and Clarke; and especially the more standard works of Methodism, in the writings of Mr. Wesley himself. He had also the opportunity of perusing some of the stirring writings of the leading older Nonconformist Divines, Baxter, Howe, Bates, and some others. These he read carefully; though at the same time these closer inquiries more deeply convinced him than ever, that what is called Wesleyan divinity is the divinity of the Bible. The doctrines of general redemption and Christian perfection, as advocated with such pious and powerful eloquence by Mr. Fletcher, were the very delight of his soul. He thus became a solid, useful Preacher. In his sermons there was nothing desultory, unconnected, or irrelevant; all was neat, orderly, and pointed. In every discourse he gave prominence to the leading doctrines of evangelical religion, and failed not to apply and enforce them with much earnestness.

He thus pursued, for some years, in regular attention to the duties both of his providential and religious calling, what might truly be termed "the even tenor of his way." No particular incidents marked his course; but he held fast his profession without wavering, walked humbly with his God, and aimed at being "always abounding in the work of the Lord." His unbending integrity, his diligent use of the means of grace, his love to the members of the household of faith, and his earnest endeavours to do good to all, will not soon be forgotten by those who knew him.

During the latter part of his life he resided at Carlton, where his labours were duly appreciated, and his memory lives in the hearts of his sorrowing and bereaved relations and friends. He was called to suffer severe personal affliction for a long period; but he was enabled to bear it with the patient firmness of a true Christian. For several years before his death, he professed to be in the enjoyment of that full salvation which he believed to be promised in the Gospel. Throughout the illness which only terminated with his life, he was generally cheerful and happy; and though quite aware that he was rapidly drawing nearer to the house appointed for all living, he was quietly resigned to the will of his heavenly Father. Just before he was deprived of the power of speech, he took an affectionate leave of his wife and children, and of all the members of his household, as well as of those of his friends who were present at the time. He then exclaimed, "O the precious blood of Christ! I still feel it as precious as ever." Soon after, he attempted to describe the perfect peace which he enjoyed; but he could only do it in broken accents, and left the sentence unfinished, though his meaning was not to be mistaken,— "There is no cloud to-inter-cept-but-.” Articulation here failed him; but his countenance was not only serene, but even joyous. After a few minutes, the solemn shades of death were drawn over it, his eyes closed, and he fell asleep in Christ.

Thus died Mr. George Otter, of Carlton, in the Worksop Circuit, February 27th, 1845, aged sixty-two.

DIVINITY.

THE SON OF GOD SENT TO REDEEM AND SAVE

THE WORLD:

A SERMON:

BY THE REV. WILLIAM LUPTON.

"But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons."-Gal. iv. 4, 5.

THESE words assure us that the advent of the Son of God to our world was not a fortuitous or contingent event, but something which transpired in accordance with a divinely-arranged plan, and whose object was to accomplish purposes of mercy which were long previously formed. Hence we see that this extraordinary manifestation of divine benevolence had connected with it nothing which was casual or uncertain; that it was not the result of any mischance on the part of man, or after-thought on the part of God; but was designed to unfold the character of the divine Being more fully than it could otherwise have been unfolded; and to prove that He whose eye beheld the end from the beginning, could not only foresee what was most fitting to promote his glory and the good of his creatures; but also foretell, with the utmost accuracy, at what point of duration it would be most expedient "to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: to the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God."

We will endeavour to illustrate the text by considering,

I. The important truth which it asserts; and,

II. The gracious design of God herein.

We propose to consider,—

I. The important truth which is here asserted: "When the fulness of time was come," &c.

"The fulness of time" is a mode of expression which may be regarded as implying, that the advent of Christ did not take place till all the expedients which human wisdom could suggest, and all the laws which human prudence could devise, and all the penalties which human power could inflict for the suppression and abolition of vice, and the commendation and prevalence of virtue, had been tried, and proved ineffectual; till numerous oblations had been offered to make atonement for sin, and myriads of ablutions had been performed to wash away its defilement, but all in vain; till all the boasted reason and philosophy of the renowned sages of Greece and Rome had been stretched as on the martyrs' rack to find out what was regarded as the supreme and universal good, but all to no purpose; till deities had

VOL. IV.-FOURTH SERIES.

3 s

been multiplied to thousands, and "the glory of the incorruptible God changed into an image like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things;" it was not until the world was sunk in sin, and bewildered and degraded by every form of error and superstition, and men had proved themselves utterly unable to devise any plan by which to effect their own deliverance, or to change their own degenerate nature, that the period which the infinitely wise God had selected as preferable to any other, for the most advantageous accomplishment of his gracious designs, arrived. But when the enormous power and evil of sin had been properly discovered; when the absolute insufficiency of all means of human devising, for reforming and saving the world, was fully manifested; when a multitude of types and ceremonies had prefigured the character and work of the Messiah; and when men were sufficiently informed of his coming, and he had become "the desire of all nations;" then "God sent forth His Son."

By "the fulness of time," however, we think the Apostle meant much more than this. The Holy Ghost had, by the ancient Prophets, distinctly specified not only the character and work of the Son of God, together with the place of his birth, and the circumstances of his life; but also the family of which he should come, and the exact period when he should be born. Hence, "when the fulness of time was come seems to mean, When the space which intervened between the promises relative to the advent of Christ, and the time allotted for their fulfilment, was filled up, his coming could be no longer delayed: and, therefore, then it was that "God sent forth His Son." There were numerous predictions in the Old Testament which definitely noted the time of the Messiah's advent; some by the induction of a chain of the most precise and distinctive circumstances, and some by a chronological admeasurement of the nicest exactitude. We will direct your attention to two predictions, as specimens of many that might be selected, by way of illustration.

The first of these is recorded in Gen. xlix. 8-10. The patriarch Jacob was now one hundred and forty-seven years of age; and from his growing infirmities, as well as by special intimation from heaven, he was aware that "the time drew near when he must die:" and, therefore, according to the custom of those times of primitive simplicity, he caused all his sons to assemble round his dying bed, that he might give them his last blessing, and inform them, as the Spirit of God should direct him, what would befall them in the last days. "And Jacob called unto his sons, and," with all the dignity of an extraordinary Prophet, and the piety of a dying saint, said, Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father:" and when they were assembled, "Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed:" and then, a holy afflatus from heaven resting upon him, he was enabled to give utterance to a series of prophecies of the most remarkable character. He spake first of Reuben, his first-born, and the beginning of his strength; next of Simeon and Levi, of whose treacherous cruelty in the case of

the Shechemites he still retained the most painful recollection; and then, turning to Judah, he said, "Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee. Judah is a lion's whelp from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be." Here, in language highly figurative and poetic, Judah is represented as great in strength, courageous in danger, and victorious in conflict. As the king of the forest whose fearful roar diffuses terror around, he is described as going up from the prey, and then stooping down to rest in undisturbed repose. And, though. Judah made no pretensions to superiority, he is promised regal authority: it is said his "father's children shall bow down before him;" that from him shall proceed a perpetual "lawgiver;" that, as the ruler of his people, his "brethren shall praise" and rally round his royal standard; and that "the sceptre shall not depart from him," but he shall retain sovereign authority, "until Shiloh come:" and that then his royalty shall cease by being transferred to him whose right it is; "and unto him shall the gathering of the people be!"

Thus, by a concatenation of concurring circumstances the most striking, and which could not be misunderstood, was the period of the Messiah's advent distinctly noted. Hence, so long as the descendants of Judah retained regal dignity and legislative authority, it was manifest that the time of the Redeemer's nativity had not arrived. The kingdom of Israel was subject to various vicissitudes; experienced great changes; and was, ultimately, wholly dispersed, being broken up by the Assyrian power; and the kingdom of Judah participated in those changes, to a considerable extent: yet a chain of singular providences preserved the distinction of Judah entire. Hence, Judah continued a united people; a King reigned among them; they were governed by their own laws; and their judges were taken from their brethren. "But when the fulness of the time was come," the royal sceptre departed from Judah; the crown fell from his head; he ceased to retain his regal dignity; and his glory became extinct. At the time when Christ was born, a King reigned over the Jews in their own land; they were governed by their own laws, and the Council of their nation exercised its authority and power. But in a short space all these concurring testimonies to the time of the advent of the Messiah passed away: for during the very year-the twelfth of his age-when Christ first publicly appeared in the temple, where he gave proof of superhuman wisdom, and thus began the work assigned to him by his Eternal Father, Archelaus, the son and successor of Herod the Great, was dethroned and banished; the kingdom of Judah was debased into a part of the province of Syria; soon after this the Jews' commonwealth became a complete ruin, and they have ever since been scattered throughout the world, having a name, but not being a nation!

The next prediction to which we shall direct your attention is of a widely different character, but as conclusive as the former; and is found in Daniel ix. 24, 25. The people of Israel were now in the Chaldean captivity, where they were doomed to abide seventy years, as a punishment for their idolatry, and rebellion against God. As the Prophet Daniel understood, by the writing of the former Prophets, that these years were accomplished, he set his face unto the Lord to seek by prayer and supplication, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes, for the deliverance of his people, and their restoration to their own land; with power to rebuild their city, and temple, and their fathers' sepulchres. While he was presenting his prayer before the Lord, the angel Gabriel was sent to inform him that, "at the beginning of his supplications," the King had established a decree, and sent for a commandment according to his desire. He then directed his attention to a matter of much greater importance, and urged him to consider the vision; saying, "Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. Know, therefore, and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince, shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks." Computation by weeks of years was quite common among the Jews. Hence, when the Lord laid upon the Prophet Ezekiel the years of the iniquity of the house of Israel and the house of Judah, he said, "I have appointed thee each day for a year." (Ezek. iv. 4—6.) Adopting, then, this principle of interpretation, the "seventy weeks" in question amounted to four hundred and ninety years. And so entirely was all ambiguity done away that, in this prophecy, the angel used the very name " Messiah," called him a "Prince," and marked the exact time when he should come; when he should die "to make reconciliation for iniquity;" when he should put an end to the sacrificial system of the Jews; when he should "bring in everlasting righteousness," or establish that Gospel covenant which shall terminate only when time shall end. By comparing what the angel said to Daniel with the historical records of the time referred to, as noted in the Book of Nehemiah, ii. 1, &c., we find it expressly stated, that "the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem" went forth "in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the King." Contemporary historians state that this King ascended the throne four hundred and seventy-three years before the birth of Christ. Our Lord, we know, did not announce himself as the Messiah, till he was thirty years of age, when he was publicly baptized and anointed by the Holy Ghost for his great work. We have, therefore, between the prediction and its accomplishment the most perfect correspondence, as we find "that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem, unto the Messiah the Prince," was, according to the prophetic language of the angel Gabriel, exactly "seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks."