in Christ % even abundant" and everlasting consola- tion0. Our Lord himself, speaking of the Spirit, calls him " another Comforter d," intimating thereby that he himself had sustained and executed this office. But as the Israel of God in that age were in some respects different from the Israel that now is, it will be proper to distinguish between them, and to shew in what respects this glorious title is applicable to Christ ;
1. In reference to the Jewish Church —
[He came to give them clearer light. Moses had revealed to them the will of God : but he had put a veil upon his face to intimate the darkness of that dispensation6 ; and had ex- pressly referred them to a prophet who should arise after him, to whom they must look for fuller instructions^ The prophets of later ages taught the people to look forward to the times of the Messiah, when the glorious light should arise upon the Church, to chase away all the clouds of darkness in which it was then involvedg; insomuch that at the time of Christ's ad- vent there was a general and assured expectation, that a fuller revelation was about to be given them by him : " We know that Messias cometh, who is called Christ : when he is come, he will tell us all things11.
He came also to deliver them from the yoke of the ceremonial law. This was a heavy burthen, which not even the most spiritual among them w&s able to support. This was never intended to continue any longer than the period fixed for the Messiah's advent. It was foretold by David, that a priest should arise after the order of Melchizedec ; and consequently, with the change of priesthood, there must be a change of the whole law that related to it1. Other prophets spake of " a new covenant11," and of " a shaking again, not of the earth only, but also of the heavens1 :" by which they intimated that the old covenant should vanish awaym, and that the new order of things, which could not be shaken, should remain, after that the former was abrogated and dissolved".
He came moreover to establish an universal empire. The Jews in general misunderstood the prophecies relating to this event, and supposed that their Messiah would erect a temporal monarchy: but those who had a clearer insight into the meaning
a Phil. ii. 1. b 2 Cor. i. 5. c 2 Thess. ii. 16, 17.
d John xiv. 16. e 2 Cor. iii. 13. f Deut. xviii. 15.
g Isai. Ix. 1 — 3. Mai. iv. 2. h John iv. 25.
1 Heb. vii. 11, 12. k Jer. xxxi. 31—34. • Hagg. ii. 6. m Heb. viii. 8. " Heb. xii. 25, 27. VOL. XII. S