These sentiments will receive additional illustration from the remarkable facts respecting the birth of Christ, which it will be now proper to notice. He who can imagine the correspondence observable between ancient predictions and the occurrences which mark the singular history before us to be mere casual or undesigned coincidences, must possess a mind strangely perverted by prejudice or mean in its conceptions--he must in reality believe greater miracles than he denies, and, in his zeal to be thought rational, become enthusiastic and fanatical, in admitting the most inconceivable absurdities. We hesitate not to say, that even upon the principles of reason there are more difficulties in denying a providence in all the circumstances connected with our Saviour's incarnation, than in allowing its active agency; and that here, the doctrine which is most consolatory is most true. Sophistry may attempt to poison or to stop the streams of spiritual comfort, but they will nevertheless flow with undiminished sweetness and abundance. The whole period of the past time ought to be considered as a vast preparatory dispensation; every circumstance in the history of the people of Israel essentially depended on each previous occurrence, and stood connected with each succeeding one. We perceive sometimes more distinctly by a prophetic light, sometimes more obscurely through the hieroglyphical characters of the Mosaic economy of types and shadows, a wonderful series of events, that guides the devout inquirer to "God manifest in the flesh;" and, if human penetration cannot always discover the bright concatenation, we feel assured that it exists, and is regularly maintained by supreme wisdom; as we infer from observing the commencement, or discovering some parts of the course, which a mighty river pursues through provinces and empires, that, although the whole may not be accurately ascertained, yet each part, whether it traverses subterraneous passages or pathless forests, is certainly and necessarily connected. The links of this marvellous chain of providence become more distinctly visible as we approach the last, and witness its glorious termination. Amongst other ancient prophecies, we have this very express declaration of Micah respecting the birth of Christ--a declaration which, after the lapse of seven hundred years, we are now to see verified: "Thou, _Bethlehem Ephratah_, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet _out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel_, whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting."