eminence, "Being counted of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who buildeth the house hath more honour than the house." "And

Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony to those things which were to be spoken after; but Christ as a Son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence, and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end."*

It is generally acknowledged that the Prophet Daniel prophesied of events that would happen thereafter upon the earth, when he interpreted the vision seen by Nebuchadnezzar of an image formed of gold, and silver, and brass and iron; which Daniel himself explains as representing four kingdoms. And he adds, speaking to Nebuchadnezzar, "Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands which smote the image upon his feet, that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces, and the wind carried them away, and no place was found for them; and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth."+

The meaning of a stone cut out without hands is, that the cutting it out was no human workmanship; and that the kingdom which it represents was not an earthly but a spiritual kingdom. So, in St. Paul's Epistle to the Colossians, the Apostle speaks of the circumcision made without hands-by the circumcision of Christ, which is not a carnal but a spiritual circumcision. Accordingly Daniel proceeds, "In the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. •""*

In the seventh chapter a fourth beast is represented as arising, which was "dreadful, and terrible, and strong exceedingly;-it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it; and it was diverse from all the beasts which were before it."+ The prophecy extends even until this beast was slain; "I beheld even until the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning

flame." And the death of this beast appears to remove every obstruction to the introduction of that kingdom which has been the main object of the prophecy. "I saw in the night visions," says the Prophet, "and, behold one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed."*

It cannot be doubted that the great mountain, which the stone cut out without hands should become and fill the whole earth, was, in the language of the Prophet, the same with the kingdom to be given to the Son of man, that all people, nations, and languages should serve him; and a kingdom that should not be destroyed. This gives us an infallible clue to the prophecy of the Psalmist, in the 118th Psalm, "The same stone which the builders refused is become the head of the corner ;"+ which is often quoted

*Daniel vii. 13, 14.

+ Psalm cxviii. 22.

in the New Testament, and particularly applied by Jesus himself, after he had delivered to the chief priests, and elders of the people, the impressive parable of the vineyard let out to husbandmen. "Jesus saith unto them, have ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders refused, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes."* This was spoken after Jesus had gone up to Jerusalem for the last time; and when the hour was at hand in which the mountain of the Lord's house should be established, and the truth of his mission be demonstrated by his death, and his resurrection from the dead.

I shall have occasion to enter more deeply into the consideration of this parable, in a future chapter.

In the 53d chapter of Isaiah are numerous and distinct events foretold of the Messiah ; and the ancient Jews acknowledged that the whole chapter related to their expected deliverer. The 8th chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, bears a remarkable testimony to this

* Matt. xxi. 42.

prophecy, in the striking conversation between Philip and the Eunuch. It appears that "A man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, was returning from Jerusalem, and sitting in his chariot, read Esaias the prophet. Then the spirit said unto Philip," (who had been preaching Christ, and working miracles in Samaria, and who had been before ordered "to go towards the south,") "Go near and join thyself to this chariot; and Philip ran thither unto him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest; and he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him. The place of the scripture that he read was this: He was led as a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb, dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth. In his humiliation his judgment was taken away, and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth. And the eunuch answered Philip and said, I pray thee of whom speaketh the prophet this, of himself, or of some other man?" The answer to this was, that "Philip opened his mouth,