anointed as well as Aaron, as appears, Exod. xl. 15. "Thou shalt anoint them as thou didst anoint their father, that they may administer to me in the priest's office:" yet they were not after anointed, but the successors of Aaron only for, saith the text, "Their anointing shall surely be an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations:" and, therefore, after this first anointing they shall need no more, only the successors in the high-priesthood shall reiterate the unction: from whence the priest that is anointed afterwards signified the high-priest, as Lev. iv. 3.

priest. And because these two were most constantly anointed, therefore divers have thought it sufficient to assert, that the Messias was to be a king and a priest.* But being not only the high-priests and kings were actually anointed (though they principally and most frequently); for "the Lord said unto Elias, Go anoint Hazael to be king over Syria, and Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel, and Elisha the son of Shaphat shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room" (1 Kings xix. 15, 16.) Therefore hence it hath been concluded that the three offices of prophet, priest, and king, belonged to Jesus as the Christ,† and that upon good reason. For the commonwealth of Israel was totally ordered and disposed, both in the constitution and administration of it, for and with respect unto the Messias. The constitution of that people was made by a sejunction and separation of them from all other nations on the earth: and this began in Abraham, with a peculiar promise of a seed in whom all the nations should be blessed, and be united into one religion. That promised seed was the Messias, the type of whom was Isaac. This separation was continued by the administration of that commonwealth, which was "a royal priesthood:" (1 Pet. ii. 9.) and that administration of the people did consist in three functions, prophetical, regal, sacerdotal; all which had respect unto the Messias, as the scope of all the prophets, and the complement of their prophecies, as the Lord of the Temple, and the end of all the sacrifices for which the Temple was erected, as the heir

As Lactantius: Erat Judæis ante præceptum, ut sacrum conficerent unguentum, quo perungi possent ii, qui vocabantur ad sacerdotium vel ad regnum.' I. iv. c. 7. And St. Augustin: Prioribus Veteris Testamenti temporibus ad duas solas personas pertinuit unctio.' Enarr. 2. Psal. xxvi. §. 2. Christus vel Pontificale vel Regium nomen est. Nam prius et Pontifices unguento chrismatis consecrabantur et Reges.' Ruff. in Symb. §. 8.

† Τοῦτο τὸ χρίσμα μὴ μόνον ̓Αρχιερεῦσι παραδοθῆναι, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῖς μετὰ ταῦτα προφήταις καὶ βασιλεῦσιν, οἷς καὶ αὐτοῖς τούτῳ χρίεσθαι μόνον ἐξὲν ἦν τῷ μύρω. Euseb.

Demonst. Evang. l. iv. c. 15. and Hist. l. i.c. 3. Wherefore St. Augustin, recollecting a place, in his eighty-three questions, in which he had taught the two fishes in the Gospel, 'duas illas personas significare quibus populus ille regebatur, ut per eas conciliorum moderamen acciperet, regiam scilicet et sacerdotalem, ad quas etiam sacrosancta illa unctio pertinebat,' makes this particular retractation: Dicendum potius fuit, maxime pertinebat, quoniam unctos aliquando legimus et prophetas.' Retract. 1. i. c. 26.

† Οὐ μόνους δὲ ἄρα τοὺς ἀρχιερωσύνῃ τετι· μημένους τὸ τοῦ χριστοῦ κατεκόσμει παρ Εβραίοις ὄνομα ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς βασιλέας, οὓς καὶ αὐτοὺς, πνεύματι θείῳ προφῆται χρίοντες, εἰκονικούς τινας χριστοὺς ἀπειργάζονται ὅτι δὴ καὶ αὐτοὶ, τῆς τοῦ μόνου καὶ ἀληθῶς Χριστώ, τοῦ κατὰ πάντων βασιλεύοντος θείου λόγου, βασιλικῆς καὶ ἀρχικῆς ἐξουσίας τοὺς τύπους δι' ἑαυτῶν ἔφερον· ἤδη δὲ καὶ αὐτῶν τῶν προφητῶν τινὰς διὰ χρίσματος χριστοὺς ἐν τόπῳ γεγο νέναι παρειλήφαμεν. ὡς τούτους ἅπαντας τὴν ἐπὶ τὸν ἀληθῆ Χριστὸν, τὸν ἔνθεον καὶ οὐράνιον λόγον, ἀναφορὰν ἔχειν, μόνον ἀρχιερέα τῶν ὅλων, καὶ μόνον ἁπάσης τῆς κτίσεως βασιλέα, καὶ μόνον προφητῶν ἀρχιπροφήτην τοῦ πατρὸς TUYXávovτa. Euseb. Hist. Eccl. 1. i. c. 3.

of an eternal priesthood "after the order of Melchizedek," (Psal. cx. 4.) and of the throne of David, or an everlasting kingdom. Being then the separation was to cease at the coming of the Messias, being that could not cease so long as the administration of that people stood, being that administration did consist in those three functions, it followeth that those three were to be united in the person of the Messias, who was to make all one, and consequently, that the Christ was to be Prophet, Priest, and King.

Again, the redemption or salvation which the Messias was to bring, consisteth in the freeing of a sinner from the state of sin and eternal death, into a state of righteousness and eternal life. Now a freedom from sin in respect of the guilt could not be wrought without a sacrifice propitiatory, and therefore there was a necessity of a priest; a freedom from sin in respect of the dominion could not be obtained without a revelation of the will of God, and of his wrath against all ungodliness, therefore there was also need of a prophet; a translation from the state of death into eternal life is not to be effected without absolute authority and irresistible power, therefore a king was also necessary. The Messias, then, the Redeemer of Israel, was certainly anointed for that end, that he might become Prophet, Priest, and King. And if we believe him whom we call Jesus, that is, our Saviour and Redeemer, to be Christ, we must assert him by his unction sent to perform all these three offices. That Jesus was anointed to the prophetical office, though we need no more to prove it than the prediction of Isaiah, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the Gospel to the poor;" (Isa. Ixi. 1.) the explication of our Saviour, "This day is the Scripture fulfilled in your ears;" (Luke iv. 21.) and the confession of the synagogue at Nazareth, who "all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth :" (Luke iv. 22.) yet we are furnished with more ample and plentiful demonstrations; for whether we consider his preparation, his mission, or his administration, all of them speak him fully to have performed it. To Jeremiah indeed God said, " Before thou camest forth out of the womb, I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations;" (Jer. i. 5.) and of John the Baptist, "He shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb." (Luke i. 15.) And if these became singular prophets by their preparative sanctification, how much more eminent must his prophetical preparation be, to whose mother it is said, "The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee?" (Luke i. 35.) If the Levites must be "thirty years old, every one that came to do the service of the ministry," (Numb. iv. 47.) Jesus will not enter upon the public administration of this office "till he begin to be about thirty years of age." (Luke iii. 23.) Then doth the