before as well as during the time of captivity, by an attentive reference to the sacred histories 2d Kings and 2d Chronicles. The necessary consequence then will be that he will clearly perceive that the above stated prophecy of Isaiah had been duly fulfilled long before Christ's birth, the Lord of hosts having become for a stumbling stone and for a rock of offence to the two houses of Israel soon after the prophet's declaration; and that Peter II. 7. and 8. ("The stone which the builders disallowed the same is made the head of the corner. And a stone of stumbling and rock of offence to them who stumble at the word being disobedient") is but a general statement of the ill consequences attached to disobedience, whether on the part of Israel or of the Gentiles, to the word delivered to them by Jesus in his divine commission. Jesus is here represented as a stone rejected by men but chosen by God and consequently he must be a stumbling stone to those who reject bin, stumbling at his word. Common sense, if not biassed by early prejudice, is sufficient to decide that a stone which is chosen and made the head of the corner by a maker, must not be esteemed as the maker himself.

The Editor comments however on the phrase "made the head of the corner" in verse 7th.

saying as to his being made the head of the corner by his heavenly father, this can no more affect his unchangeable deity than his being made flesh." This is as much as to say that the circumtance of his being made the head of the corner is as much a proof of his changeable nature as the fact of his being made flesh; for were we to admit that the circumstance of an object being made flesh or matter which he was not before, does not evince the changeableness of the nature of that object, we must theu be at a loss to discover even a single changeable object in the world. If one's being made flesh and his growth and reduction in the progress of time should not be considered as an evidence of a change in him, every man might claim the honor of an immutable nature and set up as God made flesh.

The Editor says (page 571.) that I " attempt. ed to evade Isaiah XL. 3. (" The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a high way for our God") by coupling it with Malachi III. 1. (" Behold I will send my messenger and he shall prepare the the way before me, and the Lord whom ye seek shall suddenly come into his temple, even the messenger of

the covenant whom ye delight in, behold he shall come saith the Lord of hosts.") and confining his animadversions to the latter." I trust the Editor by referring to Mark 1. 2. and 3. will find that in coupling the above verses I did no more than follow the example of that evangelist who also coupled them in his Gospel. As the explanation adopted by me of the prophecy of Malachi fully explains the passage of Isaiah, I confined my animadversion to the former; for," we find in the book of that prophet distinct and separate mention of Jehovah and of the Messiah as the messenger of the covenant; Johu therefore ought to be considered as the forerunner of both and as the preparer of the way of both; in the same manner as a commander sent in advance to occupy a strong post in the country of the enemy may be said to be preparing the way for the battles of his king or of the general whom the king places at the head of his army." (Second Appeal page 141.) On which explanation the Editor observes that " the fact is that Malachi does not mention two; It is Jehovah who was suddenly to come into his temple; and afterwards Jehovah and the messenger of the covenant are identified by the prophets" adding " he shall come," not "they." But we find in the original Hebrew Malachi III. 1. " and the

Y y

messenger of the covenant," with the conjunction "and" after the mention of the Lord. It is therefore evident that the messenger of the covenant is distinctly and separately mentioned. How the Editor supposes that "Malachi does not mention two," I am unable to guess. We find also immediately after the mention of "the messenger of the covenant whom ye delight in," the prophet adds, " Behold he shall come saith the Lord of hosts," as the saying of Jehovah-How can the mention of the messenger of the covenant in the third person by the deity prove the unity of that messenger with the deity? Were we to admit that every being spoken of in the third person by God is identified with God, the number of identified Gods must in that case amount at least to thousands in the sacred writings. It is worth observing that in the original Hebrew "the messenger of the covenant" stands as nominative to the verbs or "shall come," with the pronoun" he." The verse thus stands in the original. "Behold I will send my messenger and he shall prepare the way before me and the Lord whom ye seek shall suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant whom ye delight in behold he shall come, (OR, IS COMING,) saith the Lord of hosts." The Editor adds "that Jesus is Jehovah mentioned in Isaiah

XL. 3. whose way John was sent to prepare, is confirmed by the testimony of Zechariah and John his son." As to the nature of Jesus Zechariah gives us to understand Luke I. 69. that God "hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David." In the evangelical writings of Matthew, Mark, and Luke we find Jesus represented by John as mightier than himself. In John we find still more explicit testimony; I. 29." Behold the Lamb of God who taketh away the sin of the world (30.) This is he of whom I said after me cometh a man who is preferred before me." My readers may now judge whether Zechariah and John confirmed the identity of Jesus with Jehovah, or represented him as a creature raised and exaited by hfs and our father, the Most High.

Some orthodox divines having attempted to prove the deity of Jesus by comparing Isaiah XL. 10. (Behold the Lord God will come with a strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold his reward is with him and his work before him") with Rev. XXII. 12 ("Behold I come quickly and my reward is with me, to give to every man according as his work shall be") I brought to their notice.

(in my Second Appeal page 152.) John V. 30.