true, the very Christ, the anointed of Jehovah, of the seed of Abram. My beloved mother will lift her hand, and swear on the altar of her God and my God, the Father of us all, that I am the offspring of God, and that in the absence of all earthly intercourse, she brought me forth, and that angels announced her miraculous conception, before I saw the light; and that I am endowed with power from on high, to do before your longing eyes miracles and wonders, such as all former pretenders could not perform. But, as you have before been deceived by impostors who have forged my name, and assumed my character, believe me not for my word, but for my works’ sake. Mark well my deportment Give credit to my mighty deeds only when they are openly addressed to your senses, that no doubts may remain as to the identity of my person, and the high commission of which I am the bearer; and being fully convinced of my Messiahship, obey me as the earthly representative of your heavenly Father, while I unfold the blessings that await you, in the fulfilment of the promises made to Abram and his seed forever.” Instead, however, of thus openly and frankly making known the object of his message to his nation, Jesus begins by making use of expressions the most insulting, charging the priests and rulers with crimes of the basest description, in the worst language possible; the direct tendency of which was, to arouse their worst feelings, leaving them in doubt what to think of one who arrogated to himself authority over the Mosaic law, and whose teaching was so obscure as not to be understood even by his own disciples. In speaking of himself and the kingdom he was about to set up, he said that his death formed a part of the divine arrangement included in his mission; as much as to say, I must be put to death before my plane can be developed. At times, in the course of his preaching, Jesus referred to his future exaltation, as the “Judge of quick and dead.” At other times he represented himself as the only true light that enlightens every man that cometh into the world; and yet, he courted obscurity in most of his preaching, so much so, that one of his most intimate friends (Judas) was bribed to inform the rulers who this extraordinary man was, and where he could be found. What would be thought of an ambassador, sent from America to England on business of the first importance, if, instead of proceeding to the Court of St. James, at London, he should be found lecturing to fishermen and people in the lower walks of society, and at the same time, in language of the most violent kind, abusing the British Government? In fine, such was the preaching and acting of Jesus during his stay in the land of Israel, that to me it appears impossible to discover the object or the utility of his coming. No wonder, therefore, that the Jews rejected him altogether. CHAPTER I.