"of the turtle is heard in our land*." The advent of Meffiah was announced, in a fimilar manner, to the church; and we may fay of it, in the words of the Roman poet, which, like thofe of Caiaphas, contained much more than he was aware of, who uttered them, Afpice, venturo lætentur ut omnia fæclo! For now, the bleffed virgin "6 mag"nifieth the Lord, and her fpirit re"joiceth in God her Saviour:" the father of the Baptift" bleffeth the "Lord God of Ifrael, for having vi"fited and redeemed his people :" the angels themselves defcend in full choir, to perform an anthem in honour of their Lord and ours; and old Simeon clofeth all with his affecting farewel to the world; "Lord, "now letteft thou thy fervant depart "in peace, according to thy word; "for mine eyes have feen thy falva"tion." Thus did all "break forth "into joy, and fing together, because "the Lord had comforted his people, "and redeemed Jerufalem;" because the fun of righteoufnefs, by his vifitation of the earth, was putting a period to a dreary winter, and introducing, in it's ftead, a new and more glorious fpring. And as fpring is the morning of the year, Cowley's addrefs to the material light, which is but a faint copy, may be applied to the great original himself ; When When thou lift'ft up thy radiant head Thy choir of birds about thee play, And all the joyful world falutes the rifing day, The hymn which we are at prefent to confider, is that of Zacharias, The occafion on which it was indited, was the birth of St. John: the fubject is the covenant of grace in Chrift Jefus the language is that of the Old Teftament, old terms being tranfferred to new things: the fpeaker is a priest and a prophet," full of the "Holy Ghost." During a tedious interval of fi lence, Zacharias had beheld the accomplishment of the divine promise to himself; and he knew likewife, that the Saviour of mankind would foon be born of his relation, the vir In the Old Teftament, we read continually of Saviours and Deliverers "raised up" by God, to rescue his people, from time to time, out of the hands of their oppreffors. But of them we may fay, as the Apostle does of the Levitical priefts, "They were 66 not fuffered to continue, by reason "of death*." And therefore, we may argue in one cafe, as he doth in the other, that no one of them could be the true Saviour of Ifrael, the fubject of the promises. Neither Mofes, who brought them out of Egypt, nor Joshua, who fettled them in Canaan, was" He that should come," but they were still to "look for another." And fo on, through the whole calendar of temporal faviours, who, like * Heb, vii, 23, the the legal minifters, "ferved only," by their wars and victories, "to the "example and fhadow of heavenly "things." The body, or fubftance, in either inftance, " was of Chrift.”* For he who arofe "a Prieft for ever,' arofe alfo "a King immortal;" a mighty Horn, or Power of falvation; a Mofes, to deliver us from this prefent evil world; a Joshua, to put us in poffeffion of the heavenly Canaan; in fhort, every thing, to fill up every prefigurative character. This mighty Saviour, this omnipotent king of Ifrael, God raised up "in the house of "his fervant David,” as he had promifed, "that of the fruit of his body "according to the flesh, he would "raife up Chrift to fit on his "throne," |