SERMON I.

GAL. iv. 4.

BUT WHEN THE FULNESS OF TIME WAS COME, GOD SENT

FORTH HIS SON.

MORE than eighteen centuries ago there appeared in Judea an extraordinary personage called Jesus of Nazareth. The consequences of his life, death, resurrection and ascension have been such as no human foresight could anticipate, no human power control; and it is not now in man's imagination to trace them through the range of future generations. Even if it should be maintained, that there was nothing supernatural in this character, or these consequences, yet the event and its influences must forever remain stupendous. The appearance of such a person in the world, and at such a period, with the consequent change in so large a portion of society, ought always to arrest the consideration of every thinking mind. It has made an era in the history of mankind, which must be eternally memorable. We, who believe that

the birth of Christ was the birth of a Saviour for the world, who see in him the Son of the omnipotent God; we,—who believe that the purposes of his incarnation were such as eye had not seen, nor ear heard, nor has any mind yet perfectly explored, and who rest all our peace and hopes on him, and him alone, as the vicegerent of Jehovah,-cannot be surprised at the long established celebration of the supposed day of his birth, or withhold our concurrence from the honours, which so large a portion of the christian world are disposed to pay it, especially when it coincides, as at present, with our customary day of worship. And at other times also we are disposed to say with the apostle, he that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord, and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.

It is certain that about eighteen hundred years ago, Jesus, this extraordinary person, appeared, whose birth, life, death, resurrection and ascension completed a series of astonishing and, as we believe, miraculous events. This Jesus claimed the character of the long expected Messiah, the light and salvation of the world; and under this character he is received by all who embrace his religion and acknowledge his divine authority. It will be our object in this discourse to show, that the time in which he appeared was, in every respect, the most proper for his appearance, this is the first head of discourse,-yet that this fitness of the period lent no aid to the propaga

tion of his religion, and diminished not the least the necessity of miraculous interposition for its support, -this is our second division. In other words, the state of the world, when Christ was born, was such as to constitute, at the same moment, the most proper time for his appearance and the greatest impediment to the success of his religion.

1. When the fulness of time was come, God sent forth his Son. The fitness of the moment appears in the first place from this undeniable fact, that there was, at that time, a general expectation throughout the world of the advent of some illustrious prophet and deliverer, who should change the aspect of human affairs. The rumour seems to have advanced from the east, and to have even reached the ears of the Roman emperour. We shall omit the scriptural proofs of this general expectation, till we have produced some remarkable passages from three independent and unbiassed authors of that age. The first is from Josephus, the Jewish annalist of that tremendous war, which ended in the destruction of his nation; a man, all whose prejudices were against the Messiahship and religion of Jesus. He is speaking of the causes, which stimulated the Jews to revolt from the authority of the Romans. "But that which principally encouraged them to the war," says he, "was an ambiguous oracle, found also in our sacred writings, that about that time some one from Judea should obtain the empire of the world. This they understood to belong to themselves, and many of their

wise men were mistaken in their judgment; for this oracle referred to the government of Vespasian, who was proclaimed emperour in Judea."* This you observe is the explanation of Josephus, in compliment to his imperial master. The second is from Suetonius, a Roman historian, who wrote, about the same time, the biography of the emperours. His words are these: "There had been for a long time all over the east, a notion firmly believed, that it was in the books of the fates, that some one from Judea was destined, about that time, to obtain the empire of the world." The third passage is from Tacitus, an historian of veracity and universal credit. He has been relating the calamities of the Jews, which preceded the destruction of their city, and then observes" that the mass of the people entertained a strong persuasion, that it was mentioned in the ancient writings of the priests, that at that very time the east should prevail, and some one from Judea obtain the empire of the world. These ambiguities," says Tacitus, like the rest," predicted Vespasian and Titus; but the common people, according to the usual influence of human passions, having once appropriated to themselves this destined greatness, could not be brought to understand the true meaning by all their adversities." There are other passages in heathen authors, which I think it unnecessary to mention, which prove that this expectation was prev† Suet. Vesp. cap. iv. Tacit. Hist. 1. v. c. fö.

Lardner i. p. 132.