far from inventing the subject of their own predictions, the ancient prophets did not even know the meaning of what themselves wrote. They were carried beyond themselves by the influence of the Divine Spirit, and after ages were alone to discover the object of the prophecy; and the fulfilment was to be the absolute proof that the prediction was of God and that it was of no private invention—no discovery made by human sagacity and wisdom, but by the especial revelation of the all-wise God. This is