447 SERMON LXIII. Proving Jefus to be the Meffias., MATTH. I I . 2, 3,4, 5, 6. Now when John had heard in Prifon the works of Chrifl, he tent two of his Difciples, and faid unto him, flrt thou, he that /hould come : or do we lookfor another ? fefus anfwer ed andfaid unto them, Go ant Sohn again th% things which ye do hear, andfee. The Blind receive their fight, and the Lame walk, theLepers are cleanfed, and the Deaf hear, the Dead are raifed up, and the Poor have the Got pel Preached unto them. And bleed is he whofoever (hall not be offended in me. BOUT the time of our Saviour's appearing in theWorld, there was a general expellation of a Great Prince, that fhould come out of govern all Nations : This the Gentiles had from the Prophecies of the syoils, which fpake of a great King that was to appear in the World about that time. So Virgil tells us, that the time of Augufius was the utmoft date of that Prophecy, Ultimo Cumei venitjam carmini: (etas : And Suetonius tells us, that all over the Eaflern Countries, there was an ancient andconfiant Tradition, that fach a Princefhouldfpring out of Judea: And for this Reafon it is, that our Saviour is call'd by theProphet, the Expeläation of the Nation:. But more efpecially among the Jews, there was at that time a more lively and particular expeftation, grounded upon the PrediEtions of their Prophets, of a Prince whom they call'd the Meas, or the Anointed ; and thofe who were more devout among them, did at that time wait for his appearance ; as it is faid of Simeon, that he waited for the confolation of Ifrael. Hence it was, that when John the Baptifi appeared in the quality of an extraordinary Prophet, they fent from jerufalem to enquire whether he were the Meas? John t. tg. The yews fent Priefis and Levites from jerufalem to ask him, Who art than ? And he con- fed, anddenied not, but confeffd, I am not the Chr. The Sanhedrim, to whom it belonged to judge who were true Prophets, fent to knowwhether he was the Mef ias or not ? He would not take this honour to himfelf; but told them the Mef- fias was juft at hand ; and the next day, when Jefas came to be baptized of him, he bare record, that he was the Sonof God, and that he few the Spirit defeendingand abiding uponhim. So that it is plain that he knew him, and bare witnefs of him, which makes it themore ftrange that here in the Text, he fhould fend two of his Difciples to en- quire, whether he were the Mef ias or not ? Art thou he thatfhould come, or do we look for another ? That is, art thou theMeffias, or not ? for fo he is call'd in the ancient Prophecies of him, 6 iQxdceev(t he that fhould come, Gen. 49. ro. The Scepter (hall not depart from Judah, 'till Shiloh come. For the refolution of this difficulty, it is very probably faid by Interpreters, and I think there is no Iteafon todoubt of it, that John the Baptifi did not fend this
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