4. Every valley fhall be exalted, and every mountain and hill made low: and the crooked shall be made ftraight, and the rough places plain.

THESE are the words of the prophet himself, unfolding the counsels of God concerning the manner in which Meffiah's kingdom fhould be established in the world, and the alterations which muft neceffarily take place, in order to that end. "Every "valley fhall be exalted;" to the poor in spirit, the lowly and contrite fouls, the Gospel shall be preached, and they fhall be exalted in faith and hope" and every mountain "and hill made low;" on the contrary, pride of every kind, and in

every fhape, exalting itfelf whether in judaical pharifaifim, or in gentile philofophy, againft the knowlege of God, fhall be made low, and fubdued to the obedience of Chrift: “and "the crooked shall be made straight;" truth and rectitude fhall fucceed to error and depravity-" and the rough places plain;" every thing. that offendeth fhall be removed, and all difficulties and inequalities fmoothed, till unanimity and uniformity prevail. Thus fhall the way be prepared for the King of Righteoufnefs to vifit his people, to dwell in them, and to walk among them.

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5. And the glory of the Lord fhall. be revealed, and all flesh fhall fee it together; for the mouth of the Lord hath Spoken it.

IMMEDIATELY after the proclamation and preparation made by the Baptift, the Divinity was revealed in human nature, God was manifefted in the flesh, feen and converfed with by all ranks and degrees of meu, high and low, rich and poor, Jews and Gentiles, Pharifees and Saducees, publicans and finners. The accomplishment of this part of Ifaiah's prophecy is exactly related by St. John the Evangelift, in the following terms; "The word was made “flesh, and dwelt among us, and we "beheld his GLORY, the glory as of "the only begotten of the Father, "full of grace and truth *."

THUS we have feen under what cha

* John i. 14.

racter

racter the Baptift is held forth to us in the predictions of the prophets concerning him, as one who fhould go before Meffiah in the fpirit and power of Elias, to proclaim and prepare the way for the advent of God incarnate. How perfectly, during the courfe of his miniftry, he filled up this characappear in the fubfequent fec

ter, will

tions.

SEC

SECTION V..

Confiderations on the appearance, doc trine, and baptifm of St. John.

'HE days of St. John's retire

THE

ment were now ended, and he was to exchange the pleafures of contemplation for the far different fcenes of an active life; to behold, with grief and indignation, the fins and follies of mankind, the fight of which muft needs be more grating and afflicting to his righteous foul, than a garment of camel's hair could be to his body; to encounter the oppofition of a world that would be fure to take arms against him, from