LIBRARY OF THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 
 
 PRINCETON, N. J. 
 
 Division. 
 
 Section. 
 
 
Y ' 
 
 Jw»%< ••>• * ***** 
 
 *2 
 
 
 t, 
 
 y.om f/*s $K0i6S 
 
REDEMPTION; 
 
 on, a 
 
 VIEW 
 
 or THE 
 
 RISE AND PROGRESS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 C&rfctian IReJigion, 
 
 FROM 
 
 THE FALL OF ADAM, TO ITS COMPLETE ESTABLISHMENT 
 UNDER COAST AN TINE THE GREAT. 
 
 BY THE 
 
 v 
 
 RE(\ MONTAGU PENNINGTON, M. A. 
 
 TICAR OF NORTHBOUHN IN KE^t'anD CHAPLAIN' TO THE 
 RIGHT HONOURABLE THE EAHL OF HOPETOCN. 
 
 ■WHICH THINGS THE ANGELS DESIRE TO -LOOK INTO. 
 
 I Pet. I. 12, 
 CONAMVR TENUES GRANDIA. HOR. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 PRINTED FOR F. C. AND J. HIVING TON, 
 
 S J', PA U L'S C H U II C II - V A It Do 
 
 J811. 
 
/ 
 
 Ttlsntd i>y taw «hd 6f£b#Ifc St. JuikJi's. 9fu«rft| LcMdafc., 
 
TO 
 
 THE MOST REVEREND FATHER IN GOD 
 
 CHARLES, 
 
 BY DIVINE PROVIDENCE 
 LORD ARCHBISHOP OF CrfNTERBUJlf, 
 
 PRIMATE OF ALL ENGLAND 
 
 AND 
 
 METROPOLITAN. 
 MY LORD, 
 
 IT is not with the presumptuous 
 idea, that the following Enquiry 
 into the rise and progress of our 
 holy religion, can convey any in- 
 formation to your enlightened 
 mind, that I have taken the liberty 
 of inscribing it to your Grace, 
 
 a % Th® 
 
IV 
 
 The eminent situation which your 
 Grace occupies in the Church, 
 added to your more intimate and , 
 immediate connection with this 
 Diocese in particular, would have 
 been a very sufficient reason, had 
 I no other, why I should dedicate 
 the humble fruits of my profes- 
 sional labors to you, who have 
 attained the highest honors which, 
 that profession has to bestow. 
 
 But k truth, my Lord, I have 
 another and more powerful motive; 
 and I am both proud and happy 
 to embrace every opportunity, of 
 shewing the grateful sense which 
 I entertain, of the kindness which 
 has placed me in the desirable 
 situation from whence I am now 
 writing. It is to the leisure at- 
 tendant on a country residence 
 
 that 
 
that the present publication h 
 owing*. Here, to use the delight- 
 ful language of Cowper, 
 
 " Here much I ruminate as much I may., 
 With other views of men and manners now 
 Than once, and others of a life to come." 
 
 I should be wholly unworthy of 
 the advantage and pleasure which 
 1 derive from the gift, unless I 
 were anxiously desirous to express 
 my gratitude upon every occasion, 
 for the prompt and liberal manner 
 in which that benefit was con- 
 ferred. 
 
 Judging from the well known 
 regard which your Grace pays to 
 the interests of the Christian 
 Church, and the attention which 
 you wish should be bestowed 
 
 upon 
 
VI 
 
 upon tli cm more especially by 
 your own clergy, of which none 
 who have listened to your Grace's 
 pastoral charges can be ignorant, 
 I am willing to indulge the hope, 
 that the attempt which is the sub- 
 ject of these sheets, may meet 
 With your approbation. Indeed 
 the principal subject of the con- 
 versation with which your Grace 
 honoured your Clergy at the last 
 visitation of your Diocese, must 
 have given to us all a sufficient 
 pledge, of your zealous desire to 
 encourage every endeavour, to- 
 wards the promoting of Christian 
 knowledge. 
 
 Of the manner in which the 
 present work is executed, I am 
 but too deeply sensible of the 
 many defects. But however small 
 
 the 
 
VII 
 
 the advantage may be, which the 
 cause of Christianity may derive, 
 from this account of its rise and 
 progress, the enquiry has been 
 attended with no inconsiderable 
 benefit to myself. For this reason, 
 verging as I now am towards the 
 decline of life, (though more 
 perhaps from want of health than 
 from fulness of years,) I would 
 wish most earnestly to recommend 
 to my younger brethren, an early 
 attention to those interesting and 
 important studies which more im- 
 mediately belong to our profes- 
 sion. They will find them not 
 less useful to themselves, than to 
 those whose best and dearest in-* 
 tefests are committed to their 
 charge. 
 
 Although 
 
Till 
 
 Although I am dulv conscious 
 of the many deficiencies of this 
 little volume, yet I cannot but be 
 of opinion that every endeavour 
 to elucidate the Holy Scriptures, 
 and make them more generally 
 studied and better understood, 
 may, by the blessing of God upon 
 it, be productive of some good. 
 It is in this hope only that I ven- 
 ture to offer it to your Grace, im- 
 perfect as it is, though not with- 
 out much diffidence. 
 
 I have the honor to be, 
 
 MY LORD, 
 
 Willi the utmost respect 
 Your Graces most obedient, 
 And obliged humble servant, 
 
 Sortubourn,. MONTAGU PENNINGTON. 
 
 Feb. 26, 1811. 
 
PREFACE, 
 
 IT has often excited surprise, and it is 
 surely a circumstance much to be lament- 
 ed, that so many Christians should seem 
 to be ignorant of the grounds of their 
 belief, and of the history of their reli- 
 gion. That a Christ came upon earth, 
 who had been darkly foretold by several 
 prophecies delivered to the Jewish nation ; 
 and that he taught; mankind a pure and 
 holy system of moral conduct, sanctioned 
 by the awful assurance of future rewards 
 and punishments, is believed by all who 
 are called after his name. Yet there are 
 but few of them who appear to consider 
 
 the 
 
the Bible as a whole ; as being, what it is 
 in reality, the history of the Christian 
 religion*; and there are still fewer who 
 know how that religion has descended 
 from its divine Author to the present 
 times. Ecclesiastical histories are filled, 
 for the most part, with the melancholy 
 accounts of heresies, corruptions, and per- 
 secutions. And amidst these, the origin 
 and spreading of the religion itself, and 
 its progress through the darkness and 
 tumults of its first ages, is almost lost j-. 
 So that to many persons there may seem 
 to be a complete blank in the history of 
 the church of Christ, from the end of the 
 
 * " Vetus testamentum recte senlientibus prophetia est 
 novi testamenti." Auguslin. cont. Faustura, as quoted in 
 Kurd's " Introduction to the study of Prophecy." 
 
 f The luminous arrangement of Mosheim's excellent 
 work upon this subject, and the great information it con- 
 tains, especially in Machine's edition, must make it an 
 «^ception to this general observation. 
 
 scriptural 
 
XI 
 
 scriptural record of the Acts of the Apos- 
 tles, till it appeared again in renovated, 
 and almost primitive, beauty and simpli- 
 city, at the memorable aera of the refor- 
 mation. 
 
 Indeed most works of ecclesiastical his- 
 tory, though generally the fruit of labori- 
 ous research, and containing much learn- 
 ing and information, are written in so dry 
 a style, and so overloaded with superfluous 
 and uninteresting matter, as to require no 
 small share of resolution, no trifling desire 
 of knowledge, to induce the reader to wade 
 through them. And therefore the task is 
 seldom undertaken, but by those whose 
 sacred profession in some measure obliges, 
 or whose particular inclination leads them, 
 to studies of this nature. 
 
 It is not therefore to the clergy, or to 
 the learned, that the following pages are 
 intended to supply information ; but to 
 others, to those who are not possessed of 
 
 me an s 
 
xu 
 
 means, talents, or leisure to study them- 
 selves, it is humbly presumed that they 
 may possibly, by the blessing of God, ba 
 of some use, and assist them in giving a 
 reason of the hope that is in them. Indeed 
 it was originally designed that this should 
 be chiefly an elementary treatise ; but the 
 necessity of frequent references to works 
 of learning, and sometimes to translations 
 of the Bible in different languages, has in 
 some measure altered this plan. Such re- 
 ferences however, are for the most part 
 thrown into notes, that they may not be 
 an interruption to the text; and perhaps 
 they may be found useful in pointing out 
 some of the Authors who have treated of 
 the subjects here endeavoured to be ex- 
 plained, in a manner more diffuse and 
 more learned, than would be consistent 
 with the nature of this attempt. 
 
 The chief object then of the present 
 work, is to shew that Christianity is in 
 
 reality 
 
Xlll 
 
 reality as old as the fall of man, and 
 therefore, probably, almost as the creation 
 itself*; that the plan and design of the 
 mission of Christ was at that time formed 
 by God; and that it was carried on 
 through all the intervening ages, and by 
 frequent revelations strongly impressed 
 upon the minds of that chosen people, to 
 whom were committed the oracles of God, 
 till the Redeemer himself actually ap- 
 peared. It is then proposed to add a 
 short and summary account of the manner 
 in which the scriptures were delivered 
 
 * Though not in Tindal's sense. He endeavoured to 
 prove that Christianity was no new religion, but only a 
 republication of the law of nature, as originally appointed 
 by God. He was ably and completely refuted by Leland 
 and by other writers since his time. Tindal's idea was 
 not unlike that of certain heretics in the fourth century, 
 who contended that Chriftianity and Paganism were only 
 different modifications of the same religion. 
 
 down 
 
XIV 
 
 down, and the religion which they contain 
 spread, to the reign of Constantine the 
 Great, when Christianity became the reli- 
 gion of the empire, and was established by 
 human laws. 
 
 Considered in this point of view, the 
 Old Testament seems to be in reality as 
 St. Paul expresses it, a schoolmaster to bring 
 vs unto Christ ; an introduction only, as it 
 were, to Christianity, to which the Jewish 
 laws and history, their moral precepts as 
 well as prophecies, were chiefly, if not 
 wholly, subservient*. And as the gra- 
 cious scheme of man's restoration was 
 coeval with his fall, we may perceive in 
 •what sense the Lamb is said to have been 
 
 * " I do not see my Saviour only in a few detached pas- 
 sages of either testament. I see him conducting the ceco- 
 nomy of the divine dispensations through both, from the 
 creation,, to the consummation of all things." 
 
 Horne's Sermons, Vol. V. P. 428. Edit. 3. 
 
 sfaii) 
 
XV 
 
 slain, (or rather, sacrificed*) from the foun- 
 dation of the world ; and that grace was given 
 us in Christ Jesus before the world began. 
 (2 Tim. i. 9») To that sacrifice of Jesus 
 the Lamb of God, alluded principally the 
 types, sacrifices, and prophecies of the old 
 testament. And this explains the great 
 purpose for which the history of the chil- 
 dren of Israel, was so copiously and so 
 exactly written. Their institutions and 
 ceremonies different from those of all other 
 
 * " E(7<pay//.£VB/' Rev. xiii. 8. A sacrificial term : How- 
 ever it may admit of a doubt whether the whole sentence is 
 properly translated. It may be rendered,, " whose names 
 are not written from the foundation of the world; in the 
 book of life, of the Lamb which wqs sacrified." Indeed 
 this is rather countenanced by Crispiuus and by Mill, both 
 of whose editions have a comma after " EaQaypt.e\ti" ; and 
 by Castalio, who says, " quorum nomina ab orbe condito 
 scripta non sunt in vitie libro agni mactati." Vet the com- 
 mon translation, with the substitution only of sacrificed for 
 ilain, seems to me the most easy and obvious, 
 
 nations, 
 
xvi 
 nations, were purposely so appointed, in 
 order to make an effectual wall of separa- 
 tion between them and the neighbouring 
 people ; to the intent that the revelations 
 and predictions concerning the promised 
 Messiah, might be kept pure and unalter- 
 ed ; and the memory of them in such a 
 manner preserved, being mixed with their 
 own sacred records, that when he came he 
 might refer to them as proofs of his divine 
 mission *. And this our blessed Saviour 
 actually did ; search the scriptures, said he, 
 for they are they which testify of me ; I am 
 come — to fulfil the law and the prophets ; 
 Moses wrote of me ; This day is this scripture 
 
 * " God gave the prophecies of the Old Testament,, 
 not to gratify men's curiosities by enabling them to fore- 
 know things ; but that after they were fulfilled they might 
 be interpreted by the event ; and his own providence, not 
 the interpreters, be then manifested thereby to the world." 
 Sir Isaac Newton, as quoted in Hind's " Introduction to 
 Prophecy." P. 25 L 
 
 1 (Isaiah 
 
xvu 
 
 (Isaiah Ixi. 1, sc.) fulfilled in your earsi 
 The study of the Old Testament is there- 
 fore not merely useful, but absolutely ne- 
 cessary ; because therein is contained the 
 foundation of our belief, and because, with- 
 out it, we should want the strongest and 
 most convincing proofs of the important 
 truth, that Jesus is the Christy the son of the 
 living God. 
 
 Hence appears the utility of an ac- 
 count, in as plain a manner as the subject 
 tvill allow, of the origin of Christianity at 
 the fall of Adam, with its progress through 
 the various revelations and prophecies of 
 it, till the promised Redeemer actually 
 came. And in this way a view of that 
 religion may be exhibited as a whole; 
 omitting all the historical and moral part 
 of the Old Testament, together with all 
 those Jewish rites and ceremonies which 
 have no immediate reference to Christ. 
 For certainly a considerable part of those 
 
 a in^ 
 
sviii 
 
 institutions, though subservient to the 
 great plan of Redemption, was meant 
 . solely in the first instance, to distinguish 
 and separate the descendants of Abraham 
 from all other nations ; so that in all their, 
 errors and idolatries the worship of the 
 true God might never be wholly lost, the 
 expectation of a Saviour to come be con- 
 stantly kept alive, and the seed of Abra- 
 ham, from whom he was to proceed 
 through Isaac the child of promise, be 
 preserved from mixture with other races. 
 
 It is by no means the design of the pre- 
 sent work to explain all the types, prophe* 
 cies, and various notices of the Redeemer, 
 to be met with in the Old Testament; 
 nor to enlarge upon the allusions to the 
 future state of his kingdom, which so 
 abound in the writings of the Prophets ; 
 for that would encrease it to a size quite 
 incompatible with the proposed plan. 
 But it is intended briefly to take a view of 
 4. the 
 
XIX 
 
 the direct prophecies concerning the Mes- 
 siah, and to shew how they were applica- 
 ble to the blessed Jesus ; to notice their 
 connection with each other in their chro- 
 nological order, as far as possible ; and to 
 point out the manner, in which the expec- 
 tation of this promised Redeemer was pre- 
 served among the people of God, during 
 so many ages. 
 
 Such, with the before-mentioned addi- 
 tion of a short and cursory view of the 
 state of the Christian Church, from the 
 coming of our Lord to the days of Con- 
 stantine, will form the subject of the fol- 
 lowing pages. However unworthy of the 
 design, the manner in which it is executed 
 may appear to be, however unequally it 
 may be treated, the matter itself is of no 
 small importance. It is the history of 
 God's gracious dealings with his erring 
 creatures; a narrative of the steps taken 
 for the salvation of man. 
 
 a % With 
 
XX 
 
 With regard to himself the Author ha& 
 only to say, that no motives of vanity or 
 interest induced him to write, or inclined 
 him to publish this little volume. He 
 considered it his duty to employ such inter-* 
 vals of leisure, as his professional engage-* 
 ments, and other avocations, public and 
 useful, though not professional, would 
 allow, in some work that might be service-^ 
 able, by the blessing of God, to his fellow* 
 creatures, 
 
 " Tarda fluunt ingrataque tempora qua? spern 
 
 Consiliumque morantur agendi gnaviter id, quod 
 /Eque pauperibus prodesr, locupletibus aeque, 
 iEqu& neglectum pueris senibusque nocebit *." 
 
 But though such were truly his motives, 
 he feels the mortifying conviction, that his 
 plan has by no means been executed as 
 Jae wished, nor even as he ventured to 
 
 ^ Horace. 
 
 hope 
 
XXI 
 
 hope it might have been. A distant and 
 country residence, without any public 
 library in the neighbourhood to which he 
 could have recourse, a state of heilth 
 always delicate and often bad, together 
 with want of knowledge of the Hebrew 
 language, have made the work, even in his 
 own estimation, very unequal to the great- 
 ness and importance of the subject. 
 
 Yet to those who read with a sincere 
 desire of improvement, the imperfection 
 of the manner in which it has been per- 
 formed, may possibly not wholly destroy 
 the usefulness of the plan, nor frustrate 
 the views of the Author. And as in its 
 present state, the work may perhaps be 
 deemed little more than a sketch, a mere 
 outline to be filled up by an abler hand, 
 possibly wiser and more learned men may 
 be induced to turn their thoughts to the 
 consideration of this most interesting sub- 
 ject, in this particular light, and improve 
 
 upon 
 
xxu 
 
 upon it. Should this be the case, the 
 author's end will be completely answered ; 
 and if in the mean while, the following 
 pages serve in any degree, to enlighten 
 the minds of those who have not yet 
 studied the great scheme of Christian Re- 
 demption ; or if they have the blessed 
 effect of inducing them to practise what 
 they already know, his time will not have 
 1-een mis-spent, his labour will not be in vain 
 in the Lord. For this is wisdom and under- 
 standing; and the knowledge of the Chris- 
 tian religion is of no use, unless it be made 
 subservient to Christian conduct. 
 
 CON"- 
 
CONTENTS* 
 
 CSAF. 
 
 I-aO* 
 
 I. PROPHECIES relating to the Messiah, 
 
 from the Creation, to the Death of 
 Abraham. - - 1 
 
 II. From the Death of Abraham, to the 
 
 Death of Jacob. 42 
 
 III. From the Prophecy of Jacob, to the 
 
 Death of Moses. - -. - . Gf 
 
 IV. From tie Death of Moses, to the begin- 
 
 ning of the Psalms of David. - 8* 
 
 V. From the beginning of the Psalms, to 
 
 Hosea. ----- 10$ 
 
 VI. The Prophecies of Hosea, Joel, Amos, 
 
 Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Ha- 
 bakkuk, and Zephaniah. - 12T 1 
 
 V II. The Prophecies of Isaiah to the fortieth 
 
 Chapter. - - - - 4 154r 
 
 VIII. The remainder of Isaiah. - - - W 
 
 IX. The Prophecies of Jeremiah. - - 241 
 
 X. The Prophecies of Ezekiel. - - 252- 
 XL The Prophecies of Daniel. - - 257 
 XII. The Prophecies of Haggai. - - 288 
 
 XIII. The 
 
XXlV 
 
 XIII. The Prophecies of Zechariah and Mala- 
 
 chi. 310 
 
 XIV. From Malachi, to the opening of the Mis- 
 
 sion of Christ. - 334 
 
 XV. From the opening of the Mission of 
 
 Christ, to the descent of the Holy 
 Ghost on the Apostles. - - 345 
 
 XVI. From the descent of the Holy Ghost, to 
 
 the conclusion of the Apostolic age. 350 
 
 XVII. From the conclusion of the Apostolic age, 
 
 to the establishment of Christianity by 
 human laws, under Constawtine the 
 Great. - - 361 
 
 XVIII. Conclusion, .... 384 
 
 ERRATUM. 
 £»a*e 88, line 3, for Prophecies read Psalmn* 
 
REDEMPTION, *a 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Prophecies relating to the Messiah^from the 
 Creation to the Death of Abraham ; 
 
 IN the following Treatise it is not in- 
 tended to endeavour to prove, any of the 
 controverted points of Divinity ; nor to 
 establish by abstract reasoning* the cer- 
 tainty of those truths, which are by Chris- 
 tians universally acknowledged. That there 
 is a God, just, good, wise, and powerful* 
 needs not to be proved, because without 
 such belief* there can be no religion at all: 
 that he sent his onhj-begotten Son into the 
 world, to be the Saviour of mankind, is 
 also the peculiar persuasion of those who 
 profess the christian religion in particular* 
 These are facts, therefore, which will be 
 
 B taken 
 
4 
 
 with respect to Iiis person, for no man hath 
 seen God at any time, but with regard to 
 his intellectual facilities, and the moral 
 qualities of his soul, by which he resem- 
 bles his Creator, though in a degree infi- 
 nitely inferior. To this being, so highly 
 favored, was oiven do-minion over ah 1 the 
 rest, and the fust man and woman were 
 placed in the earthly Paradise, called- the 
 Garden of Eden. The situation of Para- 
 dise is atpresent unknown ; and though it is 
 indeed now of little consequence to us, 
 the learned have taken great, pains to dis- 
 cover it. Certainly after the Deluge every 
 trace of it must have been lost; and the 
 rivers mentioned in the second chapter of 
 Genesis, which are supposed to point out 
 its situation, either no longer existed, or 
 perhaps ran in very different channels and 
 other directions *« 
 
 * It is indeed argued by some, that Moses speaks of 
 ihe places watered bv the tour rivers, as then existing and 
 well known ; but it is probable that he only meant to give 
 a general geographical idea of the seite of the garden ; for 
 'he river which watered it was not divided into four streams, 
 
 till 
 
It seems, however, probable that Eden 
 lay in some part of Syria, and not far from 
 the Mediterranean Sea, for when Adam 
 was banished from it, he travelled east- 
 ward; and it was at the east of the garden 
 only that the Cherubim and naming sword 
 were placed. And when Cain became a 
 Vagabond he went also to the east. Pro- 
 bably therefore the sea was to the west- 
 ward of Eden, near enough to prevent the 
 exiles from entering the garden on that 
 side. 
 
 However this may be, which is a matter 
 of mere speculation, the first man and 
 woman were placed in a delightful garden, 
 abounding with fruits of every kind, and 
 with permission to eat of them all, oue 
 only in the midst of the garden excepted, 
 which was called the Tree of the knowledge 
 of good and evil. Of this they were com- 
 manded not to eat upon pain of death. 
 
 till after it left the garden, so that the description of the 
 places on the banks of those rivers, and of the situation of 
 the rivers, has nothing to do With the garden itself : nor is 
 it by any means certain that Euphrates is the river after- 
 'A'ards known by that name. 
 
 Learned 
 
6 
 
 Learned men, both Jews and Christians, 
 explain this passage in very different ways. 
 Some are of opinion, that it is wholly alle- 
 gorical, and others, that it is the plain 
 narrative of a real event. All agree how- 
 ever that when God placed man in a situa- 
 tion capable of happiness, he gave him a 
 commandment which he broke. There 
 -was certainly one thing which God forbid 
 to be done, which man rashly and ungrate- 
 fully did ; tempted, either by the Devil in 
 the form of a serpent, or, as some think, 
 by his own evil desires personified under 
 that appearance. Whichever of these 
 opinions be true, one fact is certain, that 
 man disobeyed his Creator. What the 
 command was, signified not; whether it 
 was not to eat of a particular tree, or any 
 other prohibition yet more trifling, still it 
 was to be the test of his obedience ; and the 
 question was not whether he should, or 
 should not eat the fruit, but whether he 
 should or should not obey his Almighty 
 Creator. Unhappily for himself as well as 
 for his posterity, he disobeyed him ; and 
 the consequence was, that together with 
 
 the 
 
7 
 
 the threatened death, labor, sin, and sorrow 
 entered into the world*. 
 
 Yet though man had sinned, as it were 
 with his eye? open, and had wilfully dis- 
 obeyed his Maker's commands, still the 
 goodness of God induced him not to for- 
 sake utterly the creature whom he had 
 made. Even in the very moment when 
 the ground was cursed for Adam's trans- 
 gression, and the whole powers of nature 
 changed from their original destination, 
 (Gen. iii. 16, 18.) a faint hope of future 
 redemption was granted to fallen man. 
 The serpent, which, in its natural form, 
 was the emblem of sin, and inits allegorical 
 
 * macies. et nova febriiua 
 
 Ten is increbuit cohors : 
 
 Semotique prius tarda necessitas 
 
 Lethi corripuit gradum. 
 
 Hon. Lib. i. Ode 3. 
 It is curious in reading Heathen Authors, to observe the 
 analogy between the early traditions, which gave rise to 
 their Mythology, and the tacts concerning the first Ages, 
 "Which have been delivered down to us by Revelation. 
 Yet this idea may be carried beyond reasonable bound 1 -, 
 witness two very learned works, '* Gale's Court of the 
 Gentiles," and " Bryant's Mythology " 
 
 meaning 
 
8 
 
 meaning the cause of it, was cursed; and 
 it was foretold by God himself, that the 
 seed of the woman should bruise his head, and 
 it should bruise his heel; that is to say, that 
 sin, personified by the serpent, should 
 attack and injure man, but that one 
 sprung from a woman (Christ, made of a 
 woman, Gal. iv. 4.) should destroy or put 
 an end to sin. Now it is very evident, 
 that it is Christ who is alluded to here, by 
 the peculiar appellation of the seed, or 
 offspring, of a woman*, because he, and 
 he only, was produced of a virgin- mother, 
 by the immediate power of God, through 
 the operation of the Holy Ghost, without 
 the intervention of any natural means. 
 
 This gracious promise was the first dawn 
 of the christian religion. Here began the 
 great and important work of our redemp- 
 tion, of which the completion is not till 
 the final consummation of all things: not 
 
 ** This peculiarity, that the Redeemer was to be In a 
 limited ser.se the Seed <f the Woman, did not escape th«» 
 Jew s. — Maimonides, as quoted by Jenkin on the Christian 
 Religion. 
 
 till 
 
9 
 
 till this mortal shall have put on immortality, 
 and in the blessed mansions of our heaven- 
 ly Father, we see Christ onr Judge and 
 Saviour sitting at the right hand of God*. 
 
 Although then man had fallen, and had 
 become liable to sin, disease, and death, 
 the goodness of his Almighty Creator still 
 gave him a chance for future happiness; a 
 chance only and not a certainty, for it still 
 was to depend upon himself whether he 
 would accept it on the terms upon which 
 it was offered. These terms indeed were 
 not fully made known to him, till many 
 ages afterwards, when Christ came and 
 preached the glad tidings of salvation. 
 Yet from the first a life of righteousness 
 was indispensably requisite to obtain the 
 favour of God ; and there can be no doubt, 
 that as Christ died for all, he died as well 
 for those who lived before his mission, as 
 for those who to this day have never heard 
 of his name, provided their Jives have 
 
 * The ancient Jews never doubted that this prophecy 
 f elated to the Messiah. — See the Jerusalem Taj gum and 
 Jonathan on the Law ag quoted by Pi ideaux. 
 
 been 
 
10 
 
 been pious and virtuous in proportion to 
 their knowledge and belief. 
 
 Though we oufdit to be careful not to 
 dive too deeply into the counsels of God, 
 nor to be wise above what is written, yet 
 it may certainly be affirmed, that our 
 blessed Redeemer was in existence when 
 God made this gracious promise to man ; 
 and that his thus foretold coming on earth, 
 was in consequence of his own voluntary 
 offer. For with respect to the first of these 
 points, Christ tells us himself, Before Abra- 
 ham was I am * ; and again, O Father, glori- 
 fy thou me with thine own self with the glory 
 zvhich I had with thee, before the world was-\ . 
 And as to the second, our Lord says ex- 
 plicitly^., I lay down my life — No man 
 taketh it from me, but I lay it dozen of myself . 
 I have power to lay it down, and I have 
 pozver to take it again. And so St. Paul 
 says, that he gave himself for our sins § ; and 
 
 * John viii. 58. Compare this mode of expression with 
 God's annunciation of his name to Moses, Exod.iii. 14. 
 f John xvii. 5. % John x. 17, 18. 
 
 § Gal. i. 4, 
 
 that 
 
11 
 
 that Christ Jesus gave himsef a ransom for 
 
 So far therefore we know ; but it is use- 
 less in the present bounded state of our 
 faculties, and perhaps presumptuous too, 
 to enquire why it pleased God to effect 
 our redemption in that particular manner; 
 why his beloved Son, who did no sin, should 
 suffer for our sins, the Just for the unjust. 
 It is enough for us that it has pleased God 
 in his goodness and unerring wisdom thus 
 to act. We are assured, that it behoved 
 Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead if , 
 but the reason of it we can never know- 
 till we arrive at that celestial abode, where 
 the souls of just men shall be made perfect, 
 where we shall know, even as we also are 
 known, where Faith will be lost in certain- 
 ty, and Hope absorbed in possession. 
 
 What effect this gracious promise of 
 God had on our first Parents, or how far 
 they might understand it, cannot be now 
 
 * 1 Tim. 2. 6. 
 ■f Luke xxiv. 46. eSeij it was Jit, proper, necessary that 
 it should be 80. 
 
 ascertained; 
 
12 
 
 ascertained. However, as a dark and 
 distant hope of a future blessing so imme- 
 diately connected with the sentence of 
 their own punishment, it may reasonably 
 be presumed, that they delivered it down 
 to their descendants, with the most careful 
 and^tninute exactness. And tradition, in 
 those early ages, when men lived eight or 
 nine hundred years, and written records 
 were not, was far from being so uncertain 
 as it afterwards became. For Adam, who 
 lived 930 years*, did not die till his great 
 great grandson Mahalaleel was 135 years 
 of age ; and Mahalaleel survived till his 
 descendant of the fifth generation, Noah, 
 was 28 years old. So that the important 
 narrative which Adam would probably tell 
 Mahalaleel, Mahalaleel himself m-igfct 
 relate to Noah. And to Noah was a new 
 revelation made. For previous to that 
 event, wickedness had so encreased in the 
 earth that it was filled with corruption and 
 
 * In this, and for the most part in other places, the 
 Hebrew o imputation is followed, from which the Septu- 
 agint varies ; but the difference is not materia! to the pre- 
 sent argument, 
 
 violence 
 
13 
 
 violence, and God determined to destroy 
 all flesh. But Noah found grace in the eyes 
 of the Lord; and when God acquainted 
 him with his intention of bringing a flood 
 of waters upon the earth, he added, but with 
 thee will I establish my covenant. That is, 
 the covenant or agreement, which God 
 had made with Adam after his fall, when 
 he promised him that the seed of the zcoman 
 should bruise the serpent's head, he now 
 renewed to Noah. 
 
 It is observable that the original promise 
 made to Adam, did not refer to any one 
 particular branch of hisdescendants, unless 
 it be supposed, as some think, to devolve 
 of course upon Seth his third son, in con- 
 sequence of the murder of Abel, and tho 
 crime of Cain, his two eldest children. 
 Indeed all the posterity of Cain perished 
 in the Deluge, and the renewal of the 
 promise to Noa>h limited it to his family, 
 of whom, after the flood, was the whole earth 
 overspread. But before that, time God is 
 supposed to have notified his intentions 
 of limiting the promise to the descendants 
 of Noah by the prophetic speech of his 
 
 father 
 
14 
 
 father Lamech when he gave him that 
 name, which means rest*, alluding to God's 
 gracious intention of giving man rest 
 after their work and toil, by one of his 
 family. 
 
 Very soon after Noah and his family 
 came out of the ark, all living creatures 
 beoan a<rain to encrease, and the race of 
 rnen to multiply with great rapidity. After 
 the erection of the Tower of Babel, and 
 the confusion of languages which suc- 
 ceeded it, those who used the same lan-- 
 guage naturally associated together; and 
 thus men made settlements which soon 
 became so manv states and kingdoms, 
 Thev lost by degrees the simple and pri- 
 mitive relijnon of their ancestors Adam 
 and Noah, and corrupted the traditionary 
 knowledge which yet remained of the 
 
 * Gen. v. 29. But many commentators of great note 
 do not consider the name of Noah as having any reference 
 to the rest offered to men through Christ ; but only to the 
 improvements in agriculture and other arts, through the 
 introduction of mechanical instruments, by which so much 
 manual labour was spared, and which were then beginning 
 to be used. See Bishop Patrick on the place. 
 
 important 
 
15 
 
 important events of the Creation, the Fall 
 of Man, and of the Deluge, by various 
 fables ; yet still, absurd and fanciful as 
 they were, enough of the truth remained 
 to shew from whence they derived their 
 origin. However, the knowledge of the 
 true God, and of the piety and virtue 
 which he required, was still preserved at 
 least in one family, the descendants of 
 Shem, the second son of Noah, which 
 settled after the Deluge in Mesopotamia*. 
 Yet even of this chosen family some went 
 astray after the idolatrous worship of the 
 people among whom they dwelt; and 
 therefore God thought fit to separate from 
 them one good and pious man, whom he 
 sent, by an immediate revelation, into 
 Canaan, afterwards called Palestine (or 
 more properly Philistine"]-) and the land of 
 promise. From this man was to descend a 
 people more peculiarly dedicated to his 
 
 *Jo shua xxiv. 2, 
 
 f Of which Palestine is a corruption'. The Philistine* 
 and the Canaankes were descended from different sons of 
 flam. Gen, x, 
 
 worship. 
 
16 
 
 worship, atnd of whom, according to th?e? 
 flesh, should be the promised Messiah. 
 
 The name of this distinguished per- 
 sonage was Abram 1 , (afterwards Abraham) 
 the son of Terah. He was born about 
 352 years after the Deluge, and in the 
 year of the world 307.8** In these ages 
 the duties of religion were extremely plain 
 and simple. In the days of Seth, the son 
 of Adam, men began to call upon the name 
 of the Lord ; that is probably, according 
 to some regular form, and at stated times, 
 to offer to him praises, thanksgivings, and 
 prayei's, for before that date, we find both 
 Cain and Abel offering to God, the one 
 fruits, and the other sacrifices. Abel 
 brought unto the Lord, of the first lings of his 
 flock and of the fat thereof < The sacrifice 
 was accepted*-, and the offering of the 
 fruits rejected ; and there was, no doubt* 
 some reason for this difference being 
 made, of which we are at present ignorant; 
 some previous notification from God of 
 
 * See Shuckford's Connection, Vol. I. Book v. This 
 calculation is according to the Hebrew chronology. 
 
 the 
 
17 
 
 the service which would be most accepta* 
 ble to him, which Cain neglected, and to 
 which Abel attended. Noah also offered 
 sacrifice when he came out of the Ark 
 and it was accepted. 
 
 Now there is something extremely re- 
 markable in this rite, and which perhaps 
 we shall never thoroughly understand while 
 we are in this state of existence. Of all 
 religious acts it was the first, (that of Cain 
 alone excepted, which was not likely to be 
 followed) and for some ages probably the 
 only one. And it seems to have been 
 established as the most important cere- 
 mony, not only among the Jews, but 
 arftong all the most civilized nations, till 
 Paganism was abolished. Even to this 
 day traces of it are to be found in the 
 most remote and savage countries, from 
 the South Sea Islands to North America, 
 and from the western coast of Africa to 
 Hindostan and China. This may perhaps 
 be accounted for from the effect of tradi- 
 tionary custom, but it is not so easy to say 
 how a practice at first sight so cruel and 
 unnatural, could enter into the heart of 
 
 C man. 
 
18 
 
 man. How could man first suppose that 
 the blood of his own creatures could be 
 acceptable to a merciful God ? How could 
 he ever imagine that the blood of Bullocks, 
 of Lambs, or of He-goats could take aiiaij 
 sin? There seems indeed to be no natural 
 analogy between them. We can easily 
 understand that pardon may follow repentr 
 ance and prayer, but that it should be 
 obtained by an act of cruelty, by killing a 
 Lamb or a Kid, the mildest and most 
 innocent of animals, /seems at first sight 
 hardly consistent with the goodness of 
 God, or reconcilable to his nature. 
 
 There must therefore be a cause for the 
 practice which in our present state of 
 being we cannot comprehend. There 
 must be a reason, probably only known 
 to the wisdom of God *, \v\iy without shed- 
 ding 
 
 * It is indeed partly explained *n Levit. xvii. 1 1. The 
 life ofthejicsh is in the blood, and I hove given it to you 
 upon tne altar, to make an atonement for your souls: for 
 it fe the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul. 
 That is, at. blood is the life, and life is forfeited by sin, the 
 atonement must be made by blood which -is the life. And 
 
 this 
 
19 
 
 ding of blood there should be 720 remission 
 of sins*. For this is the great principle 
 which is carried throughout the Bible, 
 and of which the sacrifice of our blessed 
 Lord, the Lamb of God, which taketh away 
 the sin of the world f, was the conclusion. 
 His blood was shed for the whole world : 
 and as types J of that final and most im- 
 portant offering ; and in order to prepare 
 the way for it, were burnt-offerings and 
 sacrifices for sin appointed, even from the 
 fall of man§. 
 
 This 
 
 this also shews the reason why blood is forbidden to be 
 eaten because it is a sacred thing, appropriated to that holy 
 purpose. 
 
 * Heb. ix. 22. t Johni. 29. 
 
 £ A type is a person or an action, by which a person or 
 thing to come is prefigured ; and the meaning of which 
 therefore cannot be known, till the antitype (the thing or 
 person thus pointed out) appears. A type is therefore a 
 sort of prophecy by action. Thus Isaac, in Genesis xxii, 
 was the type, and Christ the antitype. And the sacrifices 
 of lambs &c. were types, and that of our Saviour the 
 antitype. 
 
 $ No pious Christian, however, need be uneasy if he sees 
 this matter in a different light, since it is a difficult subject, 
 concerning which, even the wise, the good, and the learned, 
 
 C % ar« 
 
20 
 
 This act then was the only religious rife 
 mentioned till the time of Abraham, after 
 ■which others seem to have been added to 
 it*, though there is no particular account 
 of them till the establishment of the 
 Mosaic law. Neither is it known in what 
 manner God revealed himself to the Patri- 
 archs before Abraham, or even to him in 
 his first revelation. It is not indeed of 
 much consequence, since, whether it was 
 by a dream, a vision, or an angel, it is 
 very evident, that it was in so clear and 
 convincing a manner as not to allow of 
 any mistake concerning it. Until that 
 time the only limitation of the Messiah's 
 descent, was, as before observed, to the 
 seed of Noah ; but when God was pleased 
 to call Abraham, he immediately promised 
 that from him this important blessing 
 should proceed ; thou shalt be a blessing, 
 
 are not wholly agreed. In the early part of his life, the 
 Author thought very differently about it; but the more he 
 has considered this doctrine, and the more deeply he has 
 studied the Bible, the more fully he is convinced of the 
 truth of Christ's Sacrifice, and Atonement. 
 * SeeGtn.xxviii. 18—22. 
 
 said 
 
c > 1 
 
 & 1 
 
 said he, and in thee shall all the families of 
 the earth be blessed. 
 
 But before the next revelation whieh 
 God made to Abraham, a singular circum- 
 stance, and very difficult to be explained, 
 occurred in the history of his life *. This 
 was his meeting with Melchisedeck, after 
 his successful expedition against the four 
 kin^s his oivino- tithes to him, and reeeiv- 
 ■ing a blessing from him. Although there 
 certainly was no direct prophecy of Christ 
 given upon this occasion, yet as Melchi- 
 sedeck has always been considered as an 
 acknowledged type and representation of 
 Christ; as he is mentioned as such in the 
 110th Psalm; and as the Author of the 
 Epistle to the Hebrews enlarges upon this 
 circumstance with so much force and 
 energy, it would be improper to pass it 
 over unnoticed. 
 
 The opinions of the ancients as well as 
 the moderns concerning this extraordinary 
 personage are various, and many of them 
 wild and improbable. By some he has 
 
 * Gen. xiv. 1$. 
 
 been 
 
22 
 
 been supposed to be Christ himself in a 
 human shape ; but that idea contradicts 
 itself, since he was certainly a type of 
 Christ, and the same person cannot be 
 both type and antitype. Others have sup- 
 posed the Holy Ghost to have assumed 
 that shape ; and others, a divine person, 
 but not the Redeemer; and these strange 
 and fanciful notions gave rise to the 
 ancient and modern heresies, of the Mel- 
 chisedecians *. But an opinion much 
 more general, and better supported, is, 
 that Melclnsedeck was the same as Shem 
 the son of Noah, who might possibly be 
 living at that time-)-; and the Jews for 
 the most part, strongly assert this, though 
 contrary to the opinion both of Joseph us 
 and of Philo, By,t surely the description 
 
 • 
 
 * For some account of them, see Calmet's Diet, and 
 Beza on Heb. vii. 1, who speaks of them with great vio- 
 lence and indignation. 
 
 + Lightfoot was of this opinion. See also a learned 
 and ingenious Dissertation, in order to prove this in Taylor's 
 * Illustrations of Scripture/' London 1803. See also 
 Patrick's Commentary, in which a different opinion is 
 maintained. 
 
 given 
 
23 
 
 given of him, in the Epistle to the He- 
 brews, cannot be applicable to Shem. 
 With what propriety could it be said of 
 Shem, whose Father and Mother are 
 known, and whose descent is traced up to 
 Adam, that he was * without Father, with- 
 out Mother, without descent ? Nor could it 
 truly be affirmed of him, that his descent 
 was not counted from them-j-; that is, from 
 the same family from which the sons of 
 Levi descended, when we know that A bra- 
 ham himself derived his origin direct from 
 Shem ; and there is even ground for be- 
 lieving, that immediately after the trans- 
 gression of Ham, the promise itself was 
 confined to the family of Shem J. 
 
 But though there is sufficient reason to 
 suppose that all these opinions concerning 
 Melchisedeck are unfounded, it is not so 
 easy to determine who he was. The 
 Scriptures have not informed us, and it 
 must now continue for ever wrapped in 
 
 * v hirixiup, at/.rfleup, ayeveaXoyy)7or. 
 
 *f Mn ysveaXoyHjUEvoy s| ccvluv. Heb. vii. 3 and 6» 
 
 J G<m. ix. 26, &c. See Patrick and Wells. 
 
 impenetrable 
 
24 
 
 impenetrable obscurity. It should be 
 observed, that the knowledge of God was 
 not at that time wholly confined to the 
 family of Abraham; for Balaam, wicked 
 as he was, was a worshipper of God and a 
 prophet 400 years after this time. Mel- 
 chisedeck, as it appears from the account 
 of him in Genesis, was both a King and a 
 Priest, a union of offices frequent in the 
 early ages*; and probably all that the 
 Apostle meant, by his singular description 
 of him to the Hebrews, was, that, contrary 
 to the usual custom of Moses, a person of 
 that great eminence and piety is mentioned 
 by him, without giving any account of his 
 Father, his Mother, or his descent ; and 
 without giving any intimation concerning 
 the time when he began, or when he ceased 
 to live. 
 
 The similitude between Christ and Mel- 
 chisedeck, seems to consist in these parti- 
 
 * Proofs of this in the most ancient Authors are abun- 
 dant ; as for instance, in Homer ; Helenus in the Iliad, and 
 Nestor in the Odyssey are so styled : and in Virgil, Anius. 
 Amonj the Romans Rex was a title appropriated to a, 
 prieslly office, and Numa officiated as a priest. 
 
 cularsj 
 
25 
 
 culars ; that Christ, like him, is called in 
 Scripture both King and Priest ; that his 
 descent, or generation *. was also unknown, 
 being from the Holy Ghost, and not after 
 the manner of men ; that the termination 
 of Mclehisedeck's priesthood not being 
 mentioned, it might be supposed still to 
 be continued in that of Christ ; especially 
 as in the intermediate time the 110th 
 Psalm, universally allowed both by Jews 
 and Christians to relate to the Messiah, 
 points out the prolongation of the priest- 
 hood of Melchisedeck even to Christ ; that 
 as Melchisedeck was king of Salem -j-, 
 
 which 
 
 * No reference is here meant to the expression in Isaiah 
 mi. 8, zeho shall declare his generation, because the trans- 
 lation of that passage seems to have been quite mistaken, 
 and the Septuagint to have Fallen into the same error, as 
 will be shewn in its proper place. 
 
 •\ It is not clear what Salem was here meant. Some 
 think Jerusalem, which was at first so called, and this is 
 the opinion of Josephus, as well as of the early chrisiiau 
 writers ; but Jerusalem was not then built, for Mount 
 Moriah was then pasturage for, sheep, and covered with 
 thickets. See Gen. xxii. 1", which was near 50 years 
 after this time. Others think it w as Salem, mentioned in 
 
 John 
 
26 
 
 which means peace, so Christ also was 
 styled the Prince of Peace, Isaiah ix. 6 ; 
 that the name Melchisedeck means the 
 just King, or the Wing of Righteousness, by 
 which appellations Christ also is often 
 described in Scripture, as in Matt, xxvii. 
 19? have thou nothing to do xvitli that just 
 man ; Acts iii. 14 ; ye denied the holy one 
 and the just ; 1 John xi. 1, Jesus Christ the 
 righteous, and in many other places ; and 
 ]astly the Apostle argues, that Abraham 
 must have reverenced Melchisedeck, as a 
 representation of Christ, when He, a great 
 and powerful Prince *, the friend of God, 
 and to whom the promise was made, 
 acknowledged his superiority by paying 
 him tithes, and receiving from him a solemn 
 and paternal blessing. 
 
 But however firmly Abraham might be- 
 lieve the promise of God, however he might 
 
 John iii. C3 ; but this was in the north, quite out of Abra- 
 ham's road. Possibly no place was meant, but Melchise- 
 deck was called King of Salem, i. e. peace, alluding to his 
 character and sacred office, and not to the city which he 
 governed. Patrick seems to be mistaken here. 
 * Gen. xxiii. 6. 
 
 be 
 
27 
 
 be convinced that Melchisedeck was the 
 type of the Redeemer to come, many 
 long and tedious years passed on ; he and 
 his wife grew old ; the powers of nature 
 began to fail % and still he had no child. 
 He was 75 years of age, when, in conse- 
 quence of God's command, he departed out 
 ofHaran. His wife Sarah also was only 
 ten years younger, yet he believed the 
 Lord, and it zvas imputed to him for righte- 
 ousness -(". Yet so long was the completion 
 of the promise delayed, that the Patriarch 
 began to fear that he had misunderstood 
 the Lord ; so that in a subsequent vision, 
 when the Lord had again promised him 
 protection and rezoard, he asked him what 
 reward he meant to give him, seeing, says 
 he, I go childless, and the steward of my 
 house J, (or rather, as I believe it should 
 
 * Rom. iv. 1Q. + Rom. iv. 22. 
 
 % In those early ages then, property seems not to have 
 descended collaterally, (for Abraham had a Nephew, Lot, 
 who was living at a distance) but rather according to occu- 
 pancy ; so that, where there were no children, the principal 
 person of the househould would of course inherit all. 
 This is a striking illustration of Blackstone's opinion. See 
 .Ins Commentaries., Book 11. Chap. 1. 
 
 have 
 
£ 2S 
 
 have been translated *, He to zthom my house 
 ::i/l be left) is this Eliezcr of Damascus* 
 But God was pleased to repeat his promise, 
 that he should still have a son, and that 
 his posterity should be as numerous as the 
 stars of heaven. 
 
 This gracious promise was confirmed by 
 a covenant strengthened by a miracle, and 
 Abraham believed it. But every year 
 encrcased the improbability of its accom- 
 plishment, and Sarah his wife, whose faith 
 seems to have been less firm, feeling the 
 impossibility of its being fulfilled by natural 
 means, thought it might be completed by 
 her husband's having a child by her hand- 
 maid Hagar. But the promises of God 
 stand sure, and are not to be altered, or 
 hastened by the vain suppositions of his 
 creatures. IJagar had a son, and Abraham 
 prayed that the promised blessing might 
 be given through him ; but God again 
 declared, that Sarah herself should have a 
 
 * Is cui re!inf|uetiir domus mea. — Treviiellius and 
 Junius, who were the most literal of all the Translators 
 fiom the Hebrew. 
 
 son,. 
 
29 
 
 son, and appointed the same time in the 
 following year when that great event should 
 take place. 
 
 According to the word of God, therefore, 
 within the next year the child of promise 
 was born of Sarah ; and he was named 
 Isaac, that is, Laughter, in allusion to 
 Abraham's laughing when it was foretold 
 to him, that he should have a son by 
 Sarah, notwithstanding their great age *. 
 Perhaps also it might have a secondary 
 meaning in reference to the happiness 
 which his birth would be the means of 
 bringing to the world, since through him 
 all tlie nations of the earth were to be blessed. 
 And now the venerable Patriarch was 
 happy; the long-expected blessing w T as 
 arrived ; the child of his old age, the in- 
 heritor of his wealth, the heir of the pro- 
 mise, was born and lived. The God in 
 whom he trusted had not deceived him, 
 and he had the fullest confidence that the 
 son, whose birth had been so miraculously 
 foretold, would be the Father of a numer- 
 
 * Gen. xvii. 17. 
 
 ous 
 
so 
 
 ous race of descendants, from one of whom 
 should be born the Saviour of the world. 
 But a much more afflicting trial was still 
 reserved for Abraham, the most severe 
 of all which he experienced. God w r as 
 pleased once more, as the Scriptures ex- 
 press it, to tempt him ; that is, to make a 
 trial, whether his faith was as great in 
 prosperity, after the promise of God to 
 liim had been fulfilled, as it was while the 
 completion of it was delayed. Five and 
 twenty years had elapsed, from the time 
 •when that promise was first made till it 
 was fulfilled ; and now at the same dis- 
 tance of time, after its completion, when 
 Isaac was 25 years of age, God required 
 his Father, to offer Mm for a burnt-offering, 
 upon a mountain in the land of Moriah. 
 
 What must have passed in the wretched 
 Father's mind, upon receiving this dread- 
 ful command, is easier to conceive than 
 to describe. Scripture is silent upon that 
 head, though the command itself points 
 out the circumstances, which made it so 
 peculiarly afflicting, in a most beautiful 
 
 climax ; 
 
O I 
 
 climax; /^/itf now thy son, thine only son* 
 Isaac, whom thou lovest. But his ready 
 obedience is sufficiently evident, for we 
 are told that he rose up early in the morning, 
 made the necessary preparations, and went. 
 And to make the trial more complete, and 
 the Patriarch's faith more distinguished, 
 he did not arrive at the place, which God 
 had pointed out to him, till late on the 
 third day ; so that his compliance was no 
 sudden start of enthusiasm or despair, but 
 the calm dictate of a mind accustomed to 
 consider the commands of God as the only 
 rule of his conduct. 
 
 Though God therefore prevented the 
 sacrifice, and restored the son to the 
 Father, he accepted aud praised the pious 
 confidence which prompted the obedi- 
 ence ; he renewed his promises of temporal 
 prosperity to him, and his numerous des- 
 cendants, and again repeated that from 
 among them the Redeemer should be 
 born. 
 
 * i. e. only son by Sarah hJ3 wife. Ishmael was by a 
 Concubine. This climax is noticed in the Gemara 
 (Sanhedrin c. x, 14.) but another reasoti assigned. 
 
 But 
 6 
 
OflJ 
 
 But this great and extraordinary event, 
 thus told in the 2'Jd chapter of Genesis, 
 was not recorded solely to commemorate 
 the faith of Abraham, or the submission 
 of Isaac. It has an allegorical meaning 
 in an important reference to Jesus Christ. 
 For it has always been believed by the 
 best Commentators that the sacrifice of 
 Isaac was typical of that of Christ; that 
 is to say, that some of the principal cir- 
 cumstances of this narrative are so similar 
 to those which attended our Saviour's 
 death, as to leave no room to doubt, that 
 they were meant as shadows of things to 
 come ; and, as it were, a prophecy of what 
 was to happen, in things, not in words. 
 
 In order to shew this more plainly, ft 
 mav be observed, First, that as Isaac was 
 his Father's only son, whom he laved *, so 
 
 * Only legitimate son; for the children whom he had 
 by concubines, were not reckoned with Isaac, nor inheri- 
 tors with him. Set; Gen. xxv. 6; from whence it appears 
 that Ketitrah was only a concubine, (See Grot, annot. in 
 loc.) and Ishmacl, being in a certain sense, the child of 
 Sarah, Gen. xvi. 2, had a higher rank in thu house than 
 the children of Keturah, and next to' Isaac, Gen. xxv. 9* 
 
 was 
 
 2 
 
33 
 
 was Christ the beloved son of God, in whom 
 he was well pleased, Matt. iii. 17- and his 
 only begotten son, John iii. 16. Secondly, 
 Isaac was the Lamb appointed for sacri- 
 fice ; my Father, said he, where is the Lamb 
 for a burnt-offering? And Abraham said, 
 my son, God will provide himself a Lamb, for 
 a burnt-offering. So was Christ the Lamb 
 of God* (John i. 29-) who put ate ay sin by 
 the sacrifice of himself , Heb. ix. 26. Third- 
 ly, Isaac willingly submitted himself to be 
 offered. This indeed is not said in words, 
 but must evidently have been the case; 
 for the two servants, whom Abraham had 
 brought with him, were left behind afar off, 
 and it cannot be supposed, that an old 
 man, then 125 years of age, could bind a 
 man in the prime of his life-j-, and lay 
 
 * So called probably in allusion to the Lamb of the 
 daily sacrifice^ which was offered to take away the sins of 
 the people, and was a type of Christ who was offered to 
 bear the sins of many. Heb. ix. 28. 
 
 "f Twenty-five years old says Josephus, who makes 
 Abraham address his son in a very affecting speech, and 
 the son willingly comply. Antiq. Jud. Lib. 1. Cap. 14. 
 
 The Talmudic writers suppose that this happened soon 
 after Isaac was weaned. Sanhedrim x. iv. But this is 
 infficiently coutradicted by the text itself. 
 
 D him 
 
34 
 
 him on the Altar, unless he consented to 
 it, of his own free will. So our blessed 
 Lord says of himself, I lay down my life, — 
 no man taketh it from me, but I lay it down 
 of myself . John x. 17 and 18. 
 
 Fourthly, Though the age of Isaac is 
 said by Josephus and others, to have been 
 only twenty five, yet some of the most 
 distinguished commentators, among whom 
 is the learned Lightfoot, calculating the 
 ao-e of the Patriarchs in a different man- 
 ner, suppose Isaac to have been at this 
 time about 33 years old, which is the very 
 time of life, at which our Saviour suffered. 
 But very great exactness in the chronology 
 of these early times, is not to be obtained ; 
 and therefore, though this circumstance 
 also seems to be probable, and certainly 
 may be true, yet it should not be very 
 strongly insisted on, nor is it at all neces- 
 sary to the force of the argument. 
 
 Fifthly, We find that Abraham took the 
 
 wood of the burnt-offering, and laid it upon 
 
 Isaac his son ; that very wood upon which 
 
 he was to be sacrificed. So did our Lord 
 
 8 bear 
 
35 
 
 bear his cross *, John xix. 17. And it seems 
 a remarkable coincidence, that, as it is 
 well known that Christ was nailed to the 
 cross, by his hands and feet, so the Jewish 
 traditions affirm that Isaac was bound in 
 the same manner upon the altar -f*. 
 
 Sixthly, It was on the third day of his 
 journey, that Abraham arrived at the place 
 appointed for the sacrifice. Three days 
 the unhappy Father bore his sorrows in 
 silence, and three days the innocent victim, 
 accompanied him in ignorance, and at 
 the end of them, rose from off the Altar, 
 as it were from the dead {, and received a 
 new life. So also did Christ rise again on 
 the third day, after having been for three 
 days, in what is called in our Liturgy Hell, 
 
 * This is perfectly consonant with the passages in the 
 other Gospels which relate that Simon the Cyreneau bore 
 his Cross ; for it seems clear that Christ bore his own 
 Cross, till he fainted under the weight, from his preceding 
 sufferings, and then the Jews made Simon carry it, who is 
 thought to have been one of his disciples. 
 
 f Lightfoot Vol. I. P. 268. They affirm also that 
 Abel, who is likewise supposed to be a type of Christ, 
 was wounded by Cain in the same places. 
 % Heb.xi.19. 
 
 d 2 which 
 
36 
 
 which was probably not the place of 
 punishment generally known by that name, 
 but the place appointed for departed souls? 
 till the last day. This coincidence in 
 point of time is remarkable. Some com- 
 mentators indeed, suppose that the feelings 
 of the Father, made the journey slow; but 
 this opinion is injurious to the faith and 
 zeal of Abraham, for on the contrary we 
 are expressly told, that he rose up early in 
 the morning to begin his journey. The 
 fact is, that a days journey in the East, is 
 now, and probably was then, reckoned at 
 about twelve miles for travellers on foot; 
 and it does not appear from the text that 
 either Isaac or the servants were mounted, 
 though the aged Patriarch himself rode on 
 an Ass. Now from Beersheba where Abra- 
 ham then was, to Mount Moriah the ap- 
 pointed place, is only about thirty miles, 
 that is a journey of two days and a half, 
 which leaves the latter half of the third 
 day for the events which took place on the 
 mountain ; accordingly we find that on the 
 third day, probably at day break, he saw 
 
 the 
 
37 
 
 ike place afar oj}\ that is, at six miles 
 distance. 
 
 But the last and most extraordinary 
 circumstance attending this event, is the 
 place appointed by God, for this typical 
 sacrifice. This was a mountain in the 
 land of Moriah, or as it is more correctly 
 expressed in the Septuagint *, " a hill in the 
 mountainous country/' which God would 
 point out to him ; and the Jews have a 
 tradition that this notification was made 
 by a flame of fire, which rose out of the 
 ground, to mark the spot where the Altar 
 was to be built. It is also a received 
 opinion among the Jews from the earliest 
 times, that on this same spot Adam made 
 his first offering, and that his head was 
 buried there, by Shem the son of Noah ; 
 that this was the place also, where Cain 
 and Abel first offered their fruits and sacri- 
 fice, and where Noah built his Altar when 
 he went out of the Ark. Whatever truth 
 
 * For it was not called Moriah, which is supposed to 
 be a corruption of Jireh, (Jehovah jireh, God will pro 
 vide, or see) till after this event. 
 
 there 
 
38 
 
 there may be in these uncertain traditions, 
 and there is sufficient reason to suppose, 
 that they cannot all be well founded, it 
 seems very certain, that this Mount Moriah 
 was afterwards enclosed within the pre- 
 cincts of Jerusalem ; that David built his 
 Altar there, on the ceasing of the pesti- 
 lence, in the threshing floor of Araunah 
 the Jebusite ; that Solomon on the same 
 spot erected his Temple ; and that on one 
 of the elevations of this celebrated moun- 
 tain, (then called Golgotha in the Hebrew, 
 and Calvary in Latin, i. e. the place of a 
 skull, because executions were usually per- 
 formed there,) was sacrificed the antitype 
 of Isaac, Jesus Christ the Saviour of the 
 world *. 
 
 These similarities receive also addi- 
 tional force, by considering the circum- 
 stances, which attended the birth of Isaac, 
 and that of our Lord. They were both 
 the children of promise; that is, produced 
 by the power of God, working a miracle, 
 
 * Fuller's " Pisgah," Lightfoot &c. See also Basnage., 
 B. xi. Ch. 1. 
 
 according 
 
59 
 
 according to his promise, and not in the 
 natural manner of generation. Isaac was 
 born, when his Father was 100 years of 
 age, and his Mother g0, and become natu- 
 rally incapable of bearing a child * ; and 
 therefore she laughed at the promise of 
 his birth, knowing that it could not be 
 accomplished by human means -f. So was 
 Christ also born by promise, and not by 
 natural means; and though the humble 
 piety of the Virgin Mary, prevented her 
 from laughing, like Sarah, when the noti- 
 fication was made to her by the Angel ; 
 yet she also, knowing the natural impossi- 
 bility of such an event, exclaimed, How 
 shall this be, seeing I know not a man ? 
 
 If all these circumstances be considered 
 together, there seems to be no room to 
 doubt, that Isaac was meant in reality as 
 a type of Christ. For though some of 
 them separately may not carry conviction 
 with them, yet taken together the analogy 
 is very striking : and the coincidences in 
 two events, so remarkable and extraordi- 
 
 * Gen. xviii. II. -f R»ra. iv. ig. 
 
 nary, 
 
40 
 
 nary, in such different ages of the world, 
 can hardly ■ be accounted for, upon any 
 other supposition. This has always been 
 the general opinion of the christian com- 
 munity ; and it is, no doubt, for this reason, 
 that this XXIInd. chapter of Genesis, is 
 appointed by our Church, to be read on 
 Good Friday. 
 
 But though Isaac was thus preserved 
 from being offered in sacrifice, still there 
 remained a farther trial, of the patience 
 both of the father and the son. In pro- 
 cess of time, Isaac married ; but notwith- 
 standing the promise, which had been 
 made to him, his wife continued barren 
 for twenty years ; and Abraham who was 
 now apparently sinking into the grave, 
 saw no prospect of the continuation of his 
 race. But the Lord is not slack concerning 
 his promise^ as some men count slackness * ; 
 Isaac entreated the Lord, and Rehekah his 
 wife conceived, and brought forth twins. 
 The pious and faithful Patriarch, Abraham, 
 survived this great event fifteen years, hav- 
 
 * 2 Pet. iii. 9. 
 
 ing. 
 
41 
 
 ing seen that the promise of God standeth 
 sure, and though it may seem to tarn/, never 
 fails. Isaac was at this time exactly oi the 
 same age, as Abraham was when he tirst 
 received the promise, viz. seventy-five 
 years. 
 
 CHAP. 
 
42 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Trom the death of Abraham, to the death of 
 Jacob. 
 
 JN OT long after the death of Abraham, 
 it pleased God to renew his promise to 
 Isaac, of temporal prosperity, and also, 
 that from among his descendants the Bless- 
 ing foretold to his father should proceed. 
 But Isaac had two sons, and God had re- 
 vealed to their Mother before their birth, 
 (Gen. xxv. 23.) that the elder should serve 
 the younger, and consequently that the 
 descendants of the younger, should inherit 
 the promise made to Abraham. This was 
 farther confirmed, when Esau the elder 
 brother, an impious and violent man, sold 
 his birthright to Jacob the younger, for the 
 trifling consideration of some pottage, to 
 satisfy his hunger, on his return from 
 
 hunting. 
 
 Isaac 
 
AS 
 
 Isaac however was either ignorant of 
 these circumstances, or did not understand 
 their tendency ; for towards the close of 
 his life, when the prophetic spirit came 
 upon him, he still intended to confer the 
 awful promise, on his elder son; but his 
 wife Rebekah, knowing what had passed, 
 and conscious of the determination of the 
 Almighty, took advantage of the aged 
 parent's blindness, so that instead of Esau, 
 he blessed Jacob. 
 
 Here therefore was a still farther limita- 
 tion, of the promise of a Redeemer. It 
 was now confined to the seed of Jacob ; 
 and however it may seem to us, to have 
 been obtained by deceit, Rebekah's con- 
 duct was such, as to further the designs of 
 Providence. And indeed however blame- 
 able she may appear to us, as certainly in 
 no case whatever, can falsehood be justifi- 
 able, it is no unusual thing, either in sacred 
 or profane history, to find God bringing 
 about his own purposes, through the means 
 of bad persons. In the present instance 
 Rebekah seems to have acted under the 
 
 persuasion, 
 
44 
 
 persuasion, that she was doing right* ; and 
 Isaac, upon discovering the deceit, so far 
 from curbing either her or Jacob, as the 
 latter had feared, confirmed his blessing ; 
 and when he sent him away to Padan- 
 Aram, voluntarily again besought God to 
 <jivg him the blessing of Abraham. 
 
 But this was confirmed by a much 
 higher authority, as Jacob was on his 
 
 * The case seems to be this ; the promise itself was 
 well known to all the house of Abraham. Esau cared not 
 about it, he despised his birthright, (Gen. xxv. , c 3i.) aud 
 therefore sold it for a trifle. Jacob earnestly coveted it, 
 and Rebckah, forewarned by the Revelation at their birth, 
 took worldly and wrong means to secure it to him, by de- 
 ceiving his father, who ought to have bestowed the blessing 
 willingly upon him. But he was infirm and almost blind, 
 and partial to his eldest son, on account of his venison. 
 This event convinced him, that Jacob was to be accounted 
 his eldest son, and entitled to all the privileges, annexed to 
 that situation. There is an ingenious conjecture of the 
 learned Dr. Lightfoot, that Isaac sent Esau to hunt for 
 venison, that he might be assured whether God meant the 
 blessing for him, or whether he had forfeited his privileges 
 by selling his birthright. But the text seems to contradict 
 this idea. Isaac suspected the deceit and took every 
 method of ascertaining the truth, and when it was dis- 
 covered, he trembled very exceedingly. 
 
 journey. 
 
45 
 
 journey. In a dream, God promised to 
 give to his posterity, the land where he 
 then was, and confirmed to him the pro- 
 mise, made to his grandfather Abraham, 
 that the Redeemer should proceed from 
 him. It is worthy of observation, that the 
 two promises, that of the future possession 
 of the land of Canaan, and of Him through 
 "whom all the nations of the Earth were to 
 be blessed, were generally made together ; 
 and perhaps it might be for this reason, 
 that as the children of Israel, found by 
 their own experience, that the first part of 
 the promise actually was fulfilled, so they 
 might be induced to believe assuredly, 
 that the latter part of it also would be. 
 For their conquest, and possession of the 
 Holy Land, upwards of 400 years after 
 the first promise of it had been made to 
 Abraham, was a pledge to them and a 
 proof, that the greater and more general 
 blessing, promised so often in the very 
 same revelation, should not be withheld 
 when the fulness of time should be come. 
 
 A part of this dream, or vision, of Jacob, 
 
 is supposed to be typical of Christ, with 
 
 £ respect 
 
46 
 
 respect to the union between his divine and 
 human nature; this was a Ladder, on 
 which Angels were ascending and descend- 
 ing, the top of which reached to Heaven, 
 while its foot rested on the ground. Whe- 
 ther this were the meaning of the vision 
 or not, it seemed at least to point out a 
 future more constant and immediate com- 
 munication, between earth and heaven, 
 and that man would be the care of God, 
 through the ministry of his Angels*. 
 
 The place where this revelation was 
 made to Jacob, was called by him Bethel, 
 or the house of God, and was situated about 
 12 miles north of Jerusalem -f . Here the 
 Patriarch afterwards, built an Altar, and 
 receired another blessing from God, by a 
 personal communication ; (Gen. xxxv. 9-) 
 here, on the separation of the kingdom of 
 Israel from that of Judah, Jeroboam set 
 up the golden calf to be worshipped, and 
 made Israel to sin; and here, which was then 
 become the chief seat of Idolatry, forty 
 
 * Are they not all ministering spirits? Heb. i. 14. 
 f Calmet. 
 
 two 
 
47 
 
 two children, (that is, young men*) were 
 miraculously destroyed by Bears, in con- 
 sequence of their having insulted Elisha, 
 the prophet of the Lord. 
 
 At the time of this journey, Jacob was 
 77 years of age •f ; and after serving Laban 
 his Uncle for seven years, he married Leah 
 his eldest daughter. And here it may be 
 remarked that it seemed fit to God to 
 punish the deceit, which Jacob had used 
 towards his brother, although the gracious 
 ends of his providence, were answered by 
 it. For Jacob thought he had married 
 Rachel whom he loved, but her father 
 deceived him, and in the morning he found 
 that he had married Leah, and must en- 
 dure another servitude of seven years, in 
 order to obtain his favorite Rachel. 
 
 In the numerous family of Jacob, the 
 certainty of the first part of God's promise 
 to Abraham, began to be more apparent. 
 
 * See the whole of this transaction, clearly explained in 
 Dr. Gregory Sharpe on Prophecy, p. 50, &c. 
 
 ■f Lightfoot; who proves it from what is said in Scrip- 
 ture, concerning Joseph's birth, actions, &c. and Jacob's 
 age, when he went into Eg)pt. 
 
 After 
 
43 
 
 After 25 years of delay, Abraham bad 
 one son Isaac ; and Isaac's *yife was barren 
 for twenty years after his marriage, and 
 then had two sons, and bore no more. 
 But Jacob had twelve sons, each of whom 
 had several children. In this respect 
 therefore, the promise began to be reali- 
 zed ; but the most important part of it, 
 that the Redeemer should descend from 
 Jacob, must now of course, receive a 
 farther limitation, to one only of his chil- 
 dren, the ancestors of the twelve tribes of 
 Israel, 
 
 As Abraham's life was prolonged till he 
 saw his grandsons, Esau and Jacob; so 
 Isaac also did not depart, till he had seen 
 the completion of the temporal part of 
 God's promises, and of his own prophetic 
 blessing, in the prosperity and large fami- 
 lies of both his sons, after Jacob had 
 been absent from him about thirty years. 
 He lived also to witness the reconciliation 
 of his children, and to have his eyes closed. 
 by them in peace. But this blessing was 
 denied Rebekah, who, according to Jose- 
 phus, died a short time before Jacob's re- 
 turn ; 
 
49 
 
 turn ; so, as her deceit had occasioned his 
 journey, she too was punished, by not liv- 
 ing to enjoy its prosperous conclusion. 
 
 But of this family, so loved, so favored, 
 by the Almighty, it is melancholy, in pur- 
 suing the story, to see the depravity. From 
 one of them, the Messiah was certainly to 
 proceed, and we might naturally imagine, 
 that it would be either from the eldest, or 
 from the most virtuous. But God seeth not 
 as man seeth. Of Joseph only and Benja- 
 min, the two youngest, is no evil recorded. 
 The character of all the rest, is stained 
 with murder, rapine, violence, or incest. 
 
 When Jacob lay on his death-bed, at 
 the age of 147 years, he called for his sons, 
 and gave to each of them a separate bkss~ 
 ing* as it is called, which was to some of 
 
 '"* In this blessing of the sons of Jacob, it is remarkable, 
 that it relates to the personal conduct, or qualities of some 
 of them, and to the future circumstances of the descen- 
 dants of the others. Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Joseph, are 
 examples of the first, and Judah of both. The blessings 
 of all the rest, so far as we know, refer only to the state of 
 their posterity. 
 
 E them 
 
50 
 
 them a reprimand for their past conduct? 
 and to others a prophetic allegory, con- 
 cerning the future situation, and power of 
 their descendants. To explain these is 
 foreign to the present purpose ; but that 
 which was addressed to Judah, the fourth 
 son, requires a more particular attention, 
 because it contains a clear prophecy of 
 the Messiah, and a still farther limitation 
 of him, to his Tribe in particular. Why it 
 pleased God to select him from among his 
 brethren, to be the Progenitor of Christ, 
 according to the flesh, it is not very easy 
 to determine, nor perhaps necessary to en- 
 quire. However it may be observed, that 
 Judah, though far from a perfect character, 
 was not an abandoned one. He agreed 
 indeed with his brethren to sell their bro- 
 ther Joseph, but he prevented them from 
 murdering him ; and when they went down 
 into Egypt the second time, to buy food, 
 lie not only promised his father to bo 
 surety for Benjamin's return, but, in a 
 most affecting speech, earnestly intreated 
 Joseph, when he threatened to detain the 
 
 lad , 
 
II 
 
 lad, that he would permit him to remain 
 as a bondman, instead of Benjamin** 
 
 These were obligations, which his father 
 was not likely ever to forget, though to 
 reward him by encreasing his prophetic 
 blessing, was not in his power. Though 
 his voice was the organ which conveyed it, 
 the blessing itself was dictated by the in* 
 spiration of God, and the fond affections 
 of the father, could have no influence over 
 it. Judah was only his fourth son, in the 
 order of his birth ; and born of Leah, not of 
 
 * It is observable, that, as in consequence of this kind- 
 ness, there might probably, be always afterwards a particu- 
 lar affection between Judah and Benjamin, so in the sepa- 
 ration of the two kingdoms, under Rehoboam, many ages 
 afterwards, the tribe of Benjamin was the only one that 
 adhered to Judah, and with it formed the Kingdom that 
 was called by that name. And yet, previous to this, when 
 the Benjamites for their insolence, and the abuse of the 
 Levite's wife* at Gibeah, were to be punished by their 
 brethren, it was the tribe of Judah, which, by the express 
 command of God, was ordered to go up first against them. 
 Judges xx. 18. , 
 
 * In the text ccmciibir.e ; i. e„ a lawful wife, but one who had no dowrr, 
 and whose father had not yet consented to the match— Lcland. In v. 4, ket 
 father is called his father in law. She left him from u quarrel, not from 
 licentiousness. Sje the Greek version, Grabej and T;eiael ;aud Junius. 
 
 e 2 the 
 
the beloved Rachel : but of the three elder 
 sons, Reuben, by his incestuous connec- 
 tion with Bilhah his father's concubine, 
 the mother of Dan and Napthali, had 
 forfeited his birthright*, as Simeon and 
 Levi his next brothers, had also done theirs 
 by their perfidy, cruelty, and rapacious- 
 ness, towards the Shechemites on accountof 
 the defilement of Dinah their Sister f. 
 Next to them came Judah, and to him 
 
 * See 1 Chron. v. 1, where the birthright, that is, its 
 temporal privileges, is said to have been given to Joseph, 
 expressly upon this account. But this seems to refer, only 
 to the grant which Jacob made to Joseph, Gen. xlviii. 22, 
 of the laud which he had conquered, and which would 
 otherwise, have descended probably to his first-born. And 
 this distinction is clearly xnade, in the following verse ; 
 Judah prevailed over his brethren, and of him came the 
 chief ruler (David) but the birthright teas Joseph's. And 
 here it may be mentioned, as a very remarkable circum- 
 stance, which I believe has not been observed, that the 
 descent of Christ according to the flesh, through all its, 
 different limitations, passed in every instance, through a 
 line of younger 3ons. Seth, Shem, Abraham (See Raleigh, 
 Calmet, Wells, and Lightfoot,) Isaac, Jacob, Judah, 
 David, and Solomon, were all younger sons ; and these 
 were the only persons, pointed out by prophecy, from 
 whom Christ was to descend. 
 
 ■\ Gen. xlix. 1, 
 
 therefore 
 
05 
 
 therefore was given the most valuable part 
 of the birthright, the limitation of the 
 Messiah to his family, as well as the grant 
 of temporal authority and dominion, both 
 over his brethren and his enemies. 
 
 But that part of Judah's blessing which 
 relates to the Messiah, must be more par- 
 ticularly considered, both because it is 
 universally understood, except by some of 
 the modern Jews, to refer to him, and be- 
 cause it is the first prophecy, which points 
 out the particular time when he was to 
 appear. The Sceptre, says the Patriarch, 
 shall not depart from Judah, nor a Lawgiver 
 from between his feet, until Shiloh come, and 
 unto him shall the gathering of the people be. 
 The plain meaning of which words seems 
 to be, that the tribe of Judah should have 
 dominion, and be governed by their own 
 laws, till the promised Redeemer should 
 come; and that the Gentiles, (that is, all 
 other nations) shall be gathered together 
 with the Jews, and form one Christian 
 people under him. 
 
 The conclusion of this prophecy still 
 remains to be fulfilled, if by the gathering 
 
 of 
 
54 
 
 of the people, be understood, the final con- 
 version of all nations to Christianity ; but 
 some learned men, among whom is Mr, 
 Granville Sharp, suppose it to have been 
 completed, both in the multitudes which 
 followed our Lord, when they saw his 
 miracles, John vi. &c, and since that time, 
 in the many nations, who have embraced 
 his religion. It is needless, however, to 
 enquire minutely into this matter, since 
 the chief and obvious design of the pro- 
 phecy, was to point out the time, during 
 which, Christ was to appear ; and this was 
 while the Jews still had a government of 
 their own, which was the case when our 
 Lord was born. Nor had their own gov- 
 ernment ever entirely ceased in this tribe; 
 for even during their captivity in Babylon, 
 they were allowed to be under the rule of 
 their own Elders, and judged by their own 
 laws * ; and though the ten tribes of Israel 
 
 never 
 
 * See the ancient book of Susannah, which, however 
 doubtful as to the history contained in it, would be abso-^ 
 .ute nonsense upon any other supposition. But this is 
 plainly asserted in the 'JTahnuds, anc j j ne names of the 
 
 Judge** 
 
55 
 
 never returned from their captivity, and 
 were utterly dispersed, and their genealo- 
 gies wholly lost or confounded, the tribes 
 of Judahand Benjamin, which had formed 
 a separate kingdom under Rehoboam, 
 returned to their own land with their gene- 
 alogies unmixed and uncorrupted, and re- 
 sumed the government of it: And from 
 that time, they all assumed the name of 
 him to whon the blessing was promised; 
 they called their land Judcea, and them- 
 selves Jews. 
 
 But after our Saviours birth, and before 
 his crucifixion, the Jews had lost their 
 ancient claim to dominion, when Coponius 
 
 Judges, who ruled "their nation in Babylon are mentioned*. 
 It is to them, that the Jewish traditions refer this pro- 
 phecy, and to the posterity of their great Doctor rlillel, 
 who were celebrated teachers of the law. " No>t reeedet 
 sceptrjim a Juda. Hi sunt iEchmalotarchse Babylonia, 
 qui dominantur Israeli sceptro. Et legislator e media 
 pedum ejus. Hi sunt posteri Hiilelis qui docent legem 
 publice." Sanhednn Cap. i. 1. 
 
 * In chronico Ebrreorum parvo, quod voctint, deducuntur per condnuam 
 irrieiu .ixhmalotarchaa Babylonici ;i Jechonia usq; ad cliu.tiijffi filium. 
 
 Aimotat. in Saahedrio ut supru, ai Joliun. Coch. 
 
 was 
 
56 
 
 \ras made Procurator of Judaea; for the a 
 the power of inflicting capital punish- 
 ments, was taken from them, and placed 
 solely in the hands of the Roman Gover- 
 nor*. Then also the Sceptre must evi- 
 dently be departed from Judah, when the 
 Jews confessed, John xix. 15, wt have no 
 King but Ctfsar. Now Coponius entered •f 
 on his office in the 12th year of our 
 Saviour's age, when he first opened his 
 mission in the temple, Luke xi; and then 
 the Jewish sceptre and legislature began 
 to depart from them, and were finally 
 abolished, in the destruction of Jerusalem 
 by Titus 62 years afterwards. 
 
 The word Shiloh in the prophecy is not 
 well understood, and is very differently ex- 
 plained, though it is generally agreed, that 
 the Messiah is meant by it. Grotius and 
 the learned Bishops" Chandler and Burnet 
 translate it, " He that is to be sent," or 
 
 * It is not laafulfor us to put qny man tj death. 
 John xviii. 31. 
 
 {• Prideaux s Connetion, vol. iii. 8vo. edit, where this is 
 cleaiJy explained. 
 
 " the 
 
57 
 
 " the sent," and with these the vulgate 
 agrees. But it is of little consequence 
 that the learned think differently concern- 
 ino* the Hebrew root, from which the word 
 is derived *, as long as it is not disputed 
 that it relates to Christ -f , and was exactly 
 fulfilled in him 
 
 This 
 
 * Granville Sharp and others, suppose it to have a re- 
 ference to peace ; as Isaiah calls our Lord the prince of 
 peace, and similar terms are in many places applied to him. 
 Dr. Gregory Sharpe translates Shiloh " the deliverer," 
 and supports his opinion by very strong and unexception- 
 able testimony, both of ancient and modern Hebraeans. — 
 See his " Argument/' p. 6". note. 
 
 Junius translates Shiloh, "rilius ejus" his son, or descen- 
 dant, i. e. of Judah; and, in the Septuagint version, the 
 whole passage is somewhat different, and may be rendered 
 in this manner ; " a ruler shall not fail from Judah, nor a 
 leader from among his decendants, till He cometh for 
 whom it is appointed (w «7roxEi7a», Grabe ; 7a aTroxej/xsva 
 aplcj, Vatican edit.) and he is (or shall be) the expectation 
 of the nations ;" which is quite as applicable to Christ, 
 as the text of our common version is, and the last part 
 of it particularly agrees with the description of him in 
 Haggai ii. 7. 
 
 ■f The ancient Jews universally allowed it. — See Onke- 
 los, as quoted in Coch's notes on Sanhedrim ; Jonathan's 
 and the Jerusalem Targuni, as quoted by Prideaux. And 
 
 Sanhedrin 
 
58 
 
 This prophecy, has been more particu- 
 larly enlarged upon, because it is the last 
 of those delivered by the Patriarchs which 
 referred to Christ : and it is not only clear 
 and unequivocal, but has also been fulfill- 
 ed, in a most obvious and remarkable 
 manner. For the Sceptre and Lawgher 
 are completely departed from Judah ; the 
 Jews are no longer in any part of the 
 world, a people governed by their own 
 laws *, though still separated from the 
 nations among whom they dwell; there- 
 fore if the prophecy be true, as the Jews 
 themselves allow it is, the Messiah must 
 be come -f. Nor can the Jews get rid of 
 
 this 
 
 Sanhedrin si. 3&. u Quod illi nomen?FamiharesR. Sila? 
 aielbant, Silok nomen ejus esse. Quia dictum est, Usque 
 dum~ veniat Siloh," 
 
 * lu order to evade the strength of this argument, R. 
 Benjamin o& Tudela published his pretended travels in the 
 l'2th century ; a miserable collection of falsehoods, by 
 which be endeavored to prove, that a Jewish government 
 still subsisted in several parts of the world. 
 
 f Some of them perceived this consequence, and there- 
 fore asserted, that Hezekiah was the promised Messiah, 
 $nd that no other was to be expected. To which others 
 
 ingeniously 
 
59 
 
 this argument, but by saying, that their 
 sins have prevented him from coming, at 
 the appointed time; and therefore when 
 the temple was destroyed by Titus, they 
 ceased to expect him*. 
 
 Henceforward then the promise given 
 to Abraham, was confined to the tribe of 
 Judah ; but the God who gave it, was still 
 to be styled, the God of Abraham, and the 
 God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, And 
 he chose to be so called, in order to distin- 
 guish that family, from which the Messiah 
 was to proceed, from the rest of the world. 
 Nor was any other family, nor any, even 
 
 ingeniously as well as truly replied, that this must be an 
 error, because the Messiah was foretold long after Heze- 
 kiah's death, even under the second temple. ** Rabbi 
 Hillel ait: Non dabitur Israeli Messias. Jam enim con>> 
 potiti illo sunt vivente Ezechia. R. Joseph ; condona ipsij 
 domine ipsius. Ezechias quando vixit? Stante templo 
 primo. At Zecharias vaticinatus esi sub templo secundo : 
 Exulta valde, Jilia Tzian" &c. Zech. ix. 9. Sanhedrin 
 xi. 36. And this prophecy is quoted both by St. Matthew 
 and St. John. 
 
 # Rabbi Jose, qui excidium templi vidit, Messia? tempus 
 advenisse djcebat, ut testatur R. Jacobin Caphtor. 
 
 Grot, de veritat. Lib. v. 14. annota 
 
60 
 
 of their own descendants, so favoured by 
 God as they had been ; for to each of them 
 had God been pleased to reveal himself 
 several times, and that not by visions or 
 inspiration only, but by personal appear- 
 ance, in a peculiar manner which was 
 never afterwards granted to any mortal, 
 Moses, the friend of God, and type of 
 Christ, alone excepted. 
 
 CHAP. 
 
61 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 From the Prophecy of Jacob, to the Death of 
 
 Moses. 
 
 AND now, the promise of the Messiah, 
 having been repeated thus openly, to all 
 the family of Jacob, limited to the des- 
 cendants of Judah, and the time fixed 
 before which he should appear, it seemed 
 fit to God, to give no more revelations 
 concerning him for many years. For 
 though the priesthood, and most, if not 
 all, of the positive ordinances, and cove- 
 nants of the law of Moses, have a refer- 
 ence to Christ, and must be understood 
 as typical of him*, yet as the meaning of 
 
 them 
 
 # We have the authority of Christ himself for asserting, 
 that events under the old dispensation, were typical of him,. 
 <ds Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so 
 
 must 
 
62 
 
 them, could not be comprehended till he 
 appeared, they cannot properly, be con- 
 sidered as prophecies or revelations of him. 
 Nor were they ever well explained till the 
 " Epistle to the Hebrews" was written ; 
 in which it is shewn, with great strength 
 of language, and as much clearness as the 
 subject will permit, how they applied to 
 Christ, and how even in that sense also, he 
 fulfilled the Law *. 
 
 However, about 240 years after the 
 death of Jacob, it pleased God again to 
 remind his chosen people, of that Redee- 
 mer, who was to come into the world, 
 many ages after. Part of the promise to 
 Abraham was now completed. His seed 
 were indeed become numerous, as the stars 
 of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon 
 the sea shore. Their wanderings in the 
 desart were nearly concluded, and they 
 
 must the son of man be lifted up. John iii. 14. No sign 
 shall be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. For 
 us Jonas ttas three days and three nights in the whale's 
 belly : so shall the son of man be three days and three 
 nighty in the heart of the earth. Matt. xii. 39, 40. 
 * See Matt. v. 17, 18. 
 
 4 were 
 
63 
 
 •were about to enter the promised land of 
 Canaan. At this time Balaam the king of 
 Moab, a country on the south-eastern 
 borders of Canaan, inhabited by the des- 
 cendants of Lot, seeing the approach of 
 so great a multitude, who had conquered 
 several of the neighbouring nations, was 
 distrustful of his own arms, and hoped to 
 overcome them by supernatural means. 
 He had recourse therefore to Balaam, a 
 celebrated prophet or seer, who resided in 
 Mesopotamia, to the eastward of Moab, 
 near the river Euphrates. Who or what 
 Balaam was, is not precisely known, and 
 there are various opinions upon the sub- 
 ject. Most of the Jewish and some Chris- 
 tian writers*, suppose that he was only a 
 soothsayer, conjurer, or astrologer ; but 
 St. Peter, expressly calls him a prophtf. 
 2 Pet. ii. 16. Indeed the whole account 
 of him and his predictions, as delivered to 
 us by Moses, seems to make it clear that 
 he was in reality inspired by the spirit of 
 God, though a covetous, profligate, and 
 
 * See Bishop Patrick on the place. 
 
 ambitious 
 
64 
 
 ambitious man. Nor should this surprize 
 us, for there are other examples in scrip- 
 ture of God's revealing his will by bad 
 men ; as, for instance, in the case of the 
 two Prophets, in I Kings xiii, of whom 
 one disobeyed a positive command of 
 God, and the other brought sure destruc- 
 tion on his fellow-prophet, by a falsehood*. 
 Witness also the disobedience of Jonah, at 
 first, and afterwards his cruel and inhuman 
 wish, that the Ninevites should be de- 
 
 * Lightfoot thinks, that the old prophet was one of 
 those who were perverted to idolatry, and therefore wished 
 to destroy the true prophet. But the revelation made to 
 him by God, verse 20 and 32, makes this improbable; and 
 his intention was not likely to be evil, when he so bewailed 
 the other, and wished to be buried in the same grave with 
 him; Perhaps he told him in a jocular manner only, that 
 he had received such a commandment concerning him, in 
 order to induce him to return and eat with him ; for it was 
 not usual at that time, for God to reveal his will to prophets 
 by the ministry of ange/s ; and that circumstance should 
 have put the man of God from Judah upon his guard. 
 He had received a prohibition from God himself, and 
 therefore ought not to have regarded the word of a man : 
 but the fact seems to be, that he eagerly embraced what 
 he chose to think was a reasonable excuse for satisfying his 
 appetite. 
 
 5 stroyed, 
 
stfoyecl, lest the truth of his mission should 
 be doubted ; to which may be added his 
 angry and sinful impatience about the 
 gourd *< 
 
 Indeed in all ages it has been no uncom- 
 mon thing, for God to make use of the 
 agency of wicked men, to bring about his 
 own wise and gracious purposes ; though 
 frequently contrary to the intention, as 
 well as wish, of those who are so employ- 
 ed. And such was the case of Balaam^ 
 whose subsequent conduct proved how 
 much he hated the Israelites, though he 
 was forced by God, to pronounce a bless- 
 ing upon them. 
 
 It should be observed* that in those 
 early ages the knowledge of the true God 
 was preserved, though for the most part 
 imperfectly, and probably by tradition 
 only, in other countries, besides those 
 which were inhabited by his chosen peo- 
 ple. Thus for instance Melchisedeck was 
 
 v * See Jonah i. and iv. See also' our Saviour's ovva 
 declaration, concerning those who prophesied, and worked 
 miracles in his name* Matt. vii. 22, 23. 
 
66 
 
 iheprieti of the most high God* ; and Jo?? 
 feared and worshipped God. Besides it is- 
 by no means unlikely that Balaam might 
 be descended from one of the children of 
 Abraham, by Keturafn These the Patri- 
 arch had sent away from him in his life 
 time, about 400 years before this- event, 
 eastward, unto the east count yy* (Gen. xxv. 
 6.) and from the mountains- of the east Balaam 
 came ^v Now though the nations des- 
 cended from these sons of Abraham, be- 
 came tdolatersy and were bitter enemies to 
 the Israelites, vet as their pious ancestor 
 had, undoubtedly, instructed tliem in their 
 youth in the knowledge of God, it is very 
 probable, that some among their posterity, 
 might retain this, their ancient worship. 
 There is no reason therefore to doubt, that 
 
 * Can. xiv. 18. Job probably lived In Arabia after the 
 death of Joseph, but before the Israelites, departed owt os 
 Egvpt. See Lightfoot, Stackhouse, See. but Groti-us sup- 
 poses, that he flourished, during the wanderings of the 
 Israelites in the desert. Bishop Warburton, considers the 
 book of Job as an allegory, fouaded upon a real fiveu^ 
 Div.«Leg. vol. iv. 
 
 •f Numbers >xiii. J 
 
 1 Balaam 
 
67 
 
 Balaam was a prophet, in the proper sense 
 of the word ; and certainly, his prophecies 
 upon this occasion, were verified in a most 
 remarkable manner. But these are foreign 
 to the present subject, excepting one of 
 them, which is generally understood to 
 have a double meaning, as prophecies fre- 
 quently have, referring in the first instance 
 to David, and in the second, to the Mes* 
 siah the son of David after the flesh. 
 
 This prophecy is as follows. I shall sec 
 him, but not now : I shall behold him, but not 
 nigh : there shall come a star out of Jacob, and 
 a sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall 
 smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the 
 children of Sheth. Numbers xxiv. 17. 
 
 Now with respect to David, this pro- 
 phecy was fulfilled in its literal sense, as he 
 certainly reigned over Israel, and destroyed 
 or subdued the Moabites *, of which num- 
 ber, are supposed to be also the children of 
 Sheth; but both Jewish -j- and Christian 
 
 commentators, 
 
 * c 2 Sam. viii. 2. 
 f Targum of Onkelos, as quoted by Bishop Newton on 
 the prophecies. This was also the opinion of Maimo- 
 
 f 2 nides. 
 
6$ 
 commentators, as well ancient as modern, 
 believe that these words have also a refer- 
 ence to Christ. 
 
 The prophecy alludes to a very distant 
 event ; I shall sec him (or, as perhaps it 
 ought to be rendered according to Tre- 
 fneliius, I see him) but not now ; I shall be- 
 hold him, (or, I behold him) bat not nigh. 
 The Mar is a well known emblem of the 
 Messiah; for which reason, and perhaps 
 also, in order to fulfil this prophecy, the 
 impostor who pretended to be the Mes- 
 siah, about a hundred years after the death 
 of our Saviour, was called Barcocab, or 
 Barchochebas, i. e. the son of the star*. 
 And Christ is called in Scripture the daij 
 
 aides--" Atfjue id prorsus ita est. Nam non regraavit 
 David, super orhnes iilios Seth, nequeullus regum Israelis 
 rep'erfu* est, qui toti orbi dominaretur. Totus enim orbis 
 Sethi progenie vcpletus est." So Aben Esra declares this 
 to have been the belief of the Rabbis, though it was not 
 iiis own ; " Magistri autem prirnum membrum ad Davidem, 
 alteram ad Messiam referunt." Gemara, as quoted ia 
 Cocli's notes on Sanhedrim. 
 
 * EcharxTs Eccles. Hist. And Basnage's Hist, of the 
 Jews, who expressly gives this reason for it. Book vw 
 
 Ch. 9. 
 
 star, 
 
m 
 
 star, 2 Pet. i. 19 : the morning star, Rev. 
 ii. 28; the bright and morning star, Rev. 
 xxii. 16. And perhaps these expressions, 
 are used by the sacred penmen, in allusion 
 to this very prophecy, or to the star which 
 appeared at our Saviour's birth, Matt. ii. 
 And both Crimen and Eusebius* are of 
 opinion, that it was in consequence of this 
 prophecy, which was universally known 
 in the East, that the Magi, or wise me?i, 
 when they observed a new star, came to 
 Jerusalem to worship him that was bom 
 King of the Jews. The expression of the 
 Sceptre also, as it follows in the prophecy, 
 a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, is very simi- 
 lar to the prophecy of Jacob, on his death- 
 bed, already noticed ; the Sceptre shall not 
 depart from Juclah, §c. and in both places 
 it is an obvious metaphor for a king or 
 governor. > 
 
 So far it seems clear that this prophecy 
 relates to Christ, as well as to David ; but 
 
 * As quoted by Bishop Newton. See also Warbur- 
 ton's (t Divine Legation/ Book iv. Sect. 4. 
 
 the 
 
70 
 
 the latter part of it, the destruction of 
 Moab, was not fulfilled by him in the literal 
 gense, as it was by David. However many 
 commentators, by Moab and the children of 
 Sheth, understand the enemies and perse- 
 cutors of the church in general, whom 
 Christ will finally subdue ; and others sup- 
 pose these words, to be put figuratively for 
 all mankind, over all of whom the great 
 Redeemer is at length to reign triumph* 
 ant*. 
 
 Whichever of these opinions be true, 
 still it is generally allowed, and has been 
 go, from the earliest ages, that the pro- 
 phecy was to be finally accomplished in 
 Christ. The word which is translated in 
 our Bible version from the Hebrew, des- 
 troy, shall destroy all the children of Sheth, is 
 softened in the Syriac and Chaldee texts, 
 to subdue and rule over^; and according to 
 this sense, it is also rendered by the greek 
 
 * He mast reign, till he hath put all enemies under his 
 fceto 1 Cor. xv. 2.5. 
 
 ,f Bishop Newton. 
 
 translators,, 
 
71 
 
 translators*. And this seems to be the 
 true meaning of the passage, and far more 
 consonant to the spirit of the prophecy, 
 both as applicable to David and to Christ* 
 Another circumstance there is, which 
 makes this prophecy singularly remarka- 
 ble, which is, that it was delivered by one 
 of the greatest and most mischievous ene- 
 mies, whom the Israelites ever had ; whose 
 fatal advice to the Midianites-f, involved 
 them (the Jews) in calamity, and exposed 
 them to the anger of God ; and was the 
 cause of the utter destruction of the nation 
 to whom he gave it, as well as of his own 
 death. Yet was this man forced by the 
 spirit of God t, to bless those whom he 
 wished to curse, to foretel their prosperity, 
 and conquests over his friends, that they 
 should be hereafter governed by a victo- 
 rious king, and at length by that star of 
 
 * ripvo^g^«i. So also it is understood in the Tar^um ; 
 ** BorniuabitKr in omnes tilius honiinis." Sanhedrim 
 Cap. xi. In the old version of our Bible, 1566, it is ren- 
 dered by a Ktran^e expression, shall undcrmj/ue all t/it 
 fkyldren of Setfu 
 
 f Numbers xxxvi, 16. % Numbers xxiv. 2. 
 
 Jacob? 
 
72 
 
 Jacob, the Messiah, who should be bom 
 from this so dreaded, and detested race* f 
 Not Jong after thjs important event, God 
 was pleased to make another revelation of 
 his Christ, through his servant Moses, 
 This was in the final exhortation of this 
 great prophet and lawgiver, to his stubborn 
 people. He tells them, no longer in dark 
 and enigmatical language, but in plain 
 terms, The Lord thy God will raise up unto 
 fhee t a prophet from the midst of thee , of thy 
 brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall 
 hearken. Deut. xviii. 15. And he con- 
 firms this prophecy, by stating expressly 
 in the following verses, that it came from 
 God himself. The Lord said unto me. — I 
 mil raise them up a prophet, from among 
 their brethren, like imto thee, and will put my 
 words in his mouth. And it shall come to 
 pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my 
 
 # There is a curious Jewish tradition, recorded in the 
 Talmud, that Ruth was great niece, to this Balak king of 
 Moab, being daughter to Eglon (whom Ehud slew,) who 
 was Balak's Nephew. And from Ruth Christ descended 
 according to the flesh. 
 
 words. 
 
73 
 
 t&ords, which he shall speak in my name, I will 
 require it of him. 
 
 Now this prophecy, seems very obviously 
 to relate to the Messiah, and accordingly, 
 it is referred to him, as to its ultimate com- 
 pletion, I believe universally i But some 
 commentators, though apparently upon 
 very slight grounds, suppose that it relates 
 in its first sense, to Joshua, to Jeremiah, 
 or to the whole succession of prophets, 
 taken collectively. But there can .be no 
 occasion, to have recourse to typical inter- 
 pretations, or double references, where 
 every part of the prophecy, applies so ex- 
 actly to Christ as this does. And indeed 
 the words which are added to this book, 
 which are probably by a writer of much 
 Jater date, who is thought to be Ezra, 
 clearly prove that neither Joshua, nor 
 Jeremiah, nor any succession of prophets, 
 could be the great prophet here alluded 
 to, in the opinion of the Jews. There 
 arose not a prophet, since in Israel, like unto 
 Moses. Deut. xxxiv. 1Q. 
 
 This prophet thus foretold by God, was 
 to be raised up from the midst of the Jews, 
 
 of 
 
74 
 
 ©f their brethren. So was Jesus certainly, 
 born, according to bis supposed descent, of 
 parents on both sides Jews, on both sides 
 of the lineage of David, at Bethlehem 
 near Jerusalem *, almost in the very centre 
 of the holy-land. He was also to be like 
 unto Moses ; and no prophet like Moses 
 arose till Jesus came. He conversed with 
 God face to face, as a man speaketh to his 
 friend. Exod. xxxiii. 11. And of him God 
 also said, that whereas he made himself 
 known to other prophets in visions and 
 dreams, my servant Moses k not so,— zcith 
 him will I speak mouth to mouth, even appa- 
 rently, and not in dark speeches, and the simi- 
 litude of the Lord shall he behold. Numb. 
 
 xii. 6. 
 
 Very different therefore, was the dignity 
 of Moses, from that of any other prophet 
 till Christ came, in whatever sense it may 
 be understood, that he saw and conversed 
 with God : but this is not the only point, in 
 which Moses was a type of Christ. This 
 great prophet then foretold, was also ia 
 
 * Between five and six miles from that city. 
 
 other 
 
75 
 
 other respects to be like Moses. He was 
 to be a lawgiver as Moses was, for be was 
 not only to be a prophet, but a prophet like 
 unto him; that is, invested with authority 
 to act like him ; to confirm the truth of 
 his mission by miracles, and to deliver a 
 new and more perfect law to mankind, 
 when the fulness of time should be come. 
 Now between Moses and Christ, there 
 was no prophet who was also a lawgiver; 
 nor was there any of them, who had any 
 particular resemblance to Moses in any 
 respect, so as to be considered as his anti- 
 type*. 
 
 It seems to me needless to insist, on the 
 forty days fasting of Moses, and the forty 
 days fasting of our Saviour, as a proof of 
 this, because, though one was probably 
 typical of the other, yet it forms no resem- 
 blance so marked, as not to be misunder- 
 
 * They who wish for farther information, on this interest- 
 ing subject, will find it ally and clearly elucidated m 
 Biishop Newton on the prophecies, vol. i. in Bishop 
 Chandler's " Defence of Christianity," Chap. vi. Sect. 2, 
 and in Bisndp Patrick's excellent commentary on these 
 Verses 
 
 stood ; 
 
76 
 
 stood ; but no other proof can be wanting 
 to a christian, than the testimony of Christ 
 himself, and that of his apostles. Had ye 
 believed Moses, said our Lord, John v. 46", 
 ye would have believed me, for he wrote of me. 
 And again, when he walked with the two 
 disciples to Emmaus, Luke xxiv, beginning 
 at Moses, and all the prophets, he expounded 
 unto them in all the scriptures, the things con- 
 cerning himself. So likewise St. Paul af- 
 firms, in his speech before Agrippa and 
 Festus, Acts xxvi. 22, that he said none 
 other things, than those which the prophets 
 and Moses did say should come. And this is 
 continued by St. Luke, who says, that St. 
 Paul persuaded them, concerning Jesus, both 
 out of the law of Moses, and out of the pro- 
 phets. Acts xxviii. 23. 
 
 That all these passages, and many more 
 which might be produced *, relate to this 
 particular prophecy of Moses, there can 
 be no doubt, because there is no other 
 
 * John i. 45, and iv. 25, which last passage shews that 
 the Samaritans also expected the Messiah, and knew that 
 lie hud not appeared before that time. 
 
 equally 
 
77 
 
 equally plain and express, and St.Steplica 
 quotes the very words of it, Acts vii. 37, 
 applying them to our Saviour. 80 did St. 
 Peter, in a manner still more clear ; For 
 Moses, said he, truly said unto the fathers, a 
 prophet shall the Lord your God, raise up 
 unto you, of your brethren, like unto me ; him 
 shall ye hear in all things, whatsoever he shall 
 say unto you : and it shall come to pass, thai 
 every soul which will not hear that prophet, 
 .shall he destroyed from among the peopt&. 
 Acts iii. 22, &c. 
 
 In the original prophecy it is, I will re- 
 qtdre it of him, which bears the same mean- 
 ing, and is so used in other places. Ac- 
 cordingly in tlie Greek version it is ren- 
 dered, " I will avenge myself of him*." 
 Now between Moses and Christ, there 
 certainly never did arise any prophet, the 
 neglect of whose admonitions by the peo- 
 ple, was punished by any signal judgment 
 of God -j-. And it is equally certain, that 
 
 the 
 
 * Eyco rxTuwcrv ii ccifln. — Ego ultor existam. Vulg. 
 + That is, any prophet who pretended to the authority 
 •f Moses, as a lawgiver. Isaiah, Jeremiah, and others 
 
 threatened 
 
78 
 
 the refusal of the Jews to hear that great 
 prophet, when he came under the name of 
 Jesus, was punished by God, in a most 
 striking and remarkable manner. Their 
 Temple and city were completely destroy- 
 ed ; and those of them who survived the 
 dreadful calamities of the Roman war, 
 "were dispersed over all the world ; and so 
 remain to this day, a standing monument 
 of the wrath of God, and of the truth of 
 this wonderful prophecy. 
 
 And here it may be observed, that had 
 the Jews believed this prophecy to have 
 been fulfilled in Jesus, there would then 
 have been no ground for their accusation 
 of him and his disciples, that they were 
 endeavouring to alter the laws of Moses. 
 For the prophet here foretold by Moses 
 himself, had undoubtedly that right. The 
 
 threatened punishments to the Jews for their neglect of the 
 law of Moses, and those threats were executed ; but they 
 never pretended to alter those laws, or to promulgate any 
 new ones ; on the contrary, in a variety of places, they fore- 
 told One who was yet to come, who was to judge and to 
 give a law, and upon whose shoulder was to be the govern- 
 ment. 
 
 people 
 
79 
 
 people were commanded to hear him hi all 
 things, and therefore he had the authority 
 even of Moses himself, to abrogate his 
 system, and give them a new and more 
 perfect law, 
 
 Although this was the last direct pro- 
 phecy, which foretold the Messiah tilt 
 David came, yet the whole ritual system 
 of the Mosaic law, clearly referred to him. 
 Not that every part of it is to be consider- 
 ed as having foretold him, nor that the 
 design of it could be understood till he 
 came. But the whole was typical of him ; 
 and the law itself, was to last only till he 
 came, first to complete, and then to abolish 
 it, by establishing one more pure and per- 
 fect in its stead. And this is evidently the 
 meaning of Moses, in the passage last ex- 
 plained, when he telJs the Israelites, that 
 another prophet shall be sent from God, 
 and that they were to hearken to him. 
 When that prophet came therefore, the 
 law of Moses was superseded of course* 
 and they were thenceforward to h&arken~to r 
 (that is to be governed by, and obey,) that 
 prophet, thus foretold by their own law- 
 giver. 
 
80 
 
 giver. And God himself pointed out 
 Jesus as that prophet, by using the very 
 same expression concerning him, at his 
 transfiguration on the mount, This is my 
 beloved son — hear ye him. Matt. xvii. 5. 
 
 In this sense therefore Christ fulfilled^ 
 or was the- completion of, the law; and 
 upon attentive consideration it will be 
 seen, that all the ritual observances of the 
 Mosaic law, were so framed, as to be types 
 of, and fulfilled in him. They serve to 
 prove (although certainly they could not 
 then be understood) that the great event 
 of the redemption of mankind, was the 
 constant care of God ; that these laws 
 were not given to the Jews as an end, but 
 as a means * ; that the people from whom 
 the Messiah was to be born, might be kept 
 completely separate from all other nations; 
 and that among them the knowledge of 
 
 * For some of them, as the prophet says, Ezek. xx. 25 3 
 were not good : that is, not of perpetual obligation, nor 
 necessary to be observed, in point of any moral excellency, 
 but only as positive statutes, solely in obedience to the 
 command of God. 
 
 the 
 
81 
 
 the one only God might be preserved, till 
 that Redeemer should come. 
 
 But concerning the exact application of 
 the typical and ritual part of the law to 
 Christ, though it is well and strongly point- 
 ed out, in the Epistle to the Hebrews, and 
 the general direction of it clearly shewn, 
 yet in the detail it is encumbered with 
 many difficulties. And as such minute 
 explanations, are foreign to the present 
 purpose, it will be sufficient here, just to 
 specify some of the most remarkable and 
 obvious of these typical allusions, in order 
 to shew how the} 7 were fulfilled, according 
 to their original design, in Jesus Christ. 
 
 Thus for instance, the High Priest of 
 the Jews was a type of our Lord. Tor as 
 he only was permitted to enter into the 
 inner recess of the Tabernacle, or Temple, 
 called the Holy of Holies, and that only 
 once a year, to make atonement for the 
 sins of the people ; so is there still only 
 one mediator between God and man, the man 
 Christ Jesus, 1 Tim. ii. 5, and by him we 
 have now received the atonement, Rom. v. 11. 
 So likewise the High Priest was anointed 
 
 G with 
 
82 
 
 with oil, whereas the other priests were 
 only sprinkled with it * ; and of our 
 Saviour it is said in the Psalms, with my 
 holy oil have I anointed him ; and God hath 
 anointed thee with the oil of gladness, above 
 thy fellows; and the word Christ, or Mes<? 
 siah, itself means the anointed. 
 
 The Tabernacle also, in which the glory 
 of the Lord appeared, before the Temple 
 was built, may be considered as a type of 
 our Saviour. For St. John uses a remark- 
 able expression concerning him, with an 
 evident allusion to this part of the Mosaic 
 institution, that he dwelt among us as in a 
 tabernacle^-', and roe beheld his glory, the 
 glory as of the only begotten of the Father. 
 So that as the glory of God filled the Taber- 
 nacle of the old testament, Exod. xl. 34, 
 Christ also dwelt among us in a tabernacle 
 with the glory of his only begotten son. 
 
 So likewise, if we observe the sacrifices 
 appointed under the old law, we shah 
 find them to be types or figures of Christ. 
 
 * Godwyn's Moses and Aaron. 
 
 -\ Ecxwwaev ev aj/x»v. John i. 14. 
 
 The 
 
83 
 
 The Jewish sacrifice was to be without 
 blemish, publicly offered, and the offences 
 of the sinner who offered it, were supposed 
 to be laid upon it. Thus is our Redeemer 
 said to be holy, harmless, undefded, and 
 separate fram sinners, Heb. vii. 26. Thus 
 is he said by the prophet, to be wounded 
 for our transgressions, and bruised for our 
 iniquities, to bear the sin of many, and 
 to make intercession for the transgressors, 
 Isaiah liii. 
 
 In this manner, might each particular 
 sacrifice, be shewn to be typical of our 
 Lord, and the design of it fulfilled in him ; 
 but it is sufficient in this place, merely to 
 point out the most striking circumstances, 
 which prove the general design of the 
 ceremonial part of the Mosaic institution. 
 And the more closely this is examined, 
 the more clearly it will be seen, that the 
 whole of it has a direct reference to that 
 Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of 
 the world *. 
 
 This 
 
 # For farther information, on this carious and interest- 
 ing subject, see Stackhouse's " Hist of the Bible/' Whitby 
 
 6 2 on 
 
84 
 
 This last, anion"- many oilier passages 
 of the new testament, shews that this is no 
 fanciful or unwarrantable explanation, of 
 the views of the old law, sinee it obviously 
 relates either to the scape-goat, which bore 
 the sins of the Israelites, and carried them 
 into the wilderness, Levit. xvi. 10, &c, or 
 to the lamb of the Passover, or perhaps to 
 both. For with regard to this last, St. 
 Pan! himself expressly refers it to our 
 Saviour. Christ our passove?; says he in 
 1 Cor. v. 7, w sacrificed for us; and it is 
 probably for tins reason, that the twelfth 
 chapter of Exodus, which contains the 
 
 on the New Testament, and indeed almost every commen- 
 tator; and more especially the whole epistle to the Hebrews, 
 should be examined and compared, with the marginal refer- 
 ences. 
 
 Though the Hebrew word for the young, either of the 
 goat or the sheep is the same, (as is noted in the margin of 
 our Bibles, where the passover is referred to) yet a lamb 
 was certainly meant, because the same ambiguity does not 
 exist in the Creek; and in the New Testament the word 
 Lamb is always used. In the early ages, there was proba- 
 bly but little difference between the sheep and the goat, 
 for Button asserts, that they proceed from the same original 
 stock. 
 
 account 
 
85 
 
 account of the institution of the Passover, 
 is appointed to be read in the church on 
 Easter Sunday. For as the blood of the 
 Paschal Lamb, saved the Israelites from 
 temporal destruction, so does the blood of 
 Christ its antitype, save the world from the 
 eternal punishment of their sins. 
 
 So also the brazen Serpent which Moses 
 set on high upon a pole, that the people 
 bitten by the fieri/ herpents, might look upon 
 it and live, Numbers xxi. 10, was a type 
 of the Redeemer to come; and concernino- 
 this, there can be no controversy, since our 
 Lord applied it to himself. As Moses 
 lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so 
 must the son of Man be lifted up : That who- 
 soever belicveth in him, should not perish, hut 
 have eternal life. John iii. 14, 15. That is, 
 as the people were healed by looking on 
 the serpent so lifted up, so must Christ be 
 lifted up on the cross, that whosoever be- 
 lievith on him, should be healed of his sins ; 
 should not sutler punishment in the world 
 to come, but possess eternal life through 
 his death. 
 
 These 
 
86 
 
 These typical resemblances and prefigu- 
 rations, might be extended much farther, 
 and 1 man}' more pointed oat; but these 
 seem sufficient to prove, if indeed any 
 doubt can exist on the subject, that the 
 old law was in reality only the shadow of 
 good things to come, the example and shadow 
 of heavenly things ?, 
 
 Similar to prophecy however, it is the 
 event, the fulfilling of the law, in the per- 
 son of our blessed Saviour, that enables us 
 to understand it. For there is no reason 
 to suppose, that the ceremonies of the law 
 were considered by the Jews, perhaps even 
 by Moses himself, in any other light than 
 as positive institutions ; that is, institutions 
 which were to be complied with, solely in 
 obedience to the command of God, and 
 with no reference to moral duties, or holi- 
 ness of life. There was indeed another, 
 and more obvious reason for them ; which 
 was, to separate the children of Israel, in 
 the most marked and effectual manner, 
 
 * Hebrews x. ] ; and viii. 5. 
 
 from 
 
87 
 
 from all the neighbouring nations *. And 
 the effects of this precaution, shewed the 
 wisdom of it ; for nothing but this, pre- 
 served the Jews a peculiar people, with 
 an unmixed race and pure genealogies, 
 through all their sins, their alliances, their 
 wars, and even a captivity of seventy 
 years. Had this not been the case, we 
 could not have known, that the promise of 
 God to the patriarchs, that the Messiah 
 should spring from them, was fulfilled in 
 Jesus ; and the great proofs drawn from 
 his birth and descent, that he was the 
 promised redeemer, would have been still 
 wanting. 
 
 * See this subject ably elucidated, by the learned author 
 of the " Divine Legation/' Book iv. Sect. 6 ; where he 
 supposes that the ritual law, statutes not good, were given 
 to the Jews, because they had violated the moral law of the 
 Decalogue. 
 
 CHAP. 
 
S8 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 From the Death of Moses, to the beginning 
 of the Prophecies of David. 
 
 AFTER the Death of Moses, and the 
 complete promulgation of the law, which 
 so effectually separated the Israelites from 
 all other nations ; and alter one part of 
 the promise, made by God to Abraham 
 and his descendants was fulfilled, that he 
 would give the land of Canaan to their 
 posterity ; no farther revelation concerning 
 the other more important branch of it, the 
 coming of the Messiah, seems to have been 
 given for many years. 
 
 During this interval however, several of 
 the Rulers of Israel, are supposed to be 
 types of Christ; but this circumstance not 
 being understood at the time, needs not 
 be insisted upon here. Yet it served to 
 
 shew 
 
89 
 
 shew, when the antitype appeared, that 
 God had never forgotten his promise, and 
 that all these things were by his appoint- 
 ment. There is indeed a more obvious 
 resemblance between Christ, and Joshua 
 the immediate successor of Moses, than 
 there is between him and any of the other 
 Judges, who are thought to be types of 
 him. Joshua conducted the people of 
 Israel, into the long sought-for rest of the 
 promised land, as Christ shewed his disci- 
 ples how to obtain a better home, a hea- 
 venly country, an eternal rest*. And the 
 name of Joshua is the same as Jesus : for 
 it is so rendered in the New Testament *f, 
 and by the (Jieek translators. 
 
 However, when almost 400 years had 
 passed after the death of Moses, God 
 thought fit to oive a farther revelation of 
 
 o o 
 
 * These two rests to be obtained are well contrasted 
 together, and the difference of them shewn, in the 4th 
 chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews, //' tl/ei/ shall cuter, 
 v. o, Ike, means in the Hebrew idiom a negative, they 
 shall not enter. 
 
 t Acts vii. Ao } and Hebrews iv. 8. 
 
 his 
 
90 
 
 his Messiah *, with another and final -j* 
 limitation of him. After the first general 
 promise of a Redeemer, and the repetition 
 of it to Noah, his descent, as we have seen, 
 
 * But before this, the prophecy ©f tlie man of God to 
 Eli, / will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do accor- 
 ding to that which is hi mine heart, and in my mind: and 
 I will build him a surf house, and he shall walk before 
 mine anointed for ever, 1 Sam. ii. :>d, seems to have a re- 
 ference to the Messiah, at least in its secondary sense. 
 For in its first sense, it was fulfilled in Zauoek, of the line 
 of Eleazar the son of Aaron, who was made High-priest in 
 the room of Abiathar, the last of the family of Eli, 1 Kings 
 ii. 27 } and 1 Chron. xxix. 22. But a secondary sense re- 
 lating to Christ is very usual in prophecy, and consonant to 
 itssp'uit; and the words seem to me too strong, to refer 
 merely to the change of the priesthood, from one branch 
 of the family of Aaron to another. However I do not 
 venture to insist on this, since Poole, Grotius, and all the 
 best commentators, take no notice of the passage in that 
 view. Josephus supposes that Samuel spoke this prophecy, 
 but he was then a child. Some think it was Phineas the 
 son of Eleazer, and others that it was Elkanah ; but Phi- 
 neas was probably dead long before, and there is no reason 
 to suppose that Elkanah was a prophet. It is of little con- 
 sequence. He was a man of God, and his prophecy was 
 fulfilled. 
 
 . + Unless there was a farther limitation to Solomon and 
 hi* descendants. 2 Sain. vii. 13, Sec. 
 
 was 
 
91 
 
 was confined to the seed of Abraham, then 
 of his children, to Isaac ; then of the twin 
 children of Isaac, to Jacob; and then, of 
 the twelve sons of Jacob, to Judah. And 
 now it. pleased God once more to confine 
 this gracious promise, to the family of a 
 man of the tribe of Judah, named Jesse, 
 who dwelt at Bethlehem, (where after- 
 wards Christ his descendant was born,) a 
 small town belonging to that tribe, five or 
 six miles south of Jerusalem. This town 
 was sometimes called also Bethlehem 
 Ephrata, which appears to have been its 
 ancient name, and sometimes Bethlehem 
 of Judah, to distinguifh it from another 
 Bethlehem, in the north-west of Palestine 
 belonging to the tribe of Zebulon *. 
 
 When 
 
 * See Fuller's Pisgah, and Lightfoot ; but concerning 
 the reason of the adjunct Ephrata, this last learned and 
 respectable author seems to be mistaken. He derives the 
 term Ephiata from a woman named Ephrath, 1 Chron. ii. 
 19, &,c, who married Caleb, great grandson of Judah the 
 son of Jacob; whereas Bethlehem was called Ephrath 
 when Rachel the wife of Jacob died, Gen. xxxv. \Q — IQ, 
 many years before she (Ephrath) was born. More pro- 
 bably this Ephrath took her name from the place, instead 
 
 of 
 
92 
 
 When, in consequence of Saul's repeated 
 misconduct, God had determined to trans- 
 fer the kingdom of Israel to another family, 
 he sent the prophet Samuel to anoint 
 David, the youngest son of this Jesse of 
 Bethlehem, to be king after him. And 
 from this time the spirit of the Lord came 
 upon David*, and he was endued with the 
 gift of prophecy. But no revelation as 
 yet pointed him out, as the person from 
 whom the Messiah was to descend ; nor 
 was this done, till he was about forty years 
 of age, and had been settled on the throne 
 about ten years. He then proposed to 
 Nathan the prophet, to build a Temple 
 for the Ark of God, which had hitherto 
 been kept only in a tent or tabernacle •(-. 
 
 But 
 
 of giving name to it. Tier great great grandson who lived 
 iii or mar the time of David, was called Bethlehem, 
 1 Chron. ii. 51, and perhaps gave name to the place which 
 before was called Ephrath, see ( Jen, xxxv. 1 (>, &.C, ancl 
 Psalm <:\\\ii. 6. She seems certainly to have lived there, 
 for the septuagint translation of Micafa v, '2, is Br/QXEg/xoixoy 
 tm i'ppxQx Bethlehem the house of Ephrata. 
 * 1 Sam. \vi. 13. 
 f The two books of Samuel, are generally supposed to 
 
 have 
 
93 
 
 But this honor, Cod chose should be re- 
 served for his son Solomon, to whop? at 
 the same time, he promised the succession 
 to the kingdom. And he added farther, 
 that this kingdom and his throne, should 
 be established for ever*. Now this pro- 
 mise is made in terms so strong, and several 
 times repeated, as to give reason to sup- 
 • pose, that more is meant than mere tem- 
 poral dominion : and that though in the 
 
 have been written, tlie first 24 chapters by Samuel himself, 
 and the rest, by the prophets Gad and Nathan. But it 
 seems to me, that Samuel could not write the three first 
 chapters of the first book ; for in them mention is made of 
 the Temple. Hi sat upon a scat by a post of the temple, 
 of the Lord; 1 Sam. i. 9- And again ere the lamp of 
 God went out in the temple of the Lord, Chap. hi. 3. 
 Now the tabernacle is, I believe, no where else called the 
 temple ; but as they were applied to the same purpose, the 
 mistake might easily happen, if the passage was written 
 after the temple was built. Samuel died above 40 years 
 before the foundations of the temple were laid ; but either 
 Gad or Nathan, might live many years after the dedication 
 of the temple, and therefore fall into that error. Patrick 
 mentions the difficulty but without endeavouring to ex- 
 plain it. 
 
 * 2 Sam.vii. 12,&c. 
 
 first 
 
94 
 
 first instance, only the succession to the 
 throne, and the continuance of it in the 
 family of Solomon, was promised to David, 
 (and it actually continued in his line above 
 400 years) yet that it had a secondary 
 jeference to the kingdom of the Messiah, 
 who was also to proceed from him; whose 
 throne and kingdom, was in the literal 
 sense to last for ever. 
 
 It seems rather surprizing, that many 
 commentators, and some of them men of 
 great note and learning, do not consider 
 this passage as a prophecy of Christ ; yet 
 it is noted as such, in the margin of the 
 Geneva Bible in 1599, and Patrick, Light- 
 foot, Wells, Granville Sharp, and even 
 Grotius, speak of it in the same way. But 
 above all, Bishop Chandler is very copious 
 upon the subject, and shews the applica- 
 tion of the prophecy, in a most clear and 
 convincing manner. He considers it as 
 the original foundation of the general ex- 
 pectation among the Jews, that Christ 
 should proceed from David ; which expec- 
 tation is proved, from the rabbinical wri- 
 8 tings 
 
95 
 
 linos themselves*, and in a manner much 
 more convincing to us, by the many pas- 
 sages in the gospels, in which Christ is 
 addressed, by the name of the son of David 
 and which was always an acknowledgment 
 of his being the Messiah. 
 
 But I think there can be no doubt, that 
 this prophecy was really meant to be ap- 
 plied to Christ, when it is considered that 
 it is expressly quoted in that sense, in the 
 first chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews, 
 ver. 5, For unto which of the Angels said heat 
 any time, I will be to him a father, and he 
 shall be to me a son ? Which words are a 
 part of this very promise made to David, 
 and are here introduced by the Apostle -f 
 
 as 
 
 * See Talmud Sanhedrim xi. passim. And as that 
 compilation was made many years after the destruction of 
 Jerusalem, unless it had been a certain and undeniable fact 
 that the Messiah was designated by the name of the son of 
 David, the Jews would never have so called him, because 
 it was a confirmation of the pretensions of Jesus to that 
 title, who had applied that name to himself. 
 
 •f I say Apostle, because 1 think it is now hardly a matter 
 •f doubt, that St. Paul was the Author of this Epistle. 
 Even the internal evidence were there no other, seems 
 
 conclusive. 
 
96 
 
 as an undeniable argument, to prove; the 
 dignity of Christ's person, and his superio- 
 rity to the Angels. And there is reason 
 to believe, as Chandler shews with great 
 strength of argument, that Solomon him- 
 self understood this prophecy, as referring 
 in its secondary sense to the Messiah ; and 
 that he was the author of the 152d Psalm, 
 upon the removal of the Ark into the 
 Temple ; in which he evidently alludes to 
 this prophecy, and requests that God 
 will complete it, and send his anointed, or 
 Messiah. 
 
 "Whether David understood it in this 
 sense, is by no means certain, neither is it 
 material. It is probable however that he 
 did, from several expressions in his thanks- 
 giving prayer upon this occasion ; 2 Sam. 
 
 conclusive. Sec chap. v. 1, &C, tlie whole argument in 
 which proves, as Bezu. has well observed, that it was 
 written while the temple service &c still remained. See 
 also chap. x. 84, and xiii. 3, and 23. For farther informa- 
 tion on this subject, see Palcy's Hone Paulinas; Bishop 
 Huutingford's excellent discourse on the character of St. 
 Paul, and the Bishop of Lincoln's u Elements of Christian 
 1 neology. 
 
 till 18, 
 
 2 
 
97 
 
 Vil. 18, &c. He was remarkably well 
 read in the history of his own nation, and 
 the marvellous dealings of God towards 
 his own people, as appears in his Psalms 
 throughout. So that he could not be 
 ignorant of the different revelations, which 
 God had made of a Redeemer to come, 
 and there is sufficient reason to believe, 
 that when he prophesied of the Christ, or 
 alluded to him, he did not do it ignorantly, 
 though, like other prophets, he saw only 
 as through a glass, darkly ; and that when 
 he spoke of himself, in a manner that could 
 not be literally applied to, or fulfilled in 
 him, he considered himself only as a type 
 of the Messiah to come. And taken in 
 this light, many passages in the Psalms 
 become intelligible, which can hardly be 
 understood in any other point of view. 
 That David was a type of Christ has always 
 been allowed, both by Jews and Christians, 
 He was born as Christ was afterwards, in 
 Bethlehem. He was a shepherd in the 
 literal, as Christ often declared himself to 
 be in the allegorical sense. He had power 
 over the evil spirit which tormented Saul, 
 
 H as 
 
as Christ had over the unclean, or evil 
 spirits, which vexed the Jews in his days. 
 Not indeed that David had the power, like 
 our blessed Lord, of working miracles*; 
 but that it pleased God, that the music of 
 his harp should produce the same effect, 
 as the words of his divine antitype after- 
 wards had. Like Christ too, he was first 
 persecuted being innocent, and afterwards 
 reigned in glory. And it is remarkable, 
 that he was anointed king in Hebron, 
 where John Baptist was born, and Christ 
 probably conceived -j-; that he was anoint- 
 
 * Tt is needless here to enlarge upon the question, 
 whether the affliction of Saul, and that of the Demoniacs 
 in the Gosp«-ls, really proceeded from the agency of evil 
 spirits or not. The natural effect of music, might perhaps 
 lull the agitations of a wounded mind in the first case ; but 
 in the second it makes no difference, with respect to the 
 miracle, for nothing short of divine power, could either 
 expel demons, or cure a disease, with a word. 
 
 -\ Hebron means consociation; supposed to allude to 
 its being the burial place (the cave of Machpelah being in, 
 or near it) of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and their wives, 
 Rachel excepted, who was buried at Bethlehem. The 
 Jews also affirm, that Adam and Eve were interred there. 
 Hebron was about twenty miles south of Jerusalem. 
 
 Lightfoot, and Fuller's Pisgab. 
 
 eej 
 
99 
 
 ed king of Judali when he was thirty year* 
 of age, and that Christ entered on his 
 ministry at the same time of life ; and that 
 he reigned in Jerusalem, thirty two years 
 and a half, which was just the extent of 
 our Saviour's life upon earth. 
 
 These coincidencies seem to be suffi- 
 ciently remarkable, to justify the idea of 
 David's being a type of the Messiah ; nor 
 is it an objection to this argument, that 
 David's character was in so many respects, 
 very far from the purity of that of our 
 blessed Lord. He was a type of him only 
 in those things, in which he resembled 
 him, and not in those in which there was 
 no resemblance. And such objections 
 would hold equally good, against every 
 character recorded in the Bible ; for none 
 of them were perfect; and the candid 
 simplicity of the scripture narrative, re- 
 cords their faults and vices, as well as 
 their piety and virtues. Yet for want of 
 duly considering the subject, some have 
 wondered that a man, so deeply tainted 
 with the infirmities of human nature, as 
 David was, should be a type of Him, who 
 
 H 2 though 
 
100 
 
 though tempted in all points like as zee are, 
 yet was without sin*; and be even called 
 the man after God's own heart -f. But it 
 may be observed, that this expression is 
 applied to David, solely in reference to 
 his constant piety, his abhorrence of 
 idolatry, his never-failing trust in God, 
 and his obedience to his commands. And 
 therefore, as in the course of his varied 
 and tumultuous life, he was exposed to 
 many temptations, and being a man of 
 strong and ardent passions, was not always 
 able to resist them, this habit of mind at 
 least, prevented him from persevering in 
 sin, and enabled him to repent sincerely. 
 He was also the man after God's own heart, 
 more especially in contradistinction to 
 Saul, whose elevation was equally the im- 
 mediate gift of God, but whose pride, 
 avarice, and stubbornness, soon made him 
 reject the Lord, and forget the hand 
 which had made him great. And this 
 David never did. When he slew the 
 Philistine ; when he delivered the ungrate- 
 
 * Heb. iv, 15. f 1 Sam. xiii. 14. 
 
 ful 
 
101 
 
 ful inhabitants of Keilah ; when he was a 
 fugitive among the mountains; and when 
 he governed the kingdoms of Israel and 
 Judah ; in every prosperity, and in every 
 adversity, he never lost sight of his depen- 
 dance on God, nor ceased to place his sure 
 trust and confidence in him. 
 
 ©HA?# 
 
102 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 From the beginning of the Psalms, to Hosea, 
 
 UT David was not onl j a type of Christ, 
 but was also the first of the series of pro- 
 phets, who were raised up in succession, 
 as his birth drew nearer, to announce his 
 coming to the world. His prophecies are 
 contained in the book of Psalms, of which 
 probably nearly half were written by him ; 
 among which are all those which are gene- 
 rally believed to prophecy of Christ, except 
 the 102d* which is thought to have been 
 composed during the Babylonian capti- 
 vity, and perhaps, as before observed, the 
 132d. 
 
 Now however obscure, those passages 
 in the Psalms which relate to Christ, may 
 appear to us ; partly from our imperfect 
 
 * See Durell on the Psalms. P. 201. 
 
 knowledge 
 
103 
 
 knowledge of the language in which they 
 were written, and partly from our igno- 
 rance of local circumstances, and of many 
 allusions both to his own life, and to Jewish 
 history and customs, with which they 
 abound, yet it is undeniably certain that 
 they are prophecies of Christ. For he 
 himself, not only refers to them and quotes 
 them in several places *, but in his last 
 conversation with his disciples expressly 
 says, all things must be fulfilled, which zcere 
 written in the haw of Moses, and in the 
 Prophets, and in the Psalms, concerning 
 me *f% 
 
 But 
 
 * Mark xii. 36, in which our Lord affirms, that David 
 tvrote the 110th Psalm by the Holt/ Ghost. And Matt, 
 yxii. 43. &c. &c. The divine inspiration of the Psalms, 
 was confirmed even by the Devil, who quotes the 91st 
 Psalm as authority. Matt. iv. 6. 
 
 ■f- Luke xxiv. 44. Our Lord was speaking to Jews, 
 and according to their division of them, this passage com- 
 prehended the whole of their scriptures. The Law was 
 the live buoks of Moses, (or Pentateuch) together with 
 Joshua and Judges. The Psalms included also the works 
 of Solomon, and are also known by the name of Hagiogia- 
 pha, or sacred writings. And the Prophets comprehended 
 
 also # 
 
104 
 
 But though, according to the Jewish 
 division of the Scriptures, the Psalms in- 
 cluded in that general term, also the dif- 
 ferent works of Solomon, yet as these last 
 are not prophetic *, and have no reference 
 to the Messiah, our Lord must undoubt- 
 edly have meant, to apply these words 
 solely, to the writings of the sweet Vsahnist 
 of Israel-]-, whose son, according to the 
 flesh, lie was. In like manner, St. Paul 
 also refers to the Psalms, as prophetic of 
 Christ, in his speech to the men of Antioch, 
 Acts xiii. 33, 35; as did St. Peter, Acts 
 ii. 25, &c, and the other Apostles, Acts 
 iv. 25. 
 
 also, all the historical books of the Old Testament. Daniel 
 however, was sometimes placed by the Jews in the Hagio- 
 grapha. 
 
 * The Song of Solomon is thought by some to be an 
 exception to this assertion ; as it is supposed to refer to the 
 mystical union between Christ and his church. Howcvei 
 neither Christ nor his Apostles ever quoted, or alluded to 
 this book. At any rate it is not prophetic ; and if the con- 
 nexion between Christ and his church be the subject of it, 
 still it is only typified, not foretold. See Durell on the 
 Canticles,, and Grotius. 
 
 + 2 Sam. xxiii. I. 
 
 It 
 
105 
 
 It being established therefore, on this 
 most certain foundation, that some of the 
 Psalms did foretell the Messiah, it only 
 remains to point out which they are; and 
 to shew, how some of the most remarkable 
 passages in them, applied to, and were 
 fulfilled in Jesus. For a complete enquiry 
 into them, and the succeeding prophecies, 
 concerning the Redeemer to come, would 
 far exceed the limits, as well as the plan 
 of this work; and indeed it has been so 
 often, and so ably executed, that it would 
 now be superfluous. However it ought 
 to be observed, that not only the Christian 
 church, but also that of the Jews, always 
 considered the principal part of the Psalter, 
 as relating; to the Messiah ; and their most 
 learned Rabbis since the coming of Christ, 
 still refer many of the Psalms to his king- 
 dom and person, though they do not allow 
 that they were fulfilled in Jesus of Naza- 
 reth*. 
 
 It is indeed, the opinion of many 
 learned and good men, that almost the 
 
 * Bishop Home's Commentary, Preface. 
 
 whole 
 
106 
 
 whole of the Psalms have a reference to 
 Christ, his church, his kingdom, or his 
 person, either in their primary or secon- 
 dary sense. And this idea is strongly 
 enforced, by the late excellent and learned 
 Bishop Home, in his Commentary on the 
 Psalms. But perhaps he carries it too 
 far, and his notions upon this subject are 
 rather peculiar. They seem in general to 
 Jean too much towards mysticism ; for not 
 only in this, but in all other parts of the 
 Scriptures, he finds a deep, mysterious, 
 and allegorical sense, even in passages the 
 most plain and literal. Certainly how* 
 ever it must be admitted, that many oi 
 the Psalms, even of those which mention 
 David by name, and of those which were 
 written by him, cannot be understood at 
 all, unless they are allowed to refer to 
 Christ*. For some of these place David 
 jn situations in which he never was, and 
 
 * Nota mysticam Psalmonim interpretationem semper 
 ad Christum referendam esse, vel ad suam ecclesiam. 
 Alioque nihil foret his hymnis vanius, et Evangelic) magis 
 contrarium. Brunfel's Annotat. in Act. Apost. 
 
 relate 
 
107 
 
 relate events in which he was never con~ 
 cerned, but which were literally fulfilled 
 in Christ; such as, for instance, they pierced 
 my hands and my feet, Ps. xxiL 16 * ; They 
 part my garments among them and cast lots 
 upon my vesture, ver. 18 "f ; and the whole of 
 the 110th Psalm J. 
 
 It is unnecessary here to specify those 
 Psalms which have only a typical allusion 
 to Christ ; because though when Jesus 
 came, and he and his apostles referred 
 to them, they afforded additional proof 
 that he was the Christ, yet the type could 
 not be understood till the antitype ap- 
 peared. Whereas prophecies, however 
 obscure, yet point to a future event, which 
 then becomes the object of hope and 
 faith. And in this manner some of the 
 
 * Haec ita in Christo impleta sunt ut nulli alteri con- 
 veniant. — Du Hamel notse in vulg. ad locum. 
 
 •f- Hoc sane partiendi et sortiendi vestimenta discrimen 
 lieque in Davide neque in ullo alio invenient Judcei : quamo- 
 brem ipsi Davidem in persona Christi locutum fuisse 
 fateantur necesse est. Id. ibid. 
 
 J " The whole tenor of this Psalm seems to prove 
 w 'that \\ relates solely to Jhe Messiah." Dimock. 
 
 Psalms 
 
108 
 
 Psalms were understood by the Jews be- 
 fore the coming of Christ. They believed 
 that they related to the same Redeemer 
 to come, who was foretold by the more 
 ancient prophecies*; and this was con- 
 firmed by the race of prophets who suc- 
 ceeded the Psalmist, and frequently re- 
 ferred to the expected Messiah as the 
 descendant of David, and sometimes even 
 by the name of David himself, 
 
 Yet notwithstanding the absolute cer- 
 tainty arising from the words of our Sa- 
 viour and his apostles, that the Psalms 
 are prophetical of Christ, still if they were 
 considered abstractedly, and with no re- 
 ference to the foregoing and succeeding 
 prophecies, it would not be easy to under- 
 stand their meaning. But by these helps, 
 which the Jews enjoyed as well as our- 
 selves, we may see that they were in- 
 tended not so much to foretell that there 
 was a Redeemer to come, which former 
 prophecies had led the Jews to expect, 
 
 * See Bp. Chandler's " Defence/' Dr. Q, Sharpes 
 2nd. Argument, and Talm : Sanhedrin. Cap. xi. Passim. 
 
 as 
 
109 
 
 as to point out some circumstances in hisr 
 lineage, sufferings, humiliation, and power, 
 which being applied to him by himself 
 and his apostles, might enable the world 
 to know him when he did come. 
 
 Thus in the second Psalm, ver. 2. We 
 read that the kings of the earth set them- 
 selves, and the rulers take counsel together 
 against the Lord and against his anointed, 
 (or, Christ); and in Acts iv, 27> we find 
 the apostles with one accord applying these 
 words to our Saviour, as prophetic of the 
 violence of both Jews and Gentiles against 
 him. In theeighth Psalm the subject seems 
 at first sight to be the general pre-eminence 
 of man ; but in Hebrews ii. 7, &c. it is 
 shewn that it is not applicable to man, 
 in as much as all things are not yet put 
 tinder him, but that it applies to the glory 
 and honor with which Christ, man and the 
 son of man, was crowned after his ascen- 
 sion. In like manner in the xvith Psalm, 
 ver. ix. and 10, the Prophet says, after ex- 
 pressing his confidence in God, therefore 
 my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth, my 
 
 flesh 
 
110 
 
 flesh also shall rest in hope. For ihoit wilt 
 not leave my soul in Hell % neither wilt thou 
 suffer thine holy one to see corruption. Now 
 these words, as we are assured by St. Peter, 
 Acts ii. 25, &c. and St. Paul, Acts xiii. 
 3d, &c. were an express prophecy of 
 Christ; and they could not relate to 
 David himself because he was dead and 
 buried, and his sepulchre remaining to 
 
 * The word here rendered Hell has probably no reference 
 to the place of future punishment. Both in the lxx, and 
 in the New Testament it is eiu aSa, that is, the grace, 
 or, as some think, the place appointed for departed souls 
 till the final judgment *. The soul is a hebraism often 
 meaning the person, as in the celebrated wish of Balaam, 
 let me die the death of the righteous, &c, the literal trans- 
 lation is let my soul die., &c. Some suppose however, 
 from a passage in St. Peter's 1st Epistle that Christ ac- 
 tually descended into hell and preached to the spirits there. 
 If the prophecy be explained literally, it may mean that 
 neither should the body of Christ lie so long in the grave 
 as to be corrupted, nor his soul continue in that appointed 
 place whatever it may be. 
 
 • The word is variously translated : in our old version 15G6, it is Hell; 
 in Barker's Bible 1608, it is Grave; in the Vulgate it is, in Inferno ; in 
 Tremel and Junius, it is mSepulchr$; in Diodati, nelSepolero; aud i* 
 Castalio, Oreo. 
 
 that 
 
Ill 
 
 that day; but they were fulfilled in the 
 resurrection of Christ. And a very won- 
 derful prophecy it was, foretelling that 
 the holy One of God should die and be 
 buried, and yet that his body should not 
 lie so Ions; in the grave as to suffer the 
 usual operation of time upon dead flesh. 
 Neither in the natural nor spiritual sense 
 could the holy One of God see corruption; 
 but the prophecy must be completely un- 
 intelligible if it be supposed to apply to 
 any other person. 
 
 So also the first words of the 22d Psalm, 
 are applied to himself by our Lord in his 
 agony on the cross ; my God, my' God, why 
 hast thou forsaken me? And when the chief 
 priests mocked him with the scribes and 
 elders they also used the words of the 8th 
 verse of the same Psalm, clearly intimat- 
 ing the received application of it to their 
 expected Messiah, which character, as 
 they supposed, Jesus had falsely arrogated 
 to himself; lie trusted on the Lord that he 
 would deliver him: let him deliver him seeing 
 he delighted in him, or, as it is expressed 
 1 in 
 
m 
 
 in St. Matthew's Gospel, let him deliver 
 him nozv if he will have him *. In the 16th 
 verse also of the same Psalm, David says, 
 they pierced my hands and my feet ; and in 
 the 18th, they part my garments among 
 them, and cast lots upon my vesture neither 
 of which circumstances ever happened 
 to him ; but there can be no doubt that 
 Christ's hands and feet were pierced when 
 he was nailed to the cross, that his gar- 
 ments were literally parted among the 
 soldiers, and that they cast lots for his 
 vesture : And therefore the Evangelist 
 applies this last passage to those circum- 
 stances of the death of Christ in the most 
 direct and striking manner. He says it 
 was done that it might he fulfilled which was 
 spoken by the Prophet, they parted my gar- 
 ments among them, and upon my vesture did 
 
 * 07t Baku av%v, Sept. which translation was at that 
 time in common use among the Jews ; in comformity to 
 which the Vulgate also renders this verse of the Psalm, 
 quoniam vult earn. " From this verse to the 20th, the 
 u words are prophetical of Christ, and literally fulfilled in 
 " him." Dimock, iu Loc. 
 
 they 
 
113 
 
 they cast lots *« And in the parallel passage 
 of St. John the same quotation is made, 
 and the same reason assigned for it. So 
 that it is evident that both these Evan- 
 gelists considered this Psalm as scripture, 
 and as written by a prophet. 
 
 In the 41st Psalm too there is a passage 
 which however applicable it might be to 
 David in the first instance, jet was cer- 
 tainly prophetical of the Messiah; and was 
 fulfilled, as Christ himself informs us, John 
 xiii, 18, when Judas, one of his chosen 
 followers, was about to betray him. I 
 speak, says he, not of you all; I know whom 
 I have chofen: but that the scripture may 
 be fulfilled, He that eateth bread with me 
 hath lift up his heel against me. These 
 words are taken from the 9th verse of 
 this Psalm; and were fulfilled almost lite- 
 rally, when Jesus gave the piece of bread, 
 
 * Matt, xxvii. 55 . This quotation seems also to be made 
 by the Evangelist from the lxx, because the tense of the 
 two verbs is changed as in that version, Ais/>t,£^j*Tav7oand 
 sCscXov. The Vulgate is in the same tense. Divixrunt — * 
 miseriffit. 
 
 I or 
 
114* 
 
 or sop, to Judas when he was going to be- 
 tray him. 
 
 Of the 110th Psalm we have the testi- 
 mony of our Lord himself, Matt. xxii. 
 42, Sec, that it was a prophecy of the 
 Messiah. He quoted it to shew the 
 Pharisees their error in supposing that 
 Christ was to be in the literal sense the 
 son or descendant, of David; inasmuch 
 as he called him Lord ; the Lord said unto 
 my Lord ; for this had led them to a very 
 false conclusion, that he was also to be, 
 like him, a powerful temporal prince, 
 who was to deliver them from the yoke 
 of their Roman governors; and this was 
 an error of fatal consequence, because it 
 was one chief cause of their refusing to 
 acknowledge the meek and lowly son of 
 Joseph as their expected triumphant Re- 
 deemer. Por though they who were be- 
 lieved to be the father and mother of 
 Jesus, were indeed sprung from David, 
 yet he wished the Jews to understand that 
 he was in reality the son of God, that his 
 was a spiritual kingdom, that he was the 
 
 Lord 
 8 
 
llo 
 
 Lord of his supposed ancestor David , 
 and even acknowledged by him as such. 
 And this was proved by Jesus from this 
 Psalm, one of their own scriptures, and 
 universally allowed by them to be a pro- 
 phecy of Christ. The two first Verses of it, 
 and part of the third, obviously relate to 
 the power and exaltation of Christ ; but in 
 the last part of the third verse there is a 
 considerable degree of obscurity. From 
 the womb of the morning thou hast the dew 
 of thy youth, is not very easily understood. 
 Some, as Patrick, Wells and Diodati, find 
 a reference in it to the number of con- 
 verts in the infancy of the christian church. 
 Du Hamel, in his Commentary on the 
 Vulgate, says that the Hebrew text is 
 manifestly corrupted, but that it relates 
 to the " eternal generation of the word" 
 for which opinion he cites several of the 
 fathers who quoted this verse against the 
 Arians. Dr. Durell in a great measure 
 agrees with him, and supposing that there 
 is a trifling error in the Hebrew, tran- 
 slates the passage, " I have brought thee 
 " forth out of the womb before the 
 i 2 " morning 
 
llo 
 
 " morning brought on the dew,*' alluding 
 to the existence of Christ before the crea- 
 tion. Bishop Lowth renders it, * " more 
 " than the dew from the womb of the 
 " morning is the dew of thy progeny," 
 which he understands of the converts in 
 the infancy of the gospel, who might be 
 said to exceed both in number and beauty 
 the spangles of the early dew ; a truly 
 poetical idea, and well worthy of that 
 elegant scholar; and with him Dr. Gregory 
 Sharpe agrees. The Talmud cpjotes this 
 text -j-, as a proof that Christ was to be 
 produced by the immediate power of God, 
 and not according to the usual generation 
 of men. And lastly, that admirable 
 scholar the late Mrs. Elizabeth Carter 
 thought it alluded, though darkly, to the 
 offerings brought to Christ by the wise 
 
 men of the East; Matt. ii. t 
 
 After 
 
 * " Pra? utero attrorte tibi ros prolis Was ;" hoc est, 
 prw i ore qui ex utero aurora; prodit, ros tibi erit prolis 
 In* ; copiosior nimirum et numerosior. — Prail. x. 
 
 + See Bishop Chandler's "Defence;' 8yo. P. ;^7 '. 
 
 % The author did not meet with Mr. Dimock's learned 
 notes oa the Psalms, (4to. 1791 •) till alter this passage 
 
 was 
 
117 
 
 After quoting the opinions of such 
 eminent commentators and scholars, it 
 seems almost presumptuous to mention 
 my own, and I do it with great diffidence. 
 But none of them carries conviction to 
 my mind. They all seem to me far- 
 fetched, and obscure; and it is dangerous 
 and improper to admit of any alteration 
 of the original text, if the passage can 
 be made intelligible without it. It is an 
 allegory, and I think capable of being 
 explained without any alteration of the 
 words. From the ffloftib of the morning 
 thou hast the dexo of thy youth, may mean, 
 " the dawn of thy birth is from the East;" 
 ■which is equally true whether understood 
 
 was written. That eminent scholar also proposes a slight 
 correction of the text, of which the following is the trans- 
 lation, and which will certainly make a very good sense. 
 " Thy people shall bring free will offerings in the day of 
 " thy power, to the holy mountains, thine offspring shall 
 " be as the dew out of the womb of the morning." 
 Since this note was written that good and amiable man 
 is gone to reap the reward of his virtues in a better 
 world. 
 
 Of 
 
IIS 
 
 of the birth of Christ himself, which is 
 most probable, or of the beginning of 
 his religion. The womb of the morning is 
 an easy and obvious metaphor for the 
 sun-rising, that is, the East; as the dew of 
 thy youth (in the old translation, 1566, the 
 dew of the birth) is, for " the beginning of 
 " life," The Septuagint too rather coun- 
 tenances this interpretation ; ex. yxcrjpoo- 7rpo 
 tutrtpcpv syevvyo-a, as, literally, " I have be- 
 " gotten thee out of the womb before the 
 " morning," that is, * in the East, which 
 is often metaphorically stiled the morn- 
 ing, -f or swn-rising t. 
 
 If this interpretation may be allowed, 
 the sense of the Psalm as it relates to 
 Christ is sufficiently obvious! and the rest 
 
 * The Greek preposition npo does not always relate to 
 time; it also means coram, in the presence ofnpo ecvofyopv 
 " in that part where the morning is." 
 
 ■f Usque — auroram et gangem. Juv. Sat. x. 
 
 £ Tremellius and Junius translate this passage, <e ab 
 iC utero, ab aurora, tibi aderit ros juventae tuze," and 
 explain it of the multitude of the elect in the christian 
 church. 
 
 of 
 
119 
 
 of it is n»t encumbered with so much dif- 
 ficulty. The 4th verse. Thou art a priest 
 for ever after the order of Mekhisedeck, 
 could in no sense whatever have any re- 
 ference to David; but that Christ was 
 here meant is shewn with great clearness 
 and strength of argument in the seventh 
 chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews. 
 In what manner Melchisedeck is supposed 
 to be a type of Christ has already been 
 shewn in considering his interview with 
 Abraham in the xivth chapter of Genesis. 
 The fifth and sixth verses seem to relate 
 to the power of Christ, when he comes, in 
 his second advent, to judge and be 
 avenged of his adversaries. If this be 
 the true interpretation, this prophecy still 
 remains to be fulfilled ; but some com- 
 mentators explain these two verses of the 
 spreading of the gospel, the conversion 
 of the Gentiles, and the destruction of 
 idolatry. The seventh verse has an ob- 
 vious reference to the afflictions and humi- 
 liation of Christ upon earth, expressed by 
 the figure of his drinking of the brook by 
 the way, as if from fatigue; and to his 
 
 subsequent 
 
120 
 
 subsequent exaltation and glory by that 
 of his lifting up his head *. 
 
 The last Psalm which remains to be 
 mentioned as containing a diuect prophecy 
 of the Messiah, is the 132nd. And this, 
 as has been before observed, is ascribed 
 to Solomon, and supposed to have been 
 written upon the removal of the ark 
 into the temple. This naturally led him 
 to entreat God not to forget his promise 
 to David ; which is the promise men- 
 tioned before in ] Sam. vii, 12, &c. It 
 was the promise of a Christ, a Messiah, 
 or Anointed, as it is rendered in the 10th 
 verse of this Psalm, whose kingdom was 
 to last for ever. In its first sense this 
 was now accomplished: Solomon had been 
 
 * However this explanation of the 7th verse is not 
 universally allowed, and various interpretations of it are 
 given. But this seems to be supported and confirmed 
 by a parallel passage in St. Paul's Epistle to the Phflip- 
 pians, (ii. 8, Sec.) which is very judiciously referred to 
 by Bishop Home. In this, the humiliation of Christ 
 is pointed out as the means or cause of the glory which 
 was to follow, Tie humbled himself and became obedient 
 unto death, even the dei.th of the cross: wherefore God 
 hath also highly exalted him, and given him a name which 
 is above every name, &c. &c. 
 
 anointed, 
 
121 
 
 anointed, and was reigning in peace; a 
 type of the Prince of Peace, whose house 
 and kingdom were to be established for ever. 
 The King therefore beseeches God in this 
 Psalm, to remember the secondary and 
 more important part of that promise. Tufn 
 not away, says he, ver. 10. the face of thine 
 Anointed, that is, " do not refuse to grant 
 " us thy promised Christ;" for as lie adds 
 in the following verse, The Lord hath sworn 
 in truth unto David, he mill not turn from 
 it, of the fruit of thy body will I set upon 
 thy throne. Now with respect to Solomon 
 himself, there could be no need to remind 
 the Lord of this promise, for it was al- 
 ready completed. He was sitting on the 
 throne of David. He therefore alludes to a 
 promise of which the ultimate fruits were 
 yet to come. Could this admit of & 
 doubt, St. Peter's authority would be at 
 once conclusive; David, says he, Acts ii. 
 30, being a prophet and knowing that God 
 had sworn with an oath to him, that of the 
 fruit of his loins, according to the jiesh, he 
 would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; so 
 that the apostle directly affirms the ori- 
 ginal 
 
122 
 
 ginal promise made to Davids which is 
 quoted and referred to in this Psalm, to 
 be a promise of Christ by the spirit of 
 prophecy. 
 
 This interpretation is moreover con- 
 firmed by the 17th verse. There will I 
 make the horn of David to bud : I have or- 
 dained a lamp for mine anointed. Now horn 
 is commonly used in oriental writings as 
 an emblem of power. In this sense it 
 frequently occurs in the Scriptures, espe- 
 cially in the Psalms *. And lamp also is 
 figuratively used for dominion -f. So that 
 the meaning of the verse seems to be this; 
 
 * See ;Ps. lxxv. 4, 5, and 10. and Ecclus. xliii. 11. 
 Even to this day, governors of provinces in the East wear 
 jn their head-dress a silver horn gilt, on public occasions. 
 
 Bruce's Travels. 
 
 •f Durell indeed interprets it successor ; and Wells thinks 
 this Psalm has no reference to Christ. But Home, the 
 learned and judicious Chandler, and the Jewish Rabbis 
 quoted by them understand it as above ; and Chandler i» 
 particularly clear and copious upon this subject. The 
 Lxx varies a little from the Hebrew in ver. 17- Exa 
 * %ava.%'Ka> xspeca 7a> Aai'iS, " there w ill I raise up a horn 
 " to David;" but the meaning is much the same and 
 equally applicable to Christ. See also Dimock on this 
 Psalrn, who applies the passage to the Messiah. 
 
 " There 
 
123 
 
 (i There (that is in Zion, ver. IS,) will I 
 " make the power of David to encrease ; 
 " I have prepared dominion, or a king- 
 " dom, for my Messiah." And the Jews 
 have always referred this passage to Christ, 
 and interpreted the word lamp in this 
 manner. 
 
 There is another Psalm which seems to 
 be a direct prophecy of the Messiah, and 
 was omitted in its proper place on ac- 
 count of the uncertainty of the time in 
 which it was composed. This is the 89th. 
 Lightfoot supposes it to have been written 
 before the time of Moses, during the 
 Egyptian bondage, by Ethan the Ezra- 
 hite, to whom also the Septuagint version 
 attributes it. If this notion be w T ell 
 founded, either Ethan must have been 
 a prophet, or those verses which relate to 
 David and Christ must have been added 
 afterwards when it was sung in the tem- 
 ple. But the more general as well as 
 probable opinion is, that it was composed 
 by another Ethan, during the distress of 
 the Jews in the Babylonian captivity; 
 when tne throne of David was empty, 
 
 and 
 
124 
 
 and the people were impatiently expecting: 
 a temporal Redeemer iti the Messiah. 
 And the Psalm itself contains strong in- 
 ternal evidence that this opinion is just. 
 In this light perhaps it should not be con- 
 sidered as prophetic, but as a sublime, 
 and affecting expostulation with God; 
 reminding him of his former mercies, and 
 his solemn promises to David his servant, 
 entreating their accomplishment, and de- 
 precating any farther delay which made 
 the enemies of the Lord reproach the foot' 
 steps of his Anointed, or Christ ; that is, 
 as the Jews understood it, the deferring 
 of his coming *. 
 
 This Psalm therefore is not insisted on 
 as containing any prophecy of Christ; 
 neither are many others which are applied 
 to him in the New Testament, as descrip- 
 tive of the circumstances of his life. And 
 this is for the reason before mentioned, 
 that they could not be understood till 
 
 * See Tract, de Sofci as quoted in Coch's notes on Sanhe- 
 tlrin. Cap. xi. Sect. 2(). See also Chandler; and Bossuet as 
 quoted by Home. Dr. Kennicott ascribes this Psalm to 
 Isaiah., and Bp. Bagot to Jeremiah. 
 
 they 
 
125 
 
 they were fulfilled; and therefore before 
 that time, afforded no additional proof 
 that a Messiah was expected. Of this 
 nature indeed appear to be some of those 
 Psalms which are appointed to be used 
 by our church on the great festivals; 
 which though they are now understood 
 to refer to the sufferings, humiliation, and 
 glory of Christ, since the Scriptures have 
 applied them to him, yet could hardly 
 be considered as direct prophecies that 
 there was a Messiah to come, had there 
 been no other grounds, or evidence for 
 such expectation. 
 
 But by this time the accumulated evi- 
 dence to this purpose was become so 
 strong, and the repeated prophecies con- 
 cerning this future Redeemer were so 
 generally known and believed, that from 
 this period till Christ actually came, the 
 expectation of that wonderful event seems 
 to have been universal among the Jews. 
 Accordingly the prophets whose writings 
 still remain, of whom there was a com- 
 pany and series towards the decline of 
 the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, often 
 2 refer 
 
126 
 
 refer to the coming of Christ, not as fore- 
 telling a new event, but alluding to one 
 of which the hope was common to all the 
 nation. Their prophecies however were 
 not confined to this expected Redeemer, 
 but foretold a great variety of events quite 
 foreign to the present subject. Yet this, 
 the most important of them all, is fre- 
 quently alluded to in a secondary sense, 
 while the primary one relates to some- 
 thing very different. And this has been 
 often proved to be very consonant to the 
 usual style and manner of those sacred 
 writings. 
 
 CHAP, 
 
127 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 The Prophecies of Hosea, Joel, Amos, Oba- 
 diah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, 
 and Zephaniah. 
 
 ABOUT 180 or 190 years after the death 
 of Solomon, and about 790 * before the 
 birth of our Saviour, Hosea, the first of 
 this succession of prophets, entered upon 
 his office in the kingdom of Israel. His 
 manner of writing is reckoned particu- 
 
 * Primate Newcome. There is a great variation of 
 opinion concerning the order of the Prophets with respect 
 to the time in which they flourished. There is reason to 
 believe that their proper arrangement may be as follows. 
 Jonah, Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, Micah, Nahum, Joel, 
 Zephaniah, Jeremiah, Habakkuk, Daniel, Ezekiel, Oba- 
 diah, Haggai, Zeehariah, Malachi. See Wells, Newcome, 
 and Blairs tables. But the common Bible order will be 
 followed here, only inserting the four greater prophets in 
 their proper place. 
 
 larlv 
 
128 
 
 larly obscure, and the subject of his pro- 
 phecies related but little, and that very 
 darkly, to the coming of Christ. Two 
 passages only seem to refer to that great 
 event immediately, though several others 
 are quoted in the New Testament, as 
 being fulfilled in Christ in their secondary 
 sense *. The first of these is in the 23d 
 verse of the second chapter, And I will 
 sow her unto me in the earth, and I will have 
 mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy, 
 (Lo-ruhamah " not having obtained 
 mercy" ch. i. ver. 6.) and I will say to 
 them which were not my people, (Lo ammi 
 " not my people," ch. i. ver. 9.) thou art 
 my people (ammi " my people," ch. ii. ver. 
 }.) and they shall say thou art my God. 
 
 Now these words are not properly a 
 prophecy of the coming of Christ, but 
 rather of the effects to be produced by 
 his coming. And they are understood to 
 refer to the calling of the Gentiles to the 
 christian dispensation, who formerly were 
 not the people of God. 
 
 * See Matt. ii. 15. Luke xxiii. 30, &c. 
 
 And 
 
129 
 
 And in this manner they are explained 
 by St. Paul, Romans ix. 25, 26; and by 
 St. Peter, in the 2d chapter and 10th verse 
 of his first Epistle. This authority there- 
 fore must be conclusive, with regard to 
 the meaning of the passage, however ob- 
 scure it may appear ; and this verse is the 
 explanation of the marriage of the pro- 
 phet, and the names of his children, in 
 the beginning of the book, which were 
 types and figures, of God's dealings with, 
 the Gentiles *. 
 
 The other prophecy of Hosea concern- 
 ing Christ, is in the 5th verse of the 3d 
 chapter. Afterward (that is, after Israel 
 shall have been deprived of their kingdom, 
 priesthood, and legal sacrifices, on account 
 of their sins) shall the children of Israel re- 
 turn, and seek the Lord their God, and David 
 their King, and shall fear the Lord and his 
 goodness in the latter days. 
 
 * Osese vaticiniis manifestissimum est, Messiam, r,ou 
 tantum Judasorum, seel et aliarum gentium magistrum fore. 
 Grot, de Verit. Lib. v. 17. 
 
 K That 
 
ISO 
 
 That this verse may refer to Christ, the 
 son of David, and that in the style of pro- 
 phecy, David may mean the offspring of 
 David, there can be no doubt ; and there 
 are other passages in scripture, in which 
 the Messiah seems to be pointed out, un- 
 der the same appellation; especially in 
 Ezekiel xxxiv. 23, which will be more 
 particularly mentioned hereafter, to which 
 no other signification can with any proba- 
 bility be assigned. However too great a 
 stress, must not be laid upon this expres- 
 sion, in the present case, since some of the 
 ablest commentators, consider it in a dif- 
 ferent light. Happily for the world, the 
 truth of our religion, needs no doubtful 
 passages to confirm it ; and therefore this* 
 with others both already spoken of, and to 
 be hereafter mentioned, are not insisted on 
 as certain and positive prophecies, but are 
 left for the consideration of the reader, 
 who will draw his own conclusions from 
 the different arguments. Primate New- 
 come and Archbishop Seeker as quoted 
 by hira, seem to believe, that this prophecy 
 is not yet fulfilled, and that David their 
 
 King, 
 
131 
 
 King, relates to a future restoration oi 
 Israel, under a king of the race of David. 
 Grotius on the contrary, supposes it to 
 refer to Zerubbabel (or Sheshbazzar as he 
 was called in Babylon,) who was descend- 
 ed from David, and to the restoration of 
 the Jews under him, after the Babylonian 
 captivity. But with great respect for 
 those eminent and learned authors, neither 
 of these opinions seems to me well found- 
 ed. That the Jews will, before the final 
 consummation of all things, become chris- 
 tians, and thus be restored to the favor 
 of God, is sufficiently evident from many 
 prophecies; but that they will ever be re- 
 stored in this temporal sense, so as to be 
 again governed by Princes of the house of 
 David, is I think, by no means so clear, 
 and indeed hardly to be deduced from 
 Scripture *. And as for Zerubbabel, the 
 
 prophecy 
 
 * A miracle indeed must be wrought to do this> as the 
 genealogies of the Jews are completely lost, and they can- 
 not tell to what tribe they belong. St. Paul condemns the 
 care they took of their genealogies, after the coming of 
 Christ, because they were then become of no use. 1 Tim. 
 
 K 2 |, 4. 
 
132 
 
 prophecy seems to me, to refer to events 
 at a much more remote distance, than in 
 his time, and of more importance; and 
 where he is mentioned at all, as in Haggai, 
 Zechariah, and Ezra, he is spoken of by 
 his own name. And the events here fore- 
 told, were to come to pass in the latter 
 days * when Israel had been many days 
 'without a King, and Sacrifice $c, ; and there- 
 fore it seems to me, to refer to the univer- 
 sal establishment of Christianity at last, 
 and to be a prophecy, that the Jews shall 
 at leno-th be converted to Christ, after 
 
 i. 4, and Titus iii. 9. a The Rabbles confess that no- 
 tribe is known, but say that Elias will distinguish the 
 Priests when he comes." See " Address to the Jews/ 
 hy Xeres a converted Jew. Uodin also acknowledges the 
 same thing, and it was allowed by the Jews, in a conversa- 
 tion with. Scaliger. See Jenkin on the Christian Religion, 
 v. ii. SIQ. 
 
 * This is a phrase appropriated to the times of the 
 Messiah: u ai acxxla.1 yfAspaiy per quod Ebrei dies Messiae 
 intelligunt," Coch's notes on Sauhedrin xi. 29, but it does 
 not always refer to the time in which he came, but some 
 times to that which followed, after the establishment of the 
 Christian religion. See Dr. Gregory Sharpe's second 
 argument. 
 
 their 
 
133 
 
 their present dispersion : for that has in- 
 deed lasted many days, during which they 
 have had no altar, no government, no civil 
 or religious establishment whatsoever*. 
 
 Cotemporary probably, with the latter 
 part of Hosea's prophecying, but in the 
 kingdom of Judah, lived the prophet 
 Joel. His writings consist principally of 
 threats of God's temporal vengeance, on 
 the people for their sins, and of exhorta- 
 tions to fasting and repentance, mixed 
 with promises of future mercies, upon 
 those conditions. How far those mercies 
 as described by the prophet, relate to the 
 kingdom of Christ, it is not easy to ascer- 
 tain ; but some reference to it they cer- 
 tainly have, because one passage is quoted 
 by St. Peter, Acts ii. 17, and expressly 
 affirmed, to be fulfilled at that time. And 
 it shall come to pass afterward, said the 
 prophet, Chap. ii. ver. 28, (that is, after 
 God shall have restored the Jews, again 
 
 # Leslie also considers this passage in tliis light. And 
 thus David their Jang may still refer to the government of 
 Christ over thenr, in those latter days. 
 
 to 
 
13* 
 
 to bis favor, after the judgments which 
 he had been foretelling,) that I will pour 
 out my spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and 
 your daughters shall prophecy, your old men 
 shall dream dreams, your young men shall see 
 'visions : and also upon the servants, and upon 
 the handmaids in those days, will I pour out 
 in y spirit. And I xvill shew wonders in the 
 heavens, and in the earth, blood and fire and 
 pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned 
 into darkness, and the moon into blood, before 
 the great and the terrible day of the Lord 
 come. And it shall come to pass, that whosor 
 ever shall call on the name of the Lord, shall 
 be delivered :for in Mount Zion, and in Jeru-. 
 salon, shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath 
 said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall 
 call. 
 
 This passage is however, not so properly 
 a prophecy of a Messiah to come, as of the 
 times which should succeed his coming; 
 The first part of it was fulfilled, as St. 
 Peter points out, in the clay of Pentecost, 
 when the Holy Ghost first shed his influ- 
 ence on the disciples of Christ. The word 
 afterward ; it shall come to pass afterward, is 
 
 altered 
 
1«a 'r 
 
 altered by St. Peter, to, in the last dayti 
 L e. the days of the Messiah ; but in its 
 first and literal sense, it probably meant, 
 after the punishment and captivity of the 
 Jews, when God had restored them to 
 their own land. The wonders in the hea- 
 vens, and in the earth, appear to be the 
 same which are mentioned by our Lord, 
 in a similar poetic style of eastern hyper- 
 bole, in Matt, xxiv, and in Luke xxi ; and 
 to refer to the same great event, the des- 
 truction of Jerusalem by the Roman army 
 under Titus, which the prophet calls, the 
 great and terrible day of the Lord. And 
 both St. Peter and his hearers, evidently 
 understood it in this light, for they said to 
 him and the other Apostles, ver. 37, &c. 
 What shall we do? Repent, said he, and be 
 baptized,— for the promise (in ver. 21, of 
 safety through Christ) is unto yen and to 
 your children, and to all that are afar off (the 
 Gentiles) even as many as the Lord our God 
 shall call. And he adds, save yourselves 
 from this untoward ge?ieration, that is, by 
 embracing the religion of Christ. The 
 whole of which, is plainly an application 
 
 of 
 
156 
 
 of the prophecy to those times, Whosoever 
 shall call upon the name of the Lord, shall be 
 delivered: (i. e. from the destruction of 
 Jerusalem, as the Christians actually were, 
 who in consequence of our Lord's having 
 foretold that event, left the city in time) 
 for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, shall be 
 deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the 
 remnant, whom the Lord shall call. But 
 perhaps the prophecy may have a secon- 
 dary meaning, and allude to another deli* 
 verance still distant, and a remnant not yet 
 called. 
 
 So far the Prophecy of Joel, seems 
 clearly to refer, in its first sense at least, to 
 the times of the Messiah; but the last 
 chapter is attended with so many difficult- 
 ties, that but little stress can be laid upon 
 it. Some suppose it to relate to the return 
 of the Jews from Babylon, some to their 
 final restoration, and others to the coming 
 Of Christ. Possibly all these may be al- 
 luded to, and this prophecy may as yet 
 be fulfilled only in part. That it had a 
 reference to the return from Babylon in 
 its first sense, is sufficiently evident, because 
 
 the • 
 
137 
 
 the return of the captivity of Judah and 
 Jerusalem only, is spoken of, Chap, iii. ver. 
 1, and Israel is said in ver. 2, to be scat- 
 tered among the nations ; which came to 
 pass in its literal sense, as the kingdom of 
 Judah only was re-established, and that of 
 Israel completely destroyed. 
 
 Before the prophecies of Hosea and 
 Joel were ended, (or, as some think, be- 
 fore either of them wrote,) the word of the 
 Lord came to Amos, not one of the pro- 
 phetic school, but a herdsman. The chief 
 part of his prophecy consists of denuncia- 
 tions of vengeance, against the inhabitants 
 of Judea, as well as many other nations. 
 But there is one passage at the close of it, 
 in the 11th and 12th verses of the 9th 
 chapter, which is a direct prophecy of the 
 Messiah, and of the calling of the Gen- 
 tiles ; and it is so applied by St. James, 
 Acts xv. 16, so that there ought to be no 
 doubt concerning it, though Grotius, with 
 his usual prejudice, refers it to Zorobabel. 
 In that day I will raise up the Tabernacle of 
 David, that is fallen, and close up the breaches 
 thereof and will raise up his ruins, and I will 
 
 build 
 
13S 
 
 build it as in the days of old : That they may 1 
 possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the 
 heathen, which are called by my name, saith 
 the Lord, that doeth this. 
 
 The Jews themselves for the most part, 
 allow this to be a prophecy of Christ * ; 
 and tfeat the words in that day, have the 
 same meaning as in the last days, or the end 
 of days, which phrases, as has been obser- 
 ved, mean the times of the Messiah, as the 
 restoration of the house, tabernacle, or king'* 
 dom of David does his appearance. This 
 prophecy is therefore very remarkable. 
 When it was published, the two kingdoms 
 of Israel and Judati, were great and flou- 
 rishing, and Uzziah (or Azariah) the des- 
 cendant of David, reigning in Jerusalem, 
 Amos notwithstanding, foretels that David's 
 tabernacle shall fall, before the coming of 
 Christ ; and that when he comes, he shall 
 raise it up again ; and that the rest of the 
 
 * Quern, inquit, indigitas filium lapsorum ? Alter, Chris- 
 tum, inquit. Tuni, ilium filium lapsorum nuncupas ? Sane 
 quidem, inquit. Nam scriptum est, Eo die eri^am tugu- 
 riion Davidis colFtibesceiis. Sanhedrin,, xi, Sect. 26, See 
 also Chandler's " Defence." P. 1(38. 
 
 world* 
 
139 
 
 world, and the heathen, shall then seek 
 the Lord. 
 
 In this Jast part of the explanation, the 
 common Bible version has been departed 
 from, as being supposed to be faulty. St. 
 James in the above-cited passage of the 
 Acts, mentions the prophecy as referring 
 to the conversion of the Gentiles, and so 
 does the Septuagint, from which he seems 
 to have made his quotation: and Primate 
 Newcome renders this 12th verse, to the 
 same effect, with no mention of Edom * t 
 f That the residue of men may seek Jeho- 
 vah, and all the Heathen who are called 
 by my name/' And this appears to be 
 the true sense of it -f. 
 
 Not long, probably, after the last men- 
 tioned Prophet, lived Obadiah ; though 
 the date of his mission is indeed by no 
 
 * Edom however was generally understood among the 
 Jews, to mean the Romans, and probably also all other 
 Gentiles. 
 
 •f The notes to the Geneva Bible, 1608, explain this 
 Prophecy in this same manner ; and this perhaps may be 
 pne of those texts, which led the Jews to expect a temporal 
 kjng in their Messiah. 
 
 means 
 
140 
 
 means certain. Some commentators even 
 suppose him, though apparently upon very 
 slight grounds, to have been the Obadiah, 
 governor of Ahab's house, spoken of in 
 1. Kings xviii, as a servant (but not a pro- 
 phet) of the Lord. But this is of little 
 consequence, and the less, inasmuch as 
 his very short prophecy, does not appear 
 to have any reference to Christ. Only 
 the temporal deliverance of the Israelites, 
 seems to be foretold ; and if the salvation 
 of Christ, be at all alluded to in it, it is 
 certainly in so dark a manner, as not to 
 add much strength to the general expec- 
 tation of him. 
 
 The prophet Jonah, who is next in the 
 Bible order, lived nearly about the same 
 time, with those who have already been 
 mentioned. In the opinion of Blair how- 
 ever, and some other eminent chronolo- 
 gers, he was the first of them ; but the ex- 
 pression in the second verse of the first 
 chapter of Hosea, The beginning of the word 
 of the Lord by Hosea, makes it more pro- 
 bable, that Hosea was the first of the series 
 
 of 
 
141 
 
 of prophets, who flourished in the decline 
 of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. 
 Those words however, are capable of a 
 different construction, and the exact date 
 is of little consequence. The book of 
 Jonah is supposed, apparently upon strong 
 internal evidence, not to have been written 
 by himself, but to be a narrative of his 
 mission by another, but unknown person, 
 His prophecy had no reference to our 
 Saviour, and his character was far from 
 being good or amiable* ; yet he was a type 
 of Christ, and in that sense only it is neces- 
 sary to consider him here. This is certain 
 from our Lord's own words, Matt. xii. 59, 
 &c, an evil and adulterous generation, seeketh 
 after a sign, and there shall no sign be given 
 
 * A singular circumstance attending him, is pointed out 
 by Mr. Bryant. When he fed from the presence, of the 
 Lord, he went to Joppa a town belonging to the Philis- 
 tines, where the object of worship was Dagon, under the 
 form of an immense fish, and in this worship he is supposed 
 to have joined. If so, his punishment was peculiarly ap- 
 propriate. This town was also the scene of the classic 
 fable of Andromeda. Fuller's Pisgah. 
 
 to 
 
142 
 
 to it 9 but the sig?i of the prophet Jonas. For* 
 as Jonas was three days and three nights in 
 the whales belly : so shall the Son of Man be 
 three days and three nights in the heart of 
 the earth. 
 
 In this sense then, Jonah was a type of 
 our Lord ; though as usual, this could not 
 be understood, till Christ, his antitype ap- 
 peared. But our Lord's argument went 
 much farther, and was indeed a very pow- 
 erful one against the Jews, who still re- 
 fused to believe his divine mission. For 
 as theNinevites repented at the preaching 
 of Jonah, who had worked no miracles to 
 support his mission, the Jews were greatly 
 more inexcusable in not believing Jesus, 
 who had performed so many. But the 
 sign of the prophet Jonas, was not com- 
 pleted, till our Saviour was risen again 
 from the dead, after he had lain in the 
 grave, as long as Jonah had done in the 
 whale's belly : and then this was indeed a 
 sign to the Jews, that Jesus was the Christ, 
 since he himself had put it to that test, 
 and asserted an acknowledged fact in the 
 
 hie 
 
14 
 
 
 
 life of one of their own prophets, to be 
 typical of himself*. 
 
 That such was really the design of this, 
 and other remarkable events, in the lives 
 of the prophets, appears from the words of 
 God himself by Hosea. I have also spoken 
 by the prophets, and I have multiplied visions, 
 and used similitudes, by the ministry of the 
 prophets; Hosea xii. 10. And the Jews 
 themselves at the time, understood them 
 to refer to a distant period. Wilt thou not 
 tell its, said they, Ezek. xxiv. 19, zeketf these 
 things are to us, that thou doest so ? And they 
 would not believe, that the prophets fore- 
 told events near at hand, whatever pains 
 
 * Some commentators, especially within these few years 
 Rosemuller, assert that the New Testament is of no autho- 
 rity in determining the sense of passages in the prophets 
 supposed to relate to the Messiah. My persuasion is 
 directly the reverse; and I think there can be no doubt that 
 wherever a prophecy or type is cited by our Lord and his 
 Apostles, as such, and the attention of the hearers called to 
 the present accomplishment of it, that prophecy or type 
 must be supposed to be completed by that event, and ai 
 that time. And I consider such citation, as the strongest 
 proof of the divine origin, as well as of the fulfilling, of 
 tilher type or prophecy, 
 
 1 they 
 
144 
 
 they took to convince them of it, when 
 this reaJly was the case, as it sometimes 
 was. Behold they of the house of Israel say, 
 the vision that he seeth is for many days to 
 come, and he prophesieth of the times that are 
 far off. Ezek. xii. 27. And therefore that 
 prophet, despairing of being understood 
 or believed, exclaimed, Ah Lord God, they 
 say of me, doth he not speak parables ? Ezek. 
 xx. 49. And this was also the opinion of 
 the later Jewish commentators*. 
 
 About twenty or thirty years after the 
 before-mentioned prophets, Micah began 
 to prophecy ; and he is spoken of here, in 
 order to continue the series of the minor -j* 
 prophets, as far as the captivity, though 
 Isaiah is thought to have begun to pro- 
 phecy before his time. 
 
 The principal part of the writings of 
 Micah, consists of threats against the Jews 
 
 * See Kimchi, Israeli, and Maimonides, as quoted by 
 Chandler, Chap. 3. Sect. 1. 
 
 t These are called the twelve minor prophets, not be- 
 cause their writings are less authentic or valuable, than 
 those of the four greater prophets, but because they are so 
 much less in quantity. 
 
 for 
 
145 
 
 for their sins, and affecting expostulations 
 with them on the part of God ; but the 
 beginning of the ivth chapter (which is 
 almost a copy of Isaiah ii. ver. 2, 3, and 4.) 
 evidently relates, to the effects of the com- 
 ing of the Messiah, though it can hardly 
 be deemed a direct prophecy, that a Mes- 
 siah should come. That such a Redeemer 
 however was to appear, was now generally 
 understood; and the expression with which 
 he begins the chapter, in the last days, 
 usually if not always in the prophetic 
 writings, as has been observed before, 
 refers to the times of Christ *. The w T hole 
 passage, plainly belongs to him. His 
 glory is foretold in it, and the multitude of 
 converts to his religion. He shall judge 
 among many people, and rebuke (or, accord- 
 ing to Newcome, convince) strong nations 
 afar off. The place also of his appearing 
 is expressly mentioned. It was to be in 
 
 * The last days, sometimes relate to the whole time, 
 between the first and second coming of Christ. Quae 
 tempora incipiunt ab adventu Christi primo, ac desinunt in 
 secundo. Piscator. 
 
 L the 
 
146 
 
 the mountain of the house of the Lord, and 
 people were to flow unto it;— -for the Laze) 
 shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the 
 Lord from Jerusalem. 
 
 But as if the imagination of the prophet, 
 was wanned by the sublimity of his sub- 
 ject, in the beginning of the following 
 chapter, ver. f 2, his description of this ex- 
 pected Redeemer, is still more particular, 
 and he names the very place where he was 
 to be born. But thou Bethlehem Ephratah*, 
 though thou he little among the thousands of 
 Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto 
 me, that is to he ruler in Israel : whose goings 
 forth have been from old, from everlasting. 
 That this prophecy relates to Christ, ap- 
 pears to me clear and certain ; and very 
 few persons either Jews or Christians, have 
 ventured to deny it. These, of whom 
 Grotius is one, have chosen to fancy, 
 that it might apply to ZerubbabeJ. Now 
 
 * See before, in a note on the anointing of David, why 
 JBethlehem is sometimes mentioned with the addition of 
 Judah, and sometimes with that ©f Fphratah. 
 
 Zcruhbabc! 
 
147 
 
 Zerubbabel was not born at Bethlehem, 
 but in Babylon ; nor could he be with 
 propriety styled Ruler in Israel, who was, 
 for a few years only, placed by Cyrus at 
 the head of the captivity, to assist in their 
 re-establishment in Judaea, and then, as 
 there is reason to believe, returned to 
 Babylon and there died. But in no sense 
 can it be applied to him, a mere mortal, 
 that his goings forth* have been from old, 
 from everlasting. It is needless therefore 
 to dwell longer upon this opinion, which 
 would be sufficiently confuted, were there 
 no other proofs, by the general expecta- 
 tion of the Jews, when our Saviour came, 
 that he was to be born at Bethlehem. For 
 there were no other grounds for this expec- 
 tation, but this prophecy of Micah; and 
 therefore when Herod enquired of all the. 
 chief Priests and Scribes, where Christ should 
 be born, Matt. ii. 4, &c, they replied, in 
 Bethlehem oj Judcta, and quoted this pas- 
 
 * ExortuSj Tremell. et Jun. Egressus, vulg. e|o'Sof, 
 Septuagint. According to Wells and W. Lowth meaning 
 existence ; to Newcome, appearance or displays of power ; 
 but in no case agreeing to Zerubbabel. 
 
 l 2 sasre 
 
148 
 
 sage in proof of it*. So also when there 
 was a division among the Jews, whether 
 Jesus was the Christ or not, John vii. 42, 
 some, not knowing that he was actually 
 born at Bethlehem, though his parents then 
 dwelt in Galilee, denied it; because as they 
 observed, Hath not the scripture said, that 
 Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out 
 of the town of Bethlehem where David was? 
 Now there is no other scripture but this of 
 Micah, which specifies Bethlehem as the 
 place of Christ's birth, and therefore the 
 reference of the Jews, could have been to 
 that only. 
 
 After the prophet has thus pointed out, 
 the place where this great ruler, whose goings 
 forth have been from everlasting, was to be 
 born into this earth, he proceeds to speak 
 of some, other parts of his office, and of the 
 
 * It is useless to he particular, upon the trifling varia- 
 tion in the Evangelist's quotation from the original, because 
 the prophecy is not at all affected by it, and because it 
 depends upon a grammatical nicety, or on the punctuation. 
 Bethlehem was little in point of extent, but great as the 
 birthplace of the Saviour of the world. See Lowth's com- 
 mentary on the place. 
 
 effects 
 
149 
 
 effects of his coming. When she which tra- 
 vaileth hath brought forth *, when this mira- 
 culous birth has taken place, the remnant of 
 his brethren shall return, (or as Nevvcome 
 and the vulgate translate it, shall be con- 
 verted) unto the children of Israel; an obvi- 
 ous allusion to the future general conver- 
 sion, of all nations to Christianity; lie 
 shall stand and feed (his flock is added in 
 the septuagint version) in the strength of 
 the Lord, — he shall be great unto the ends of 
 the earth, And this man shall be the peace ; 
 or, as Newcome translates it, with a full 
 stop after it, as being the conclusion of 
 the subject, He shall be peace. To feed, 
 rule, or more properly, to act like a shep- 
 herd to his flock, is a metaphor, which our 
 Lord frequently applied -f to his care of 
 his church, agreeably to this and other 
 passages of the old testament; and the 
 Prince of Peace is one of the titles, by 
 which Isaiah mentions him J. Thus it is 
 
 * The Jews understood this passage as relating to the 
 Messiah. It is quoted as such in Sanhedrim xi. Sect. 34. 
 *j- John x. 16, and many other places. 
 £ Isaiah ix. 6. 
 
 that 
 
150 
 
 that one scripture confirms and explains 
 another. 
 
 The last verses of Micah's prophecy, 
 
 return again to the important subject of 
 
 the expected Messiah, and are a clear 
 
 reference to the promise, which God had 
 
 made of Him to the Patriarchs. He will 
 
 turn again, he anil have compassion upon us : 
 
 he will subdue our iniquities : and thou wilt 
 
 cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. 
 
 Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the 
 
 mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn 
 
 unto our Fathers from the clays of old. That 
 
 is to say, that though God was about to 
 
 punish his people for their transgressions, 
 
 3*et he would restore them again; he would 
 
 fulfil the promise which he had made to 
 
 Abraham and his posterity, and would 
 
 surely send that Redeemer, who was to 
 
 take away the sins of the world *. 
 
 The next prophet, in the order in which 
 they stand in the Bible, is Nahum ; but as 
 
 * However Wells in his paraphrase, does not consider 
 this passage as relating to Christ, and some other commen- 
 tators are of the same opinion. If it relates to the Jews 
 only, it is not yet fulfilled. 
 
 his 
 
151 
 
 his subject relates only to the destruc- 
 tion of Nineveh, and has no reference to 
 the coining of Christ, any farther account 
 of his writings, would be foreign to the 
 present purpose. 
 
 He was succeeded by JIabakkuk, who 
 is supposed to have written about 600 
 years before Christ ; and is thought by the 
 Jews in general, and by most Christians *, 
 to have prophesied of the coming of the 
 Messiah, in the beginning of his second 
 chapter* And the Lord answered me, and 
 said, write the vision, and make it plain upon 
 the tables, that he may run that readeth it. 
 For the vision is yet jor an appointed time, 
 hut at the end it shall speak and not lie : though 
 it tarry wait for it, because it will surely come 
 it will not tarry. Now were there no other 
 passages that related to Christ, and were 
 the belief of his coming not (hen general, 
 no great stress could be laid on these 
 words; but as this was far from being the 
 
 * See the opinion of the Jews, quoted in Chandler's 
 (< Defence/' P. 165, &c. And in Sanhedrim xi. 30. 
 But neither Newcome nor Wells refer this passage to 
 Christ. 
 
 case, 
 
152 
 
 case, it appears evident to me, that they 
 were meant to warn the Jews against sup- 
 posing, that because the hope of Israel did 
 not come so soon as they expected, there- 
 fore he would not come at all. In the 
 Septuagint, and in the Vulgate*, the re- 
 ference in the latter part of the quotations, 
 is not to it, the vision, but to a person, and 
 so the Hebrew also, in Bishop Chandler's 
 opinion, maj^ be rendered. We actually 
 find accordingly, that these words were 
 used in speaking of the expected Redee- 
 mer, at the very time when Christ came; 
 for when John the Baptist sent to Jesus, 
 to ask if he was the Christ, Matt. xi. 3 ; the 
 enquiry was not " art thou the Christ," but 
 " cru si o epxoptvog, art thou he that should come, 
 " art thou he whom we expect, foretold 
 " by the prophets under the name of He 
 " that cometh, or He that is to come?" And 
 this is confirmed by several other passages -f-, 
 
 * T9ro/y,£tvov avlov, oil spyjoixsvos "n^h LXX. Expecta 
 ilium, quia veniens veniet. Vulg. 
 
 t As in Jacob's prophecy under the name of Shiloh ; in 
 John xi. 27, and iv. 35, and Heb. x. 37, where these 
 words are quoted . 
 
 both 
 
155 
 
 both of the Prophets and New Testament. 
 And this vision was to take place at an ap- 
 pointed time, and to speak at the end ; which 
 last expression, does not mean the end of 
 all things, but the end of the Jewish 
 polity ; and is similar to the last or latter 
 days, the ends of the world, and other such 
 phrases, which signify the destruction of 
 Jerusalem, and the conclusion of the 
 Jewish goverm en t, before which time 
 Christ was to appear. So that the sense 
 of the whole passage seems to be, that 
 though the expected Redeemer might 
 delay his coming, it should yet be waited 
 for with patience, because he would surely 
 come, and not tarry beyond the appointed 
 time ; that is, at the end of the government 
 ofjudah, but according to Jacob's pro- 
 phecy, before the sceptre should be entirely 
 departed from his tribe. 
 
 About the same time as Habakkuk, or, 
 as Blair supposes, a few years before him, 
 Zephaniah prophesied ; but no part of his 
 writings seems to have any reference, at 
 least directly, to Christ. He was the last 
 of the minor prophets, who wrote before 
 
 the 
 
154 
 
 the Babylonian captivity ; and therefore in 
 order to preserve a chronological arrange- 
 ment as nearly as possible, it may be pro- 
 per to leave the remainder of them for the 
 present, and to return to the times of 
 Jonah and Micah. 
 
 chap. 
 
03 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 The Prophecies of Isaiah to the fortieth 
 Chapter. 
 
 BETWEEN these two prophets, ac- 
 cording to Grotius and Xightfoot, but 
 probably cotemporary with them both, 
 and perhaps, for the exact time is very 
 uncertain, about 758 years before Christ, 
 Isaiah began to prophecy* His writings 
 comprehend a space of at least 45 years, 
 and some suppose not less than sixty. He 
 is frequently called the evangelical prophet ; 
 and sometimes even an evangelist, on ac- 
 count of the accurate description which 
 he gives of the birth, office, passion, and 
 death of Christ; all which he points out 
 in so plain a manner, that it has more 
 the appearance of a narrative, written 
 
 after 
 
156 
 
 after the event, than of a prophecy seven 
 hundred years before it. It is for this 
 reason that in our church service those 
 chapters of Isaiah which are appointed 
 to be read for our Sunday lessons, are 
 omitted in their proper places and read 
 in Advent and after Christmas, when the 
 attention of the congregation is wished 
 to be more particularly directed to the 
 Saviour of the world. 
 
 The first allusion of this great prophet 
 to the times of the Messiah, is contained 
 in the beginning of the 2nd chapter; of 
 which the second, third, and fourth verses 
 are almost word for word the same as the 
 three first verses of the fourth chapter of 
 Micah, which were evidently taken from 
 hence. They have been explained before 
 in speaking of that prophet ; and it is only 
 necessary therefore to add here, that the 
 verycircumstanceoftheir being thusborrow- 
 ed by Micah, is a sufficient confirmation 
 that they are properly applied to the king- 
 dom of Christ. 
 
 In this and the following chapter, the 
 prophet having described the desolation 
 
 of 
 
157 
 
 of Jerusalem in the most strong and af- 
 fecting language, proceeds in the fourth 
 to comfort the psople by repeating the 
 promise of a Redeemer. In that day, 
 says (ver. 2.) shall the branch of the Lord he 
 beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the 
 earth shall be excellent and comely for them 
 that are escaped of Israel. And in the 
 following verses he goes on to describe 
 the glorious effects of the coming of that 
 branch. Now the branch is a well known 
 allegorical term used by the prophets, 
 as will be seen hereafter, for the Messiah. 
 It applies to him, both as he was a branch 
 from the root of David, and in a more 
 figurative manner, as the mercies of God 
 revived again in him, after his people had 
 been punished for their sins. The ex- 
 pression in the same place, the fruit of 
 the earth, is a parallel phrase, and has 
 nearly the same meaning as branch. 
 
 But the word which we translate here, 
 and in other places, branch, means also 
 in the Hebrew language, the East * ; and 
 
 * See Leslie's " Truth of Christianity demonstrated," 
 
 in 
 
158 
 
 in some places both of the septuagint *, 
 
 Vulgate, and our own version, it is so 
 rendered. In this sense it alludes to, and 
 confirms the general expectation both of 
 Jews and Gentiles, that Christ should 
 appear in the East, or sun-rising. Hence 
 he is called the sun of righteousness, 
 Malachi iv. 2; and the day-spring, Luke 
 i. 78, where the translation in the margin 
 is, sun-rising or branch. In all these senses 
 it is equally applicable to our Saviour, 
 and this explanation should be borne in 
 mind whenever this term occurs in the 
 prophets. 
 
 The text passage in Isaiah which relates 
 to Christ, is one of the most difficult in 
 the whole Bible. It is almost universally 
 allowed to be a prophecy of him, and as 
 such it is ordered to be read in our church 
 service; but commentators are greatly 
 divided in their explanation of it. Ahaz 
 
 * Zechariah iii. 8, and vi. 12, in both which places the 
 Greek word is AvaVoXr,. In this passage of Isaiah neither 
 term is used in the lxx ; but the general meaning is ex- 
 pressed in a periphrasis. 
 
 S king 
 
159 
 
 king of Judah was terrified at a powerful 
 combination of his enemies, and Isaiah 
 was sent by God to assure him that they 
 should not prevail against him, and to 
 give him a sign or token according to the 
 custom of the prophets, that he might 
 know that what he said was truth, Hear 
 ye now, O house of David, said the prophet, 
 ch. vii. 13, &c. The Lord himself shall 
 give you a sign, behold a virgin shall conceive 
 and bear a son, and shall call his name Im- 
 manueL Butter and honey shall he eat that 
 he may know to refuse the evil and choose the 
 good. For before the child shall know to 
 refuse the evil and choose the good, the land 
 that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both 
 her kings. 
 
 Now in the first place the translation 
 here appears to be faulty. Instead of 
 " that he may know," it should be, ac- 
 cording to Bishop Lowth, when he shall 
 know. Butter and honey are symbols 
 of plenty * ; and they are esteemed in 
 
 * Per lac et rnel copia clesignalur. Grot, in Matt, i. 
 See also Lowth in locum. 
 
 the 
 
J 00 
 
 the east to be such delicacies as to be 
 emblematic of peace. And the land that 
 thou abhorrest, &c. is rendered by the 
 same learned translator, " the land shall 
 " become desolate' (or rather I think it 
 should be, quitted, or, be left, *) " by whose 
 " two kings thou art distressed/' The 
 meaning of the passage then, as connected 
 with the beginning of the next chapter, 
 which is a part of this prophecy and 
 spoken at the same time, appears to me 
 to be this -f*. " O house of David, (for 
 it was to the house of David that this 
 sign was particularly addressed) God him" 
 self shall give you a sign, both of the ac- 
 
 * y^alaX^^aSui, lxx, Relinquetur, Trernell. et 
 Jun. Derelinqiietur, Vul. 
 
 •f But a very sound, and learned critic, Mr. Granville 
 Sharpe considers this prophecy as referring to the disso- 
 lution of the Jewish governments. " It will appear upon 
 " the whole that the land of Israel, including Judah 
 " (being the land which Ahaz vexed) was forsaken of 
 " both her ki?igs, or regal governments, before the child 
 " Tmmanuel could know to refuse the evil and choose the 
 " good." 
 
 See " Remarks on several prophecies" by G. Sharpe. 
 1768. 
 
 complishment 
 
161 
 
 complishment of his former promises to 
 David, and of present deliverance. As 
 to the first of these* a virgin shall conceive 
 and bear a son* and shall call his name Im~ 
 manuel; that is, " God with us;" God 
 dwelling with man, and in the form of 
 man. And as to the second, ch. viiL ver. 
 3, &c. a child shall be born unto thee$ 
 (the prophet) whom thou shalt call Maher- 
 shalal-hash-baz, that is* " haste to the 
 " spoil, quick to the prey." He shall 
 live in peace and plenty when he arrives 
 at that time of life when he can discern 
 good from evil; for before that time the 
 two kings Rezin and Pekah, whose in- 
 vasion now distresses you, shall quit your 
 Jand, and be conquered by the Icing of 
 Assyria. The great difficulty arises from 
 the blending of these two signs, but this 
 was very usual in prophecy, and in this, 
 as well as in other instances, was probably 
 better understood by those to whom it 
 was addressed than it is by us. Part of 
 the prophecy was applicable both to 
 Christ and to Isaiah's son. Christ was 
 born in profound peace, and in that sense 
 M fed 
 
am 
 
 fed on butter and honey', and if the two 
 kings, as applied to bis times, may mean 
 those of Israel and Judah, (as that emi- 
 nent christian interpreter Granville Sharp 
 thinks they do) the monarchies of both 
 those countries were certainly abolished 
 before Christ was born, though the sceptre, 
 i. e. the goverment, was not then departed 
 from Judah. 
 
 If w© consider the general expectation 
 at this time prevalent among t lie Jews, 
 that God would deliver them by the son 
 of David, it will perhaps enable us* to 
 comprehend the prophet's meaning more 
 easily. We are told in ch. vii. ver. 2, that 
 the heart of Ahaz teas moved, and the heart 
 of his people as the ti-ees of the wood are 
 moved with the wind. It may therefore be 
 supposed that the king and his people, 
 terrified at this formidable invasion., said 
 to each other, " are these the promised 
 " mercies of God; is it in this manner 
 " that the horn of David is to flourish ? Jo, 
 " our kingdom is about to be destroyed; 
 " Jerusalem is besieged, and the Messiah, 
 €S the Redeemer, the seed of David comes 
 
 " not." 
 
163 * - 
 
 " not." The prophet then was sent with 
 a double message to assure them tor the 
 present, that before his own child not then 
 conceived, (ch. vii'u ver. 3.) should know 
 good from evil, or have knowledge to crtfi 
 my father and my mother, they should be 
 delivered from their enemies; and that 
 hereafter the promised divine Redeemer 
 should certainly come and be born of a 
 virgin. And to this future and distant 
 promise, which would naturally make the 
 deeper impression on their minds as they 
 saw the nearer one actually fulfilled, it is 
 thought that Micah alluded, (who had 
 before quoted from Isaiah) when he says, 
 ch. v. ver. .'3, therefore uili lit give them 
 up, that is, will deliver them into the 
 hands of their enemies, until the time that 
 the which travaileth hath brought forth. 
 
 Such appears to me the meaning of 
 this remarkable prophecy; but whether 
 it is rightly explained or not, still one 
 thing is certain, that it actually does re- 
 late to Christ. For in speaking of his 
 birth, St. Matthew applies it to him in 
 his first chapter, by quoting it in the very- 
 M 2 wprds* 
 
16* 
 
 words* Now all this was done, that it might 
 be fulfilled which 'was spoke a of the Lord by 
 the prophet, sailing, behold a virgin shall be 
 with child, and shall bring forth a son, and 
 they shall call hisname Emmanuel, which being 
 interpreted, is God with us *. And though 
 perhaps some of the references to the Old 
 Testament which arc made in the New, 
 which are introduced with that it might be 
 fulfilled, are merely accommodations, (or 
 passages nearly similar, and applications of 
 one part of scripture to another) and do 
 not mean that the original prophecy fore- 
 told, or related to, such event ; yet in 
 the present instance that cannot be the 
 case; for neither Maher-shalal-hash-baz, 
 nor any other child but Jesus was ever 
 
 * It is not meant that lie was to be called, or known 
 bv the appellation of Emmanuel ! but that word is used 
 as descriptive of the dignity and divinity of his person, as 
 the word Messiah, or Christ (the anointed) is of his royal, 
 Sacerdotal and prophetic office, in all which it was neces- 
 sary to be anointed. (See Godwyn's " Moses and 
 Aaron") His personal name was Jesus, that is, Saviour, 
 for he shall save his people from their sins. Matt. i. 
 21. 
 
 born 
 
185 
 
 born of a virgin, or entitled to be de- 
 scribed as Emmanuel, God with us *. 
 
 This prophecy, apparently at the same 
 time, is continued on through the eighth, 
 and the first part of the ninth chapter. 
 After threatening the Jews with divers ca- 
 lamities which were to come upon them 
 because of their iniquities, Isaiah pro- 
 ceeds to_comfort them with the hopes of the 
 glorious coming of Christ. Nevertheless, 
 says he, ch. ix. 1, &c, the dimness shall not 
 be such as was in her vexation, when at the 
 first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun 
 and the land of Naphtali, and afterward 
 did more grievously afflict her by the way of 
 
 * This prophecy, dark as it may appear to us, was 
 probably not so to those who heard the prophet speak,, 
 asid observed the changes of his tones and gestures, which 
 might indicate with sufficient clearness the transition from 
 one part of his message to the other. The same ob- 
 servation will apply to our Lord's prophecies of the end 
 of the world, and of the destruction of Jerusalem; winch 
 seem to us strangely blended together, though his manner, 
 his emphasis, and perhaps his turning from one disciple 
 to another, might enable those who heard, him to distiu-. 
 ciush them. 
 
166 
 
 the sea, beyond Jordan, m Galilee of the na- 
 tions. The people that walked in darkness 
 have seen a great light: they that dwell in 
 the land of the shadow of death, upon them 
 hath the light shined. 
 
 In the first part of this passage, there 
 is an obscurity owing to the badness of 
 the translation, which is quite cleared up 
 by the manner in which the learned * 
 Bishop Lowth renders it. His version is 
 thus: " But there shall not hereafter be 
 darkness in the land which was distressed. 
 In the former time he debased the land 
 of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali; 
 but in the latter time he hath made it 
 glorious; even the way of the sea," &c. 
 If this be the manner m which this verse 
 should have been rendered, as is probably 
 the case, the meaning of the prophecy 
 
 * *f Eruditissirnus Lowthus, Prcssul Londinensis ad- 
 
 xnodum Reverend us ; qui rempublicam et literatam et 
 
 christianam optime demerims est pr&stantissimii ea. versione 
 
 pum notis, quihus divinum hunc vqtem nuper illustravit." 
 
 Kennicott. Diss. Gen. in vet. Test. Heb. F, 11, 
 
 Lowth's translation of tills passage is confirmed by that 
 pf Cnstalio. ^ 
 
 becomes 
 
167 
 
 becomes very obvious. Galilee lies be- 
 tween the upper, v nonhern part of 
 Jordan and the sea, and the tribes of 
 Zebulun and Naphtali were a part of it. 
 It is called Galilee of the nations (or, as 
 in St. Matthew, Gentiles) because it was 
 inhabited by the remnants of the Canaan- 
 itish people, Arabians, Egyptians, and 
 Phoenicians, mixed with the Jews; and 
 for this reason it was held in such con- 
 tempt, that the Pharisees said to Nicode- 
 inus, search and look, for out of Galilee 
 ariseth no prophet *. And for the same 
 reason Nathaniel asks (John i. 46.) Can 
 there any good thing come out of Nazareth f 
 which town was in Galilee; and so was 
 Bethsaida, in which Christ did so many 
 mighty works, (Matt. ii. 2i.) and the mount 
 where he was transfigured. Ma°dala and 
 Dalmanutha -j-, the country of the Ger« 
 
 * Or rather, not ihe Prophet; i. e. the expected pro- 
 phet, the Christ. John vii. 52. 
 
 "f According to Lightfooi and Cellar i us ; but Calmed 
 ami Fuller place them in the tribe of Zebulun,, near the 
 8ea of Genesareth ; at all events therefore they were by 
 the icay of the sea. 
 
 gesene* 
 
168 
 
 gesenes and Gadarites, scenes of ouv 
 Saviour's miracles and wanderings, were 
 beyond Jordan. 
 
 All these people that walked in darkness 
 first saw the great light of the Redeemer 
 of the world. This land, before so abject, 
 despised, and debased, was by him " made 
 ^ glorious;" and thus it was that the light 
 shi?ied upon them who dwelt in the land of 
 the shadow of death % 
 
 After 
 
 # Bishop Lowth, and Granville Sharp, authorities of 
 rio small weight, suppose the former distress and debase^ 
 merit of Galilee to be in consequence of the Assyria!} 
 invasion under Tiglath-Pileser ; but it rather appears to 
 me to be an allusion to the contempt in which the Jews 
 held that country for the reason before mentioned. Per- 
 haps however, the prophet may allude to both these cir? 
 cumstances. It pleased God in this great dispensation 
 of the Gospel, to confound the Jewish prejudices in every 
 respect *. Thus the Messiah, whom they expected as a 
 triumphant Prince, came to them meek and lowly and 
 sitting on an ass. Instead of a glorious king ruling on 
 
 * And this, as Bishop Porteus justly observes (Sermons, vol. i. Serm. 
 x.) is a strong proof, if any suoli were needed, th.it Jesus was no im- 
 postor; for an impostor would have titken the opposite method, and con- 
 l'orp,ed hinvelf to the ir notions. And so in fact Barchcchebas and otheis 
 
 At 
 
169 
 
 After the prophet in the next three 
 yerses had dwelt on the joy and exultation 
 to be occasioned by this great event, he 
 proceeds in still plainer and stronger lan^ 
 guage, in the 6th and 7th verses, to apply 
 it to the birth of the Messiah, For unto 
 us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and 
 the government shall be upon his shoulder s 
 and his name shall be called, Wonderful, 
 Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting 
 Father, The Prince of peace. Of the im 
 crease of his government and peace there shall 
 be no end, upon the throne of David, and 
 upon his kingdom, to order it, and to esta- 
 blish it with judgment, and with justice, from 
 henceforth even for ever: the zeal of the 
 Lord of hosts will perform this. y 
 
 the throne of David, they saw a carpenter's son, a man 
 of sorrows and acquainted zcith grief. Instead of de- 
 livering Israel, he could not even save himself from the 
 ignominious deatli of a Roman slave and malefactor. And 
 instead of the expected Monarch born in Bethlehem, and 
 ruling Israel, Jesus came from the small town of Naza- 
 reth in the hated and despised land of Galilee, lor 
 though he was indeed born in Bethlehem, yet his parents 
 t}wglt in Nazareth, and there his youth was passed. 
 
 This 
 
170 
 
 This sublime prophecy is so clear, and 
 so strongly marked as belonging to the 
 son of God, that it might have been 
 thought that no perversion of mind could 
 so misunderstand it, as to suppose that 
 it could in any way be fulfilled in a mere 
 man. Yet this is the opinion of the great 
 Grotins *, who refers it in the first place 
 to Hezekiah, and thinks that it belongs 
 to Christ only in a secondary sense. That 
 it does relate to Christ however even he 
 allows -j-; nor would it have been neces- 
 sary to mention his single opinion, but 
 for the weight, although in these days 
 much diminished, which his name still 
 carries with it. The words themselves 
 
 * '^^ P ffff l ille magnus Grotius," said an innkeeper to 
 him who accidentally heard his name while he was on a 
 journey. For his general merits and supposed bias as a 
 commentator, see a controversy lately carried on in the 
 " CensuraLiteraria," vols, vm and ix, under the signatures 
 of S. and P. M :, the one a venerable and learned clergy- 
 man in Norfolk, the other the author of these sheets, but 
 each unknown to the ether. 
 
 •f Haec ad Messiam pertinent — Haec augustiori sensu ad 
 Christum refer. Grot, in Locum. 
 
 Deed 
 
171 
 
 need little explanation. For us * a child 
 was to be born, and a son (that is, of God) 
 given for our sakes, and he was to have domi- 
 nion. The titles of Wonderful, Counsellor, 
 the mighty God, clearly allude to his power, 
 wisdom, and divinity, and cannot be ap- 
 plicable to any man. The everlasting Father 
 js universally allowed to be a wrong tran- 
 slation. Lowth renders it " The Father of 
 the everlasting age;" and Lightfoot, agree- 
 ing with Junius, " the Father of eternity." 
 In the Septuagint it is, " the Father of 
 the age to come •■)-," which makes a sense 
 more consonant to the rest of the pro- 
 phecy, and relates to the rule which 
 Christ is to exercise, when he shall 'put all 
 enemies under his feet, 1 Cor. xv. 25, The 
 
 * For unto you is born this day a Saviour, Sec. Luke 
 ii. n. 
 
 -\* Ylocir,p la ptcXXov7oy aicuvc;. There is also another 
 very remarkable title of the Messiah in the lxx, which 
 is not in the Hebrew, fAsyoc.\%s £«?./,*■ ayfaXos, the angel, 
 or messenger, of the great counsel ; which great counsel 
 was the good tidings of great joy spoken of by the an 'A 
 who announced the birth of Christ to the shepherds. 
 
 i-ukcii. 10. 
 
 Prince 
 
172 
 
 Prince of peace could be none but He, 
 who came according to the angel's hymn? 
 Luke ii. 14, to bring peace upon earth, and 
 good will amongst * men ; for that was in- 
 deed the great design and principle of 
 the christian religion, however the pas- 
 sions of men may have perverted it to 
 other purposes -j*. Of this peace, when 
 its blessed effects fully take place, and 
 of his government there is to be no end; 
 and his kingdom, the throne of his father 
 David, is to be ruled for ever with judg- 
 ment and with justice ; For the Father judg-> 
 cth no man ; but hath committed all judg- 
 ment unto the son, John v. ( 22. So the 
 Scriptures tell us in another place, Acts 
 xvii. 31, that God hath appointed a day 
 in the which he will judge the world in rightc- 
 
 * So I think it should have been rendered instead of 
 towards \ ev ayGpouirois amovgst men ; as will be further 
 explained in a note on that place. 
 
 -f- When our Lord said, / came not to send peace but 
 a sword, Matt. x. 34, he did not mean that such was the 
 desigji of the gospel, but that such would be its effect in 
 consequence of its perversion through the evil passions of 
 men, 
 
 QUmes% 
 
173 
 
 ousness bif that man whom lie hath ordained; 
 and again, He shall be great, and shall he 
 called the son of the Highest ; and the Lord 
 shall give unto him the throne of his Father 
 David. And he shall reign over the house 
 of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there 
 shall be no end, Luke i. 32 and S3. In 
 which words the ans;el seems evidently 
 to allude to this very prophecy. And all 
 this was to be performed by the zeal, the 
 earnest wish, determination, and appoint- 
 ment, of the Lord of Hosts. 
 
 When the prophet had thus comforted 
 the people with this renewal of the pro- 
 mise of Christ; after threatening them 
 with punishment for their sins, he pro* 
 ceeds in the xth chapter to assure them of 
 deliverance from the Assyrians. And 
 from hence he takes occasion, as was 
 usual among the prophets, to revert ao-ain 
 to the great spiritual redemption of the 
 Messiah. This is in the beginning f 
 the xith chapter, and is a continuation of 
 the same prophecy. This also Grotius 
 applies, but surely without foundation, 
 to Hezekiah in its first sense, and to Christ 
 
 onlv 
 
174 
 
 only in its second *. It seems indeed so 
 ill-founded an opinion, that it would 
 scarcely have been necessary to notice it, 
 had not that commentator's character for 
 learning and knowledge been so high. 
 In this, as well as many other places, he 
 seems, as Dr. Gregory Sharpe in his 2nd 
 argument has justly observed, to have 
 been misled by the Jews*j*; and, as is 
 very common, having formed a system, 
 he made every thing bend to it. 
 
 The prophecy itself is as follows; and 
 in the interpretation of it there seems 
 to be little difficulty, And there shall come 
 
 * Redit ad laudes Ezechire, sub quibus sensu subliniiore 
 patent Messiae laudes. Grot, in Loc. 
 
 *f* That is, the modern Jews; for the ancient Jews ap- 
 plied this prophecy to Christ — <c De Mcssia scriptum." 
 Sanhed. xi. 15. So also" in Sanh. xi. 17, it is asked if 
 God could think Hezekiah worthy of an honor (that of 
 being the Messiah) which he had denied to David, who 
 Jiad made so many hymns in his praise, whereas Hezekiah; 
 who had been so miraculously favoured by God, had 
 composed none. Scultetus also asserts that the Jews in- 
 terpreted this prophecy of Christ, " Et sane oraculunl 
 hoc de Messia dictum, ne Judiei quidem ipsi difntentur: 
 hoc aberrantes, quod regnum ejus muudaumn fore soni- 
 niarint." Sculteti idea conciou. in Loc, 
 
 4 forth 
 
375 
 
 forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a, 
 branch shall grow out of his roots. That is, 
 by a very common and obvious figure, 
 " there shall arise a descendant from the 
 the house of Jesse/' who was the father 
 of David. And the spirit of the Lord shall 
 rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom, and ?m~ 
 derstanding, the spirit of counsel and might, 
 the spirit of 'knowledge and of the fear of the 
 Lord. And shall make him of quick under-, 
 standing in the fear of the Lord, and lie shall 
 fiat judge after the sight of his eyes, neither 
 reprove after the hearing of his ears. But 
 with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and 
 reprove with equity for the meek of the earth. 
 This is a description of the Messiah's charac- 
 ter, by which he was to be known when he 
 came. He was to descend according to 
 the flesh, from David. This is proved to 
 be true of Jesus by his genealogy in S } %. 
 Matthew and St. Luke, and indeed has 
 never been denied *". The Spirit of the Lord 
 was to rest upon him; and lo, says the 
 Evangelist, Matt. iii. 16, the heavens were 
 
 * Except by Paine in his " Age ef Reason/' and 
 perhaps by some few other deist?. 
 
 ogemd^ 
 
176 
 
 opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of 
 God descending like a dove, and lighting 
 upon him. This was the Spirit which en- 
 dued him with wisdom, might, knowledge, 
 and equity. In proof of this we are told 
 by St. Luke *, that Jesus increased in wis* 
 dom, and that he was full of the Holy 
 Ghost : by St. Matthew -f, that he healed 
 all manner of sickness, and all manner of 
 disease among the people; by St. John J, 
 that the Jews themselves confessed that 
 never man spake like this man ; by St. 
 Peter §, that he was the holy One and the 
 just ; and by St. Paul ||, that he will judge 
 the world in righteousness. His peculiar 
 attention to the poor and the meek, 
 as mentioned by the prophet, is well 
 exemplified by himself when he said ^f, 
 blessed are the meek ; I am meek and lowly 
 in heart * * ; the poor have the gospel preach- 
 ed to them -f^f*; sell that thou hast, and 
 give to the poor J J ; with many other pas- 
 
 * Luke ii. 52, and iv. i. f Matt. » v - 23. 
 
 X John vii. 46. § Acts iii. 14. 
 
 j| Acts xvii.-SI. ^f Matt. v. 6. 
 
 * * Matt. xi. 29- 1 1 Matt. xi. 5. 
 
 XX Matt, six 21." 
 
 sages 
 
177 
 
 sages of the same tendency which might 
 be quoted. 
 
 The remainder of the prophecy to the 
 10th verse, is a sublime and highly figura- 
 tive description of the peace and bles- 
 sings of the kingdom of Christ. This has 
 been often compared to the descriptions 
 of the renewal of the golden age in the 
 Greek and Latin poets, and the imagery 
 is almost the same in both. There is in- 
 deed great reason to suppose that it was 
 from the Hebrew prophets that the Sibyl- 
 line oracles were taken *, which were the 
 
 * To elucidate this curious subject, see Bp. Chand 
 lei's" Defence of Christianity/* Leslie upon Deism, LowtU's 
 Isaiah, and Michaelis on his " Preelections," in which 
 he asserts as an undeniable fact, that this expectation in 
 different nations was derived from the same source. 
 " Alia est celebratissima de tempore aureo fabula, quam 
 ita pene per omnia Graecis Latinisque similem habent 
 Hebrasi, ut manifestum sit, ex communi earn foute ad 
 utrosque dimanasse." And he produces this and other 
 chapters as examples of it. See Michaelis's " Epimas- 
 tron in R. Lowth Praelect:" ad Pralect. ix. 
 
 That the Sibylline oracles are, chiefly at least, forgeries 
 in their present shape, does not affect the truth of tins 
 fact. Those which are meant are those which are men- 
 tioned or quoted by the writers of the Augustan and suc- 
 
 ceed ing age. 
 
 N ground- 
 
 's 
 
178 
 
 groundwork of the expectation of the 
 golden age to come, described by the 
 heathen poets. But this is no part of the 
 design of the present work, and there- 
 fore it is sufficient just to mention it. 
 
 The tenth verse again points out the 
 descendant of Jesse by name. And in 
 that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which 
 shall stand for an ensign of the people ; to 
 it shall the Gentiles seelc, and his rest 
 shall be glorious. This alludes evidently 
 to the callins: of the Gentiles, and to the 
 reign of Christ over them ; and as such 
 it is quoted by St. Paul, from the Greek 
 version, in Romans xv. 12. But the 
 latter part of this chapter contains a pro- 
 phecy of events, in the opinion of the 
 most able commentators, not yet come 
 to pass ; and of which w r e are ignorant 
 how far they are connected with the com- 
 ing of the Messiah, upon which the words 
 in that day, ver. 11, seem to point out some 
 dependance, or whether they relate merely 
 to a future local restoration of the children 
 of Israel. 
 
 Yet it seems clear that the prophet 
 frequently alludes to both these events, 
 
 even 
 
179 
 
 even while he is foretelling the desolation 
 of Israel and Judah, and threatening 
 them for their iniquities. Thus from the 
 strength of the expressions used concern- 
 ing Eliakim, eh. xxii. 20, &c, he is sup- 
 posed to be a type of Christ, and that 
 Christ is pointed out in the secondary 
 sense of that passage *. In like manner, 
 the latter part of the xxivth chapter is 
 thought to relate to the kingdom of Christ, 
 when the Lord of Hosts shall reign in Mount 
 Zion and in Jerusalem, and before his an- 
 cients gloriously. 
 
 But in the hvmn contained in the fol- 
 
 %j 
 
 lowing chapter, the xxvth, the prophet 
 returns in a more direct manner to the 
 sublime object of the coming of the 
 Messiah. 
 
 In this mountain, says he, ver. 6, (that 
 is, in Mount Zion) shall the Lord of Hosts 
 make unto all people a feast. All people, 
 that is Gentiles as well as Jews, are in- 
 vited to this feast ; and this is obviously 
 
 * Mysticus sensus in Evangelio. — Vide ad Matt. xvi. 
 iy. Grot, in locum. 
 
 n 2 the 
 
180 
 
 the establishment of the kingdom of 
 Christ, which in the Gospel is frequently 
 represented under the image of a feast *. 
 And he will destroy, (ver. 7,) in this moun- 
 tain the face of the covering cast over all 
 people, and the veil that is spread over all 
 nations. At this glorious feast then of the 
 promulgation of the Gospel, the veil that 
 covered all nations was to be destroyed. 
 This is the mystic veil of Moses, spoken 
 of in 2 Cor. iii. 13, -j- &c, which prevent- 
 ed all nations from understanding the 
 types and prophecies of the Old Testa- 
 ment, till they were completed in Christ ; 
 and by him it was taken away. The veil 
 indeed is destroyed with regard to them 
 whose heart is turned to the Lord, 
 and they see the whole scope and ten- 
 dency of this great dispensation from the 
 beginning of the world. But God works 
 no miracles to turn men's hearts. They 
 have the needful means of instruction ; 
 
 * Lowth. See Matt. viii. 11. Luke xiv. 16. 
 f Hoc unus omnium optime Paulus explicat. Scullet. 
 ui lo<;. 
 
 they 
 
181 
 
 they have Moses and the prophets ; and the 
 Redeemer whom they foretold is come. 
 If, notwithstanding all these advantages, 
 they refuse to believe; even unto tliis day, 
 near 1800 years since the Apostle wrote 
 to the Corinthians, the veil is still upon their 
 heart. 
 
 The prophecy, after the removal of this 
 veil, proceeds to the blessed promise of a 
 happy immortality through Christ. He 
 will swallow up death in victory ; for as St. 
 Paul says, in 1 Cor. xv. 26, the last enemy 
 which shall be destroyed is death; and in the 
 same chapter, ver. 54, he quotes this pas- 
 sage of Isaiah, as one which is to be fulfilled 
 in the general resurrection. The prophecy 
 continues, And the Lord God 'will wipe away 
 tears from off all faces , and the rebuke of his 
 people shall he take away, from off all the 
 earth : for the Lord hath spoken it. This 
 blissful state, to which the good are still 
 encouraged to aspire, through the media- 
 tion and atonement of Christ, is referred to 
 in the book of Revelations, vii. 17 ; For 
 the Luamb which is in the midst of the throne 
 shall feed than, and shall lead them unto living 
 
 fount aii.. 
 
182 
 
 fountains of waters : and shall wipe away all 
 tears from their eyes. And again, xxi. 4, 
 And God shall wipe away all tears from their 
 eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither 
 sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any 
 more pain. Of this sublime prophecy of 
 Isaiah therefore, the first part only has 
 been fulfilled by the coining of Christ; 
 but the latter part is the great object of 
 our faith and hope, and cannot be com- 
 pleted till the awful and final consumma- 
 tion of all things, when faith shall be 
 changed into certainty, and hope into pos- 
 session. The expression, the rebuke (or 
 more properly the reproach) of his people 
 shall he take away from off all the earth % 
 seems to me to have a clear and obvious 
 reference to the present state of the Jews*, 
 and their future conversion. The rest of 
 the chapter relates but very darkly, if at 
 
 * To my great surprize, I have not met with any com- 
 mentator, who has considered this passage in this light. 
 Grotius, with what appears to be an unaccountable perver- 
 sion of intellect, explains the whole chapter as relating to 
 the siege of Jerusalem by the Assyrians, to Hezekiah, and 
 to the Moabites. 
 
 all. 
 
183 
 
 all, to the times of tire Messiah. More 
 probably it alludes either to some tempo- 
 ral deliverance, or to the final restoration 
 of the Jews : or possibly to them both. 
 
 Again, in the xxviiith chapter, Isaiah 
 touches upon this great subject ; so lightly 
 indeed, that had not the prophet's expres- 
 sion been frequently quoted and alluded 
 to in the New Testament, and corrobo- 
 rated by other passages in the Old, it 
 would hardly have been necessary to point 
 it out. In order to reprove the inhabi- 
 tants of Jerusalem for their false security, 
 the prophet foretells the coming of the 
 Messiah, in the loth verse ; Therefore thus 
 saith the Lord God, Behold Hay in Zionfor 
 a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious 
 corner-stone, a sure foundation. He that be~ 
 Ueveth shall not make haste; or rather, ac- 
 cording to the marginal translation in 
 Romans ix. 53, shall not be confounded*. 
 
 * Lowth renders it by the same words. In the lxx it 
 is, a (j.r, xcciai<7%u*(in, which is to the same effect. This 
 prophecy seems to have some analogy with the stone in 
 the second chapter of Daniel ; of which more will be said 
 in its place. 
 
 That 
 
184 
 
 That Christ was this precious corner stone 
 cannot be doubted, since it is applied to 
 him, not only by St. Paul in the passage 
 above-mentioned, and in Romans x. 11, 
 but also by St. Peter in his first epistle, ii. 
 6, and is probably alluded to by our Lord 
 himself in Matt. xxi. ¥l, &c. 
 
 After threatening the Jews for their 
 trust in Egypt, and foretelling the miracu- 
 lous destruction of the Assyrians, Isaiah 
 returns again to the promise of the Mes- 
 siah, in the beginning of the xxxiid chap- 
 ter. Behold, says he, a King shall reign in 
 righteousness, and princes shall ride in judg- 
 ment. Christ the King of righteousness 
 shall come, and with his disciples, or 
 ministers, shall rule justly : for in the same 
 spiritual sense in which he was a King, 
 his Apostles may well be called Princes; 
 for our Lord himself said to them, Matt, 
 xix. 28, when the son of man shall sit on the 
 throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon 
 twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of 
 Israel. The Prophet then describes the 
 blessings of this spiritual kingdom, in the 
 
 most 
 
J 85 
 
 most beautiful style of oriental imagery: 
 And a man (or, as it should have been ren- 
 dered the man ; the man Christ Jesus, 1 Tim. 
 ii. o,) shall be as an hiding place from the 
 wind, and a covert from the tempest : as rivers 
 of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a 
 great rock in a weary land. But this im- 
 portant event was not to happen yet, and 
 before that time were to be great sorrows. 
 Many days and years they were to be trou- 
 bled (ver. 10.) and the land was to be deso- 
 late, until, says the prophet (ver. 15.) the 
 spirit be poured upon us from on high, till 
 Christ shall come from heaven to impart 
 to us the gifts of the Holy Ghost, (John 
 xvi. 7-) and then continues he, (ver. 1J.) 
 the work of righteousness shall be peace, and 
 the effect of righteousness, quietness and assu- 
 rance for ever*. 
 
 Such were to be the blessed effects of 
 
 * It ought however to be mentioned, that there are 
 various opinions concerning the application of this pro- 
 phecy ; some expositors supposing it to relate to Hezekiah 
 only, and others, to Hezekiak in its primary meaning, and 
 to the Messiah in its secondary sense. 
 
 the 
 
186 
 
 the kingdom of Christ; and here this pro- 
 phecy seems to have ceased, for the fol- 
 lowing chapter has no connection with 
 this subject ; but in the xxxivth and xxxvth 
 chapters, which form one separate and 
 distinct prophecy *, it is resumed. The 
 prophet first threatens the enemies of the 
 people, or church of God, with the most 
 complete destruction ; and then proceeds 
 to foretel the flourishing state of Christ's 
 kingdom after those judgments. The 
 whole of this prophecy is to be consider- 
 ed, according to Bishop Lowth, as a regu- 
 lar poem, highly ornamented, and filled 
 with the most striking and beautiful ima- 
 gery. That part which immediately re- 
 lates to the Messiah -f-, begins at the 4th 
 verse of the xxxvth chapter; Say to them 
 
 * Lowth' s Isaiah. lie gave the same opinion also in 
 his xxth praelection. " Insigne continent vaticinium capita 
 Isaiffi quartum et quintum supra tricesimum. 
 
 + Quse haud dabie proxime referenda sunt ad primum 
 Messiae udventum ; ad miracula ab eo edita; ad evangelii 
 prsdicationem, et divinae gratiae essusionem. Lowth 
 Praelect. xx. 
 
 zvhich 
 
187 
 
 which are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear 
 not ; behold your God will come with venge- 
 ance, even God with a recompence, he will 
 come and save you. They who waited for 
 the salvation of Israel, and began to despair 
 of the Messiah's coming, are here exhorted 
 not to fear; for He was coming who was 
 to save his people from their sins * 9 and take 
 vengeance on them that know not God, and 
 that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ f. Then, continues the prophet, the 
 eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears 
 of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the 
 lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of 
 the dumb sing. Now these are the very 
 miracles which our Saviour performed, 
 and to which he referred as proofs that 
 he was the Messiah foretold by the pro- 
 phets. When the disciples of John the 
 Baptist, came to ask him if he were the 
 Christ J, He that should co?ne, he gave them 
 no other answer, but an application of this 
 
 # Matt. i. 21. f 2Thess. i. 8. 
 
 % Matt. xi. 3, &c. 
 
 very 
 
188 
 
 very prophecy of Isaiah to his owq works ; 
 for the Jews always understood that it re- 
 lated to the Messiah. Go, said he, and 
 shew John again the things which ye do hear 
 and see : the blind receive their sight, and the 
 lame walk, the deaf hear. As if he had 
 said, " Since I perform the very works 
 which your own prophets have foretold 
 that the Messiah should perform, there 
 can need no other proof that I am really 
 He." 
 
 So far this prophecy seems perfectly 
 clear; but the rest of this chapter is not 
 so easy to be understood. It seems to 
 point out glorious tiir.es, long after the 
 coming of Christ, though the consequence 
 of it. But these are things, which in our 
 present state, we can only see as through a 
 glass darkly*. We can hardly even ven- 
 ture to guess a t what God has not been 
 pleased to reveal plainly to us. The future 
 advent of Christ, the conversion and res- 
 toration of the Jews ; and the complete 
 
 * 1 Cor. xiii. 12. 
 
 triumph 
 
189 
 
 triumph of the christian faith, are the 
 great events to which the prophet is here 
 supposed to allude *. 
 
 * Plan' enim videturhoc vaticinium ex eoram numero 
 esse, qu<e ad prxnuntiatorum eventuum metam nondum 
 pervenerunt, in arcanis Dei decretis adhuc reposita. Lowtli. 
 Praelect. xx. Wells considers this prophecy in the same 
 light. 
 
 CliAP 
 
190 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 The remainder of Isaiah. 
 
 1 HE chain of Isaiah's prophecies is here 
 broken off, for the purpose of relating 
 some remarkable circumstances of the life 
 and reign of Hezekiah. It is resumed 
 again in the xlth chapter, which was pro- 
 bably written some years after the xxxvth, 
 but certainly during the miraculous pro- 
 longation of Hezekiah's life. From the 
 beginning of this chapter to the end of the 
 book, is a series of prophecies concerning 
 the mission and person of Christ, occasion- 
 ally interrupted by threats against idolatry 
 and all sin ; by foretelling the destruction 
 of Babylon, and by promises of temporal 
 redemption. 
 
 And these prophecies are so blended 
 
 together, that it is not in every case easy 
 
 to separate them. Some of them indeed 
 
 evidently relate both to the temporal res- 
 
 3 toration 
 
191 
 
 toration of the Jews in their return to 
 Jerusalem after their captivity in Babylon, 
 and to the consolation afforded by the 
 comins: of the Messiah, at the same time. 
 In the opinion both of Lowth and Wells, 
 one instance of this kind occurs in the be- 
 ginning of this fortieth chapter; and cer- 
 tainly, as has been observed before, it is 
 by no means unusual for prophecies to 
 have an allegorical as well as literal sense, 
 a secondary as well as primary meaning. 
 That this however is the case in the present 
 instance, is not so clear; and these verses 
 seem to me rather to relate directly to 
 the Messiah, notwithstanding the learned 
 Bishop's ingenious interpretation, that in 
 the first instance the Highway was to be 
 made strait in the desart, to serve as a pas- 
 sage for the Jews from Babylon to their 
 own land *. 
 
 Indeed the prophecy itself is in some 
 parts so affecting, and in others so sub- 
 
 * Junius and Piscator agree iu referring this prophecy 
 to the Messiah only. 
 
 lime* 
 
192 
 
 ]ime, that it appears at first sight to point 
 to a greater than any merely temporary 
 event. It opens thus, comfort ye, comfort 
 i/e my people, saith your God. Speak ye 
 comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her 
 that her warfare is accomplished, that her 
 iniquity is pardoned : for she hath received of 
 the Lord's hand double for alt her sins. The 
 comfort offered to the people in this affec- 
 ting manner, is the same as the good tidings 
 of great joy, brought by the Angel to the 
 shepherds; Luke ii. 10, when he announced 
 the birth of Christ. It was the completion 
 of the promises; and according to a very 
 usual prophetic idiom, a future event is 
 spoken of, as if already past*. She. hath 
 
 * It was in this sense, I think, that our Saviour alluded 
 to the murder of Zachai ias, mentioned by Josephus, (de 
 Bell. lib. iv. chap. 1Q ) which happened so long after his 
 deatli. Commentators have generally referred this to 
 another Zacharias, mentioned in 2 Chron. xxiv. 20; but it 
 seems to me, that our Lord spoke prophetically of an event 
 which was to include the whole of the wickedness of the 
 Jews, which was to be visited on that generation : otherwise 
 the death of Christ himself would not have been included 
 in that visitation. See JSJatt. xxiii. 35, and Lukexi. .51. 
 
 received 
 
193 
 
 received of the Lord double * for all her sins. 
 That is, " this redemption has made (i. e. 
 will make) Jerusalem ample amends for 
 the punishment which her sins have brought 
 upon her/' Then follows a prophetic 
 notice of one who should precede this 
 Redeemer. The voice of him that crieth in 
 the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the 
 Lord, make strait in the desart a highway for 
 our God. That this prophecy relates to 
 John the Baptist can admit of no doubt, 
 since to him it is expressly referred by all 
 the evangelists ; and he himself when asked 
 who he was, John i. 23, said that he was 
 this voice. In order to draw the attention 
 of the people towards it, he went and 
 lived in the desart, or wilderness of Judaea 
 (a wild and mountainous country, yet con- 
 taining in it many villages and cities °f) 
 and used the very words of Isaiah. He 
 was to prepare the way for the great Re- 
 
 * A double portion of thy spirit > 2 Kings ii. 9* a large 
 portion ; the elder brother's share, according to the Jewish 
 law, was a double portion. 
 
 t See Fuller's Pisgah. 
 
 O deemer. 
 
194* 
 
 deemer, by announcing him to the peo- 
 ple, and calling them to repentance and a 
 new life, in order to make them fit to 
 receive the gospel. And it is very evident 
 that the Jews themselves understood the 
 prophecy as here explained, and not as 
 fulfilled when their forefathers returnee} 
 from Babylon, because the Baptist pointed 
 out his own mission and office by referr- 
 ing to it alone. I am, said he, John i. 23, 
 the voice of one crying in the wilderness, make 
 straight the way of the Lord, as said the pro- 
 phet Esaias. Nor did the Jews pretend to 
 be ionorant of the application and mean- 
 ing of the prophecy : but only doubted the 
 propriety of his administering baptism, 
 •which circumstance had not been foretold 
 by the prophet. 
 
 The prophecy continues thus ; even/ val~ 
 lei/ shall be exalted, and every mountain and 
 hill shall he made low : and the crooked shall 
 he made strait, and the rough places plain. 
 In this sublime manner of announcing the 
 preparation of the way for the King of the 
 Jews, the Redeemer of the world, the ex- 
 pressions are taken from a custom, well 
 
 and 
 
195 
 
 and generally known in those parts of the 
 world, of a division of the army always 
 preceding the eastern Monarchs, to re- 
 move every obstacle from the road, to 
 level hills and fill up valleys, that they 
 might meet with no obstruction on their 
 march *. And when the way is thus pre- 
 pared, the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, 
 and all flesh shall see it together : for the mouth 
 of the Lord hath spoken it. 
 
 After the prophet in the next three 
 verses f, had proclaimed in most affectino- 
 language, the weakness and frailty of man, 
 and contrasted it with the stability of the 
 word of God which shall stand for ever%; he 
 returned again, in the 9th verse, to the 
 main subject of bis prophecy. O Zion that 
 bringest good tidings (or rather, according 
 to the marginal translation which is un- 
 
 * Seultet. in loc. and Diodorus, as quoted by Lowth. 
 
 + But the»e three verses, in the opinion of Bishop 
 Lowth, have an allegorical reference to the " opposition 
 of the flesh to the spirit ; of the carnal Israel to the spiri- 
 tual ; and of the temporary Mosaic oeconomy, to the eternal 
 christian dispensation." 
 
 t Chap. xl. ver. 8. 
 
 o c J! doubtedlv 
 
196 
 
 doubtedly right, thou that bringest good 
 tidings to Zion) — say unto the cities of Judah, 
 Behold your God. Behold the Lord God 
 will come with strong hand, and his arm shall 
 rule for him : Behold his reward is with him, 
 and his work before Mm. In this last dis- 
 pensation, the Lord God will come with 
 power, and his arm shall be " against the 
 strong */* Me will bring with him a re- 
 ward for his faithful servants, and a recom- 
 pense for their works f . Having thus in- 
 troduced the Lord as armed with might 
 and justice, the prophet then proceeds to 
 his milder attributes of mercy, love and 
 kindness. He shall feed his flock like a 
 shepherd : he shall gather the lambs with his 
 urm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall 
 
 *.. So expressed in the margin, which is the better trans- 
 lation. 
 
 f It is in this manner that Lowth translates it, nearly 
 the same as the marginal version. In the lxx however 
 it is, xai % epyov zK«.a% ev*v?iov avis, and the work of every 
 man is before him, i. e. before God ; which must bring to 
 mind the passage in Rev. xxii. 12, And behold I come 
 quickly, and my reward is with me, to give to evert/ man 
 according as his works shall be. 
 
 gently 
 
197 
 
 gently lead those that are with young. Of 
 the propriety of the application of this 
 beautiful alleoorv to Christ, none can 
 doubt who have considered his character, 
 not only as the Redeemer of the world, but 
 as the son of man. His love for all man- 
 kind, and his peculiar affection for his 
 personal friends, eminently distinguish him 
 as the good shepherd. And it is remarkable 
 that he not only assumes to himself this 
 very title *, and illustrates his mission by 
 parables drawn from it, but also recom- 
 mends the same care, gentleness, and af- 
 fection, to the Apostles who were to spread 
 his religion. 
 
 In the latter part of this, and in the 
 following chapter, Isaiah enlarges upon 
 the power, the mercies, and the knowledge 
 of God ; and then proceeds again to the 
 great deliverance to be wrought by Christ, 
 with which he begins his forty-second 
 chapter. Behold my servant whom I uphold, 
 mine elect in whom my soul delighteth ; I have 
 put my spirit upon him, he shall bring forth 
 
 * John x. 11, &c— John xxi. 15, &c. 
 
 judgment 
 
198 
 
 judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not cry, 
 nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in 
 the street. A bruised reed shall he not break : 
 and the smoking flax shall he not quench : He 
 shall bring forth judgment unto truth. That 
 this prophecy directly applies to Christ is 
 perfectly clear; and St. Matthew, Chap, 
 xii. ver. 17, &c, quotes these very verses as 
 being fulfilled in him. In the Chaldee * 
 it begins " Behold my servant Messiah ;" 
 and according to the old edition of the 
 vulgate translation of the verse in St. 
 Matthew, in which there is a trifling varia- 
 tion from the original of the prophet, it is; 
 " Behold my son whom I have chosen, 
 my beloved in whom my soul is well 
 pleased •f" which must remind us of the 
 voice from Heaven when Jesus was bap- 
 
 * As quoted by Chandler, Leslie, and Lowth. 
 
 •f* Ecce lilius rneus quern elegi : dilectus meus, in quo 
 sibi bene complacuit annua mea. The Vatican vulgate 
 instead of filim has pjier ,' and renders the verse in Isaiah, 
 Ecce servus meus, suscipiam euin, electus meus, compla- 
 cuit sibi in illo anima mea. 
 
 The LXX has Ipxa/jS o wscis y^v — IfffavjX o gjcXfiJoy pt»; 
 but the application is the same in all. 
 
 $ ti^ed, 
 
199 
 
 tized, Matt. iii. 17> saying, This is my be- 
 loved son in whom I am zee 11 pleased. This 
 passage therefore announces the promised 
 Messiah, as the beloved and elect of God, 
 and endued with his spirit. lie was to 
 publish judgment to the world. He was 
 to open his mission in privacy, without 
 noise, tumult, or ostentation. His gentle- 
 ness and mercy were to be such, that lie 
 would not break the bruised reed nor quench 
 the smoking Jlai ; that is, would not drive 
 the wounded conscience to despair * : And 
 the judgment which he was to bring to the 
 world was to be in truth. And till all this 
 is established, and the isles (the most re- 
 mote parts of the earth) earnestly desire 
 his lau\ his power shall remain -|-. He 
 
 * Conscientias sensu peccatoi um territas non adiget ad 
 desperationem, set! pefpromissioriem gratia? erjget et con- 
 solabitur. Piscator in loc. How truly this was fulfilled 
 in Christ, none who road his history with attention can 
 doubt. 
 
 •\ For it is to cease, as Mediator, Saviour, and Son, at 
 the final consummation of all things ; then shall the son 
 also himself be subject, &c. 1 Cor. xv. 28. But when we 
 consider how much of the world is still unconverted, the 
 accomplishment of this prophecy seems still vevy remote 
 without the intervention of a miracle. 
 
 shall 
 
200 
 
 shall not fail, nor be discouraged, till he have 
 set judgment in the earth : and the Isles ^ 
 shall wait for his law. 
 
 Having thus described the character 
 and office of the Messiah, the prophet 
 proceeds to give, as it were, a sanction to 
 his mission, by enlarging on the greatness 
 of God, and assuring the nations that he 
 was to be sent by him. Thus saith God 
 the Lord, he that created the heavens and 
 stretched them out', he that spread forth the 
 earth, and that which cometh out of it, he that 
 giveth breath unto the people upon it, and 
 spirit to them that walk therein. I the Lord 
 have called thee in righteousness (Christ) and 
 will hold thine hand, and zvillkeep thee, and give 
 thee for a covenant of the people ~\;for a light 
 of the Gentiles^, to open the blind eyes, to bring 
 out the prisoners from the prison, and them 
 that sit in darkness out of the prison house. 
 
 * Or, as it is rendered by the lxx, and by Junius, " the 
 nations shall have hope on his name" or " doctrine." — The 
 meaning is much the same as in the text. 
 
 *j- This is my blood of the New Testament ivhich is shed 
 for many. Mark xiv. 24. 
 
 % A light to lighten the Gentiles. Luke ii. 32. 
 
 This 
 
201 
 
 This last verse docs not allude to the mira- 
 cles of Christ, but is rather to be consider- 
 ed as fulfilled, in a spiritual and allegorical 
 sense, by the preaching of the Gospel. For 
 this opened the blind eyes by illuminating 
 the mind ; and brought out the prisoners 
 from the darkness of the prison house, by de- 
 livering those who embraced it, from the 
 gloomy bondage of sin and Satan *. I am 
 the Lord, continues this sublime prophecy, 
 Behold the former things are come to pass, 
 and new things do I declare : before they 
 spring forth I tell you of them. In which 
 words God assures his people, that as cer- 
 tainly as his former predictions had come 
 to pass, so surely this new prophecy also 
 should be fulfilled. 
 
 The seven following chapters principally 
 relate to the destruction of Babylon, and 
 the redemption of the Jews from their im- 
 pending captivity ; but in the forty-ninth 
 the prophet introduces Christ in person, 
 
 * Or, as Warburton argues in his " Divine Legation/' 
 by bringing to light the doctrine of a future life, which had 
 not been revealed in the Law of Moses. 
 
 declaring 
 
202 
 
 declaring the intent, and purpose of his 
 mission. This therefore is not so properly 
 a promise that a Redeemer should come, 
 as it is a prediction of what the effects of 
 Ins coming should be. Probably indeed 
 by this time the repetition of that promise 
 was needless. The prophets had so often 
 foretold this great event, at sundry times 
 and in divers manners, that the people could 
 no longer be ignorant that such a person 
 was to come into the world. In this chap 
 ter therefore Christ himself appears, and in 
 language highly metaphorical, though 
 easily to be comprehended, declares his 
 office. The Lord, says he, hath called me 
 from the womb, even before my birth into 
 this world he has appointed me to this 
 service; and said unto me, (ver. 3.) thou art 
 my servant, Israel, in zchon I will be glori- 
 fied. (To this perhaps Jesus alluded when 
 he said, John xii. 28, Father glorify thy 
 ■name. Then came there a voice from Hea- 
 ven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will 
 glorify it again.) Israel is here obviously 
 used as a name for Christ; since he is the 
 true mediator, who as a Prince contended 
 
 with 
 
203 
 
 -with power on behalf of men with God, and 
 prevailed *. The prophecy goes on to de- 
 clare, that not only the Jews should be re- 
 stored through Christ to the favor of God, 
 but that the rest of the world also should 
 be enlightened by him, and saved through 
 him. And he (that is, God) said, It is a 
 light thing that thou shouldest be my servant 
 to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore 
 the preserved of Israel : I will also give thee 
 for a light to the Gentiles (as in Chapter 
 xxii. 6.) that thou mayest be my salvation, 
 unto the end of the earth, (ver. 6.) 
 
 Here finishes what Christ himself is sup- 
 posed to say; but the same subject of the 
 prosperity of the kingdom of the Messiah, 
 and the calling of the Gentiles, is conti- 
 nued throughout the chapter in a high 
 oriental style of figurative colouring. As 
 in the xliid chapter, so Christ is here also 
 said, in the 9th verse, to deliver the pri- 
 soners, (that is, from mental blindness) and 
 to them it is promised that they shall not 
 
 * Gen. xxxii. C8, in which the word Israel is explained, 
 $nd Jacob appears as a type of our Saviour, 
 
 hunger 
 
204 
 
 hunger nor thirst, nor suffer from the heat 
 of the sun; which promise is confined in 
 the viith chapter of the Revelations, to 
 those who came out of great tribulation, and 
 have washed their robes, and made them white 
 in the bhod of the Lamb * ; that is, those 
 who have suffered great afflictions for their 
 sins, and have sincerely repented ofthem-f; 
 whose souls therefore have been purified 
 and accepted through the blood of the Lamb, 
 the sacrifice and atonement of Christ. 
 
 In the fiftieth chapter is a passage, con- 
 cerning which it is not very clear whether 
 Isaiah is speaking of himself, or of the 
 Messiah; or whether, in a double sense, 
 it was fulfilled in both. In our Saviour 
 it was certainly completed in its literal 
 meaning, and it will therefore be sufficient 
 merely to point it out. This occurs in 
 
 * The Lamb of God (John i. 2Q.) the sacrifice once 
 offered, (Heb. ix. 26, 28.) not for one nation, but for the 
 whole world ; by whom ae have now received the atonement. 
 Romans v. 1 1 . 
 
 *|- This passage is however understood by Wells and 
 others, of those who have suffered persecution for Christ's 
 sake. 
 
 the 
 
205 
 
 the vith verse, I gave my bach to the smiters, 
 and my cheeks to them that plucked off the 
 hair : I hid not my face from shame and 
 spitting. When we consider the particulars 
 of Christ's sufferings as related by all the 
 evangelists, and compare them with the 
 precise circumstances mentioned in this 
 verse, the coincidence seems too remark- 
 able not to be understood as the fulfilling 
 of this prophecy. 
 
 The next prophecy to be considered as 
 applying directly to the Messiah, begins 
 in the 13th verse of the Hid chapter, and 
 is continued through the whole of the 
 liiid ; and with this verse indeed some 
 copies of the Bible begin the liiid chap- 
 ter, as they all ought to do. " Hitherto" 
 (as Bishop Lowth says, and his explan- 
 ation is so clear that I cannot do better 
 than make use of it,) " the subject of 
 Isaiah's prophecy from the fortieth chap- 
 ter inclusive, has been in general the de- 
 liverance of the people of God. This 
 includes in it three parts, distinct but 
 connected ; the deliverance of the Jews 
 from Babylon ; that of the Gentiles from 
 
 ignorance 
 
206 
 
 ignorance and idolatry; and that of man- 
 kind from sin and death. In t3ie first 
 Cyrus was the agent ; in the two latter a 
 greater person called the Servant, the elect 
 of God, Israel in whom God will be glori- 
 fied. These are considered by Isaiah as a 
 prophet and a poet: he has allegorised 
 the first deliverance, and under the image 
 of it has shadowed out the two latter; 
 he has thrown them altogether, has mixed 
 one with the other, and has passed from 
 this to that with rapid transitions." 
 
 It is this manner of writing, so well ex- 
 plained by the learned Bishop, that en- 
 cumbers these prophecies with so many 
 difficulties, and prevents commentators 
 from always distinguishing clearly be- 
 tween the literal, and spiritual or mystic 
 sense; but in the prophecy now to be 
 considered this difficulty at least ceases, 
 for it relates wholly and obviously to 
 Christ only; and describes his births 
 manners, sufferings, and death, as if it 
 had been written after the event instead 
 of several centuries before it. And 
 though this is denied by most of the Jews 
 
 since 
 
207 
 
 since our Saviour's time, and the pro- 
 phecy applied to Isaiah, Jeremiah *, the 
 whole nation of the Jews -j-, and even to 
 
 * Grotius seems to lean to that opinion in his com- 
 mentary ; or at least that the prophecy bears a double 
 meaning. " Hie notae in Jeremiain congruunt prius, sed 
 potius in Christum." Bat in his book de verit. Christ. Rel. 
 he says decidedly that it can apply to Christ only. " Quis 
 petest nominari aut regum aut prophetarum in qucm 
 h?ec congruunt? Neno sane." De Verit. Lib. v. This 
 inconsistency was also noticed by Whitby, and also formed 
 the subject of a controversy in the " Censura Literariu" in 
 1808 and 9 ;in which the author took a part, as mentioned 
 before. « 
 
 -f- " Ac conantur quidem hodieque Judasi, si quo motSq 
 clarissimum hoc vaticinium vel infuscare, vel una quasi 
 litura, possint inducere : dum illud quidem ad Jesaiam 
 ipsum, alii ad populum Judaicum * s nonnulli ad Ezram, 
 quidem denique ad Josuam, sumnmm sacerdotem, Jose- 
 deki nlium referunt. Sero quidem isti! jamdudam enim 
 vetustissimi Judaeorum, qui ante et post Christum natum 
 vixerunt, vaticinium hoc de Messia intelligendum, docu- 
 erunt. In tantum uidem ut Jonathan Chaldaaus ille, 
 paiaphrastes, disertim legat, ecce, prosperabitur iervtts 
 me us Messiah." Scultet. in loc. 
 
 . * Itosemuller, as quoted by the author's antagonist in Censura I.i- 
 trtana, has revived the old opinion, so clearly proved to be unfounded 
 by Leslie, Chandler, and many others, that the nation of the Je«s is the 
 person here meant, 
 
 Isaiah 
 
203 
 
 Isaiah himself, yet all their ingenuity can- 
 not make all the parts of it applicable to 
 any person but Christ ; and therefore they 
 are driven to suppose that there are to 
 be two Christs, one of the tribe of 
 Ephraim to suffer, and be humiliated, 
 and the other, of the tribe of Judah and 
 seed of David, to be exalted. But these 
 absurd notions are comparatively of late 
 date, for the Targum of Jonathan, a 
 paraphrase of the Old Testament com- 
 posed by a learned Jew of that name, 
 before our Saviour *, interprets this pro- 
 phecy of the Messiah ; and so do the 
 most learned and eminent Jewish Doctors 
 who wrote afterwards f. But to us there 
 is still higher authority; for St. John, 
 (xii. 41,) after quoting the beginning of 
 this liiid chapter, and another prophecy 
 of Isaiah in his vith chapter, says, these 
 tilings said Esaias when he saw his glory and 
 
 * Scultetus as before cited, and Prideaux. 
 
 ■f See them mentioned in Grot, de verit. Lib. v ; in 
 Dr. G. Sharpe on Prophecy; in Bp. Chandler's" Defence," 
 and in Leslie's " Truth of Christianity." 
 
 8 spake 
 
c 209 
 
 spake of him; i. e. of Christ. And St. 
 Paul also in his Epistle to the Romans, 
 (x. 16.) applies the beginning of this 
 liiid chapter to the preaching of the 
 gospel *. 
 
 This wonderful prophecy begins, as 
 ■was before observed, at the 13th verse 
 of the fifty second chapter, and the whole 
 of it to the. end of the fifty third chapter 
 belongs to Christ only. It has ahvavs 
 appeared to me to be one of the strongest 
 external proofs that Jesus was the Christ, 
 and therefore to require more than ordi- 
 nary care to understand and explain it. 
 Perhaps the readiest way to make it in- 
 telligible, will be to follow the method 
 ■which was adopted by Bishop Chandler, 
 
 * See Pale/s " Evidences," vol. ii. in which the proofs 
 of the application of this prophecy to Christ are clearly 
 avid ably stated. " Vaticiniam hoc Esaiae est carniricina 
 Rabbinorum, de quo aliqui Juda^i mini confessi sunt, 
 Rabbinos suos ex propheticis scripturis facile se extricare 
 potuisse, modo Esaias tacuisset." Hulse, Theol. Jud. 
 p. 318, as quoted by Paley, vol. ii. p. 7. 
 
 See also a long account of the Jewish opinions upon 
 this subject, and their refutation, in Basaage's Hist, of 
 the Jews. — Book iv. ch. 23. 
 
 P (though 
 
210 
 
 (though the explanation itself will often 
 'differ from his) and place each verse of 
 the text, with its meaning, and application 
 to Jesus in parallel columns. 
 
 Text. 
 
 hi. 13. Behold my 
 ■servant shall deal prudent- 
 ly, (or rather as in the 
 margin, shall prosper *) 
 •fie shall be exalted and 
 extolled and be very high. 
 
 14. As many as were 
 astonished at thee (his 
 visage was so marred more 
 than am/ man, and his 
 
 form more than the sons 
 of men) 
 
 15. So shall he sprinkle 
 many nations, the kings 
 
 shall 
 
 Explanation. 
 
 Behold the Messiah -j- my 
 servant, he shall prosper and 
 be very highly exalted %. 
 
 As many .shall be asto» 
 nished at the low state of the 
 Messiah, whom they expected 
 to come in glory (inasmuch 
 as his sufferings had so greatly 
 disfigured his form and coun- 
 tenance) 
 
 So afterwards shall many 
 
 nations admire his great- 
 
 nessj 
 
 * Prosperchiiur. Junius. 
 
 f The Messiah is the translation in the Targum as 
 tncntioned before. 
 
 ho took upon him the form of a servant, and was 
 made in the likeness of men.— Wherefore God also hath 
 highly exulted him and given him a nam: which is ahova 
 every name. Phil. xii. 7, 9- 
 
211 
 
 Text. Explanation. 
 
 shall shut their mouths at ness f : kings shall keep 
 (or rather before) # him : silence before him ; for they 
 for that which had not shall see the wonderful effects 
 been told them shall they of his coming into the world, 
 see: and that ichich they although us Gentiles they knew 
 had not heard shall thei) not that Christ was to come, 
 consider. nor were acquainted with the 
 
 prophecies concerning him. 
 Lin. 1. JVho hath he- Vet notwithstanding, who 
 lieved our report, and to of the Jews, to whom Christ 
 whom is the arm of the was first sent, believed this 
 Lord revealed? report of the prophets con- 
 
 cerning him ? Who believed 
 in Christ, though the power t 
 of God was fully revealed in 
 him by the miracles and 
 wonders that he wrought? 
 *>. For he shall grow The reason of this unbelief 
 vp before him as a tender is that Christ, instead of ap- 
 plantj and as a root out of pearing in worldly might and 
 a drj/ glory, 
 
 * Lowth ; and the old Great Bible. 
 
 •f The word sprinkle, Bp. Chandler, Du Hamel, and 
 Dr. G. Sbarpe suppose to allude to baptism ; but Lowth 
 with much learning and ingenuity shews that it may be 
 rendered admit e, and Junius considers it in the same 
 light, and renders it " persperget stupore gentes," and in 
 his note, " bonorum &c. atferuntur admiratione." 
 
 | Tor this interpretation of the word arm, see Johe 
 sii. 37 and 58. 
 
 ? 2 
 
212 
 
 Text. Explanation. 
 
 « dry ground: he hath no glory, like a strong tree sprhig- 
 form nor comeliness : and ing from a rich soil, shall be, 
 when we shall see him, as to his apparent birth and 
 there is no beauty t/iat we situation, like a sickly and 
 should desire him. tender plant produced in a 
 
 drif and barren land * : there 
 is no splendor or magnificence 
 in his worldly appearance, 
 such as the Jews expected ; 
 so that when they saw him, 
 there was no outward distinc- 
 tion in him to induce them 
 to consider the meek and 
 [only Nazarene as the desire 
 vf all nations f ; or the son 
 of a carpenter, as the Messiah 
 whom they expected to come 
 in triumph. 
 3. He is despised and He is despised and rejected 
 t ejected of men, a man of by the world, a man ofsor- 
 sorrows, and acquainted rotes and acquaincd with 
 with grief: and we hid grief: and his face (like that 
 as it were our faces from of a leper or a mourner) is 
 him ,' covered, 
 
 * Possibly there may be an allusion here to his type 
 and progenitor Isaac, who was a root of a dry ground, 
 born of Abraham whose body was now. dead, and of 
 Sarah whose womb was dead. Rom. iv> 19. 
 
 t Haggai ii. 7. 
 
213 
 
 Text Explanations 
 
 him ; he was despised and covered f, and therefore he a 
 
 rce esteemed him not *. despised, and held iu no 
 
 esteem. 
 
 4. Surehj he hath horn Surely his griefs and sor* 
 our griefs, arid carried our roics are ours, which he (like 
 sorrows ; yet we did esteem a sacrifiee,or the Jewish scape* 
 him stricken, smitten of goat,) hath horn for us J : 
 God and afflicted* yet we esteemed him to be 
 
 stricken (as it were with le- 
 prosy §) afflicted and punished 
 of God like a criminal. 
 
 5. But he teas wounded But it is not so; for h« 
 for our transgressions, he was wounded and tormented 
 &as bruised for our ini- for our sius, not for his own : 
 
 qui ties ; ho 
 
 * He came unto his own, and his own received hint 
 fiot. John i- 11* 
 
 -f The marginal version, which is undoubtedly right, 
 and with which all the best translations agree, as well as 
 the ixx and Vulgate, His. face is said to be covered 
 like a leper or mourner, because he appeared in an hum- 
 ble situation, and not like the Son of God. See the next; 
 verse. 
 
 1 This intepretation Is strengthened by the lxx, xzt 
 wefi wimi/v oSwalui, " and was afflicted for us," which 
 cannot be understood of healing the sick, or taking 
 away afflictions from others, which Dr. G- Sharpe sup-. 
 poses to be the sense of tiie passage, 
 
 § " Quasi leprosus," — Vulgate, Jt is so expluined alsq 
 >n the Talmud, Sanhcd, xi. 30, 
 
£14 
 
 Text. Explanation. 
 
 quities : the chastisement he hath born the punishment 
 
 of our peace was upon by which our peace is gained, 
 
 him, and with his stripes and by his stripes zee are 
 
 we are heated. healed. 
 
 6. Alt ne like sheep We have wandered from 
 have gone astray: we the right way, like sheep: 
 have turned every one to (all have sinned and come 
 his Oku way, and the short of the glory of God, 
 Lord hath laid on him Rom. iii. 23,) and God hath 
 the iniquity of us all. • laid on him the punishment 
 
 of all our sins *. 
 
 7. He was oppressed, This atonement (the debt 
 and he was afflicted; yet due to God for sin) was ex- 
 hs opened not his mouth: acted f, and he was made 
 he is brought as a lamb answerable lor it, yet he kept 
 to the slaughter, and as silence : and as a lamb when 
 a sheep before her shearers brought to the slaughter, or 
 is dumb, so he openeth not « sheep before her shearers , 
 his mouth. • is dumb, so Jesus, the lamb 
 
 of God, when falsely ac- 
 cused before the high priest, 
 held his peace, (Matt. xxvi. 
 63.) aud when Pilate urged 
 him, he answered him to never 
 a word. (Matt, xxvii. 14.) 
 S. He He 
 
 * In this manner the lxx understood it — Kvptos vrap- 
 eowxev avlfjv fas afjuzpliais -ri(j.uv, the Lord hath delivered 
 hi:n (i. e. to death) for our sins. 
 
 f This is according to Lowth's translation, with whom 
 Junius, Piscator, and Chandler agree. 
 
21.5 
 
 Text. Explanation. 
 
 8. lie zcas taken from He was taken off illegallyV 
 prison and from judg- though under cr>lour of jns- 
 ment * : and who shall tice ; and there was no one 
 declare his generation? who was summoned, accord- 
 for he zcas rut off out of ing to the usual custom, to 
 the land of the living : bear witness to his inno-T 
 for the transgression of my cence f ; for he was cut off 
 people zcas he smitten, out of the land of the living, 
 
 and put to death not for his 
 
 own sins, but for those of my 
 
 people. 
 
 €). And he made his .And his grave was ap_ 
 
 grave Kith the wicked, pointed to be with Use 
 
 and with the rich in his wicked, (the malefactors who 
 
 death, because he had done were crucified with him ori 
 
 no Moiuit 
 
 * In the Great Bible 1566, this is translated, his cause 
 not hearde and without any judgement e. 
 
 \ " And his manner of hie who would declare ?" Lowth, 
 who quotes Kennicott for the proof, from the Jewish 
 writers, of the existence of such a custom. The Baby- 
 lonian Talmud says it was observed in the case of jesua 
 even for forty days, which the testimony of the Evange- 
 lists proves to be false. The custom is explained m 
 Godwin's" Moses and Aaron," Lib. v. ; and more 'co- 
 piously by Lowth in his note on this verse. The last 
 part of this verse is rendered in the old translation 1 odd, 
 for the transgression of my people, which indeed hucl 
 Reserved that punishment, 
 
216 
 
 Text. 
 
 no violence, neither was 
 any deceit in his mouth. 
 
 10. Yet it pleased the 
 J^ord to bruise him, he 
 hath put him to grief; 
 when thou shall make his 
 Soul an offering for sin, 
 }ie shall see his seed, he 
 shall prolong his days J, 
 and the pleasure of the 
 Lord shall prosper in 
 his hand §. ' <. 
 
 11. lie 
 
 Explanation. 
 
 Mount Calvary) but on thh 
 contrary, bis body was de- 
 posited in the tomb of a rich 
 man of Arvmathm, named 
 Joseph, an honourable coun- 
 sellor * ; wrapped in linen 
 with valuable spices, as the 
 great and rich were usually 
 buried ; because he had done 
 no violence, neither was any 
 deceit in his mouth f. 
 
 Yet it pleased the Lord 
 that he should suffer stripes 
 and afflictions ; when he shall 
 offer up his own lire a sacri- 
 fice for sin, he shall see a 
 lasting series of disciples as 
 it were his own offspring, and 
 the will of God shall be exe- 
 cuted by him prosperously. 
 
 He 
 
 * Matt, xxvii. 57. Mark xv. 43. John xix. 'AQ, &c. 
 
 *j- Who did no sin, ntither was guile found in his 
 fnouth. 1 Pet. ii. 22. 
 
 + This should be rendered, whose days shall he pro- 
 longed. Louth and Chandler. 
 
 § This 10th verse also is applied to the Messiah by 
 name in the Targum of Jonathan. Prideaux, Connect, 
 VoJ. iii. 551, Oct. edit. 
 
217 
 
 Text. 
 
 11. He shall see of 
 the travail of his soul, 
 and shall he satisfied : bij 
 his knowledge shall my 
 righteous servant justify 
 many; for he shall bear 
 their iniquities. 
 
 1<2. Therefore mil I 
 divide him a portion zcith 
 the great, and he shall 
 divide the spoil with (or 
 rather as in the lxx, of) 
 the strong : because he 
 hath poured out his soul 
 unto death: and he was 
 num- 
 
 EXPLANATION. 
 
 He shall see the success of 
 his labours and sufferings, and 
 shall be satisfied : by the know- 
 ledge of him *, by his being 
 made manifest to the world, 
 shall my righteous servani 
 save and justify many : f>r 
 he shall bear their iniqui- 
 ties \, 
 
 Therefore will I enable 
 him to overcome all thje 
 great and powerful adver- 
 saries of his religion ; be- 
 cause he hath willingly t sur- 
 rendered himself to death ; 
 and he was included among 
 malefactors ^, although in 
 reality 
 
 * u Cognitione sui ju.stos reddet." Castalio. 
 " Cognitione sui justificabit." Tremell. et Junius. 
 " By the knowledge of him." Lowth. 
 •f Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on 
 the tree. 1 Pet. ii. 24. 
 
 t " Quoniam objecerit animarn suam morti." Castalio. 
 lt Pro eo quod profudit in mortem se ipsmrj. Junius. 
 So we find in the Gospel. / lay dozen my life. — No 
 man takelh it front me, but I lay it down of myself. John 
 %. 17, 18. 
 
 § And there were also tzco other malefactors (properly, 
 (ko others being malefactors) led with him to be put to 
 
 ilea U i . 
 
218 
 
 Text. Explanation. 
 
 numbered with the trans- reality he suffered for the 
 grcsmn) and he bare the sins * of others, and at his 
 sin of mam/, and made death, having no sins of his 
 inter cession for the trans- own for which to pray, he 
 gressors. made intercession for sin- 
 
 ners *f-. 
 
 Such appears to me to be the sense 
 and application of this wonderful oracle; 
 and could any such have been produced 
 in the annals of pagan my thology, written 
 so many years before the events look place, 
 and fulfilled with respect to so many 
 
 death. Luke xxiii. 32. This prophecy Christ expressly 
 applied to himself; For I say *unto you that this that is 
 written mm uet he accomplished in me, and he was reckoned 
 among the transgressors : for the things concerning me have 
 tin end, (that is, must be accomplished) Luke xxii. 37. 
 ^ * Aiojiuu. lxx. The synnes of the multitude. Old 
 Version. 
 
 f lie ever liveth to make intercession for them. Heb. 
 *ii. 25. And more particularly for his murderers them- 
 selves; Father, forgive them, for they know not what they 
 do. Luke xxiii. 34. In the lxx the conclusion of 
 this prophecy is, KM h« 7a* xvoimzs av lm styeM, and h© 
 was delivered for their iaifiuities. 
 
 seemingly 
 
°\9 
 
 seemingly contradictory circumstances, the 
 works of the ancient learned would have 
 resounded with the praise of it. It would 
 have been the theme of every philoso- 
 pher, and the subject of every poet. But 
 the application of the prophecies to Chris- 
 tianity was made by slow degrees. Its 
 first professors were low and illiterate 
 men, and even alter they were enabled 
 to speak other languages by the inspi- 
 ration of the Holy Ghost, it does not ap- 
 pear that they ever made use of gentile 
 learning, (St. Paul perhaps in some few 
 instances excepted) for the spreading of 
 the gospel of Christ. And even St. Paul 
 in general either disdained, or thought it 
 improper, to use the enticing words of mens 
 wisdom. 
 
 The prophecies themselves were but 
 little known to the gentile world: the 
 Jews separated from all other nations by 
 institutions singularly repulsive, and 
 proud of their descent, of their promises, 
 and of their knowledge of the true God, 
 always considered themselves as a chosen 
 generation, an holy nation, a peculiar people. 
 
 They 
 
no 
 
 They held in contempt therefore, as welt 
 as hatred, ail the gentiles, and were in 
 their turn hated and despised by them. 
 For this reason the heathen poets and 
 philosophers, when they borrowed from 
 the Jewish books, as in many instances 
 they appear to have done, never acknow- 
 ledged their obligations to them. For 
 not only the sole key to a great part of 
 the heathen mythology is to be found in 
 the Bible *, but there is sufficient reason 
 to believe, as was before mentioned, that 
 the Sibylline verses were taken from the 
 Jewish prophets, and that they gave rise 
 to Virgil's celebrated Eclogue of the 
 golden age, and a glorious king to comef. 
 For these reasons the Jewish prophecies 
 made but little impression upon the hea- 
 then world, till they were opened to then) 
 
 * However fanciful Mr. Bryant's abstruse and learned. 
 work upon this subject, as well as Gale's " court of th 
 Gentiles/' may be in some particulars,, yet they seem to 
 have established this point beyond all doubt. 
 
 + See a dissertation upon this subject in Prideaux's 
 Connection, and in Chandler's ' ( Defence of Christie 
 
 and 
 
 w 
 
221 
 
 and explained by St. Paul, after tLey had 
 been fulfilled by Christ. Plain as this last 
 mentioned prophecy now appears to us, it 
 is only the completion of it that makes it 
 such. The Ethiopian Eunuch, probably 
 a " Proselyte of the gate *," certainly a 
 pious man, and in ahighoffice under a great 
 monarchy, studied it in vain till Philip 
 explained it to him, by comparing it with 
 the events of our Saviour's life. At first 
 sight indeed the circumstances foretold 
 seem so contradictory as not possibly to 
 relate to the same person. He shall ht 
 exalted and extolled, yet his visage and form 
 were to be marred. He was to have no 
 comeliness or beauty; to be despised and 
 rejected of men; to be esteemed smitten 
 and afflicted of God; yet he was a righte- 
 ous servant, and was to be satisfied; his 
 
 * One who conformed to the moral law of the Jews, 
 and their belief in the one only God. But Grotius sup- 
 poses him to have been a proselyte of justice; one who 
 also submitted to the ritual observances of the Mosaic 
 law, which is not probable, considering the great distance 
 (Ethiopia in Africa) at which he lived from Jerusalem. 
 See Acts viii. 37- &c. 
 
 portion 
 
222 
 
 portion was to be with the great, and he 
 was to divide the spoil with the strong. 
 Though he bore our griefs and carried our 
 sorrows, yet he was numbered with the trans- 
 gressors. Though he had done no violence, 
 still his grave was meant to be with the 
 wicked; and jet in this design his perse- 
 cutors were to be disappointed, and after 
 his death his body was to be laid in the 
 tomb of the rich. 
 
 All these circumstances however ap- 
 parently contradictory, were reconciled in 
 the humiliation of our Saviour's life, and 
 his subsequent glory; in his mediation 
 and atonement. Those among them 
 which are merely historical, are sufficient- 
 ly obvious. That he was a man of sorrows 
 and rejected of men; that his visage was 
 wounded, and his form marred with 
 stripes; that he kept silence and opened 
 not his mouth before his judges; that no 
 one was called to bear witness to his in- 
 nocence ; that he was numbered with the 
 transgressors, put to death with the wicked, 
 and buried in a rich man's tomb, are cir- 
 cumstances of which none can be ignorant 
 
 who 
 
223 
 
 who read the gospels. Yet they are such, 
 when taken together, as no human wisdom 
 could foresee, nor human power either 
 prevent or prod nee. For some of them 
 depended upon his enemies, some on his 
 iudoes, some on his disciples, and some 
 merely upon himself. And yet they all 
 wrought together, for the important pur- 
 pose of proving the truth of a prophecy, 
 written some hundred years before these 
 events took place. 
 
 That the whole of this prophecy relates 
 to one and the same person cannot, I 
 think, be reasonably doubted; nor have 
 those who have maintained a contrary 
 opinion, supported their assertion by any 
 proof or argument. It has been men- 
 tioned before that the Targum of Jonathan 
 refers this prophecy to the Messiah by 
 name; so that it is evident that the Jews 
 before the coming of Christ supposed that 
 it related to him. though when the blessed 
 Jesus came and claimed that character, 
 they could not so conquer their prejudices 
 as to believe that he was the person there 
 foretold. Indeed it was not completed 
 
 till 
 
224 
 
 till it was too late for them, when they 
 had put him to death- Nor is it any 
 argument against the whole of the pro- 
 phecy being applied to one person, that 
 the tense is so often changed in it; (the 
 events being sometimes spoken of as past, 
 sometimes as present, and sometimes as 
 future;) for in the first place, the trans- 
 lation of the whole passage is very faulty, 
 and this difficulty in a great measure dis- 
 appears in Bishop Lowth's more correct 
 version, in that of Junius and of Castalio, 
 and in the Septuagint; and secondly, it is 
 very usual in the prophetic style to speak 
 of future events both as present and as 
 past *; and this is one cause why those 
 writings are often so hard to be compre- 
 hended. 
 
 * So we find in the New Testament, (referring to 
 Abraham's being called the father of many nations, be- 
 fore he had a child) God who — calleth those things which 
 be not as though they were. Rom. iv. 17. It may also 
 be observed that " Nothing is more common in the 
 Hebrew than to express the present by the perfect tense. — « 
 See Pererius, Musculus and others on Gen. xxii. 16." 
 
 Archdeacon Sharp on Elohim and Berith, p. 6G. 
 
 I have 
 
223 
 
 I have dwelt so long upon this wonder- 
 ful prophecy, because there is no other 
 that points out so many remarkable cir- 
 cumstances in the life of Christ, and so 
 strongly asserts the atonement through his 
 blood. It is to be understood partly in the 
 literal, and partly in the spiritual sense ; 
 and refers to Christ both as to his humi-» 
 liation and his glory, as the Son of Man, 
 and the Redeemer .and Judge of the 
 world. 
 
 After thus foretelling the coming o£ 
 the Messiah, and the events of his na- 
 tural life, the prophet proceeds to ex- 
 patiate upon the effects of his mission ; 
 and in the third verse of the Jvth chapter 
 he returns again to the promised Saviour* 
 Incline your ear, says he, and come unto 
 me : hear and your soul shall live, and 1 
 will make an everlasting covenant with you^ 
 even the sure mercies of David ; or rather* 
 as Lowth translates it, " I will give you 
 the gracious promises made to David, 
 which never shall fail." In these words 
 is no difficulty; they are a renewal of the 
 promise made to David, that from him, 
 Q according 
 
226 
 
 according to the flesh, Christ should pro- 
 ceed ; apd they are quoted, as referring 
 to him, by St. Paul, in his discourse at 
 Antioch, recorded in Acts xiii. 34. Behold, 
 proceeds God by his prophet, I have 
 given him, (that is, Christ) for a witness to 
 the people, a leader and commander to the 
 people. Behold thou shalt call a nation that 
 thou knowest not, and nations that knew not 
 thee shall turn imto thee, because of the 
 Lord thy God, and for the Holy One of 
 Israel; for he hath glorijkd thee. One 
 purpose therefore of the coming of Christ 
 was, that he was to be a witness io the peo- 
 ple ; and accordingly St. Paul tells Timo- 
 thy that Christ Jesus before Fontius Pilate 
 witnessed a good confession *.. And Christ 
 says of himself on his arraignment before 
 Pilate,. To this end was I born, and for this 
 cause came I into the world, that I should 
 bear witness unto the truth -f. He was also 
 to be a leader and commander to the people; 
 or, as the prophet Micah had said before, 
 a governor that shall rule my people Israel J. 
 
 * 1 Tim. y\ 13. f John xviii. 3?. t Micah v. 2. 
 See also Matt. ii. 6. 
 
 The 
 
%Z7 
 
 The rest of this prophecy relates to the 
 calling of the Gentiles* whom Christ is 
 said not to know, (lor it is evidently to him 
 that this 5th verse is addressed) because 
 his gospel, the- Kingdom of God \ was not 
 offered to the Gentiles till the Jews 
 had refused to accept it. The expression 
 at the close of it, for he hath glorified thee f 
 seems to relate more particularly to his 
 resurrection ; in which sense St. John 
 says, for the Holy Ghost wms not yet given, 
 because that Jesus was -not yet glorified; 
 John vii. 59- And again, but when Jesus 
 was glorified, then remembered they that 
 these things were written of him. John xii. 
 16. It may also refer to the miracles 
 which he performed; as, when he was 
 about to restore Lazarus to life, (John xi. 
 4.) he said) this sickness is not unto deaths 
 but for the glory of God, that the Son of 
 God might be glorified thereby. In both 
 senses it equally applies to the Messiah. 
 
 After this the prophet proceeds to 
 
 threaten and reprove the Jews for their 
 
 vices, with promises of God's favour if 
 
 they will repent; and in the lixth chapter 
 
 Q 2 they 
 
228 
 
 they arc represented as confessing theirsins, 
 which naturally leads to a repetition of 
 the gracious promise of a Redeemer. And 
 the Lord saw it (ver. 1 5.) and it displeased him 
 that there teas no judgment. And he saw 
 that there was no man (that is, none who 
 could assist them) and wondered that there 
 was no intercessor; therefore his arm brought 
 salvation to him, and his righteousness, it 
 sustained him. That is to say ; when God 
 saw that there was no judgment in the 
 earth, and no one to assist or intercede 
 for the wretched sons of men ; no means 
 of redemption but that appointed by 
 his wisdom long before, (for there is but 
 one Mediator between God and man, the man 
 Clirist Jesus, 1 Tim. ii. 5.) then his own 
 arm worked the necessary salvation, and his 
 own righteousness supported him*. Then 
 follows the description of his power, which 
 
 * This prophecy is strangely understood by R. Johannes 
 to mean that Christ would not come, till the time when 
 the whole world should he .either free from sin, or en- 
 tirely innner.sed in wickedness. " JNon veniet Alias 
 David, nisi aut eo secuio quod omni vitio careat; vel 
 <juod uuiversum culpa; succumbut." Sauhedrin xi. 32, 
 
 shall 
 
229 
 
 shall be felt from the west to the east. 
 And the Redeemer, adds the prophet, ver. 
 20, shall come to Zion, and unto them that 
 turn from transgression in Jacob, saitli the 
 Lord *. Christ the Redeemer shall come 
 to Jerusalem, and shall turn his people 
 from their sins. And this covenant, ac- 
 cording to the promise in the following 
 verse, is to last for ever. 
 
 In the next chapter, the lxth, the pro- 
 phet, in a highly figurative poetical style, 
 displays the blessings that are to follow 
 this redemption, when the glory of the 
 Lord shall have dispelled the darkness 
 hanojno; over the Gentiles. It is by no 
 means certain that this prophecy is yet 
 completed ; especially as it is referred to 
 in several passages of the Revelations 
 
 * Rather as Lowth renders it, ft And shall turn away 
 iniquity from Jacob ;" which agrees with the Evangelist, 
 Thou shall call his name Jesus (i. e. Sqviour)Jar he shall 
 save his people from their sins. Matt. i. 21. Lowth'.s 
 version of this passage is precisely the same as that of 
 the Septuagint, x«j acnoal pz-^ci aaiQuas azro IaKw/3 ; but the 
 Vulgate, Castalio, Tremellius and Junius, and Diodati, 
 jwrcee with our common translation. 
 
 winch 
 
230 
 
 which appear to relate to events still 
 future. It is sufficient therefore merely 
 to mention it, as being only remotely 
 connected with the present subject* But 
 in the beginning of the following chapter, 
 the Messiah is again introduced, as de^ 
 scribing his own mission and the conse^ 
 quences of it. The Spirit of the Lord is 
 upon me, because the Lord hath anointed 
 me to preach good tidings unto the meek, he 
 hath sent me to bind up the broken hearted, 
 to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the 
 opening of the prison to them that are bound: 
 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, 
 and the day of vengeance of our God, to 
 comfort all that mourn : to appoint unto 
 them that mourn in Zion, to give unto 
 them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for 
 mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit 
 of heaviness : that they might be called trees 
 of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, 
 that he might be glorified. 
 
 Now concerning the application of 
 this prophecy to our Saviour we cannot 
 err, because he himself read the first part 
 
 of 
 
231 
 
 of it to the Jews in Nazareth *, and then 
 added, this day is this scripture fulfilled 
 in your ears. And it must seem strange 
 that a man so pious and learned as Gro- 
 tius, should, notwithstanding evidence 
 so conclusive, have been so warped by the 
 opinions of the modern Jews, as to sup- 
 pose that it related to Isaiah first, and 
 only in a secondary sense to Christ f. 
 The prophecy as read by Christ in the 
 synagogue, is not exactly the same 
 (though very nearly so) as it appears in 
 our version of Isaiah from the Hebrew. 
 It more closely agrees with the Septua- 
 gint; and it is ingeniously conjectured 
 by Prideaux, that the Book of the Pro- 
 phets then used in the Jewish synagogues, 
 was a Chaldee Targum or translation; 
 which language was at that time in more 
 common use among the Jews, and better 
 understood than the Hebrew was. And 
 this will account for several variations of 
 
 * Lukeiv. 18, &c. 
 
 t See Grotius in locum, Scultetus also agrees with 
 
 the 
 
the texts of the Old Testament when 
 quoted in the New. 
 
 The whole of this prophecy is very 
 nearly similar to that in the opening of 
 the xliid chapter as far as the 8th verse, 
 and is to be understood in the same man- 
 ner. It relates to the preaching of Christ, 
 and the blessed effects of the gospel, in 
 freeing those who were held in the bonds 
 of sin*; in announcing the glad tidings 
 of great joy ; in proclaiming that the time 
 of salvation long since promised by God 
 was come ; and in comforting those who 
 fnourn : while vengeance is threatened 
 against those who refuse to accept of these 
 benefits. 
 
 In the rest of this chapter Isaiah expa- 
 tiates, in language for the most part 
 highly allegorical, upon the blessings 
 which were to follow this glorious dis- 
 pensation, and the preaching of the gos^ 
 pel by the apostles. 
 
 * St. Paul often uses the same obvious and easy figure; 
 fa'ittg then made free from sin — When ye were the servants 
 ifiiiij Rom. yi. J 8 and 20. And in several other place*. 
 
 This 
 
233 
 
 This is also in a great measure the sub- 
 ject of the following chapter, the Ixiid, 
 in which the prophet describes the hap- 
 piness of Jerusalem from the presence of 
 her Saviour in a very beautiful and truly 
 poetic style *. 
 
 He exhorts the ministers of the Lord 
 to intrcat him day and night, to give him 
 no rest (ver. 5.) till he make Jerusalem a 
 praise in the earth. But in the end of it, 
 (ver. 11.) after having called on the people 
 to be prepared, he announces the coming 
 of the Redeemer in still plainer language. 
 Behold, the Lord hath proclaimed unto the 
 end of the zporld, say ye to the daughter of 
 Zion, behold, thy salvation eometh : behold, 
 
 * Yet Jerusalem was unworthy of his sacred presence. 
 Who can read this chapter without calling to mind the 
 mournful and affecting exclamation of our Saviour over 
 the daughter of Zion, sought out, a city, not forsaken? 
 
 Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou lluit kit lest the prophets, 
 and stunest them that are sent unto thee, how often would 
 
 1 have gathered thy children together, even as a hen 
 gathereth her chickens under her wings., and ye would 
 pot! Behold your house is left unto you desolate. Matt. 
 ggiii. 37; &c. 
 
 his 
 
234 
 
 his reward is with him, and his work before 
 him. And they shall call them, The holy people, 
 the redeemed of the Lord : and thou shalt be 
 called, sought out, a city not forsaken. Th ough 
 the light therefore first shone in Judrea, 
 yet the proclamation of the Saviour was 
 made to the extremity of the earths Be- 
 hold thy salvation cometh should have been 
 translated, behold thy Saviour cometh. 
 It is so in the Great Bible of 1566, in the 
 Geneva Bible, in Castalio's translation, and 
 in the lxx. And Lowth asserts that it 
 is Saviour in all the ancient manuscripts. 
 Behold his reward is with him, and his work 
 before him, is word for word, as in the 
 ,10th verse of the xlth chapter, and has 
 been there explained. The last verse seems 
 to relate in its primary sense to the Jews, 
 to whom the Saviour first came, and to 
 Jerusalem where he first appeared; and 
 in its secondary application, to those who 
 believed and accepted the gospel, and 
 to the whole church of Christ, which is 
 sometimes in scripture ailcgorically called 
 Jerusalem, or Ziou, . - 
 
 The 
 
235 
 
 The next chapter, the 1x1 iid, is of 
 more difficulty and doubtful interpret 
 tation. It is appointed by our church to 
 be read for the epistle on the Monday 
 before Easter, and therefore must be sup-* 
 posed by it to relate to Christ, Yet many 
 commentators of great note and learning 
 believe that Judas Maccabeus is the person 
 described therein; but surely however 
 eminent his character might be, it could 
 not be said of him, I have trodden the 
 wine-press alone, and of the people there 
 was none with me; (ver. 3.) And I looked, 
 and there was none to help : and I wondered 
 that there was none to uphold: therefore 
 mine own arm brought salvation unto me, and 
 my fury it upheld me. (ver. 5.) For these 
 are the very expressions which the pro- 
 phet puts into the mouth of God him- 
 self in the 16th verse of the lixth chapter; 
 moreover the country called Edom, or 
 Jdumea, in the time when the prophet 
 wrote, was not the same as that which Judas 
 Maccabeus conquered, which was in 
 reality the south of Judea, then inhabit- 
 X ed 
 
%36 
 
 ed by the remains of the ancient Edo- 
 mites, and called after their name *. 
 Indeed the sublime style of this prophecy 
 evidently alludes to something of more 
 importance than any merely temporal 
 victories; yet in the literal sense it cannot 
 be applied to Christ. Some therefore 
 have considered it in an allegorical light, 
 and referred it to the final conquest of 
 Christ and his church over their adver- 
 saries •f, in which case it has not yet re- 
 ceived its completion. And there is great 
 reason to suppose this to be the true in- 
 terpretation of the six first verses of this 
 chapter, which are all that relate to this 
 subject. For if these verses be com- 
 pared with the xxxivth chapter, they will 
 appear evidently to be prophetic of the 
 
 * See this clearly explained both by Lowth and Pri- 
 deaux. 
 
 *f Christus ecclesiam a tyrannjde Anticliristi et aliornm 
 persecutorum suo tempore potenter liberaturus, et illos 
 profligatunis est. Piscator in locum. 
 
 See also the same figure oi the wine-press used in Rev. 
 xiv. 19 ; and xix. lo. 
 
 same 
 
237 
 
 same events. And these are pointed out 
 as of the utmost importance, in the most 
 lofty style and terrible description. Let 
 the earth hear and all that is therein — For 
 the indignation of the Lord is upon all na- 
 tions — The mountains shall he melted with 
 their blood. And all the host of heaven 
 shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be 
 rolled together as a scrowl *. And this 
 judgment is here also particularly applied 
 to Idumea, and Bozrah, its chief city: 
 Tor my sword shall be bathed in heaven : be- 
 hold it shall come upon Idumea, and upon 
 the people of mij curse to judgment. The 
 sword of the Lord is filled with blood— for 
 the Lord hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a 
 great slaughter in the land of Idumea, 
 (Isaiah xxxiv. first 6 verses). The Edo- 
 mites, or Idumeans, were the great ene- 
 mies of the Jews, always assisting their 
 
 * And the Heaven departed as a scrowl, when it is 
 rolled together. Rev. vi. 14. The Heavens shall pass 
 away zvith a great noise — the lieavens being on fire shall 
 be dissolved. 2 Pet. iii, 10, 12. 
 
 oppressors^ 
 
2SS 
 
 oppressors, and insulting them in their 
 distresses ; hence they are specified by 
 name ; and by a very common figure * 
 in prophecy, these particular enemies of 
 the Jews are put for the enemies of the 
 church of Christ in general. 
 
 It is highly probable therefore that this 
 prophecy, in the beginning of the Ixiiid 
 chapter is not yet fulfilled. That Christ 
 is the person spoken of in it, glorious in 
 his apparel, and travelling in the greatness 
 of his strength, I think there can be no 
 doubt; but whether it relates to his final 
 advent to judge the world, to the Milien- 
 
 * " Atque eadern plane est ratio Botsrae et Idumeae^ 
 ufbis gentisque Dei populo infestissima? ; — est appellatio 
 a proprio ad universi generis rationem traducta ; sive, 
 imaginis a re certa dennitaque ad notionem infinitam et 
 universalem designandam per analogiam facta translation 
 in qua etiam suam hie proprietatem habet voeum ipsaruirt 
 vis ac pqtestas." Lowth, Praelect. xx. 
 
 Tn Wells's paraphrase he calls this, " a prophecy of 
 Christ's delivering his church from all her enemies when 
 the Millennium is come." 
 
 mum 
 
239 
 
 ilium * as Dr. Wells supposes, or to some 
 great and signal event before that time, 
 is not so easy to determine ; nor should 
 a light or hasty opinion be given upon a 
 subject so obscure and yet so awful f. 
 
 This is the last of the prophecies of 
 Isaiah J which relate immediately to the 
 
 # See Newton on the Prophecies, Vol. iii. concerning 
 the Millennium. 
 
 *}• " Ne curiosus quaere causas omnium, 
 
 Quaecunque libris vis propbetarum edtdit, 
 Aftiata ccelo, plena present! Deo, 
 Nee operta sacri supparo silentii 
 Irrumpere aude : sed pudenter praeteri 
 Nescire velle quae magister optimus 
 Docere non vult, erudita inscitia est *." 
 Scaliger, as quoted by " Philopatris Varvicensis." 
 J The author has frequently quoted Bp. Lowth, and 
 is tempted to add the important testimony of Primate 
 Newcome to his merit. " This truly learned and in- 
 genious Prelate has contributed more than any writer of 
 the age towards enabling us to understand the sense ef the 
 Hebrew Scriptures, to taste their beauties, and to restore 
 their integrity by the rules of sound criticism. His ex- 
 position of Isaiah is the best commentary extant on any 
 part of the Old Testament." Newcome's Hist. View of 
 the Eng. Bibl. Trans. Dublin, 1792. 
 
 * Supposed to be Dr. Parr, in " Characters of the Pa. Hon. C J. 
 
 Messiah ; 
 
MO 
 
 Messiah ; though the remainder of this 
 book describes the consequences of his 
 coming, in the calling of the Gentiles, the 
 rejection of the Jews, and the final esta- 
 blishment of the church of Christ. In 
 order to prevent confusion, the whole of 
 this book, like those of the other pro- 
 phets, has been explained together; 
 though, as has been observed before, 
 Micah certainly, and perhaps Jonah and 
 Amos, were cotemporary with him 
 during his Ion g mission. But to ascer- 
 tain the exact dates of the several pro- 
 phecies, and to shew to what parts of 
 the writings of the cotemporary prophets 
 they should be referred, would now be 
 impossible, and, even if possible, useless. 
 That some of these prophets lived at the 
 same time, in different parts of the king- 
 doms of Israel and Judah, and foretold 
 the same great event in various modes 
 of expression, was certainly a means of 
 spreading the prediction more diffusively; 
 and is so far from weakening the argu- 
 ment, that it rather adds strength to 
 it, 
 
 CHAP. 
 
241 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 The Prophecies of Jeremiah. 
 
 JN EXT to these cotemporary prophets* 
 and the last who wrote before the Babylo- 
 nian captivity, Jeremiah flourished. He 
 began to prophecy about seventy years 
 after the death of Isaiah, and his mission 
 continued above forty years. 
 
 The general subject of his writings has 
 but little reference to the christian dispen- 
 sation, and principally relates to the great 
 event of the Babylonian captivity then 
 near at hand. But in the midst of his 
 threatenings, there are some passages 
 which offer comfort to the people, by re- 
 newing the gracious promise of a Re- 
 deemer to come. The first of these is in 
 the 5th verse of the xxiiid chapter. After 
 having, in the beginning of this chapter, 
 accused the wicked pastors of the house of 
 R Israel 
 
<J4'2 
 
 Israel of having scattered their flocks, the 
 prophet assures the people that they shall 
 be brought again to their folds ; and then 
 by a very natural transition, proceeds to 
 foretel the coming of Christ the true 
 Pastor*. Behold the days come, saith the 
 Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous 
 branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, 
 and shall execute judgment and justice in the 
 earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and 
 Israel shall dwell safely : and this is his name 
 whereby he shall be called, The Lord our 
 righteousness. These two verses are ap- 
 pointed to be read, in our church service, 
 for the Epistle, on the Sunday next before 
 Advent; and are therefore obviously meant 
 to be applied to that particular season of 
 the coming of Christ. Now the term branch 
 is used in several other passages of scrip- 
 ture in describing our -Saviour ; as in Isaiah 
 iv. 2, where it has already been explained. 
 This branch was to be raked unto David, 
 
 * I am the good shepherd. John x. 14. A common 
 metaphor among the Heathen as well as in Scripture, for 
 a good King ; woi.aTjv Xoccov— Homer. 
 
 that 
 
243 
 
 that is, to be descended from him; he was 
 to be a King, to execute judgment, and to 
 bring salvation to Israel and Judah ; all 
 which attributes sufficiently point out him 
 who was horn King of the Jews, the Holy 
 One and the Just, the Saviour of the world, 
 the Lord our Righteousness. 
 
 But though the application of these 
 words to Christ be so obvious, yet Grotius 
 and others refer them to him in a secon- 
 dary sense only ; and contend that they 
 were completed in their primary sense by 
 Zerubbabel, who conducted the Jews in 
 their restoration from their captivity in 
 Babylon. Now it must be allowed that 
 the verses immediately preceding these, 
 as well as those which follow, have no im- 
 mediate reference to Christ, but relate 
 either to the return of the Jews from Ba- 
 bylon, or to the final restoration of both 
 branches of the house of Israel to their 
 own land * ; or indeed possibly to them 
 
 both. 
 
 * This is one of the strongest passages to prove the tem- 
 poral restoration of the children of Israel to the Holy Land. 
 The Author had some doubts upon this curious and inter- 
 
 n 2 esting 
 
244 
 
 both. However these sudden transitions 
 from one subject to another, are very fre- 
 quent in the prophetic writings. Jere- 
 miah having foretold the blessings, conse- 
 quent on the return of the people to their 
 own dwellings, his thoughts were naturally 
 led to a much greater galvat on, and turn- 
 ed from temporal to spiritual deliverance; 
 and he suddenly leaves the subject of their 
 restoration, to assure them that the days 
 are also coming, when Messiah their great 
 Redeemer shall arise. He then reverts to 
 that, which may at first sight seem to be 
 his original subject, of their return from 
 Bab) Ion; but which probably foretels a 
 much greater and more general restoration 
 of the whole nation to the land of Pales- 
 tine, and which they are to consider as a 
 
 esting subject, which have been removed by Mr. Faber's 
 copious and learned dissertation, upon the fulfillment of 
 those prophecies. The first eight verses of this chapter 
 seem to foretel three events, in an exact chronological ar- 
 rangement. The first four verses the return from Babylon ; 
 the fifth and sixth, the coming of Christ ; the seventh and 
 eighth, the general return of the whole seed of the house of 
 Israel from all countries to dwill in their awn land; which 
 last event is still to come. 
 
 much 
 
24:> 
 
 much more important deliverance, than 
 that which they had formerly experienced 
 from the Egyptian bondage. This last 
 branch of the prophecy still remains to be 
 fulfilled; and by this manner of ex plana- 
 tion, the whole passage seems to me no 
 longer difficult; for I cannot believe that 
 the Prophet could mean to apply to any 
 other person, expressions so appropriate 
 to Christ, even though it may be supposed 
 that Zerubbabel was a type of him. 
 
 Indeed in several of the prophets, and 
 more especially in Jeremiah, the promises 
 of temporal deliverance from the then 
 impending captivity, as well as of a still 
 future restoration, and of eternal salvation 
 through Christ, are so blended together 
 that it is not always easy to separate them. 
 One deliverance seems often to remind 
 the prophet of the other which was to 
 follow; and near and distant, present and 
 future, temporal and spiritual, are so 
 mixed by the rapidity of his ideas, or the 
 indistinctness of his vision, as to make 
 much care and attention requisite to un- 
 derstand his meaning ; and without bear- 
 ing 
 
ing in mind these circumstances; such 
 transitions will render many important 
 passages in the writings of them all wholly 
 unintelligible*. Of this kind is that re- 
 markable prediction in the xxxist chapter 
 of Jeremiah, which is the xxxviiith of the 
 Septuagmt version ; for in the writings of 
 this prophet the chapters are strangely 
 intermixed, and the dates of many of them 
 very uncertain, so that in the Hebrew and 
 Greek Bibles they are differently num- 
 bered -j-. 
 
 This xxxist chapter chiefly relates to the 
 restoration of the people to their own 
 land ; probably their final return yet future, 
 both because Israel and Ephraim are par- 
 ticularly mentioned who are still dispersed, 
 and because the blessings promised to 
 
 * Tt should be always recollected that it is of no manner 
 of consequence, with regard to the truth of any prediction, 
 whether the prophet himself understood the meaning and 
 application of his own prophecy, or not. In some cases 
 they certainly did, and in others it is probable that they did 
 not. They spake as they, were moved by the Holy Ghost. 
 2 Peter i. 21. 
 
 f In some editions of the lxx however the chapters arc 
 numbered as in the Hebrew. 
 
 them 
 
247 
 
 them are not to take place (if I understand 
 the chapter properly) till after the coming 
 of Christ. And the promise of this return 
 is mixed as usual, with various allusions to 
 a far more important restoration lo the 
 favor of God, under a new covenant, when 
 they were all to knozv the Lord, and their 
 sins to be remembered no more. This was 
 to be the effect, though probably a distant 
 one, of the coming of Christ, which ap- 
 pears to be directly foretold in the 22d 
 verse; fortius, though singularly insulated 
 and rather obscure, canno. think, be 
 understood in any other sense How long 
 wilt thou go about, thou backsliding daugh- 
 ter? For (or rather as Wells renders it 
 although) the Lord hath created a nezv thing 
 in the earth, a woman shall compass a man. 
 This extraordinary expression is differently 
 explained, or rather made still less intelli- 
 gible by most commentators, who are in- 
 deed but too often found to darken counsel 
 by words without knowledge. Most of them 
 suppose it to be metaphorical, or prover- 
 bial, and to relate to the love of God to 
 his people, or to the future power of the 
 
 christian 
 
248 
 
 christian church. Whereas it seems to me 
 evident, that it should he understood in 
 the literal sense, with reference to the 
 miraculous conception of the Messiah *. 
 A woman shall compass a man, bears the 
 same meaning as the prophecy of Isaiah 
 a hundred years before, A virgin shall con- 
 ceive and bear a son f ; and both relate to 
 the same great event, a new thing in the 
 earth, when a woman who had never known 
 tnan% 9 should produce a son. 
 
 Jn the latter part of this chapter, the 
 effects which were to be produced by this 
 great miracle are also foretold. These 
 were to be the net® covenant as before men- 
 tioned, in which God would remember their 
 sin no more. To this passage our Lord is 
 thought to refer in John vi. 45, quoting 
 the sense though not the exact words of it, 
 
 * Granville Sharp understands it in this manner ; and so 
 does Dr. Wells, who has explained all this chapter ex- 
 tremely well. So also does Bishop Pearson, a much 
 greater authority ; (" on the Creed," Art. iii.) who cites 
 ancient Jewish authorities for this explanation. Mr. Lowth 
 ,also seems to be of the same opinion. 
 
 t Isaiah vii. 14. % Luke i. 34. 
 
 probablj 
 
249 
 
 probably from the Targum. And to this 
 St. Peter also is supposed to appeal, Acts 
 x. 4^, when he promises forgiveness of sins 
 to all who should believe on Christ, as the 
 prophets had borne witness. 
 
 When Jeremiah was shut up in prison 
 during the siege of Jerusalem by the Baby- 
 lonians, he still comforted the people by 
 foretelling, that though they should be 
 carried into captivity, yet they should 
 return again to their own land. This, 
 (with perhaps also a promise of a restora- 
 tion yet future, as Israel which has never 
 yet returned is mentioned by name) is the 
 subject of the first part of the xxxiiid 
 chapter. But in the latter part of it, ver. 
 Jo, &c, he adds to this, as a still greater 
 consolation, the renewal of the promise of 
 Christ. In those days, and at that time, will 
 I cause the branch of righteousness to grow 
 up unto David (that is, Christ, the branch as 
 explained before, to be descended from 
 David) and he shall execute judgment and 
 justice in the land. In those days shall Juda/i 
 be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely : 
 
 and 
 
250 
 
 and this is the name wherewith she * shall be 
 called, The Lord our Righteousness. These 
 two verses are nearly word for word the 
 same as in the twenty-third chapter, fifth 
 and sixth verses, and were there explained. 
 The rest of this chapter seems to relate 
 principally to the eternal priesthood of 
 Christ, called of God an High Priest, and 
 made an High Priest for ever, after the 
 
 * In the parallel passage, Chap, xxiii. 6, the word is 
 lie, and so the sense seems to require here ; but in all the 
 English Bibles I have seen, (except the Great, and the 
 Geneva Bible) it is She. In the lxx, Castalio's Latin, 
 and the French versions, the pronoun being understood 
 and not expressed, it may be rendered either He or S/ie, 
 according as the antecedent is supposed to be Christ or 
 Jerusalem. However Piscator's Latin translation refers it 
 directly to Christ, " hoc autein est nomen quo vocabit 
 quisque ilium." But Grotius and Junius translate it She, 
 and suppose it to relate in this place to Jerusalem, and in 
 the xxiiid chapter to the people ; but in both Grotius agrees 
 with the learned Jew Kimchi, that the Messiah is meant in 
 the most sublime sense of the prophecy. Diodati's Italian 
 version renders it She and refers it to justification through 
 Christ, in the christian church. The vulgate has the mas- 
 culine pronoun, " hoc est nomen quod vocabunt Mum." 
 It is surely difficult to understand in what sense Jerusalem 
 could be called, the Lordour Righteousness. 
 
 order 
 
251 
 
 order of Melcfusedeck * ; and to bis ever- 
 lasting kingdom, and to tiie covenant 
 which God had made with David his 
 servant, which should not be broken. 
 But there is great probability that this 
 part of the prophecy is not yet com- 
 pleted. 
 
 This is the last place in which Jeremiah 
 directly foretels the Messiah ; the rest of 
 this book is chiefly historical, excepting 
 those parts of it which relate to the fate 
 of the royal family, the return of the Jews 
 from their captivity, and the destruction 
 of their enemies. But these, however in- 
 teresting, do not relate to the present argu- 
 ment. 
 
 * Heb. v. 10, and vi. 20. 
 
 CHAP. 
 
252 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 The Prophecies of Ezekiel. 
 
 IN EXT to Jeremiah, and daring the lat- 
 ter part of his life contemporary with him, 
 Ezekiel began to prophecy. But how- 
 ever similar their lot in many respects, 
 their local situation was widely different ; 
 for Jeremiah was carried away captive by 
 his own people, among those who fled 
 south-west into Egypt, and Ezekiel was 
 sen tby the Babylonians, north-east, to the 
 banks of the river Chebar in Mesopo- 
 tamia, which falls into the Euphrates 
 about 200 miles north of Babylon. 
 
 The subject of Ezekiel's prophecies has 
 little direct reference to the promised Re- 
 deemer, and even that obscurely. The 
 first place in which there is any immediate 
 allusion to him, is in the xxxivth chapter. 
 
 In 
 
253 
 
 In the beginning of this chapter, the pro- 
 phet had been reproving the negligence of 
 the Shepherds of the flock of Israel; (i.e. 
 the governors of the people) and after pro- 
 mising, that the people should be restored 
 and live in comfort in their own land, he 
 proceeds, in the 23d and following verses, 
 to foretel the coming of the good shepherd 
 who was to spring from David. And I 
 will set up one shepherd over them, and he 
 shall feed them, even my servant David ; he 
 shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. 
 And I the Lord will be their God, and my 
 servant David a prince among them. I the 
 Lord have spoken it. And I will make with 
 them a covenant of peace, fyc. 
 
 Now this chapter is very nearly similar 
 to the first part of the xxiiid of Jeremiah, 
 which has already been explained, and 
 therefore seems to relate to the same per- 
 son and events. Nor have I any doubt 
 that it actually does so, though there is 
 certainly a considerable difference in the 
 manner in which this person is mentioned 
 in the two prophecies. In Jeremiah he is 
 a righteous branch (a title wholly appropri- 
 ated 
 
ated to Christ) to be raised unto David, a 
 just King, and the Lord our Righteousness ; 
 terms applicable to Christ only. In Eze- 
 kiel lie is a shepherd, my servant David, a 
 prince; a description which may be used 
 concerning any sovereign sprung from 
 David. For these reasons Grotius thinks, 
 and Primate Newcome in some measure 
 agrees with him, that Zerubbabel is the 
 person here meant in the primary sense, 
 though Christ of whom Zerubbabel is sup- 
 posed to be a type and figure *, is also 
 pointed out in a more remote sense. If 
 it relates at all to Zerubbabel, which I 
 confess I see no reason to believe, who 
 certainly was descended from Da«vid, it 
 foretels the return of the Jews to their own 
 land, under his guidance, and their re- 
 demption from captivity. If Christ be 
 meant, as I think he is -f, it foretels a more 
 
 * Figuram gerens Christi satis manifestam. Grot, in 
 locum. 
 
 + " Qui locus de solo Christo intelligi potest." — " Ipsi 
 Mebraei ut R. David Kimchi, hunc locum intelligunt de 
 Messia." Du Hamel,notas in Vulg. in locum. 
 
 Junius, W. Lowthj and Wells, are also of this opinion. 
 
 8 distant 
 
255 
 
 distant spiritual redemption from the bon- 
 dage of sin, perhaps also a temporal resto- 
 ration, even now future, by the good shep- 
 herd, the King of the Jews, the son of 
 David. 
 
 In the xxxvith chapter, beginning at the 
 25th verse ; and in the xxxviith at the 
 'J 1st, are prophecies, which I notice only 
 because they are applied by the last 
 translators of our Bible, to the " bless- 
 ings and promises of Christ's kingdom/' 
 although they were not so by their pre- 
 decessors. But certainly they do not ap- 
 pear to foretel the first coining of the 
 Messiah, and therefore do not relate, un- 
 less very remotely, to the present subject. 
 Probably they are not yet fulfilled, and 
 may point out some distant state of things, 
 such as a future restoration of the Jews 
 to their own land, and (as the translators 
 of the Great Bible express it) " the union 
 of the ten tribes with the two ;" events 
 awful, important, and highly interesting, 
 but which are as yet involved in mist and 
 obscuritv, and concerning which it is hard- 
 
256 
 
 ]y possible, for short-sighted and erring 
 mortals to give a decided opinion *. 
 
 Whatever be the precise meaning of 
 these predictions, there seems to be an 
 immediate connection between them, and 
 the remaining part of Ezekiel's prophecies 
 and visions ; unless that of the holy waters 
 in the xlviith chapter has any reference, as 
 some think it has, though very darkly, to 
 the spreading of the gospel. " The last 
 twelve chapters of Ezekiel," as the Bishop 
 of Lincoln very justly observes (Elements 
 of Christian Theology, vol. i. p. 116,) 
 " bear a striking resemblance to the con- 
 cluding chapters of the book of rtevela- 
 tions ;" and may therefore be supposed to 
 relate to the same events. 
 
 * This passage was written, before the Author had seen 
 Mr. Faber's excellent " Connected View" of this subject. 
 
 CHAP. 
 
257 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 The Prophecies of Daniel. 
 
 JdEFORE Ezekiel ceased to write, arose 
 the prophet Daniel, endued by the power 
 of God, not only with the spirit of pro- 
 phecy, but also with wisdom and virtue 
 far beyond the ordinary lotof man. Though 
 he was carried away in his youth, among 
 the Jewish captives to Babylon, yet his 
 fame soon extended over all the East ; and 
 Ezekiel, who was living in exile on the 
 river Chebar, in a remote part of the 
 country, mentions him first in his xivth 
 chapter as an example of righteousness, 
 and then in his xxviiith as proverbial for 
 wisdom. 
 
 The Jews however do not allow Daniel 
 to be a prophet, and reckon his works, 
 with the Psalms and the writings of Solo- 
 
 S mon 
 
258 
 
 mon, among what they termed the Hagio- 
 grapha. But their reason for such an 
 exclusion is a very weak one ; that he lived 
 not like a prophet, but in a palace, as 
 being the minister of a great monarch ; 
 and that though he had revelations from 
 God, yet they were delivered to him only 
 by dreams and visions, which they consider 
 as the most imperfect mode of receiving 
 prophecy. But distinctions like these are 
 considered by the learned Bishop of Lon- 
 don* as most vain and futile, neither 
 founded in the nature of things, nor proved 
 by scripture. Yet, as he observes, the 
 difference of his way of life from that of 
 other prophets, may be a reason for his 
 manner of writing' being so different from 
 theirs, and so wholly free from that poetic 
 style, which they in some measure derived 
 from their education in the schools in 
 
 * Ea omnia sunt vanissima, &c. — causam forsen ostendit, 
 cur Danielis stylus tantamhabeat a reliquis dissimilitudinem, 
 tantumque abhorreat a Poetico charactere, quem creteri fere 
 communem habent, quemque, ut supra exposui, e discipliua 
 et schoiis aliqua ex parte hauserant. 
 
 Lowth, De Sacra Poesi. Praelect. xx. 
 
 which 
 
259 
 
 which the sons of the prophets were brought 
 up*. It was not however till some time 
 after the death of our Saviour, that these 
 objections were made to Daniel ; for Jose- 
 phus-j- in very strong terms speaks of him 
 as being even superior to the other pro- 
 phets, inasmuch as he not only foretold 
 future events, but also set a time for their 
 coming to pass : And Jonathan, who wrote 
 his Targums before the coming of Christ, 
 in several places quotes the prophecies of 
 Daniel, as being both fuller and clearer 
 than the others. Whether he made any 
 Targum on Daniel himself, as none is 
 known to be extant, is not certain ; nor 
 was it equally necessary, as so great a 
 part of the book is written in the Chaldee 
 
 * These Schools were regular seminaries of education 
 in the Levitical cities, generally under the superintendance 
 of some old prophet, in which the scholars were instructed 
 ih the Law and in other learning. 
 
 See Lightfoot, Vol. ii. P. 86. 
 
 •j* Ov yxp 7a /xeXXov7a /w,ov0V Tzpotyrflsucuv Sieteket xa&zirep 
 xat oi aXKoi zspoQvflzi, aXXa xai ytaipov uoifysV sis oviaviaairo- 
 Qnatlai — octto Se la %\ws avluv, aXwQeixs ittaliv xa» $o%av 
 Qy*ov Beio%H os t TTccpa V«j aXXa? oc.Tro'pspeaQat. 
 
 Joseph. Antiq. x. Cap. xii. Edit. Colon. 
 
 s 2 language, 
 
260 
 
 language, which was better understood by 
 the Jews than the Hebrew* was. But 
 Rabbi Nehumias-j-, who lived fifty years 
 
 * See this matter examined more at length in Wintles 
 u Preliminary Dissertation ;" in Newton t( on the Prophe- 
 cies ;" in Prideaux's " Connection ;" in Chandler's " De- 
 fence/' and in his " Vindication of the Defence/' Vol. i. 
 
 + " Magister Hebreeus Nehumias, qui annis quinqua- 
 ginta eum {Christum sc.) praecessit, aperte jam turn dixerit, 
 Non posse ultra eos quinquaginta annos protrahi tempu? 
 Messiae a Daniele significatum." Grot, de verit. v. 13. 
 
 .Le Clerc justly observes, that Grotius should have 
 mentioned his authority for this extraordinary story, but 
 thinks that Grotius wrote to his Brother, that he had re- 
 ceived it from a Jew. Dr. Jenkin also quotes it from 
 Grotius, and says that he took it from the Talmud, and 
 also refers it to " Sarrav. Epist." a work with which I am 
 not acquainted. However the anecdote is to be met with 
 in Purchas's Pilgrimage, Book ii. Chap. 12, quoted from 
 Galatinus a Franciscan Monk, who wrote in 1520, " de 
 arcanis Catholicse veritatis." The contents of this work 
 are principally extracted, from Raymuud Martyn's " Pugio 
 Fidei," but this story is quoted by Galatinus (who was a 
 converted Jew) from certain Jewish manuscript opuscula, 
 of which it is by no means clear that they ever were in 
 being. Probably it rested only on tradition, and is of very 
 doubtful authority. See this point enquired into, in several 
 letters in " Censura Literaria," vol. viii. 1808. But 
 Godwyn says, in his Moses and Aaron, that Galatinus 
 quoted from the Talmud. 
 
 before 
 
201 
 
 before Christ, bore witness to Daniel's 
 prophetic character still more strongly, 
 for he affirmed that according to the time 
 foretold by Daniel, it was impossible for 
 the coming of the Messiah, to be delayed 
 . t longer than fifty years from that time. To 
 us however, no other testimony is neces- 
 sary than that of our Lord himself, who 
 quotes him by the name of Daniel the 
 Prophet *, and agreeably to his description 
 of him, calls himself by the name of the 
 son of man -j-. 
 
 While then this wise and pious prophet 
 was a captive in Babylon, in the palace of 
 Nebuchadnezzar, that king had a remark- 
 able dream, which he was unable to call 
 to mind when he awoke. To Daniel 
 alone, in consequence of his earnest 
 prayers to God, was this dream revealed, 
 and the interpretation thereof. The dream 
 was concern ins: what shall be in the latter 
 days; an expression which is generally un- 
 derstood to refer to the days of the Mes- 
 
 * Matt. xxiv. 15, t Dan. ii. 28, 
 
 siah. 
 
%6% 
 
 sjah *. The first part of the dream, the 
 great image (Chap. ii. 31.) relates, as 
 Daniel himself interprets it, to the four 
 great kingdoms which were to arise, be- 
 fore the coming of Christ, including that 
 of Babylon then flourishing. When the 
 last of these, the Roman empire, with legs 
 of iron , and feet, part of iron, and part of 
 clay, was observed by the king in his 
 dream, then says the prophet, ver. 34, thou 
 sawest till that a stone was cut out without 
 hands, which smote the image upon his feet 4 
 that were of iron and clay, and brake them to 
 pieces. — And the stone that smote the image 
 became a great mountain, and filled the whoh 
 earth. 
 
 Now the interpretation given of this last 
 passage by Daniel himself, (ver. 44, &c.) 
 is this, And in the days of these kings (that 
 
 * f Uti jam diximus It. Moses Gerundensis et alii 
 ©mnes sapientes per rlnem dierum intelligunt dies Messiae. 
 Sanhedrin, as quoted by Chandler, p. 123. 
 
 See also Dr. G. Sharpe " on Prophecy/' Chap. iji. 
 
 w Ai s%cclou wpBpati, (in the lxx) per quod Ebrei dies, 
 Messiae mtelligunt.' , 
 
 Sanhedririj Cap. xi. 2Q ; apud Coch in notis. 
 
<263 
 
 is, the Roman Kings or Emperors, the 
 fourth and last great monarchy) shall the 
 God of Heaven set up a kingdom which shall 
 never be destroyed : and the kingdom shall 
 not be left to other people, but it shall break 
 in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, 
 and it shall stand for ever. Forasmuch as 
 thou sawcst that the stone zcas cut out of the 
 mountain without hands, and that it brake in 
 pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, 
 and the gold; the great God hath made 
 known to the king what shall come to pass 
 hereafter : and the dream is certain, and the 
 interpretation thereof sure. Here as well as 
 in many other places of scripture, the 
 Messiah is obviously signified by the word 
 stone, and this has generally been believed 
 both by ancient and modern commenta- 
 tors, Jews as well as Christians. In Psalm 
 exxii. ver. 22, we read, the stone which the 
 builders refused,' is become the head of the 
 corner; in Isaiah xxviii. 16, Behold £ lay 
 in Zion for a foundation, a stone, a tried 
 stone, a precious corner stone, a sure founda- 
 tion ; and again in viii. 14, he shall be for a 
 sanctuary ; but for a stone of stumbling, and 
 
 for 
 
26* 
 
 for a rock of offence : and to these passages 
 our Lord alludes, applying them to himself 
 in Matt. xxi. ver. 42 and 44. On whomso- 
 ever, says he, this stone shall fall it will 
 grind him to powder; which is the same 
 idea as is contained in the words of Daniel, 
 shall break in pieces and consume all these 
 Kingdoms. 
 
 This stone, says Daniel, was to set up a 
 kingdom in the days of these kings, which 
 shall never be destroyed. Accordingly the 
 eternal kingdom of Christ was established 
 under the Roman Emperors, and his king- 
 dom, unlike the four great monarchies pre- 
 ceding, was not to be left to other people, 
 that is, not to be destroyed and succeeded 
 by any other, but was itself to break and 
 consume them all, and to stand for ever. 
 This gtone was cut out of the mountain with- 
 aut hands ; the kingdom of Christ was not 
 to be erected by any human art or power, 
 nor was he himself to be born according 
 to natural generation, but by the imme- 
 diate operation of God, without the inter- 
 vention of an earthly father. It was also 
 to break in pieces all the different parts of 
 
 the 
 
265 
 
 the image, and to become itself a great 
 mountain so as infill the whole earth. 
 
 The image is therefore an emblem of 
 the kingdoms of the world as connected 
 with God's chosen people ; and the Stone, 
 of that of Christ which is to put an end 
 to them all. The stone indeed has ap- 
 peared at the appointed time, under the 
 Roman emperors, but it has not yet be- 
 come a mountain so as to fill the whole 
 earth. That part of the prophecy is yet 
 to be fulfilled. The remains of the Roman 
 empire broken and divided still subsist; 
 but the time will come when the Mountain 
 shall indeed fill the whole earth, when the 
 kingdom set up by the God cf Heaven shall 
 consume all these kingdoms, and it shall 
 stand for ever. And this will be when all 
 things shall be subdued unto Christ, when he 
 shall have put down all rule and all autho- 
 rity and power *. For as the prophet says, 
 
 the 
 
 * 1 Cor. xv. 24, and 28. Sensus sublimior, Christum 
 finem impositurum Imperiis terrestiiis. Grot, in loc. 
 
 The explanation of this prophecy is foreign to the pre- 
 sent purpose, except so far as relates to the Messiah. The 
 
 curious 
 
<266 
 
 the dream is certain, and the interpretation 
 thereof sure. 
 
 Almost fifty years after this, Daniel him- 
 self had a vision nearly similar to Nebu- 
 chadnezzar's dream ; but with this differ- 
 ence, that the succession of kingdoms re- 
 vealed to Nebuchadnezzar under the em- 
 blem of an image, was represented in 
 Daniel's vision under the semblance of 
 beasts. But we have nothing to do at 
 present with any part of this vision, which 
 is every day becoming more interesting, 
 but tliat which is prophetic of our Saviour. 
 This begins in the 15th verse of the viith 
 chapter ; I saw in the night visions, and be- 
 hold one like the son of man, came with the 
 clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of 
 Days, and they brought him near before him. 
 And there was given him dominion and glory, 
 and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and 
 languages should serve him : his dominion is an 
 
 curious reader may consult, Newton " on Prophecy/' 
 vol. ii. ; Chandler's " Defence/' Wintle's " Daniel," and 
 Faber's " Dissertation/' in which that learned Author, 
 shews how exactly the Prophecies of Daniel agree and 
 synchronize with the Revelations. 
 
 everlasting 
 
267 
 
 everlasting dominion, which shall not pass 
 away, and his kingdom that which shall not be 
 destroyed. 
 
 Now as the beasts in this vision are the 
 same as the different parts of the image in 
 Nebuchadnezzar's dream, so also the son of 
 man here mentioned, is the same person 
 as was there represented under the emblem 
 pf a stone, That the Messiah is the person 
 meant, is clear from Christ's so frequently 
 applying this expression to himself; and 
 the Jews themselves in general confess it, 
 and acknowledge that this passage belongs 
 to the Messiah, though they alledge that 
 their sins have prevented his appearing in 
 this glory *. But our Lord himself, in 
 his examination before the High Priest, 
 Matt. xxvi. 64, referred to this passage as 
 
 # Si mereantur scilicet (veniet Christus) in nubibus cu : 
 sin ; pauper et equitans in asino. Sanhedrin, xi. 33. In 
 consequence of this prophecy, Anani, the word used by 
 Daniel for clouds, was a common name among the Jews 
 for the Messiah. Grotius in his commentary, with unusual 
 absurdity, applies this description of the Messiah to the 
 Romans. But see in his book de Veritate, &c (Lib. v. 
 14. note.) the Jewish Authors cited., who confess that the 
 son Qfman is the Messiah. 
 
 alluding 
 
268 
 
 alluding to his second advent to judge the 
 world, and not to his first appearance in 
 it *. He quotes this very prophecy, and 
 the people were so convinced that he 
 thereby assumed to himself, the dignity of 
 the expected Messiah, (which from the 
 humility of his appearance so shocked 
 their prejudices, that they refused to be- 
 lieve him,) that they immediately address- 
 ed him in derision, by the name of thou 
 Christ, and the High Priest accused him 
 of having spoken blasphemy. 
 
 The appellation of the soji of man is ap- 
 propriated to the Messiah, because he, 
 being one of the persons of the Holy 
 Trinity, deigned to take our nature upon 
 him, and be subject to all our infirmities, 
 
 * It is however thought by some, that our Lord in this 
 application of the Prophet's words, alluded to his coming 
 to take vengeance on the Jews by the destruction of their 
 polity, and of Jerusalem. And this may be very true, 
 though the words in their original meaning so clearly relate 
 to his final judgment, and everlasting dominion. In cither 
 case they prove that he was the person pointed out by 
 Daniel. 
 
 See Pearson on the Creed, Article vii : and Wintle. 
 
 sin 
 
269 
 
 sin only excepted ; and because no atone- 
 ment for sin could be made, but in that 
 nature which had sinnod. It was also 
 because in order to fulfil the prophecies, 
 it was necessary 1 hat he should be made of 
 a woman, and according to the flesh, des- 
 cended from David. And our Lord also 
 gives this reason why the last judgment 
 should be executed by him, because he 
 had himself been a man, liable to all the 
 sufferings, feelings, infirmities, and temp- 
 tations of this mortal state ; And hath given 
 him authority to execute judgment also, be- 
 cause he is the son of man % 
 
 The Ancient of Days is very obviously 
 God the Father, who is described under 
 the same appellation, but with much 
 greater pomp and loftiness of imagery, in 
 the former part of this vision, verses 8, 
 and 9» as opening a solemn court of jus- 
 tice, in which his enemies were punished, 
 and the son of man received an everlasting 
 kingdom, a dominion which shall not pass 
 away. This is the same kingdom of Christ 
 
 • John v, 27. 
 
 whicl) 
 
 6 
 
2t0 
 
 which was foretold in Nebuchadnezzar's 
 dream, Chap, ii, and of which the mean- 
 ing is exactly similar ; and to this pro- 
 phecy the Angel seems to have alluded, 
 Avhen he announced his birth to the Virgin 
 Mary, Luke i. 32, The Lord shall give unto 
 him the throne of his Father David. And 
 he shall reign over the house of Jacob for 
 ever, and of his kingdom there shall be no 
 end. 
 
 About 17 years after this last vision, and 
 between five and six hundred years before 
 Christ, it pleased God to favour Daniel 
 with another very remarkable revelation, 
 in which he told him the precise time 
 when the Messiah should appear. In the 
 ixth chapter of this prophet, whilst he was 
 addressing himself in supplication to God, 
 the Angel Gabriel, who afterwards ap- 
 peared to Zacharias and to the Virgin 
 Mary *, came to him, to give him skill and 
 understanding; or, as Wintle renders it, 
 " to improve him in understandi ng." The 
 
 * Luke i. lp, and £6. Gabriel means, a man of God 
 or, the strength of God. 
 
 prophecy 
 
OT 
 
 71 
 
 prophecy of this Angel, as delivered to us 
 by Daniel, Chap. ix. ver. 24, &c. is this ; 
 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people, 
 and upon thy holy city, to finish the trans- 
 gression, and to make an end of sins, and to 
 make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring 
 in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up 
 the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the 
 most holy. 
 
 Now these seventy weeks are generally 
 believed to be weeks of years ; a mode of 
 expression frequent in the prophetic wri- 
 tings, and not unusual in the works of the 
 ancients*. And Daniel himself, when 
 speaking of common weeks in Chap. x. 3, 
 calls them expressly ueeks of days, to dis- 
 tinguish them from the prophetic weeks 
 of years. These seventy times seven years 
 amount to 490 years ; and at the end of 
 this period, transgression w T as to he finished, 
 
 * See Note in Chandler's " Defence/' P. 136. In- 
 deed almost all Commentators agree in this mode of in- 
 terpretation ; though Wintle thinks the Prophecy has a 
 double meaning ; 1st. the return of the Jews from captivity 
 in 70 weeks of days, and 2dly. the coining of Christ in 70 
 weeks of years. 
 
 or 
 
272 
 
 or restrained * ; sins were to be made an 
 end of; reconciliation* (or expiation, accord- 
 ing to Prideaux and Wintle) was to be 
 made for iniquity ; everlasting righteousness 
 was to be brought in ; the vision and pro- 
 phecy were to be sealed up or completed; 
 and the most Holy to be anoijited. And 
 accordingly at this appointed time, all 
 these things were accomplished by the 
 coming of our Lord ; for the most Holy (or 
 as the Greek version expresses it, the Holy 
 of Holies) zvas anointed with the Holy Ghost, 
 and with power, Acts x. 36; he finished our 
 transgression (or, according to Wintle, 
 " restrained" our " apostacy,") and made 
 an end of our sins, both by giving us a 
 perfect law, and by the blessed atonement, 
 to make which he hare our sins in his own 
 body on the tree, 1 Peter ii. 24 ; and by this 
 last sacrifice, that of himself, he also made 
 reconciliation for the sms of the people, Heb. 
 ii. 17. Then was righteousness brought in, 
 that of the Gospel, which was not to be a 
 temporary law like that of Moses, but to 
 
 * According to Wintle " to restrain the Apostacy." 
 
 be 
 
27# 
 
 be everlasting ; and thus, as there was to 
 be no farther revelation, and the law and 
 the prophets were to be fulfilled in Christ, 
 (Matt. v. 17 and 18,) the vision and pro- 
 phecy were then to be sealed up, finished, 
 completed, and put an end to for ever*. 
 
 The Angel continued thus : Know there* 
 fore and understand, that from the going 
 forth of the commandment to restore and to 
 build Jerusalem^ unto the Messiah the Prince 9 
 shall be seven weeks; and threescore and two 
 weeks the street shall be built again, and the 
 wall even in troublous times. And after 
 threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut 
 of, but not for himself: and the people of the 
 prince that shall co?ne, shall destroy the city 
 and the sanctuary, and the end thereof shall 
 be with a flood, and unto the end of the war 
 desolations are determined. And he shall 
 confirm the covenant with many for one zveek : 
 
 * This was written before the Author had seen Mr. 
 Dimock's " Critical Remarks/' in which that intelligent 
 and learned Commentator explains this passage nearly in 
 the same manner ; u and to complete the vision and the 
 prophecy, in the person of Christ, in whom all the visions 
 and prophecies from Abraham to Malachi were fulfilled." 
 
 T and 
 
274 
 
 and in the midst of the week he shall cause the 
 sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the 
 overspreading of abominations he shall make it 
 desolate, even until the consummation, and 
 that determined be poured upon the desolate. 
 
 Now it is to be observed that in these 
 three last verses, the original date of 70 
 weeks of years, is subdivided into three 
 portions ; 7 weeks, or 49 years ; 62 weeks, 
 or 434 years ; and 1 week, or 7 years ; 
 making in all 490 years ; and at the expi- 
 ration of this term the Messiah was to 
 suffer, and then the city and polity of the 
 Jews was to be totally destroyed. The 
 first date of these 7 weeks, or 49 years, is 
 from the going forth of the commandment to 
 restore and to build Jerusalem ; that is, 
 from the commission granted to Ezra, to 
 build Jerusalem as;am and restore the 
 Jewish government; and that this was 
 really in troublous times may be easily seen, 
 by referring to the history of those events 
 as recorded in the books of Ezra and 
 Nehemiah. The second date of threescore 
 and two weeks, or 434 years, begins from 
 the conclusion of the 49 years, in which 
 
 Jerusalem 
 
273 
 
 Jerusalem was to be built, and ends with 
 Christ's opening his divine commission. 
 For the prophecy does not say that he was 
 to be cut o/T precisely at the conclusion of 
 these 62 weeks, but after them ; and indeed 
 the context proves this, because there is 
 still remaining the third date of one week, 
 or 7 years, which commences with John 
 the Baptist's announcing the Kingdom of 
 Heaven, or the coming of the Messiah, 
 and finishes with the Messiah's being put 
 to death. 
 
 Thus the whole term of 4Q0 years ex- 
 actly includes the period, from the com* 
 mandment to restore Jerusalem to the death 
 of Christ; and though, after the lapse of 
 so many years, it is not surprizing that 
 Chronologers should differ concerning the 
 precise dates of these events ; one referring 
 the commandment concerning the resto- 
 ration of the Jews to Cyrus, another to 
 Darius* and another to Artaxerxes ; yet 
 they generally agree, that from this decree 
 to the death of Christ, just 490 years did 
 elapse ; and the ancient Jews were of the 
 same opinion, for it is recorded in the 
 
 T 2 Talmudj 
 
276 
 
 Talmud, (as tited by Chandler) as the tra- 
 dition of former ages, that Daniel foretold 
 the time in which the Messiah should 
 come. 
 
 It is necessary however to mention, that 
 there is an obscurity attending the first of 
 these dates, arising from the imperfect 
 manner, in which the 25th verse is trans- 
 lated and stopped, which greatly encreases 
 the difficulty of the passage. The words, 
 Fro?n the going forth of the commandment — 
 imto the Messiah the Prince, shall be seven 
 ficeks ; and threescore and two weeks the street 
 shall be built again, &c, as in our last version, 
 would naturally lead us to suppose, that 
 from the decree to the days of Christ, 
 would be only seven weeks or 49 years ; 
 and then 62 weeks, or 434 years more to 
 the building of Jerusalem. Whereas it 
 ought to be rendered as Chandler trans- 
 lates it, (which is also agreeable to the 
 (keek version *,) "From the command- 
 
 * A?ro s^opb Xoya — zuis 'Xpiolt* y/yw/xsya eGSoi/.ocSts s<zla. * 
 Vatican and Grabe's lxx. 
 
 meet 
 1 
 
277 
 
 ment — unto Messiah the Prince, shall be 
 seven weeks, and threescore and two 
 weeks ; the street shall be built again, and 
 the walls even in troublous tunes, or, as it 
 may be translated, in the smallest pittance 
 of time" which is exactly consonant to 
 the sense in which it has been explained 
 above, and Wintle seems to understand it 
 in the same manner*. 
 
 There is an expression in the 26th verse 
 capable of various interpretations ; Mes- 
 siah shall be cut off, bat net for himself -f. 
 Were this the proper translation, the 
 meaning would be sufficiently evident, 
 that he was to suffer, (as Isaiah says, liii. 5,) 
 
 * The Geneva version, 1599, is much clearer in this 
 place, and indeed in many others, than the last translation. 
 " From the commandment — unto Messiah — shall be seven 
 weeks, and threescore and two weeks, and the street shall 
 be built," &c. But the Old Great Bible has the same 
 error as the last. 
 
 f That is, says Chandler, " put to death under colour 
 and by form of judgment ;" for the original, here translated 
 cut off, is not used, but of one who is put to death by the 
 sentence of a Judge ; for which he cites Saadia Gaon in 
 Emun. C. viii. But this nicety has not been attended to 
 in any of the versions which I have seen. 
 
 for 
 
27S 
 
 for our transgressions and not for his own j 
 and this I am much inclined to believe 
 was the prophet's meaning, though the 
 passage is rendered otherwise, and very 
 differently understood by most of the 
 translators. The Greek version however 
 rather countenances our common trans] a^ 
 tion, and may be construed, that " there 
 was no crime or offence in him * ;" which 
 
 makes 
 
 * K«l KplfAXUK 6ff7»V EV UoloJ. YqT thlS SCHS© of XpifAX, 
 
 though omitted by Hederic, I have the authority of Leigh, 
 (Critica sac. in V.) and the inference arising from the 
 derivation of the word crime. These which follow are 
 pome of the different interpretations of this difficult passage, 
 from which the reader may draw his own conclusion. la 
 the margin of the last, and in the text of the Geneva trans- 
 lation, it is and shall have nothing, which in this last is 
 explained to mean, that Christ " shall have no beauty nor 
 be of any estimation/' as in Isaiah liii. 2. In the Great 
 Bible, 1566, it is, " and they shall have no pleasure in 
 him." Diodati renders it " Senza che gli resta piu nulla : 
 which he explains in a note to refer to his being without any 
 apparent dignity; or, to his being without fault; or, to his 
 death being solely for the benefit of mankind. The French 
 translation of 1553, Geneva, is the same, " et il ne lui 
 restera rien." Castalio understands it in the same manner, 
 3md expresses it quaintly enough " idque destitutus." The 
 
 Vulgate 
 
279 
 
 makes a sense very consonant to the ac- 
 count given of Christ both in the Old and 
 New Testament. 
 
 The words in the same verse, the people 
 of the Prince that shall come, refer very 
 evidently to Titus, son to Vespasian, then 
 Emperor of Rome, who destroyed the city 
 and the sanctuary, as it were with a flood, 
 leaving them in utter and hopeless desola- 
 tion. 
 
 The one week, or space of seven years, 
 mentioned in the last verse of this chapter, 
 is that, in which, as has been shewn before, 
 John Baptist first announced the coming 
 of the Messiah, and the Messiah himself 
 
 Vulgate is, " et non erit ejus populus ;" and with this, Well?, 
 Chandler, and W. Lowth agree, and if they are right, the 
 passage seems to bear an obvious reference to the Lo 
 Ammi of Hosea (Chap. i. 9-) long before, which was there 
 explained. Yet Wells allows the last translation to be 
 « a sound sense," and that the « original will bear it;" and 
 Grotius translates it " et non illi," though he supposes the 
 meaning to be, that the people whom Christ came to re- 
 deem, will not be obedient to him. Lastly, Mr. Wintle's 
 translation, referring the words to Christ, first suffering and 
 then victorious, is this, « though none shall be for him, the 
 people of the prince that cometh," &c. 
 
 completed 
 
280 
 
 completed the prophecy, and sealed up the 
 vision by his own death, The covenant, 
 that is, the new covenant of the Gospel, 
 was then by his life and death confirmed. 
 And in the half part * of this week ; that 
 is, in the last half part which ended in 
 Christ's death, he shall cause the sacrifice 
 and the oblation to cease. This was fulfilled 
 when Christ our passover was sacrificed for 
 lisf, and was once offered to hear the sins of 
 many%. For all the sacrifices and obla- 
 tions of the Jewish Law being only types 
 and figures of a Redeemer who was to 
 come, when he came who had been thus 
 prefigured, and offered up himself, all 
 these representations of him ceased and 
 expired of course. For the law had only 
 a shadow of good things to come%. 
 
 * So it ought to have been rendered instead of the 
 midst of the week, for the original Chatzi signifies the half 
 part and not the midst. Prideaux. 
 
 The Greek confirms this, w% tfiidet %t sC^pu^o*; so 
 does the Vulgate, Castalio, and the Great Bible. 
 
 t 1 Cor. v. 7. | Heb r ix. 28. 
 
 § Heb. x. 1. Mr. Wintle however, considers this 
 passage in a different light, and supposes the week to refer 
 to " the seven years of the Roman war." 
 
281 
 
 The latter part of tins verse evidently 
 relates to the destruction of Jerusalem ; 
 when the Jews, (the measure of their 
 iniquities being filled up by the death of 
 Christ, and their rejection of him as their 
 expected Messiah) were wholly forsaken 
 of God and given up to the sword of the 
 Romans. Then in the literal, as, when 
 the Messiah expired, in the mystic sense, 
 the sacrifice and the oblation ceased; for the 
 temple in which they were offered was 
 wholly destroyed, so that as Jesus had 
 foretold, Matt. xxiv. 2, not one stone was 
 left upon another. Jerusalem was then 
 indeed made desolate, its once favoured 
 inhabitants being scattered over all the 
 world; and so it will remain with respect 
 to them even until the consummation ; till 
 the time appointed by the Almighty for 
 the restoration and conversion of the 
 Jews *, and that thus determined by God 
 shall be poured upon the desolate. 
 
 The 
 
 * Or, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled, 
 Luke xxi. 24 ; in Avhich words our Saviour probably 
 meant to allude to this prophecy, and to refer the com- 
 pletion 
 
282 
 
 The expression in this verse, the over- 
 spreading of abominations, alludes to the 
 images borne in the Roman standards, 
 which were considered by the Jews as a 
 breach of the second commandment, and 
 were therefore an abomination to them. 
 Our Lord cites this passage, and evident- 
 ly so applies it, though not exactl}' in the 
 prophet's words, in Matt. xxiv. 15, and 
 in Mark xiii. 14. Probably he quoted 
 from the Targum then in general use 
 among the Jews, or perhaps even from 
 the Septuagint itself, for the Greek ver- 
 sion of the original passage exactly 
 agrees with his manner of quoting it *. 
 
 Such 
 
 pletion of it to the general conversion of the Gentiles, 
 which may perhaps take place at the same time with that 
 of the Jews. 
 
 * Kaz E7Ti7o izpov @&i\uyf/.ac tojv spvtfjLco'Jsa/v SSlou. Grabe's 
 ix x. Chandler translates the original, * And upon the 
 battlement shall be the idols of the desolator." Which 
 bears the same meaning as the Greek. Mr. Wintle's 
 version is somewhat different, " When upon the border 
 shall be the abomination of desolation;" and he thinks itmay 
 refer to the pollution of the temple by dead bodies during 
 the siege; but, as our Lord mentions so. particularly the 
 
 Roman 
 
283 
 
 Such is, I believe, the true meaningofthis 
 celebrated and remarkable prophecy, and 
 in this manner it appears to have been un- 
 derstood by the ancient Jews. And Uiis was 
 the principal cause why the Messiah 
 was expected when the time thus foretold 
 by Daniel drew near; which is ably 
 pointed out by the learned Bp. Chandler, 
 both in his " .Defence," and in his { Vin- 
 dication" of that Defence against Anthony 
 Collins. For the Jews understood the 
 calculation by zepeks just as the Christians 
 do; and when, according to their differ- 
 ent computations of the date from whence 
 they were to begin, the sixty-nine weeks 
 of years were expired, many impostors 
 appeared who pretended to be the ex- 
 pected Messiah. And this circumstance 
 was foretold by our Lord, Matt, xxiv. 5. 
 Many shall come in my name (that is, as- 
 suming the name that belonged to him) 
 paying I am Christ ; and shall deceive many. 
 
 Roman Eagles, both in Matt, and Luke, they seem to be 
 more immediately connected with the threatened abomina- 
 tion* 
 
 Since 
 
284- 
 
 Since that time therefore, the Jews, not 
 able to deny that the Messiah was to 
 come at that period, according to the pro- 
 phet, have chosen to suppose, some, that 
 Herod Agrippa was Daniel's Messiah; 
 others, that the prophecy was fulfilled in 
 Vespasian, by whose army under Titus, 
 the city and sanctuary were destroyed; and 
 others, that the whole order of priest- 
 hood was meant, by Messiah the Prince 9 
 which at that time was to be abolished. 
 But all these interpretations are too fan- 
 ciful and absurd to need a serious refuta- 
 tion ; yet they are still useful, because 
 they serve to prove the general opinion 
 among the Jews, of the exact time pointed 
 out by this prophecy of Daniel. And 
 the later Jews, in order to get rid of the 
 difficulty at once, have both denied that 
 Daniel was a prophet at all, and have 
 pronounced a curse upon all who shall 
 presume to fix a time for the coming 
 of Christ *• Some of them however 
 
 * Maimonides as cited by Jenkin; " Reasonableness 
 of the Christian Religion," Vol ii. p. 310— Edit. 5th. 
 See also Leslie's " Short and easy Method with the Jews/' 
 Y. 189— Edit. 8th. And Sauhedriu xi. 30. 
 
 have 
 
285 
 
 have declared with more candour, that 
 if they could get rid of this prophecy, 
 they should not fear any arguments that 
 christians could bring from other prophets 
 to prove that the Messiah is come. 
 Therefore it was that Rabbi Josue, who 
 saw the destruction of the temple, ex- 
 claimed that the time of the Messiah was 
 past**; as knowing that according to this 
 prophecy and that of Haggai, to be ex- 
 plained hereafter, He was to appear 
 before the temple Avas destroyed, and the 
 sacrifice and oblation had consequently 
 ceased. 
 
 The remaining chapters of this boofr 
 contain other visions, in which an angel 
 tells the prophet what was to happen in 
 several kingdoms both before and after 
 the coming of Christ; of the prophe- 
 cies contained in which some are not } 7 et 
 fulfilled. In these events the Jews were 
 first concerned, and afterwards the church 
 of Christ. These do not belong to the 
 present subject, but have lately been well 
 
 * Rabbi Josue qui excidiuni templi vidit, Messize tern- 
 pus advenisse dicebat, ut testatur H. Jacob in Caphtor. 
 Grot, de Verit. v. 14» 
 
 and 
 
286 
 
 and ably explained by Mr. Faber. and 
 their connection with the apocalypse 
 shewn. In the xiith chapter these events 
 are brought down even to the general 
 resurrection ; and Christ himself perhaps 
 is introduced under the name of Michael 
 the Great Prince, to deliver those whose 
 names are written in the book or life. Yet 
 though a particular time is appointed 
 when this is to happen, a thousand three 
 hundred and jive and thirty days, (ver. 12.) 
 probably accordingly to the usual pro- 
 phetic style so many years, it is still un- 
 certain from whence these years, and 
 those mentioned in the 11th verse, are to 
 be dated, and consequently when they 
 will conclude. Yet if Mr. Faber's hypo- 
 thesis be well founded, as indeed it ap- 
 pears to be, passing events lead us to 
 suppose the completion of prophecy to 
 be nearer at hand than is generally be- 
 lieved. But we shall hardly know cer- 
 tainly till the time is come, or at least 
 fast approaching; for the words are shut 
 up, and the book sealed even to the time of 
 the end, (ver. 4.) And it is, as Prideaux 
 8 justly 
 
2S7 
 justly observes, " the nature of such (and 
 indeed of almost all) prophecies, not to 
 be understood till they are throughly 
 fulfilled." For God does not cause future 
 events to be foretold to gratify our cu- 
 riosity, or to raise our expectation, but 
 to prove to us, when they are come to 
 pass, that he knew of them beforehand, 
 and that they happened by his appoint- 
 ment. 
 
 Soon after this last vision it is supposed 
 that Daniel died, very far advanced in 
 years ; and it is thought that he did not 
 return with the two tribes into Judaea after 
 their seventy years captivity, but died in 
 Babylon. 
 
 CHAP. 
 
288 
 
 CHAPTER XIL 
 
 The Prophecies of Haggai. 
 
 oEVERAL years however before the 
 decease of Daniel, and about 520 before 
 Christ, Haggai began to prophecy. He 
 was with the people after their return to 
 Jerusalem, while they were rebuilding the 
 city and the temple. But as they neg- 
 lected to finish the temple, which had 
 been begun about 15 years before, for 
 the sake of ornamenting* their own habi- 
 tations; this prophet was sent to urge 
 them to complete it, by assuring them that 
 the glory of this second temple should be 
 greater than that of the first, which Solo- 
 mon bun\ however magnificent that had 
 
 been* 
 
£>89 
 
 been, because in this the promised Re- 
 deemer should appear. 
 
 This part of the prophecy is introduced 
 in the second chapter, ver. 3 ; Who is left 
 among you that saw this house in her first glory? 
 And how d<? you see it now ? Is it not in your 
 eyes in comparison of it as nothing ? Now 
 there might be, and probably were, seve- 
 ral persons then living, who could remem- 
 ber the first temple. It was now about 
 sixty-six years since that bad been de- 
 stroyed ; and it may naturally be sup- 
 posed that the old people, whose minds 
 fondly dwelt on the splendor and riches 
 of Solomon's temple, despaired of ever 
 seeing this equal to it: and the} r probably 
 discouraged those who were building this 
 new temple, by pointing out in strong 
 and melancholy language the vast, and 
 indeed essential difference which there 
 was between them. For it was not only 
 in the magnificence and ornaments of the 
 two temples that this great difference 
 consisted ; for in the sight of God they 
 were of no estimation. The silver is mine. 
 and the gold is mine, saith the Lord of Hosts, 
 
 U ver. 
 
290 
 
 ver. 8 *. Of these therefore he made no 
 account, for the wealth of man could at 
 any time, when the kingdom should 
 flourish again, easily supply them ; and 
 indeed when Herod repaired this temple, 
 he adorned it with such profusion and 
 magnificence that there was some doubt 
 whether it was not equal m that respect to 
 the first. But there werefivc extraordinary 
 marks of divine favor which were bestow- 
 ed on Solomon's temple, which were now 
 wholly lost, and in which therefore this 
 new temple must for ever be deficient. 
 These were, 
 
 I. The original ark of the covenant, 
 made under the direction of Moses, and 
 in which were contained the two tables 
 of the law, that is, the ten command- 
 ments written by God himself; (Exod. 
 xxxiv. 1.) Aaron's rod which budded 
 
 * Primate Newcome however supposes this verse to 
 relate to the contributions and donations of the people 
 towards the rebuilding or" the temple ; but Chandler ex- 
 plains it as I have done above, and brings several passages 
 from the Psalms to shew that this manner of speaking 
 was usual in holy writ. 
 
 miraculously; 
 
23 1 
 
 miraculously ; (Numbers xvii, 8.) and the 
 pot of manna preserved in remembrance 
 of the Israelites being fed from heaven 
 in the wilderness *. (Exod xvi. 33.) 
 
 II. The Schechinah, or divine presence, 
 manifested by a cloud hanging over the 
 golden mercy-seat which was above the 
 ark, and between the wings of the cheru- 
 bims. This was probably the same cloud 
 which conducted the Israelites out of 
 Egypt, and performed the same office to 
 them in all their journeys through the 
 desert. It hung over and seems to have 
 filled the tabernacle which Moses erected; 
 and when Solomon consecrated his tem- 
 ple, it removed into that, (1 Kings viii. 
 10.) and there continued till that temple 
 was destroyed ; but after that never more 
 appeared. These were in the inner part 
 
 * These are mentioned in Heb. ix, 4 ; but in 1 Kings 
 viii. 9.. it is said there was nothing in the ark, save the 
 two tables. This is explained by \\ hitby from various 
 authorities both christian and Jewish, to mean, that these 
 articles were not strictly in the ark, but in coffers ap- 
 pended to the ark on each side. See Deut. xxxi. 26. 
 1 Sam. vi. 8. 
 
 U2 of 
 
292 
 
 of the temple called the Holy of Hoiks, 
 into which the high Priest only could 
 enter, and that no more than once a 
 
 year. 
 
 III. The Vrim and Thummim; that is, 
 JJgkt and Perfection, or, as the Septuagint 
 translate it *, manifestation and truth, 
 What the Urim and Thummim were is 
 not known, and it is in vain now to en- 
 deavour to explain it, as many learned 
 men both Jews and christians have rashly 
 attempted to do, because thescriptures give 
 no farther insight into it, than that it was 
 something which was put into the breast- 
 plate of the high priest. And the use of 
 it was to ask counsel of God in matters of 
 high importance. The high priest then put 
 on this breast-plate, and proposed the 
 question, standing before the ark of the 
 covenant over which was the cloud, but 
 on the outside of the veil. How the answer 
 was given has been the subject of much 
 and vain enquiry, and cannot now be cer- 
 tain! v known because it is not explained 
 
 I in 
 
293 
 
 in scripture. Dr. Pridcaux thinks, with 
 much appearance of probability, that the 
 answer was given by a voice; because in 
 several places it is ushered in with the 
 Lord said *. That this was clearly tlie 
 case with respeet to Moses at least, is 
 very evident from a passage which the 
 commentators in general seem to have 
 overlooked. Jt occurs in Numbers vii. 
 89; And wlten Moses was none into the tader- 
 netclc of the congregation to speak zcith him ; 
 then he heard the voice of one speaking unto 
 him, from off the mercy seat that was upon 
 the ark of testimony, from between the two 
 cherubims: and he spake unto him. How- 
 ever this may be, there can be no doubt 
 that the high priest could not consult the 
 Lord without wearing the breast-plate 
 within which was the Urim and Tuum- 
 miin. And therefore when these were 
 destroyed in the temple by the Chaldeans, 
 no oracle or answer from God was ever 
 afterwards given in the temple, nor any 
 
 * As in Judge*; sx. 1 8, &c. I Sara. viii. 22; and iu 
 many other pk 
 
 message 
 
294 
 
 message from him but through the pro- 
 phets. 
 
 IV. The holy fire which was constantly 
 kept burning day and night on the altar. 
 This was used to consume all the burnt 
 offerings. And it was for using other, or 
 as it is there (Levit. x. 1.) called strange 
 hre, that Nadab and Abihu were con- 
 sumed with fire frqm the Lord. This holy 
 fire first came from heaven upon the altar 
 in the tabernacle, (Levit. ix. 24,) when 
 Aaron and his sons were consecrated to 
 the priesthood. And it descended again 
 upon the altar (2 Chron. vii. 1.) at the 
 dedication of Solomon's temple. When 
 that was destroyed, this second fire wholly 
 disappeared, and the story in the second 
 book of Maccabees, (ch. i.) of its having 
 been hid, and brought again to the se- 
 cond temple, is universally allowed to be 
 utterly unfounded, and not deserving of any 
 credit. 
 
 V. The spirit of prophecy, which de- 
 serted the second temple entirely, so far 
 as concerns the high priests, who were no 
 longer favored with any revelations from 
 
 8 God. 
 
295 
 
 God. Yet there were the three prophets, 
 Hao-crai, Zechariah, and Malaehi, who all 
 
 OB 
 
 prophesied after the building of the se- 
 cond temple, and as the Jews say, all 
 died in one year. And after them no 
 prophet arose till the Messiah came. 
 This spirit of prophecy seems indeed, as 
 far as it relates to the oracles delivered 
 in the temple, to be the same spirit as 
 that which gave answers from the cloud 
 over the mercy-seat ; and is therefore by 
 some esteemed as one and the same thing; 
 and then the Vth particular in which the 
 second temple was deficient, is reckoned 
 to be the holy oil for the anointing the 
 kinos and priests and the sacred utensils; 
 which was lost or destroyed when the 
 first temple was burnt. This was made 
 by Moses under the immediate direction 
 of God *, and none was to be made like 
 it upon pain of death. And the want of 
 this occasioned a great deficiency in the 
 sanctity both of the high priests, and of 
 
 * Exod. xxx. 22, to the end, 
 
 the 
 
296 
 
 the vessels and utensils of the second 
 temple. 
 
 Such were the glories of the first tem- 
 ple, in which the second, however richly 
 it mio-ht afterwards be adorned, could 
 never equal it. And yet the prophet, 
 after reminding the people of the deficit 
 encies of that which he was exhorting 
 them to build, encourages them to be 
 strong *, because God was still with them. 
 For I am with you saith the Lord of Hosts— - 
 fear ye not. And he then proceeds to 
 comfort them with the promise of the ex- 
 pected Redeemer under the second tem- 
 ple ; by whose presence it should become 
 more glorious than the first, notwithstand- 
 ing its want of those other marks of the 
 divine favor which had distinguished that. 
 For thus saith the Lord of Hosts, yet 
 once, it is a little while, and I will shake 
 the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and 
 the dry land: And I will shake all nations % 
 mid the desire of all nations shall cvme 9 and 
 
 * Haggai ii. 4, &c, 
 
 I will 
 
297 
 
 J itillfill this house with glory, saiththe Lord 
 of Hosts. 
 
 Now this lias been generally considered 
 as an undeniable prophecy of the coming 
 of Christ under this second temple. The 
 sublime introduction of the prophecy 
 shews that it can relate to no triflin<r 
 matter. The silver is mine and the gold is 
 mine, saith the Lord of Hosts ; there could 
 therefore be no need that the Almighty 
 should shake the heavens and the earth, 
 merely to bring the desirable things * of 
 all nations (that is, the riches and splen- 
 did ornaments (Luke xxi. 5.) afterwards 
 collected for it from different parts) to 
 adorn this temple. This is a figure of 
 speech which is never used in scripture but 
 to introduce some great and important 
 event, It was to be not immediately, 
 but in a little while ; in about 500 years, 
 a short time considering how long it was. 
 since the Messiah was first promised; and 
 yet once, one more and the last revelation 
 
 * See the examination of Dr. Heberden's opinion 
 
 farther on. 
 
 or 
 
293 
 
 of the will of God, and the desire of all 
 nations shall come. This was a well known 
 and sufficiently obvious description of 
 him in whom all the nations of the earth 
 were to be blessed * ; of him who was the 
 expectation of the people -\- ; of him who 
 w r as accordingly styled in the New Testa- 
 ment, our hope and the hope of Israel + ; 
 of whom it is said that we beheld his glory y 
 the glory as of the only begotten of the 
 Father §; and whom Simeon called, when 
 he made his first appearance in this second 
 temple, the glory of Israel ||. 
 
 In consequence therefore of his glorious 
 presence, (as the prophet says, ven 9,) 
 the glory of this latter house shall be greater 
 than of the former, saith the Lord of Hosts; 
 and in this place will I give peace, saith the 
 Lord of Hosts, 
 
 This last expression, if any other proof 
 were wanting, would shew r that the glory 
 
 * Gen. xxii. 18. 
 
 f Gen. xlix. 10, on which place see the note. 
 
 J 1 Tim. i. 1. Acts xxviii. 20. § John i. 14. 
 
 || Luke i. 32. 
 
 referred 
 
299 
 
 referred to must be that of Christ ; for 
 what other peace, but that brought by 
 him, whom Isaiah terms the Prince of 
 Peace, (ch. ix. 6.) and Micah the Peace 
 (ch. ii. 5.) was given in this temple ? from 
 this time, though the Jews were wholly 
 reclaimed from idolatry, they were con- 
 stantly oppressed by the kings of Syria 
 and of Egypt, by the Romans, and by 
 the Asmonsean family, till Christ came; 
 and then having filled up the measure of 
 their iniquities by rejecting him, their tem- 
 ple was destroyed, and they were wholly 
 driven from their own country. 
 
 Such is, I am persuaded, the true 
 meaning of this important prophecy, and 
 such indeed is the generally received in- 
 terpretation of it both in ancient and 
 modern days. The Jews understood it 
 so in our Saviour's time *, and expected 
 
 Christ 
 
 * See their books quoted by Chandler; but the 
 learned Bishop seems to me to have mistaken R. Akiba's 
 opinion, who applied this prophecy to the time which 
 followed the destruction of the temple. " Propheta 
 signifkat, iuquit glossa, paulum gloria? Deum esse colla- 
 
 turum 
 
500 
 
 Chnst to come while this second temple 
 was standing. And in the same manner 
 most christians understand this passage 
 at this time. But as, happily for us, 
 our religion does not rest upon the au- 
 thority of any one single text, and as 
 truth only ought to be the object of every 
 attempt to explain the sacred writings, 
 it is proper to add that there are persons 
 of high literary eminence who apply this 
 prophecy in a very different manner, and 
 do not think that it relates to the Messiah 
 at all. 
 
 It becomes therefore necessary to exa- 
 mine their objections more particularly, 
 though in as few words as possible. The 
 
 tnrum teroplo secundo. Pertinere enim hunc versum 
 ad id tempus quo sfcetit templn.m secundum. — At R. Akiba 
 cum ad tempus destructionem tempji consequens accom- 
 modabat." — San. xi. 30 } in nctis. The lamentation of 
 R. Josue over the destruction of the temple, mentioned 
 before, proves also the manner in which this prophecy 
 was understood; and Gro': ;s positively affirms that thi< 
 war. the opinion of all &!i .i -v. 3 who lived before the de- 
 struction of the tenr, le by Tittle. *, Messiam appaii'ii- 
 rum i;\ tcmplo y/..<.-.vAo dcedidene Judaii omnes qui ante 
 cxcLdiam vi.sert'."' Gr^t. annotat. in loc. 
 
 first 
 
first of them is, that the word translated 
 in our version the desire ( the desire of all 
 nations, ver. 7,) should have been rendered 
 " the desirable, or precious, things;" and 
 the second, that the temple during which 
 our Saviour appeared, was not this of 
 -which Haggai spoke and which was then 
 building, but a third temple completely 
 built by Herod *. With respect to the 
 first objection, it is alledged that in the 
 original the verb shall come being plural, 
 the nominative case which precedes it 
 must be plural also; and therefore that the 
 passage ought to have been translated, 
 44 the desirable, or precious, things shall 
 comef ;" alluding only to the gold and 
 
 * See Primate Newcome on the place, (who seems 
 rather to lean to this opinion) and Dr. Heberden's ex- 
 planation stated by him. See also Bishop Ross's pamph- 
 let on this prophecy, and one much more able by the 
 learned Bishop Burgess on the same subject. 
 
 t But a great scholar, Bp. Warburton, says, that <c plural 
 nouns are often words of amplification not of number. 
 See " Divine Legation," B. vi. Sect. 3. And Patrick 
 in his commentary on another part of scripture, (C Chrou. 
 xxiv. 25) says, " according tothe frequent use of this lan- 
 guage, (i. e. the Hebrew) the plural number is put lor 
 the singular." 
 
 silver 
 
302 
 
 silver mentioned in the next verse, that 
 is, the riches and ornaments which should 
 be brought to the temple. But other 
 very excellent Hebrew scholars are of 
 opinion that our common translation is 
 right, and that it is agreeable to the 
 idiom of the Hebrew language, to use a 
 singular substantive with a plural verb, 
 more especially when it is wished to give 
 the word peculiar force. The Septuagint 
 indeed render the word here plurally, but 
 in several other places also they translate 
 a Hebrew singular by a Greek plural: 
 however that version certainly counte- 
 nances Dr. Ileberden's opinion that the 
 building of the temple was the occasion 
 of this prophecy. " Therefore the glory 
 of this house shall be greater than that of 
 the former, saith the Lord Almighty, and 
 peace of mind for a possession to every 
 one who forwards the building to restore 
 this temple *." But all this latter part 
 is not to be found in any Hebrew Bible ; 
 nor is it at all known from whence the 
 
 * Kai eiprfvnv -^/v/rts sir nepiTromaiv vravli 7w x?i£ov7i_, % 
 avxtslr,cxi%v vzov%%v. Grabe's Septuagint. 
 
 G reck 
 
303 
 
 Greek translators took this addition to 
 the text; and indeed it is considered to be 
 of such small authority, that I believe even 
 the Jews themselves have never availed 
 themselves of it, nor considered it as of 
 any consequence to the argument *. 
 
 The second objection made to the ex- 
 planation of this prophecy as it concerns 
 our Saviour, is that the Temple during 
 which he appeared, was not this of which 
 Haggai spoke, but a third temple built by 
 Herod. And upon this argument Dr. 
 Heberden laid great stress. Now certainly 
 Herod did rebuild the temple, and even 
 
 * With respect to the grammatical difficulty of this 
 passage, see Chandler's " Defence," and Primate New- 
 come on the place, who both, as instances of the use of 
 plurals when speaking of one person, quote Cicero's 
 " valete desideria mea" to his wife ; and Catallus's " Acmen 
 suos amores." To which may be added Virgil's " Alexin 
 Delicias domini;" and in Greek na.n o Qsos c lx Travlsc ev nasi, 
 ut sit Deus omnia in omnibus, Castalio, 1 Cor. xv. 2§ ; 
 and «x ao7r«7/xov r,yr t aa%% siva» iax 9su t Phil. 11. 6; and 
 fijos /xfv vuvlcc, Max. Tyr. Diss. 3. So in Hosea xiii. 14, 
 O Death I zcill be thi/ plagues; " ero pestcis tuse O Mors," 
 Junius. And in Daniel ix. 3, " a man of desires," 
 marginal translation; tamp ;7n0y/y.rwv, Lxx. 
 
 took 
 
804 
 
 took away the ancient foundations, and 
 laid new ones, as weave informed by Jose- 
 phus*. But Haggai's temple was never 
 destroyed ; there was no discontinuance of 
 it ; it was merely rebuilt part by part •$% 
 
 * Ant. Jud. Lib. xv. Cap. 1-4. Edit. Colon. 
 
 •J- " XJt nemo dubitare possit, Herodem lemplum totum 
 a fundamentis aedificasse, destructo per partes vetere ; 
 dcinde ut appareat, ex consuetudiue loqucndi historica, 
 onminoque populari, templum illud nihilominus secundum 
 et fuisse, et recte appellatum esse." Ernesti. Lat. Diss. 
 de Templo. Accordingly Josephus expressly says, that 
 the vaoj (the inner building) was finished in a year and a 
 half; and the 7rspiGo\os (the circumference of the outer 
 buildings) in eight years. It was therefore pulled down 
 and built again not at once, but by separate parts. Even 
 Grotius gives a decisive opinion to this effect (ad Matt, 
 xxiv. ].) (c Quanquam autem Herodes magnus templum 
 ul augeret a fundamentis novaverat, tamen cum et materia 
 usus sit veferi, et non totum simul templum diruerit, sed 
 partes- quantum quoquc tempore innovandum era!:, 
 ree'ee templum hoc idem hns.se dicitur quod structum erat 
 ft ZorobabeJe." And in another place (ad Maiach. iii. 1.) 
 lie quotes Kimchias saying that the Messiah was to come 
 during (he standing of this temple. " Veniet baud dubie 
 stanle hoc templo." See his book, also " de veritate," 
 &c. Lib. v. 14. Ci Templo secundo, quo nomine ?i/ud 
 Hebneos venit totum illud aevum a Zorobabcle ad tempus 
 Vespasiani," &c. 
 
 and 
 
305 
 
 and was therefore always reckoned as the 
 same second temple*, repaired and orna- 
 mented. And the continuation of the 
 sacrifice was never interrupted ; for the 
 altar on which it was burnt was not des- 
 troyed, being in the open air between the 
 inner building, (the vocog) and the cir- 
 cumference of the outer buildings, (the 
 '/rspiZoXog). And this was probably so left 
 for the express purpose, that as a part of 
 the old building was thus remaining, the 
 temple in common conversation might not 
 be deemed a new one, but reckoned still 
 the same. For the Jews were very unwil- 
 ling that Herod should take this temple 
 down in order to rebuild it; and the chief 
 arguments which he used -f to induce them 
 to consent to it, were that this second 
 temple, was not so high as Solomon's by 
 sixty cubits, and that the kingdom was 
 
 * So that eminent scholar Dr. Wilkins says, " Vixit 
 autem — circa trecentesimum post secundi Templi eversio- 
 nem annum." Praefatio ad Paraph. Chald. in Lib. Chron. 
 
 But testimonies to this effect are too abundant to be 
 mentioned, 
 
 f Jos. Ant. xv. 14. 
 
 X now 
 
306 
 
 now in peace, and he in possession of great 
 riches as well as revenues. All his aim 
 therefore, whs to make his temple equal 
 to that of Solomon in external splendour, 
 confessing that it did not equal the glory 
 of that former house. Josephus also tells 
 us*, that it certainly was not built by the 
 desirable things (as the objectors would 
 render the desire) of all nations (that is, their 
 contributions) but by taxes levied on the 
 people. It is also remarkable that Jose- 
 phus himself in relating the destruction of 
 the temple, makes no distinction between 
 that which was rebuilt by Herod, and that 
 ■which was built by Zerubbabel concerning 
 which Haggai prophesied, but reckons 
 them as one and the same-j-. From the 
 foundation, says he, of the latter temple, 
 which Haggai built in the second year of 
 King Cyrus, till it was destroyed under 
 Vespatian, was 659 years and 45 days. 
 
 * As cited by Chandler, P. £)C. 
 •f Aro as rr,s (x7ifT£ccs') uolzpov, 7/v s7ei %zv%pc>J xvpu (iao'Xzu- 
 qvios Z7roir,oz% Ayyaioi , shyxzy^pr, ttjs vtio Hc^TTocuiavu a?.w<7Ea/4 
 VpitXKovltx.£\v£X7if05 zSxy.ocnxs, x %/xspxi 7coaapa.y.ovla.7r:vlz. 
 
 Jos. de Bel. Lib. vi. [vii.] Cap. iv. Edit. Hudsoni. 
 
 And 
 
307 
 
 And this testimony from Josephus, seero$ 
 to me quite conclusive upon this subject. 
 In popular language therefore, and 
 general estimation, there were but two 
 temples; and the Jews themselves both 
 ancient and modern *, never reckoned 
 
 more : 
 
 * See their testimonies cited by Chandler and Newcome, 
 and also by Lighlfool in his " Prospect of the Temple." 
 Their opinion is the same at this day; " Soon alter the 
 establishment ol Christianity, the Jewish nation, dispersed 
 since the second destruction of its temple, had totally dis- 
 appeared." — ^ f The qualification of Rabbi did not exist in 
 ihe days of the first tempk : it is only mentioned towards 
 the end of those of ihe seeond." Trans, of the Parisian 
 Sanhedrim, 1806, P. U)4, &c. Benjamin of Tudela also 
 speaks only of the first and second temple3. See his 
 travels translated by Gerrans, Chap. xin. P. IQ7. The 
 Author of the Epistle to the Hebrews, was evidently of 
 opinion that this prophecy was meant of Christ. See 
 Whitby on Hebrews xii. 2(i. See also that poweiful and 
 convincing reusoner Leslie, in his" Short and Easy Method 
 with the Jews." Svo. yth. Edit. P. a 2, &c. 
 
 Mr. DimOck thinks that the passage in Maltfchi iii. I. 
 relates to this same appearance of Qirist in the temple, 
 and justry observe 9 that, u if they (tin se two prophecies) 
 are not imderstoud of the kingdom of peace under ihe 
 Messiah, they are not true in any other sense." 
 
 Bishop Ross strangely applies this prophecy of Haggai 
 solely to the christian church alhgorkally \ supposing the 
 
 x 2 former 
 
SOS 
 
 more : the first built by Solomon ; the 
 second by Zerubbabel and Haggai ; which 
 was rebuilt and enlarged by Herod. 
 
 Indeed had it been otherwise, the pro- 
 phecy of Haggai has not been completed, 
 and never now can be ; for the temple has 
 long been wholly destroyed, and its very 
 foundations, as our Lord foretold, (Matt, 
 xxiv. 2, &c.) entirely erased ; and the tem- 
 ple of which Haggai spoke (supposing 
 Herod's to be a third and different one) 
 never, in any sense whatsoever, either in 
 regard to things spiritual or temporal, 
 vfdsjilled with glory, or equalled the glory 
 of the first temple. The prophecy there- 
 fore has no meaning, unless it was fulfilled 
 by the coming of Christ ; but as it is gene- 
 rally, and I am persuaded truely, consi- 
 
 former and the latter house to be the Law and the Gospel. 
 There has also been a controversy between Mr. Hawtrej 
 and Bishop Burgess on this subject ; in which Mr. Haw- 
 trey argues, that Josephus only meant that Herod repaired 
 and enlarged the second Temple, which the learned Bishop 
 denies, though he still allows that the prophecy may 
 apply to Christ, and that Haggai's and Herod's Temple 
 were in popular acceptation the same. 
 
 dered 
 
S09 
 
 dered to be of very high importance, and 
 such objections have been started against 
 it, it was necessary to enlarge upon it more 
 particularly, than would have been done 
 otherwise. I have examined those objec- 
 tions, and reflected upon them with as 
 much care and attention as I am capable 
 of exerting, and the result has been the 
 firm belief, that the prophecy was designed 
 to foretel the coming of Christ at a speci- 
 fied time ; that He was the desire of all 
 nations *, and that it was his presence 
 which filled that house with glory. 
 
 This is the only prophecy of Haggai 
 which relates directly to Christ; though 
 some commentators are of opinion that 
 the latter part of this chapter refers to his 
 times and his kingdom, and that Zerub- 
 babel was a type of him -f who was des- 
 cended from him after the flesh. 
 
 * The comforte of all heathen. Great Bible, 1566. 
 
 f Wells, Geneva Bible, &c. See also Mr. Granville 
 Sharp's " Remarks/' 1768, Diss. xi. in which this pro_ 
 phecy is ably explained. 
 
 CHAP. 
 
10 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 The Prophecies of Zeeliariah and MqlachL 
 
 Contemporary with ti&$&\ as to 
 
 the first part of his writings, and immedi- 
 ately succeeding him as to the remainder, 
 Zechariah prophesied. Several passages 
 of this prophet ailude to the coming of the 
 Messiah, and some foretel it in a very 
 direct manner. The first of these occurs 
 in a vision, in which the prophet sees an 
 Angel addressing Joshua the High Priest, 
 and after giving him a general charge con- 
 cerning his conduct, renews the gracious 
 promise of Christ. For behold (says he, 
 Chap. iii. ver. 8.) I will bring forth my ser^ 
 vant the Branch, The same expression is 
 used concerning Christ in Jeremiah xxiii. 
 $, where it has been explained, and in 
 other parts of scripture. Primate Newr 
 
 come 
 
311 
 
 come however, considers it as relating 
 here to Zerubbabel, for which he gives 
 no reason, though such an opinion is con- 
 trary to the general sense of the Jews % as 
 well as of Christians. Certainly the term 
 Branch, or East, is too remarkable and 
 appropriate, to be applied to different 
 persons; nor can i think it at all applica- 
 ble to Zerubbabel, who is so often prophe- 
 sied of by name, and is so in this very 
 book. Besides which there is reason to 
 believe that Zerubbabel was himself one 
 of the persons represented in this vision, 
 as one of thcjeltoii's of Joshua and present 
 with lhm-f-. At any rate he was then liv- 
 ing, and engaged in the building of the 
 temple, (see Chap. iv. 9.) and could not 
 therefore be prophesied of in the words / 
 will bring forth ; so that I think there can 
 be no reasonable doubt, that these words 
 were meant to foretel Christ, especially as 
 
 * Jiidoji de Messia hunc locum interpretautur. Grot, 
 in loc. 
 
 •\ Well? j and Calmet. But W. Louth goes still farther 
 and says, "of Whom Zerubbabel without question was 
 cue, 
 
 it 
 
312 
 
 it is generally allowed that the whole pas- 
 sage was typical of him and his kingdom, 
 part of it in a primary, (as verses 8, 9> 10,) 
 and part in a secondary sense. 
 
 Another passage of nearly a similar 
 nature occurs in Chap. vi. 12 and 13, 
 where the prophet is commanded to crown 
 the same Joshua the High Priest with two 
 crowns, and to address him as a type of 
 the Messiah. And speak unto him saying? 
 Thus speaketh the Lord of Hosts, saying, 
 Behold the man whose name is the Branch *, 
 and he shall grow up out of his place, and he 
 shall build the temple of the Lord. Even he 
 shall build the temple of the Lord, and he shall 
 bear the glory, and shall sit and mile upon his 
 throne, and the counsel of peace shall be be- 
 tween them both. Here also the learned 
 Primate sees no reference to Christ; though 
 upon any other supposition, the prophecy 
 seems to me void of meaning, and abso- 
 lutely unintelligible. The temple, which 
 
 * The Jews explain this as one of the names of Christ. 
 " Germen sive splendor," Midras cited by Coch in notis. 
 P. 379- 
 
 was 
 
SIS 
 
 was finished in the 20th year from its com- 
 mencement, had at this time been building 
 15 years; therefore the expression shall 
 build the temple, which is twice repeated, 
 could not relate to this material temple 
 now so nearly finished, but to the spiritual 
 temple of Christ (2 Cor. vi. 16.) which 
 was to come. So the circumstance of the 
 two crowns, (ver. 11.) could not be appli- 
 cable to Joshua, because the High Priest 
 had but one crown, or mitre, upon the 
 front of which was only a plate of gold *, 
 whereas one of these was a gold, and the 
 other a silver crown. These were there- 
 fore typical of the double office of Christ, 
 as High Priest and King, which is clearly 
 intimated in the expressions of the text, 
 he shall sit and rule upon his throne, and he, 
 shall be a priest upon his throne ; neither of 
 which could relate to Joshua who was 
 already High Priest, and never was a 
 King. Whatever difficulty might be in 
 the expression so immediately addressed 
 
 * See Godwyn's " Moses and Aaron," Lib. i. Chap. 5. 
 and Exod. xxvii. 36. 
 
 to 
 
314* 
 
 to Joshua, Behold the man whpsfe name is the 
 Branch, the words which follow it shew- 
 that the accomplishment of it was remote, 
 and that therefore it could be spoken to 
 him only as to a type* of Christ the true 
 Branch ; he shall grow up out of his place, 
 whether it refers to his succeeding to 
 Joshua's place, i. e. the priesthood, or, as 
 the Septuagint, and Vulgate, and our old 
 version seem to imply, merely to the dis- 
 tance of time-)-, still shews that it was a 
 futwe event thus typified and foretold. 
 For Joshua, as before mentioned, was 
 already High Priest ; lie grew no more ; 
 and as Mr. Granville Sharp well observes, 
 * he could be only a type of the branch 
 there promised, because the real branch 
 was yet. to grow up out of his place J." 
 The last expression, the counsel of peace 
 shall be between them both is capable of 
 various interpretations! ; some commenta- 
 tors explain it of the future union of both 
 
 * Qui typus erat Chris} i. Junius in loc. 
 •\ YTioxa'/ajOiv xJld avxkXci. Subter cum orictur. Ilts 
 that, sbal springe up after hym. 
 | " -Remarks/' Diss. II. P. 17, 
 
 Jews 
 
315 
 
 Jews and Gentiles in Christ; but there is 
 nothing antecedent to point out such a 
 meaning; others suppose, and 1 think 
 justly, that it refers to the peace which is 
 to be in the last days between the throne 
 and the altar*, in the church of Christ, 
 for it is the kingdom and the priesthood 
 which are the antecedents. If this be the 
 true meaning, this part of the prophecy 
 still remains to be fulfilled. 
 
 The next passage of this prophet, (who, 
 in the opinion of Bishop Lowth-j-, is 
 perhaps the most obscure of them all,) 
 which directly relates to Christ, is happily 
 Jess obscure than those which have alieadv 
 been examined. It occurs in the Qlh and 
 
 * " Etiam sacerdos in scnatu solium suum habebit; et 
 optime inter illos conveuiat. Felix respublica ubi concor- 
 dant ofheiumque bene faeiunt et Prifaoeps et Sacerdos." 
 Grot, in loc. Surely Grotius could never think that hue 
 observation applicable to the times of Joshua and Z-jrub- 
 babel : neither were they to his own, or to any other days 
 that the world hjjs yet seen. They will be verified in those 
 days, when the earth is full of the knowledge of the. Lord 
 as the -waters cover the sea. 
 
 -j- " Ut in vate omnium fortasse obscurissimo, satis 
 perspicua.' Pra.1, x\i. 
 
 10th 
 
316 
 
 10th verses of the ixth chapter, and is I 
 believe universally acknowledged to refer 
 to Christ, though Grotius *, and as he says, 
 the Jews, suppose it related to Zerubbabel 
 in its primary sense, and secondarily only 
 to Christ. But he must mean the modern 
 Jews, for the Talmud makes no mention 
 of Zerubbabel in the Gemara on this 
 place -f\ Rejoice greatly, says the prophet, 
 O daughter of Zion ; shout daughter of 
 
 * Pertinet locus primo sensu ad Zorobabelem, subli- 
 miore ad Messiam, Judaeis agnoscentibus. Grot, in loc. 
 
 *t* Pauper ct insidens asino. Si naercantur scilicet 
 (veniet Christus) in mtbibus cceli; (Dan. vii. 13.) sin pau- 
 per et equitans in asino. San. xi. 33., a Coch. Rabbi 
 Joseph also quotes the same passage and applies it to 
 Christ, in Sect. 36. And Saadias says, annon scriptum est 
 de Messia ; Pauper sive humilis, et insidens asino ? Cited 
 by Coch in Note 4, on Sect. 33. See also Whitby on 
 Matt. xxi. 4; and Grotius himself, " On the Truth of 
 the Christian Religion/' B. 5, Sect. 17, where he applies 
 it to Christ. The authority of the Talmud must be con- 
 sidered as very high, when it makes against the present 
 Jewish prejudices ; " Rabbinorum verba quasi Dei verba 
 habcnda esse, impiissime asseruerint. — Ex communi Doc- 
 torum sententia, sanctissimo Talmud nihil est superius." 
 Buxto) f, as quoted by KennUott, Diss. Gen. Sect. 32. 
 
 Jerusalem : 
 
31? 
 
 Jerusalem : behold thy King cometh unU 
 
 thee : he is just, and having salvation, lowly, 
 
 and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the 
 
 fole of an ass. And I will cut off the chariot 
 
 from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, 
 
 and the batt el-how shall be cut off; and he 
 
 shall speak peace unto the heathen : and his 
 
 dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and 
 
 from the river even unto the ends of the 
 
 earth. 
 
 This is one of those prophecies which, 
 was not only literally fulfilled, at least in 
 part, in the life of Jesus Christ, but was 
 also expressly referred to by the Evange- 
 lists, in Matt. xxi. 5, and in John xii. 14- 
 In both these places our Saviour is said to 
 have entered Jerusalem in triumph riding 
 on an ass, in conformity to this prophecy ; 
 and the fact itself is also mentioned by St. 
 Mark, xi. 7, but without any reference to 
 the prophecy. In them all the rejoicing 
 of the people is noticed. The propriety 
 of the expressions used in the prophecy 
 concerning him, he is just, and having salva* 
 lion (or as Newcome renders it, a Saviour) 
 
 and 
 
313 
 
 and lowly, can be doubted by no one, who 
 is conversant with the gospel-history and 
 plan of redemption. The 10th verse, 
 though it is differently explained in 
 general, seems to me to relate to the 
 destruction of the Jews, in consequence 
 of their rejection of Christ; and for this 
 reason it is declared, that he shall speak 
 peace to the heathen, or Gentiles: and the 
 final event of his mission shall be, that his 
 kingdom shall extend over the whole earth. 
 His dominion shall be from sea even to sea, 
 and from the river even unto the. ends of the 
 earth. This glorious conclusion, when all 
 things shall be subdued unto the son, though 
 to mortal eyes it may not appear to be ap* 
 proaching, will surely come, it will not tarry. 
 However improbable such an event may 
 seem to be, considering how slow the pro- 
 gress of the spreading of the gospel has 
 been in these latter days, yet the comple- 
 tion of those prophecies which have been 
 fulfilled, is a sure pledge to us, that not one 
 jot or one tittle shall pass from the law (i. e. 
 the law and the prophets as in the preceding 
 
 verse, 
 4 
 
319 
 
 •verse, Matt. v. 17 and 18.) till all be ful- 
 filled *. 
 
 In the remaining chapters of this pro- 
 phet, there are no direct predictions of 
 the coming of the Messiah. But they 
 contain several prophecies relative to his 
 times ; to the effect of his coming ; and to 
 events to be fulfilled hereafter, which seem 
 to synchronize with those which are fore- 
 told by Daniel, and in the Revelations. 
 There are however some passages which 
 should be noticed, as being applred to 
 different circumstances of the life of Jesus 
 by the Evangelists. Thus in Chap. xL 
 vcr. 12 and 1'), we read, so they zoei'ghcd 
 for my price thirty pieces of silver. — And 1 
 took the thirty pieces of silver , and cast them 
 
 * It should be observed that this ixtli and the remaining 
 chapters attributed to Zechariah, are generally supposed 
 to have been written by some other prophet ; probably by 
 Jeremiah. Tt is needless here to enter into this discussion, 
 which is examined at length by Wells, Newcome, and 
 many others ; because it is acknowledged to be a prophecy, 
 whoever was the author of it, by the unimpeachable autho- 
 rity of the New Testament. 
 
 See this prophecy well explained in Chandler's " De- 
 fence/' with various Jewish Authorities concerning it. 
 
 ti 
 
320 
 
 to the potter in the home of the Lord, This 
 circumstance is introduced in one of those 
 parabolic signs, by which it was usual for 
 the Prophets to convey instruction, and 
 darkly to shadow out future events to the 
 people. But the Evangelist considers 
 them as fulfilled, (Matt, xxvii. 9 and 10.) 
 in the sum paid to Judas to induce him 
 to betray his master, and in the use to 
 which that money was afterwards applied 
 by the purchase of the potter s field. And 
 this seems so remarkable a coincidence, 
 as not to be accounted for, but on the sup- 
 position that the event recorded by the 
 prophet was actually a type, and com- 
 pleted by the conduct of Judas. 
 
 Again, in Chap. xii. 10, after the pro- 
 phet has been foretelling the great events 
 that are to come to pass after the restora- 
 tion of the Jews ; he says, And I will pour 
 upon the house of David, and upon the inhabit 
 tants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of 
 supplications, and they shall look on ?we* 
 
 whom 
 
 * Newcome renders it him; and Kennicott in Diss. 
 Gen. Sect. 65, says it is him in forty Hebrew copies. 
 
 The 
 
 6 
 
321 
 
 whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn 
 for him, as one mourneth for his only son, 
 and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that 
 is in bitterness for his firstborn. The words, 
 they shall look on me (or rather him) whom 
 they have pierced^ are applied by St. John 
 (xix, 37.) to the wound made in the side 
 of Jesus bv one of the soldiers; and this 
 sufficiently points out the meaning of the 
 prophecy, which will not be fulfilled till 
 after the conversion of the Jews to Christi- 
 anity, when they will mourn for him whom 
 they have pierced; when they will lament 
 the blindness of their forefathers in put- 
 ting to death that deliverer whom they 
 had been expecting so longi 
 
 There is one more passage of this pro- 
 phecy applied to Christ, and concerning 
 which we can hardly err, because obscure 
 as it is with respect to its general mean- 
 
 The very next sentence, they shall mourn for him, proves 
 that it must be so, and the verse would have neither sense 
 iior truth if applied to the prophet himself. The ancient 
 Jews interpreted this passage of Christ, 
 
 Y » wgr 
 
322 
 
 ing, it was appropriated to him by him- 
 self, according to the testimony of St. 
 Matthew, xxvi. 52, and St. Mark, xiv. 
 27* It occurs in the seventh verse of the 
 xiiith chapter, and is as follows : Awake, 
 O sword, against my shepherd, and against 
 the man that is my fellow, saith the Lord of 
 Hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep 
 shall be scattered : and I will turn mine 
 hand upon the little ones. In this verse, 
 says Primate Newcome, " the prophet 
 goes back to this great subject of pro- 
 phecy, after having told some events 
 posterior to Christ's appearance." It cer- 
 tainly seems to foretell the violent death 
 of Christ, and the dispersion of his flock, 
 in which sense our Lord quotes it himself 
 in the Evangelists above mentioned; and 
 the last part of it, though very darkly, 
 appears to allude to the protection which 
 God would afford to the disciples after 
 the death of their Master; those little 
 ones whom Christ, in Luke xii. 32, calls 
 his little flock. 
 
 The last of this series of prophets 
 
 Malachi 
 
3 C 23 
 
 Malachi wrote * ; and with him, as both 
 Jews and christians allow, the sacred 
 canon of the Old Testament closed. He 
 flourished about 420 years before Christ, 
 according to Kennicott; but according 
 to Blair, 436. At any rate, as Newcome 
 justly observes, " he lived after Zecha- 
 riah, because in his time the temple was 
 already built." The first passage in his 
 prophecy which relates to Christ, occurs 
 in the 1st verse of the iiid chapter. 
 Behold, I will send my Messenger, and he 
 shall prepare the way before me: and the 
 Lord whom ye seek, shall suddenly come 
 to his temple: even the Messenger of the 
 covenant, whom ye delight in: behold he 
 shall come, saith the Lord of Hosts. This 
 Messenger is universally allowed to be 
 John the Baptist, the voice that was to 
 cry in the wilderness, as had been be- 
 fore foretold in the xlth chapter of Isaiah, 
 and perhaps also the Elijah, or Elias, 
 
 * Ex quo mortui sunt prophets posteriores Haggseus, 
 Zacharias, Malachias, ablatus est spiritus sanctus alb 
 Israele. Sanbedrin, cap. 1. Sect. xii. 
 
 y 2 again 
 
again mentioned in the last chapter of 
 Malachi. His office is so distinctly ex« 
 plained by three of the Evangelists, with 
 a direct reference to the prophecies which 
 had announced his coming, that there 
 can be no mistake concerning it. But St. 
 Mark, ch. i. ver. 2, quotes the words of 
 this prophecy of Malachi, with a small 
 variation from the text as we nOw have \u 
 He says, Behold I send my Messenger be- 
 fore tht/ face, which shall prepare thy way 
 before thee. And this makes a clearer 
 sense, as supposing God to be the speaker 
 and addressing Christ ; which avoids the 
 confusion of persons which now appears 
 in the text of the prophet. This reading 
 is also supported by one of the earliest * 
 christian writers who quotes Malachi 
 
 * Tertuliian, as cited by Kennicott, Gen. Diss. Sect. 70. 
 But Grotius gives as a reason for this apparent confusion, 
 that God lives in the Messiah with more fulness and per- 
 fection than in any of the prophets. Grot, in loc. And 
 Du Hamel, in his notes to the Vulgate/ says, that because 
 the mission of John was common to the three "persons, 
 the prophet ascribes to the Father what the Evangelist 
 ascribes to the iSon. 
 
 exactly 
 
S25 
 
 exactly in the words of St. Mark. The 
 Lord rohom ye seek shall suddenly come to 
 his temple, can relate only to Christ, as 
 is acknowledged by the Jews as well as 
 ourselves % This' expression throws great 
 light, {as was observed on that place) 
 on the prophecy in Haggai ii. 7. The 
 desire of all nations is the same person as 
 the Lord whom ye seek; and his temple, 
 which was now finished, was the very 
 house then building by Haggai, this latter 
 house of which the glory was to be greater 
 than of the former, from the appearance 
 of the King of glory in it. The Messenger 
 of the covenant whom ye delight in, is also 
 a description of Christ, and must not 
 be confounded with John the Baptist, the 
 Messenger spoken of in the first part of 
 the verse. It relates to Him, as New- 
 come well expresses it from Grotius f, 
 " who shall establish a new covenant 
 
 * De Messia lisec aecipienda consentit Kimchi. Grot. 
 
 in loc. 
 
 t Legatus ille magnus (jui mittetur ad pangendum 
 
 Fosdus Novum, id. 
 
 between 
 
326 
 
 between God and mankind/' Whom ye 
 delight in, is rendered in the Greek ver- 
 ion * and in the Vulgate, " whom ye 
 wish for;" and to the same effect in some 
 other versions as well as in some of our 
 earlier English translations, which are 
 deemed by many great scholars to give 
 very often the sense of the text, in a 
 more exact and literal manner than our 
 
 * Ov u/xs»? fl£Xs7c. Quern vostultis; Vulg: Quern vos 
 avetis; Castalio. II qual voi desiderate ; .Diodati. Whom 
 ve desire; Geneva, 1599^ IV home ye wolde; Great Bible, 
 1566. The Septuagint, (the oldest translation of the 
 Old Testament, of which part, according to Kennicott, 
 was made 280 years before Christ, and the rest at least 
 130) ..must in every case be considered as of great 
 weight and authority. " Being persuaded (says Bp. 
 Warburton in his letters to Hurd. p. 58) that had it not 
 been for the Septuagint, the Hebrew Bible would have 
 been as unintelligible as any cypher is without its key, by 
 which nothing could be learned ; or rather, since the in- 
 vention of the Hebrew points, a complete nose of wax, 
 to be turned every way, and made say every thing ; which 
 partly arises from the beggarly scantiness of the language, 
 partly because no more remains of the tongue than u 
 contained in one sing'e book of no great bigness, but 
 principally from there having been no vowel points affixed, 
 till many years after it had become a dead language." ' 
 
 present 
 
327 
 
 present version f.i And the sentence 
 translated in this manner applies still 
 more clearly to Haggai's desire of all na- 
 tions. 
 
 The three following verses relate to the 
 effects of Christ's coming, to the punish- 
 ment of the Jews for their rejection of 
 him, and to their being again received 
 of God after their conversion. Of the 
 same nature appears to be the whole 
 of the last chapter, which is indeed in 
 some versions considered as the end of 
 the third. For behold the day comeih that 
 shall bum as an oven, seems to be the day 
 of vengeance at the coming of Christ to 
 the destruction of Jerusalem ; and the sun 
 of righteousness with healing in his wings, to 
 be the protection which Christ would then 
 afford to those who believed in him. 
 Possibly also this prophecy may have a 
 
 * Consult upon this interesting subject, Blackwall's 
 sacred classics; Kenncott's Gen. Diss. ; Dureli's Preface 
 t'o his translation of Job; and Newcome's « Historical 
 View •," in which last woik the learned author gives a 
 complete account of the different versions, and of the 
 opinions concerning them. 
 
 secondary, 
 
328 
 
 secondary, and still future, application to 
 the last coming of Christ to judgment; 
 or, as some commentators think, to the 
 commencement of the Millennium. 
 
 The promise in the 5th verse of sending 
 Elijah the prophet before the coming of the 
 great and dreadful day of the Lord, is at- 
 tended with considerable difficulty. It 
 seems at first sight to point to John the 
 Baptist, and the authors of the marginal 
 references in our Bibles were evidently of 
 this opinion. Yet Malachi is no where 
 expressly mentioned by any of the Evan- 
 gelists, as the authority of John Baptist's 
 being the FJias that was for to come ; nor 
 is there any clear reference in this verse 
 "where Elijah is spoken of by name, to 
 the Messenger in the first verse of the 
 third chapter, nor to the voice of him that 
 cricth in the wilderness in Isaiah xl. 3; 
 which last authority is that which i§ 
 brought by John himself, in order to 
 explain his office. But that which ap- 
 pears to me to make it probable that 
 John, who was to come in the spirit an4 
 power of Elias, (Luke i. 17.) was not 
 
 alluded 
 
329 
 
 alluded to in this place, is, that in the 
 Septuagint the words 7 " Qeo-Gfav are added 
 to the name of Elias ; Elias, or Elijah, 
 the Tishuite, which is a distinct personal 
 application. John was indeed the Elias 
 that was for to come. (Matt. xi. 14, and 
 xvii. 13.) He was the voice of one crying in 
 the wilderness — as said the prophet Esaias. 
 (John i. 23.) But he was not Elijah the 
 Tishhite; and John Baptist himself makes 
 an evident distinction, in the last cited 
 passage of the Evangelist, between the 
 person of Elias and the voice of one crying 
 in the wilderness: art thou Elias? And he 
 saith, I am not — I am the voice of one cry- 
 ing in the wilderness. Elijah the Tishbite 
 therefore is perhaps still to come, and 
 such was the expectation of the early 
 Fathers * ; but when, or where, or how, 
 as scripture has given us no farther inti- 
 mation, we must remain in ignorance 
 till the approach of that great and dread- 
 ful day of the Lord, of which he is to 
 
 * As quoted by Du Haniel in the notes to his Vulgate, 
 on this prophecy. 
 
 be 
 
330 
 
 be the forerunner. And this dreadful day 
 seems to me to refer clearly to the day that 
 shall burn as an oven, mentioned in the 
 first verse of this chapter, which does not 
 appear to relate at all to the coming of 
 the Messiah, nor is so explained in ge- 
 neral ; but whether it alludes to the de- 
 struction of Jerusalem by the Romans, or 
 to times yet to come, is by no means 
 equally evident. Indeed that part of 
 Elijah the prophet's office, mentioned in 
 the last verse of this chapter, that He shall 
 turn the heart of the fathers to (or, as 
 Newcome and Wells better translate it, 
 together with) the children, can hardly be 
 affirmed to have been fulfilled in John 
 the Baptist. For when we observe how 
 few persons were converted to Christianity 
 before the day of Pentecost, his preach- 
 ing and baptism seem to have produced 
 only a temporary, and not very extensive 
 effect. Possibly they might so sink into 
 the hearts of some, as to dispose them 
 afterwards to embrace the truths of the 
 gospel ; but* though Jerusalem and all 
 Judea, and all the region round about Jordan 
 
 (Matt. 
 
331 
 
 (Matt. Hi. 5.) were baptized of him, and 
 attended to his preaching, yet certainly 
 no great, striking, and national conver- 
 sion, was produced by his ministry ; such 
 as might have been expected from this 
 prophecy, had it really been fulfilled in him. 
 Yet still there is a clear, indisput- 
 able reference to this prophecy, in the 
 words used by the angel Gabriel, (Luke i. 
 16 and l?.) when he announced to Zacha- 
 rias the birth of the future Baptist. If, 
 as I am rather inclined to believe, the 
 event did not answer to the prediction, 
 it can only be accounted for by supposing 
 that, though it was certainly the design 
 and intent of his mission to make ready a 
 people prepared for the Lord, yet their 
 hearts were so hardened, and their 'lis* 
 obedience so obstinate, that he Co, i. 
 make no such conversion. And it is not 
 improbable that this might be our Lord's 
 meaning, when he said (Matt. xi. 14.) If 
 ye will receive it *, this is that Elms which 
 was for to come. For the first part of the 
 
 sentence 
 
332 
 
 sentence may be as properly, and I think 
 with more probability, translated, " If 
 ye will receive him" but they would not 
 receive him, as the expected Elias, and 
 therefore the hearts of the fathers and the 
 children were not turned. And this inter- 
 pretation may explain the conclusion 
 of the last verse of Malachi, to which 
 perhaps our Lord might then mean to 
 allude, lest I come and smite the earth with 
 a cnrse ; which words imply a doubt whe- 
 ther the mission of Elijah the prophet, sup- 
 posing John the Baptist to be the person 
 pointed out by that description, would 
 have the desired effect. In this case 
 perhaps the prophecy was fulfilled in the 
 destruction of Jerusalem, when the earth 
 (i.e. the land of Judea, as in many other 
 places of both Testaments) was indeed 
 smitten with a curse. 
 
 Upon the whole it must be confessed 
 that this prophecy, and its generally sup- 
 posed completion, are singularly obscure; 
 find I am by no means disposed to insist 
 upon the foregoing explanation of it, 
 which is, even in my own opinion, nearly 
 
 as 
 
633 
 
 as liable to objection as that which is 
 commonly received. Possibly, if it was 
 fulfilled in John in its primary sense, it 
 may have a secondary and still remote 
 meaning. Elijah may hereafter visibly 
 appear on earth, as the Jews still expect, 
 and as many christians have believed *; 
 and may be a principal means of bring- 
 ing about the conversion of the Jewish 
 nation. 
 
 * See Bellarmine tie Roman. Pontif. ' 1. 3, c. 6, as 
 cited by Lightfoot on John i. 21. There are however 
 great authorites against this opinion; as Lightfoot himself; 
 Dr. Gregory Sharpe, " Second Argument/' ch. vi; and 
 Whitby on Matt. xi. 14. who examines this point at great 
 length, but with rather more petulance than is usual witi* 
 that learned and excellent commentator. 
 
 CHAP, 
 
331 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 From Malachi to the opening of the Mission 
 of Christ. 
 
 VV 1TH Malachi expired the spirit of 
 prophecy under the law; and upwards of 
 400 years of darkness succeeded, during 
 which, though the two tribes of Judah 
 and Benjamin, together with some few 
 scattered families of the other tribes, (all 
 now included under the general appella- 
 tion of Jews,) continued in the worship 
 of the true God, and free from idolatry, 
 no farther notification was made of the 
 expected appearance of the Messiah. 
 For towards the close of this period there 
 was a general expectation both of Jews 
 and Gentiles that some great personage 
 was about to arise, whom the Jews anxi- 
 ously looked for as their long-promised 
 
 Redeemer? 
 
335 
 
 Redeemer, and whom the Gentiles sup- 
 posed * would be the monarch of the 
 earth. But both were equally mistaken 
 in the nature of the Messiah's kingdom, 
 supposing that to be temporal which 
 was really spiritual dominion, and expect- 
 ing that government to take place on this 
 earth, which is not to be exercised till 
 those new heavens and that new earth are 
 created, wherein dwelleth righteousness -}% 
 Hence the fears of Herod, and his anxiety 
 to destroy him that was born Icing of the 
 Jews; and hence the absurd flattery of 
 Josephus in pretending to believe that 
 Vespasian was the promised Messiah 9 
 although the time of his appearance was 
 then past From this general persuasion 
 
 * See several passages in Tacitus, Suetonius. Cicero, 
 &c. &c, which are quoted, and clearly illustrated by 
 Chandler's " Defence/' ch. i. sect !.; and by Leslie, 
 " Truth of Christianity Demonstrated," Svo. 9th. edit, 
 p. 62. &c. The translation of the scriptures into Greek 
 certainly also contributed greatly to the making them 
 known among the Gentiles; and to the expectation of 
 this Prince to come. 
 
 f Isaiah Ixv. 17, and 2 Peter iii. 13. 
 
 also 
 
S36 
 
 also evidently proceeded the journey of 
 the Magi, or wise men of the East, to 
 worship the infant Jesus. For otherwise 
 the portentous appearance of a new star* 
 though it might be supposed to point out 
 some remarkable event which was then 
 taking place, could not have guided them 
 to Jerusalem, and still less have induced 
 them to make the singular enquiry* where 
 is he that is born king of the Jews? It 
 seems clear indeed that the star did not ac- 
 company, or guide them to Jerusalem * be- 
 cause they were so rejoiced when they saw 
 it again in their way to Bethlehem* and 
 knew it to be the same star which they 
 had seen * before in the East. 
 
 With regard to the general expectation 
 among the Jews of the Messiah's coming 
 at the very time when Jesus actually ap- 
 peared, there are abundant proofs of it 
 dispersed throughout the Gospels. When 
 John Baptist first opened his mission, the 
 
 * EiSovj vi deratit ; Beza, Castalio, and Vulgate. Matt, 
 ii. 9- It is rather incorrectly rendered in our common 
 version, tfie star which they saw in th$ East, 
 
337 
 
 people were in expectation, and all men mused 
 in their hearts of John, whether he were the 
 Christ or not. (Luke iii. 15,) And a so- 
 lemn deputation of priests and levites were 
 sent to ask him who he was, and whether 
 he was that Prophet, (John i. 19 and 21.) 
 And even the Samaritans had the same 
 expecation ; I know^ said the woman of 
 Samaria, (John iv. 25,) that Messias comet ft 
 which is called Christ. And* as will be 
 observed hereafter more particularly, it 
 had been revealed to Simeon that he 
 should not die before he had seen the Lord's 
 Christ. 
 
 However before this great event actually 
 took place, John, afterwards surnamed 
 the Baptist, appeared as the forerunner 
 of Christ, in the spirit and power of Elias, 
 in conformity to the prophecies of Isaiah 
 and Malachi which have been mentioned 
 before. His birth, like that of the sacred 
 person whom he announced, was miracu- 
 lous in itself, and foretold also by the 
 same angel Gabriel *. It was accoin- 
 
 * Luke i. 19 and Q$. 
 
 Z panied 
 
338 
 
 panied too by a farther prophecy of the 
 Messiah ; for it was said by the angel to 
 be one part of his office to make ready a 
 people prepared for the Lord. Zach arias 
 also was endued with the spirit of prophecy 
 upon this great occasion, and pointed out 
 the approaching birth of Christ, as the 
 completion of the prophecies both of 
 David and the succeeding prophets *, and 
 the fulfilment of the original promise 
 made to Abraham. And this hymn, 
 which was equally prophetic concerning 
 the office of the child who was then cir- 
 cumcised, and that Redeemer for whom 
 he was to prepare the way, is therefore 
 adopted into the liturgy of our church. 
 
 In the sixth month after his mother had 
 conceived him who was afterwards called 
 John the Baptist, the fulness of time, the 
 hour appointed by the wisdom of God 
 for the redemption of mankind, even from 
 the creation of the world, was come. And 
 the immediate but miraculous conception 
 of him to whom all the prophets gave 
 
 * Luke i. 69—79. 
 
 zeittiess, 
 
339 
 
 witness ¥% the seed of the woman, the bles- 
 sing promised to the seed of Abraham, the 
 prophet like unto Moses, the star of Jacob, 
 the son of David, the Emmanuel, or God 
 with us y the desire of all nations, the long 
 expected Messiah or Christ, and in a word 
 the Jesus, or Saviour of his people, was 
 promised to the Virgin Mary by the angel 
 Gabriel. That his mother was a virgin, 
 and that she, as well as his reputed father 
 Joseph, was of the house and lineage of 
 David, was in conformity to the ancient 
 prophecies which have already been 
 noticed ; as was also the particular cir- 
 cumstance that he should be born in 
 Bethlehem, although that town is about 
 a hundred miles south of Nazareth •$• 
 where his mother dwelt, and where he 
 was conceived. 
 
 As Christ was made under the law, that is 
 while the law was still in force, so was he 
 also, both in infancy and manhood, 
 
 * For all the prophets, and the law prophesied unlill 
 John. Matt. xi. 13. 
 
 + Fuller's " Pisgah." 
 
 2 2 obedient 
 
540 
 
 obedient to it. Though his followers were 
 released from that heavy burden which 
 neither they nor their forefathers were able 
 to bear, yet he submitted to it himself. 
 Hence he was circumcised on the eighth 
 day, and he was presented in the temple 
 thirty three days afterwards, when his mo- 
 ther was purified, according to the law of 
 Moses. And then was given the last of 
 those prophecies which announced the 
 Saviour of the world. In the temple was 
 at that time a pious man of the name of 
 Simeon, who had received a particular 
 revelation that he should live till he had 
 seen the Lord's Christ. This venerable 
 person as soon as he perceived the child 
 Jesus, instantly knew that he was the con- 
 solation of Israel whom he was expect- 
 ing; and therefore taking him in his arms 
 he announced him as such to the bye- 
 standers in that admirable hymn * which 
 is still constantly used in our church 
 service. At the same instant a widow 
 
 * Luke ii. 29— S8. 
 
 prophetess 
 
S41 
 prophetess also, of the name of Anna, 
 entered the temple, and immediately ac- 
 knowledged the child for the promised 
 Messiah, and spake of him to all them that 
 looked for redemption in Jerusalem. 
 
 In this last revelation was the whole plan 
 of prophecy, so far as it related to the 
 coming of the Messiah, completed. We 
 have seen that most important and mira- 
 culous event foretold, though darkly, even 
 from the very fall of man ; and afterwards 
 announced, more and more clearly as the 
 time drew nearer, through the long series 
 of patriarchs and prophets, till the child 
 Jesus, at his presentation in the temple, 
 was acknowledged as the promised salva- 
 tion, the light of the Gentiles, the glory 
 of Israel, and the looked for redemption. 
 Though the multitude were ignorant of, 
 or careless about, these things, yet God 
 left not h'utjself without chosen witnesses; 
 some of the most pious among the Jews, 
 some of the wisest among the heathen *, 
 Jtnew the signs of the times, and confessed 
 
 * Matt. ii. 1—12. 
 
 the 
 
342 
 
 the infant King of the Jews ; and Angels 
 revealed openly to Shepherds in the field the 
 birth of a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord *, 
 and sang the triumphant hymn of recon- 
 ciliation, promised to the first Adam and 
 completed in the second, Glory to God in 
 the highest, and on earth peace, good will 
 towards ~f men. 
 
 * Lukeii. 8— 14- 
 + Towards ; rather, among men ; for this was the pecu* 
 liar design of the gospel. Peace and Goodwill are the 
 charity of the gospel and ought to be its fruits ; and for this 
 precious gift to mankind Glory be to God in the highest — 
 but the peace and goodwill were to be on earth. The 
 Greek ev avQpwTrois may certainly have that meaning. In 
 John i. 14, EffxY/vw<xEv ev-m/xjv, " commoratus est inter nos/ 
 Beza and Grotius ; " a pud nos/ Castalio ; " dwelt anion** 
 us." 
 
 CHAP, 
 
343 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 From the opening of the Mission of Christ, 
 to the descent of the Holy Ghost on the 
 Apostles, 
 
 BUT notwithstanding these miraculous 
 notifications of the birth of the infant 
 Saviour, about thirty years were still to 
 elapse, before his public entry upon his 
 sacred ministry. During this time he lived 
 with his father and mother, and was subject 
 unto them. Some few extraordinary events 
 indeed pointed him out as the peculiar 
 object of the care of God*, and proved 
 that he was sensible himself of his own 
 divine origin, and of his future destina- 
 tion f; but these were not public, and 
 
 * Such as the visions of Joseph concerning him. Matt. 
 
 w. 13, 19,22. 
 
 f See Luke ii. 49. 
 
 principally 
 
S|4< 
 
 principally known only to his own family. 
 So that though his Mother kept all these 
 sayings in hey heart, there is no reason to 
 suppose that they made any impression 
 upon the people at large. 
 
 However in the fifteenth year of the reign 
 of Tiberius O&sar, when Jesus began to be 
 about thirty years of age, he was publicly 
 announced to the Jews as the Son of God* 
 by John the Baptist ; which was further 
 confirmed by the descent of the Holy 
 Ghost upon him, and the voice from hea- 
 ven which accompanied it. From this 
 time Jesus began to preach openly ; and, 
 as he journeyed from one part of Judeato 
 the other, to open to the multitude a new 
 and more perfect system of devotion and 
 morality. In doing this he was naturally 
 led to point out the defects of their moral 
 and religious practice, arising from their 
 misinterpretations of their own Law, and 
 the always vague, and sometimes wicked 5 
 traditions, by which they obscured or 
 altered its meaning, And he confirmed 
 
 * Johai, 3£« 
 
 the 
 
S45 
 
 the truth of what he said, and asserted his 
 {authority, by working the most wonderful 
 miracles which the world Lad ever seen *. 
 Though indeed he seldom asserted in ex- 
 press terms that he was the Messiah whom 
 they expected, yet he constantly directed 
 their attention to those parts of the scrip- 
 tures which proved that he was so, by 
 shewing how the circumstances of his own 
 Jife and conduct, agreed with what had 
 been foretold of Him. For it is to be 
 observed that Christ preached to the Jews 
 only, to whom the Gospel was first to be 
 offered, and it was to them alone that this 
 argument, arising from their own history 
 and prophecies, could have any weight. 
 For the Gentiles could not be converted 
 by evidence drawn from historical facts 
 
 '* No man, said Nicodemus, can do these miracles that 
 thou doest, except God be with him. John iii. 2. And 
 though many prophets had worked miracles before Christ, 
 yet they had never pretended to do them, like him, by their 
 awn power, but by prayer to God. The fault of Moses 
 and Aaron at Meribah, (Numbers xx. 10.) seems to have 
 been the arrogating this power to themselves, must wefdeh 
 you water out of this rock f 
 
 utterly 
 
3i6 
 
 utterly unknown to them, or from prophe- 
 cies which, in general, those who were at 
 all acquainted with their existence, held, 
 as they did the nation to which they were 
 delivered, in sovereign contempt. I say 
 in general, because, as has been before 
 observed, there is great reason to believe 
 that some of the learned heathen had ac- 
 quired a certain degree of knowledge of 
 the Jewish prophets, and had from them 
 imbibed the notion mentioned by several 
 of their best Authors, that a person was 
 to arise in the east who was to have 
 power over the world*. 
 
 Four historians, of credit the most un- 
 doubted, of lives the most exemplary, and 
 assisted moreover by the inspiration of the 
 Holy Ghost, have delivered to us a brief 
 but plain narrative, of the life and doc- 
 trines of the blessed Jesus. Of these, two 
 were eye-witnesses of most of the facts 
 which they relate ; and the other two care- 
 fully collected them from those who were. 
 
 * See Note f, P. 311 3 in the beginning of Chap. xiii. 
 
 Fro ni 
 
 h 
 
347 
 
 From these Evangelists many ecclesiasti- 
 cal writers have compiled regular chrono- 
 logical histories of the Life of Christ, 
 which are so common as to be found in 
 every library. It would be attended with 
 no use therefore to do the same here; nor 
 is it necessary in this place to shew how 
 the whole life of Jesus, with respect to its 
 various events, his miracles, his preaching, 
 and his death, agreed with and confirmed 
 the prophecies which foretold the Messiah. 
 Because, in reality, to do this would be to 
 go over the whole of the prophecies again ; 
 inasmuch as in each of them it has been 
 already pointed out, to what part of the 
 mission of Christ, or to what circumstance 
 of his appearing, it is believed to relate. 
 But in order to shew how the religion of 
 Christ was spread after his death, it is 
 proper to point out the previous steps 
 which he took for that purpose. 
 
 The first of these was the selection of 
 twelve persons, probably with a view to 
 the number of the tribes of Israel, who 
 were to be with him, to hear his discourses 
 
 and 
 
348 
 
 and see his miracles ; and then be sent 
 
 forth to preach with the power of working 
 
 certain beneficial miracles themselves*, in 
 
 order to confirm their mission. These 
 
 were afterwards called Apostles, that is, 
 
 those who were sent forth, from the Greek 
 
 word which bears that meaning. Their 
 
 commission lasted (with the exception of 
 
 Judas, into whose room, after his dreadful 
 
 end, Matthias was elected -j-) to the end of 
 
 their lives; and these were the Fathers 
 
 md Founders of the Christian church. 
 
 After this Christ was pleased to chuse 
 
 seventy other Disciples it, (answering to 
 
 the*, number of the Judges appointed by 
 
 Closes, and to the Sanhedrim, or great 
 
 council of the Jews, in later times,) to go 
 
 before him to coery city and place whither he 
 
 himself would come, and invested them also 
 
 with some miraculous powers. But their 
 
 mission appears soon to have ceased, and 
 
 they became mixed afterwards with the 
 
 * Mark iii. 15. Mute, x. 1. f Acts i. 26. 
 
 I Luke x. l. See Whitby, and Lightfoot on the place. 
 
 other 
 
349 
 
 other disciples ; though it is supposed that 
 Matthias the Apostle, and the seven Dea- 
 cons * were taken out of their number. 
 
 * Acts vi. 5. Epiphanius, as cited bv Y» hitby ; and 
 Suckhouse. 
 
 CHAP- 
 
350 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 From the Descent of the Holy Ghost to the 
 conclusion of the Apostolic Age, 
 
 ^HE death of Christ gave a sudden, and 
 for the time effectual, check to the propa- 
 gation of his religion ; and the Apostles 
 did not begin to act as such, but continued 
 quietly at Jerusalem, according to the 
 commands of their Lord, till the descent 
 of the Holy Ghost. This wonderful event 
 took place fifty days after the resurrection 
 of Christ, and ten after his ascension. 
 The Apostles * having then received that 
 
 spirit 
 
 * There is some doubt whether the Holy Ghost fell 
 upon the twelve Apostles only, at this time, or whether the 
 word all (Acts ii. 1.) refers to the 120 disciples also, men- 
 tioned in Acts i. 15, and the best writers differ from each 
 other upon this subject. I consider the Apostles only as 
 
 receiving; 
 
351 
 
 spirit of truth who was to guide them into 
 all truth, to teach them all things, and to 
 bring all things to their remembrance which 
 Christ had said unto them, became imme- 
 diately qualified to enter upon their im- 
 portant mission. And they began it zea- 
 lously and without delay. The first fruits 
 of their preaching on this very day, in 
 Jerusalem, was the conversion of three 
 thousand persons to the Christian faith. 
 And it was probably only a few days after, 
 that five thousand more were added to the 
 infant church, in consequence of a miracle 
 performed by Peter and John upon a 
 lame man, and Peter's admirable discourse 
 upon that occasion. Many other miracles 
 followed this with the same effect, and as 
 we are told, Acts v. 14, believers were the 
 more added to the Lord, multitudes both of 
 men and zvGmen. 
 
 receiving this illumination on the day of Pentecost, both 
 because there is no evidence thai any others then partook 
 of it, and because Peter with the eleven are particularly 
 specified as replying to the calumny of the Multitude, 
 'Acts ii. 14. 
 
 And 
 
352 
 
 And now that the church was become 
 so numerous, it was found necessary that 
 some regulations should be adopted for 
 its proper government. The first of these 
 was the establishment of Deacons ; whose 
 original and peculiar appointment was to 
 take care of the poor, that the Apostles 
 might be more at liberty to attend to the 
 tvord of God. But these seven Deacons 
 being taken out of the number of the 
 seventy disciples, as before mentioned, 
 and having received the Holy Ghost, be- 
 came also preachers of the Gospel. At 
 ]east this may reasonably be supposed to 
 be the case with them all, as we know it 
 was with respect to Stephen and Philip, 
 two of the number. About this same 
 time*, that is, probably within a year 
 after the death of Christ, James the Less, 
 surnamed the Just, is said to have been 
 appointed Bishop of Jerusalem; an office 
 which became absolutely necessary when 
 
 * Eusebius. Eccles. Hist. Lib. ii. 1, and vii. 19, and 
 Clemens as cited by him. See also Echard*s Eccles. Hist. 
 Book ii. Chap, fi, and Bingham's Antiquities, Book. ii. 
 Chap. 1. 
 
 the 
 
353 
 
 the Apostles quitted Jerusalem upon their 
 different ministries, which none of them 
 appear to have done till the conversion of 
 the Samaritans by Philip the Deacon, 
 during the time of the first persecution ** 
 For soon after the institution of the Dea- 
 cons, the Jews stirred up a persecution 
 against the Christians, to which Stephen 
 became the first victim ; and the conse- 
 quence of it was that the Christians were 
 dispersed, through fear* over all Judea* 
 and preached the Gospel wherever they 
 came ; so that the very means which the 
 Jews used to stifle the Christian religion 
 in its infancy, served, by the providence of 
 God, to spread it over the world* 
 
 But before the Gospel was preached to 
 the Gentiles, it pleased God to add one 
 more person to the number of the tw r elve 
 Apostles, who was converted to Christianity 
 
 * Acts. viii. 1 4. But notwithstanding the great autho- 
 rities cited above, I think it most probable that the ap-* 
 pointment of the iirst Bishop of Jerusalem, did not take 
 place till the separation of the Apostles, because till that 
 time, as they all ucted together, there coujd exist no neces- 
 «itj for it. 
 
 A a by 
 
354 
 
 by a miraculous appearance of Christ to 
 him, while he was in the very act of per- 
 secuting his disciples. This was Saul, 
 afterwards better known by the name of 
 Paul, a man of extensive learning, fervent 
 zeal, but tempered by judgment, and sin- 
 gular holiness of manners. His deep 
 knowledge of the Mosaic Law, added to 
 an unblemished and pious life, gave great 
 weight to his preaching among the Jews ; 
 while his eloquence and learning equally 
 recommended him to the Gentiles. This 
 great event took place about two years- 
 after the death of Christ ; and for about 
 five years after this, the Apostles preached 
 to the Jews only*, although not only in 
 Judea, but in all the neighbouring nations 
 where they were dispersed ; and in many 
 of which they were permitted to have 
 synagogues. 
 
 That the christian religion was meant 
 to be universal, even the Apostles during 
 this time seem not to have understood, 
 notwithstanding the numerous passages in 
 
 * Acts xi, 7$. 
 
 the 
 
355 
 
 the Prophets which proved it, and the ex- 
 press commands of their Master to teach 
 all nations *, and to preach the Gospel to 
 every creature^-. Their Jewish prejudices 
 prevented them from the free exercise of 
 their understanding ; nor was it till after 
 the Vision of Peter, and the subsequent 
 descent of the Holy Ghost on the con- 
 verted houshold of Cornelius;]:, that the 
 Apostles would believe that God had aha 
 to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life. 
 But after this plain manifestation of the 
 will of God, they soon began to preach 
 Jikewise to the Gentiles; and the first 
 church among them was established at 
 Antioch ; where also the disciples of Jesus 
 first obtained the general name of Chris- 
 tians §, by which they have ever sincd 
 been distinguished to the present time. 
 And happy would it have been for them, 
 happy for the world at large, if they had 
 never been known by any other appella- 
 tion ; if all those distinctions of names and 
 
 * Matt, xxviii. 19- t Mark xvi. 15. % Acts x. and xi. 
 § Acts xi. 26. 
 
 a a 2 sects 
 
356 
 
 sects and parties, the offspring of pride, 
 vanit\*, or folly, had never defaced the 
 glorious fabric of Christianity ; if', like 
 humble followers of a meek and hsasly 6'a- 
 v'tour, men would have been content to 
 call no man their father, and to have been 
 all brethren under one Master, " one fold 
 under one Shepherd," even Christ *. But 
 human passions soon began to have fatal 
 dominion over the minds of men even in 
 religious concerns, and I am of Paul, and I 
 of A polios -j-, debased the purity of the 
 apostolic age itself. 
 
 The chronology of these early times is 
 
 not very exact, neither indeed is it of 
 
 consequence that it should be so ; but it 
 
 is probable that it was about 12 J years 
 
 after our Saviour's ascension, when the 
 
 apostles departed from Jerusalem to their 
 
 respective missions in the different parts 
 
 of the world. Of their travels we have 
 
 but imperfect accounts, excepting those 
 
 which are recorded in " the Acts of the 
 
 * Matt.xxiii. 8. f 1 Cor. i. 12. 
 
 % Echard. 
 
 Apostles/* 
 
357 
 
 Apostles,'* winch principally relate to St. 
 Paul. From thence it appears that He, some- 
 times aecompanu d by Barnabas, Mark, and 
 others, and afterwards probably by Luke, 
 preached the gospel in Cyprus, great part 
 of" Asia Minor (generally called at that 
 time, and especially in his epistles, Asia,) 
 Macedonia, Greece, and Rome; in which 
 city it is generally believed that he suffer- 
 ed martyrdom about the year 6*8. It" he 
 came into Great Britain at all, it must 
 have been alter his first journey to Rome, 
 that is, between the years 58 and 6j* And 
 though this is by no means a certain fact, 
 yet it is far from being improbable, and 
 there arc great authorities and good ar- 
 guments in favor of it *. At any rate it 
 is generally believed that the light of 
 Christianity extended to this island in the 
 apostolic age, though through whose in- 
 strumentality it is not equally clear. 
 
 * Consult Fuller's, and Collier'* Church Histories, cent 
 1st; and Henry's Hist, of fir. Britain, tfook i. ch. % sact. 
 §. See also Socrates Schqlostieus, lib v, cli. 8, note d, 
 Cambridge, K)8S. 
 
 A short 
 
358 
 
 A short time after the conversion of 
 Cornelius, St. Peter was imprisoned by 
 Herod ; and as soon as he was miracu- 
 lously delivered from his chains by the 
 angel % he also left Judea, and travelled., 
 in order to spread the gospel, through 
 several provinces of Asia Minor, and from 
 thence to Rome ; where he suffered 
 martyrdom in the first general persecution 
 under Nero, Although he dates his first 
 Epistle from Babylon, there is good reason 
 for believing that he never was at the 
 eastern city of that name, and that under 
 that appellation he designated Rome -j-, 
 as St. John did afterwards in the Revela- 
 tions. Whether he was twice at Rome, 
 as the Roman-catholics affirm, or only 
 once, is not very material. There is no 
 authority to prove that he was the founr 
 tier of the church at Rome, or the first 
 bishop of it. Neither is there any reason 
 
 * Acts xii. 
 ■f* Eusebius, Lib, ii. Ch. xv. See also Whitby on 
 1 Pet. v. 13. Calmet also allows that Home is meant by 
 |Ue name of Babylon. 
 
 to 
 
359 
 
 to suppose that he possessed any supe- 
 rior weight in the apostolic college, for 
 on the contrary, we find St. Paul rebuking 
 him for dmimulatioii at Anlioch % and 
 the apostle apparently convinced of the 
 justness of his reproof -j-. 
 
 With respect to the rest of the Apostles* 
 concerning whose travels and labours our 
 accounts are not so certain, Mark went 
 into Egypt, Thomas into Parthia (accord 
 ing to tradition;) Andrew into Scythia ; 
 John into Asia Minor; and Bartholomew 
 into India J. Of the other Apostles, Philip 
 is said to have preached in Upper Asia ; 
 Matthew, in Persia, Parthia, or Ethio- 
 pia ; Simon, in Africa and the Brilannie 
 isles, or in Persia; Jude, in Arabia and 
 Mesopotamia; or in Lybia and different 
 parts of upper Asia; James the Less in 
 Jerusalem of which he was bishop ; James 
 the Great, in Palestine and Spain ; and Mat- 
 
 * Galat. ii. 
 f Acts xv. 7. To which disputing and subsequent con- 
 viction of Peter, I take die passage in Galat. ii. to refer. 
 £ Eusebius; whose authority upon this subject ma} be 
 
 deemed sufficient. 
 
 thias 
 
360 
 
 thias in Colchis *. All these, except St, 
 John, are believed to have been martyrs 
 to the truths which they preached, and to 
 have laid down their lives for the sake of 
 the gospel of Christ. 
 
 * Concerning these last, see Nelson's Festivals, and the 
 numerous authorities cited by (Jalmet and Stackhpuse, 
 
 CHAP- 
 
361 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 From the conclusion of the apostolic age, to 
 the establishment of Christianity hi/ human 
 laws, under Constantine the Great. 
 
 tSo mightily grew the word of God and pre- 
 vailed in this first age of the christian 
 church ; but not without much trouble 
 and danger to those who preached, and 
 those who embraced it. Till the reign of 
 Constantine, in the early part of the fourth 
 century, they were almost continually 
 subject to persecutions more or less vio- 
 lent. Of these there were in particular 
 ten which are commonly called general 
 persecutions ; but historians are not agreed 
 as to their precise dates, nor indeed as to 
 
 their 
 
562 
 
 their exact number *. Nor can this be 
 wondered at, because persecution often 
 ceased in one province of the extensive 
 Roman empire, while it continued to rage 
 in another. So that all parts were some- 
 times freed from, and at others exposed 
 to it. But the religion itself encreased, 
 notwithstanding, in all, and in less than 
 eighty years after the death of Christ, it ap- 
 pears, from the testimony of contemporary 
 profane authors -|-, to have gained mul- 
 titudes of converts in Rome itself, as 
 -well as in the provinces dependant upon 
 it. And this is the more remarkable, be- 
 cause Christianity was so directly opposed 
 to paganism, and could not coalesce with, 
 or even long exist in the same place with 
 it, as other religions did, which the hea- 
 then were therefore willing to tolerate. 
 
 * Gisborne's Survey. For a more particular account 
 of the persecutions, see Mosheirn, Echard, and Fox's 
 " Acts and Monuments," vol. i. 
 
 *T Tacitus and Pliny ; and see observations upon their 
 testimony in Paley's " Evidences/' vol. ii. p. 226, Sec, 
 See also Eusebius, Lib. iii. 33. 
 
 For 
 
363 
 
 For this reason it was every where spoken 
 against % was esteemed pernicious, and 
 the professors of it deemed odious beyond 
 all others -\\ 
 
 Yet all this load of hatred and calumny 
 prevented not the truth from gaining 
 ground, nor paganism from daily decreasing 
 both in its numbers, and in the estimation 
 of the world. For it was not in the 
 Roman empire alone that the religion of 
 Christ was preached. Even in the apos- 
 tolic age, as has been shewn before, chris- 
 tian churches were planted, and numer- 
 ous converts made in Africa, India, and 
 the north and center of Asia; countries 
 inmost of which unfortunately the light 
 of the gospel has been now for many ages 
 extinguished, and the dark and baleful 
 influence of Moharamedism established 
 in its room. 
 
 * Acts xxyiii. 22. 
 
 f Tacitus and Suetonius, as cited by Mosheirfi, vol. i. 
 p. 74, where the reason of this hatred is well explained. 
 See also Warburton's " Divine Legation," where it is ac- 
 counted for upon the same principles in a very masterly 
 and convincing manner. 
 
 J3ut 
 
364 
 
 But though the crown of martyrdom 
 had closed the various labours and 
 travels of all the apostles (St. John alone 
 excepted) within about forty years after 
 the death of their Lord, their testimony 
 still remained. Their writings, most if 
 not all of which are extant, were dispersed 
 over all the then known world, and copies 
 of them every where multiplied with the 
 most laudable care as well as diligence. 
 With so much care indeed, that it seems 
 almost miraculous that the variations be- 
 tween the oldest manuscript copies of the 
 New Testament should be so few, and in 
 general of so little importance both as to 
 facts and doctrines. St. John besides his 
 Gospel and Epistles, wrotealso the prophe- 
 tic work called his " Revelations;" a work 
 which has exercised the learning andgenius 
 ofagreatnumberofthemosteminentchris- 
 tian writers from the earliest times to the 
 present day. The first part of it seems, in 
 its primary sense at least, to refer only to 
 the seven Asiatic churches; and the re- 
 mainder to be prophetic of a series of 
 events connected with, or relating to, the 
 
 christian 
 
565 
 
 christian church in general ; of which 
 some have been fulfilled, some are per- 
 haps now fulfilling *, and others are pro- 
 bably still at a distance. There seems to 
 be an immediate connection between this, 
 and the prophecies in the latter chapters 
 of Daniel, so that they illustrate, and in 
 some degree explain each other. But 
 both the prophet and the evangelist are 
 so obscure, and their language so figura- 
 tive, that they are not likely to be com- 
 pletely understood, till the events them- 
 selves foretold actually take place. For 
 " it is graciously designed, that the gra- 
 dual accomplishment of these predictions 
 should afford, in every succeeding period 
 of time, additional testimony to the 
 divine origin of our holy religion -(-. 
 
 It is needless here to discuss the ques- 
 tion, agitated in the last century with 
 so much learning as well as asperity, 
 
 * See Mr. Faber'a " Dissertations" upon this curious 
 and interesting subject ; a work well deserving of close 
 and serious attention. 
 
 -f Bishop of Lincoln's " Elements of Christian Theo- 
 iogv." Vol. i. p. 504. 
 
 whether 
 
366 
 
 whether the religion of Christ was sup- 
 ported by miracles after the decease of the 
 Apostles. That it was divinely supported, 
 is evident from its rapid encrease in spite 
 of the opposition and persecution of all 
 the ruling powers * both Jew and Gen- 
 tile. 
 
 But it is not equally necessary, where 
 direct and incontrovertible testimony is 
 wanting, that we should point out the 
 precise means which it pleased God to 
 make use of for that purpose. Though 
 the Apostles were gone, their writings and 
 their disciples still remained. Of these 
 last, Barnabas, Ignatius, Clement, Hermas, 
 Polycarp, and Papias, some of the works 
 are still extant <f. These were all person- 
 ally acquainted with, and followers of, 
 some of the Apostles ; and their writings 
 are highly valuable, because in all of 
 
 * The religion of Mahomet was propagated by the 
 sword 5 that of Christ against it. 
 
 t See Du Pin, " Biblofheque," Tom. i. and Paley's 
 " Evidences," vol. i. ch. ix. sect. i. and Lardner's f, Cre- 
 dibility" as cited by him. 
 
 them 
 
367 
 
 them there are either quotations from the 
 four Gospels and Acts of the Apostles, 
 exactly as now received by the whole 
 christian church, or obvious and direct 
 allusions to them, together with appli- 
 cations of their very words *. So that it 
 is evident that these most important 
 parts of scripture were even then extant in 
 their present form and words ; and were 
 quoted, or alluded to, as generally known 
 and of indisputable authenticity. Nor 
 can it be deemed any objection to the 
 authority of the genuine works of these 
 earliest christian Fathers, that other writ- 
 ings *j- have been ascribed to them with- 
 out sufficient proof. Indeed many of 
 these last which are -qw, alter the most 
 strict and elaborate examination, allowed 
 to be forgeries, are of very ancient date, 
 
 * Paley as above. This argument is also used by 
 Eusebius. lib. iii. &c; and it is of very great import- 
 ance to the christian religion, that this point has been so 
 thoroughly investigated, and is so clearly ascertained. 
 
 + See the very able investigation of objections of this 
 kind in Bishop Watson' i admirable u Apology," Letter ii. 
 
 1 and 
 
368 
 
 and therefore, though not genuine, are of 
 some use * and have some authority* 
 They were owing to the mistaken piety, 
 and zeal not according to knowledge, of 
 christians in the early ages, who hoped 
 by such means to strengthen their cause; 
 as if God required the help of man to 
 bring about his designs, or the pure re- 
 ligion of Christ needed support from false- 
 hood. 
 
 After these, who may be properly called 
 the apostolical fathers, followed Justin 
 Martyr, a Grecian philosopher, though 
 born in Palestine, and after his conver- 
 sion a powerful advocate for the christian 
 religion in various parts of the world, 
 lie died about the year 170; and many 
 of his writings still remain. So also do 
 those of Irenajus bishop of Lyons, who 
 
 * Some of them however are of much later date, and 
 forged with the contrary design of bringing odium, doubt, 
 or contempt, on the christian religion. Such is the pre- 
 tended gospel of St. lio rnabas and several others falsely so 
 called, upon which Voltaire, and other deistical writers 
 lay great stress, and affect to consider them as supported 
 by the same evidence as the four received gospels. 
 
 was 
 
369 
 
 was " a disciple of Poly carp, who was 
 a Disciple of John *," the Evangelist. 
 Both these quote the Gospels in nu- 
 merous places by the name of their 
 authors ; and their testimony, and that 
 of the other fathers proves that our four 
 gospels, and those only, were received 
 as genuine and authentic in those early 
 ages in different parts of the workh For 
 " Clement flourished at Rome, Ignatius 
 at Antioch, Polycarp at Smyrna, Justin 
 Martyr in Syria, and Irenasus hi 
 France -f" 
 
 These were succeeded by Athenagoras 
 and Theophilus : of whom the first was 
 an Athenian philosopher, and the second 
 Bishop of Antioch. They both flourished 
 towards the latter end of the second cen- 
 tury, and some of their writings are still 
 extant. About the same time, or rather 
 later, lived two christian writers, Miltiades 
 and Pantaenus a stoic philosopher; but 
 their works are now lost, though they 
 
 * Paley's Evidences, vol. i. p. 200, 
 f Paley ut supra, p. 214. 
 
 B b were 
 
370 
 
 were extant in the time of Eusebitis and 
 Jerome *. Pantamus, who was master of 
 a celebrated christian school in Alexan- 
 dria, was succeeded in it by Clement of 
 Alexandria, who had also been a stoic 
 philosopher, one of the most voluminous 
 writers of the early christian church. 
 Some of his works are lost, but many still 
 remain. He also speaks of the four re- 
 ceived gospels in contradistinction to 
 others which pretended to that name. 
 
 After Clement, but contemporary with 
 his latter years, Tertullian wrote. He was 
 a Carthaginian and originally a Pagan. 
 His works are numerous and are still ex- 
 rant. They prove that the same scrip- 
 tures, and they only, were received also 
 in Africa; so that we have a direct chain 
 i )i evidence from those fathers who per- 
 
 * Paley, Da Pin, INouv. Bib. Tom. i. and Ensebius, 
 lib. v. x. and xi. The reader is referred to Paley's just- 
 ly celebrated work, of which this part is chiefly abridged 
 firdih Lardner, for a very clear and useful account of the 
 testimonies in sucession of the early christian writers, ia 
 favour of the genuineness of the scriptures as delivered 
 down to us. 
 
 1 sonallj 
 
371 
 
 sonally knew the apostles, down to about 
 the year 216 *, in various parts of the 
 world, that those scriptures which we 
 now possess, and no others, were received 
 as genuine and authentic by the christian 
 church -j- at that time. 
 
 Not to mention many other christian 
 writers J of whose works only extracts 
 and fragments remain, the famous Origen 
 was upwards of 30 years of age when Ter- 
 tullian ceased to write, and he was the 
 immediate successor of Clement, whose 
 scholar he was, being then only 18 years 
 old, in the school of Alexandria §. 
 
 His works as well as his life are well 
 
 * Du Pin, N. Bib. art. « Tertullien." 
 f " We have Justin Martyr at Neapolis, (in Palestine) 
 Theophilus at Antioch, Irenseus in France, Clement at 
 Alexandria, Tertullian at Carthage, quoting the same books 
 of historical scriptures, and, I may say, quoting these 
 alone." Paley's Evid. Vol. i. p. 221. 
 
 J Caius, Hippolytus, Julius Africanus, Minutius Felix, 
 Ammonias, and several others mentioned by Paley, (ut 
 supra) by Machine in his additions to Mosheim, and by 
 Du Pin. 
 
 § Eusebius, Lib. vi. Cap. 6. Du Pin, art. « Ori- 
 genes," 
 
 B b 2 known? 
 
372 
 
 known, and he lived till the reign of the 
 Emperor Gall us in the middle of the 
 third century. He was succeeded by 
 Gregory Thaumaturgus, a pagan con- 
 verted by him, and by Dionysius of Alex- 
 andria who had been his scholar. Some 
 parts of their writings are still extant ; but 
 of Cyprian, bishop of Carthage, their co- 
 temporary *, all the works still remain. 
 All these last mentioned authors quote 
 the scriptures in the same manner as has 
 been mentioned before, and their remains 
 are, principally indeed upon that account, 
 highly valuable. These were succeeded 
 by several writers mentioned in ecclesi- 
 astical history -\; of whose works parts 
 
 * He was also cotemporary with Origen, and died, 
 according to'Dn Pin and Echard, only six years after him, 
 A. D. l 2oS. Dr. Paley says, I know not from what au- 
 thority, that ,f lie flourished within 20 years after Origen." 
 
 *p See an account of them in Du Pin, vol. i. and in 
 Mosheim, cent. 3d; of these, as Paley justly observes, 
 Victoria bishop of PettaW in Germany deserves particu- 
 lar mention, as his works prove that the very same Gos- 
 pels and Acts of the Apostles were then received (A. D. 
 890) in the west as well as the east, that is, over all the 
 christian world, 
 
 only 
 
373 
 
 only remain, but all tending to confirm 
 the same truth. 
 
 A few years after these, that is about 
 the close of the third century (which date 
 he assigns himself to his first book) Arno- 
 bius, a converted pagan, wrote in favour 
 of the christian religion against paganism. 
 He was succeeded by his scholar Lactan- 
 tius who wrote about the year 320; and 
 the greater part of the works of both 
 these authors still remain. 
 
 Lactantius lived in the court of the 
 Emperor Constantine, and was tutor to 
 his son Crispus. His style is much ad- 
 mired, and has even been thought by 
 some learned men to excel that of 
 Cicero *. 
 
 At the same time with Lactantius 
 flourished Eusebius bishop of Caesarea, 
 to which see he was elected in the year 
 313 or 314 f. The greater part of his 
 works, which are very copious, still re- 
 main, and his ecclesiastical history, from 
 the birth of Christ to his own time, is 
 
 * Pu Pin. t Id. 
 
 highly 
 
374 
 
 highly valuable. In it he mentions the 
 4C four sacred Gospels," and the Acts of 
 the Apostles * as undeniably genuine, and 
 received without controversy ; and he also 
 states at length the reasons which moved, 
 the Evangelists to write them, and the 
 order in which they were written. 
 
 It is needless to carry this kind of evi- 
 dence farther, because in the time of 
 Eusebius, Christianity was established by 
 human laws, and became the religion of the 
 empire. Constantineembraced Christianity 
 about the same time in which Eusebius 
 obtained his bishoprick; but the religion 
 was not completely sanctioned, and esta- 
 blished by public edicts, till after the death 
 pf his colleague Licinius in the year 
 
 Proni this time therefore ecclesiastical 
 and general history became blended, and 
 rest upon the same authority, in all the 
 different states into which the Roman em- 
 pire was gradually broken. Writers on 
 
 * Eusebius, Lib. iii. Ch. 24 and 25. 
 ■J Muclaine's Moshcim, Vol. i. p. 320 and 322. 
 
 the 
 
S?5 
 
 the christian doctrines encreased every- 
 where so fast, and multiplied quotations 
 from the scriptures in such a manner, 
 that it became scarcely possible either to 
 forge any new work that could be re- 
 ceived as genuine, or to lose any parts of 
 those which were already acknowledged. 
 Even those heresies which at this time, 
 and indeed long before, deformed the 
 unity of the church, and but too often 
 brought odium and disgrace upon it, were 
 of great use in preserving the purity 
 and integrity of the scriptures. In the 
 endless controversies which arose con- 
 cerning them, all parties appealed to the 
 scriptures as their only guide and autho- 
 rity. All parties quoted largely from 
 them in support of their various opinions; 
 and however they might differ in their 
 interpretation of them, they could not 
 easily, and in point of fact hardly ever 
 did, venture to falsify or misquote them 
 in any matter of consequence ; because 
 from the number of copies made out with 
 the greatest care, and every where dis- 
 persed 
 
376 
 
 persed, such conduct must have been 
 immediately detected, and would have 
 been an effectual ruin to the cause meant 
 to be served by it. 
 
 Such is the chain of external testimony 
 upon which we admit, and acknowledge 
 the genuineness of, the Gospels and Acts 
 of the Apostles, as we have them at pre- 
 sent. It is complete and conclusive ; not 
 one link is wanting. From the death of 
 Christ to the reign of Constantine, there 
 is no where a lapse of twenty years with- 
 out some work, or fragment of a work, 
 upon the christian religion, still extant 
 and universally allowed to be genuine, 
 containing quotations from, and allusions 
 to, the same Gospels and Acts of the 
 Apostles which still are, and ever have 
 been received in all the christian churches, 
 In Justin Martyr's " Apology," presented 
 to the Emperor Antoninus Pius " not 
 .fifty years after the death of St. John, 
 not only parts of all the four Gospels are 
 quoted, but it is expressly said, that on 
 the day called Sunday* a portion of them 
 
 was 
 
377 
 
 was read in the public assemblies of the 
 christians *" He also speaks of the 
 christian ceremonies of baptism and the 
 Lord's Supper -j-; ceremonies, which 
 existing to this day, and always having 
 been practised in, I believe, every chris- 
 tian church J, (though in a variety of 
 manners,) even from the very first esta- 
 blishment or the religion when the Holy 
 Ghost descended upon the Apostles, add 
 considerable weight and strength to the 
 evidence of its truth. 
 
 Upon the whole it may be truly 
 affirmed that there is no ancient book 
 whatsoever, of the genuineness of which 
 we have such satisfactory and convincing 
 testimony, as we have of that of the four 
 
 * Bishop Watson's " Apology." P. 305 and 6. edit, 
 3d. 
 
 f Du Pin, Nouv. Bib, art. " Saint Justin." 
 
 j Except among Home few heretics in the early ages. 
 See Bingham's " Antiquities/' vol. i. The disuse of 
 these ceremonies by the Quakers, and perhaps other 
 rnodern sectaries, does not affect this argument. 
 
 Gospels 
 
378 
 
 Gospels and Acts of the Apostles *. 
 None such can be brought to prove that 
 of any of the Greek and Latin classics, 
 about which there is the least doubt. 
 Even those among them which have al- 
 ways been the most celebrated and ad- 
 mired, were buried in the deepest ob- 
 scurity during several centuries. In the 
 dark ages their very existence was un- 
 known ; so that when they re-appeared, 
 upon the revival of learning in Italy, 
 there were not wanting persons who main- 
 tained that they were not genuine, but had 
 been forged in the thirteenth or fourteenth 
 century. 
 
 Yet however absurd and untenable 
 such an opinion now seems to be, it may 
 admit of a doubt whether there was any 
 
 * The epistles are not mentioned here, because, not 
 being historical, they do not come into the plan of this 
 work. Yet they throw very great light both upon the 
 gospel history, and upon that of the first ages of the 
 church. With respect to those of St. Paul in particular, 
 every studious christian will do well to consult that excel- 
 lent work of the late Dr. Paley, " Horae Paulinae." 
 
 external 
 
*79 
 
 external evidence sufficient to establish 
 the genuineness of those works, had they 
 been destitute of that conclusive internal 
 evidence which they so abundantly 
 possess. But the scriptures are equally 
 supported by both. And I think I am 
 warranted in affirming, that from the 
 days of the Apostles to the present time, 
 there never has been been half a century 
 (nor probably a much shorter space) with- 
 out some christian writer quoting the 
 scriptures, and drawing his authorities 
 from them, God left not himself without 
 witness. Even the general councils which 
 were assembled from time to time, from 
 that of Nice in the year 325 * to that of 
 Trent in 1549 i'* were of some use to the 
 church of Christ. They all served to 
 prevent any alteration from being made 
 in the scriptures, and asserted their au- 
 thority ; and however unduty they might 
 
 * Richerius, <( Hist. Cone. Gen.'" and Mosheim; yet 
 it took place more probably somewhat later, as it was 
 assembled on account of the Arian heresy, and the re- 
 ligion itself was not legally established till 304. 
 -f Or, according to Richerius, 1545. 
 
 endeavour 
 
380 
 
 endeavour to elevate the power of the 
 church, they never pretended to any as 
 independent of scripture, but of being de- 
 rived from, and (as they affirmed) proved 
 by it. 
 
 Before this part of the subject is finish- 
 ed, it should be observed, that all that has 
 been alledged here, in support of the 
 genuineness of the historical part of the 
 New Testament, relates only to its exter- 
 nal evidence; to such evidence as would 
 be urged, if such could be procured, with 
 respect to any other ancient book. For 
 its internal evidence, the miraeles and 
 the discourses of its divine author, and 
 those of his Apostles * after they had re- 
 ceived the power and the illumination of 
 the Holy Ghost, with the numerous other 
 circumstances to the .same effect, with 
 which we are furnished by a careful peru- 
 sal of those sacred writings, do not fall 
 
 * The change produced on the Apostle's understandings 
 by the descent of the Holy Ghost was itself a great mi- 
 racle. See an Essay on this subject by the Author.— -Riv- 
 moons', 1802. 
 
 within 
 
381 
 
 within the plan and limits of this work. 
 In order to avoid confusion, the proof 
 arising from these testimonies of the early 
 christian authors has been brought to- 
 gether in one point of view, without in- 
 terrupting it by the historical account of 
 the spreading of the religion at the same 
 time ; but it is necessaiw, before the con- 
 clusion to say a few words upon that 
 subject also. 
 
 It is indeed not very easy to discover 
 the exact date of the establishment of 
 the several christian churches, prior to 
 this time, in most parts of the then known 
 world; nor the order in which they were 
 planted. For almost all the early chris- 
 tian writers who have been mentioned, 
 Eusebius excepted, confined themselves 
 either to the explanation and enforcing of 
 particular doctrines and ceremonies; or 
 to the proofs of the genuineness and au- 
 thenticity of the scriptures, or to moral 
 rules of life drawn from them ; or, lastly, 
 to controversy, and the confutation of 
 the numerous early heresies. They rarely 
 mention matters of historical fact, unless 
 
 incidental! v : 
 
382 
 
 incidentally : so that though we know in 
 what parts of the world the Gospel had 
 been preached at this time, and churches 
 and bishopricks founded, we can seldom 
 ascertain the exact circumstances attend- 
 ing the conversion of the heathen nations. 
 Indeed that conversion was generally slow 
 and gradual ; and christian churches and 
 even bishopricks were established in many 
 parts of the world, where a great number, 
 and often the majority, of the inhabitants 
 were still pagans. Hence proceeded the 
 vexations and persecutions to which the 
 christians were perpetually subject till the 
 reign of Constantine; but when he de- 
 clared himself their protector, the decline 
 of paganism was, as might be expected, 
 rapid, and Christianity soon rose trium- 
 phant On its ruins. 
 
 This was not surprising, and was in the 
 natural course of human events. The 
 wonder is, and it must and should be 
 considered as miraculous, that a religion 
 so adverse to the prejudices and passions 
 of men, so contrary to all their habits, 
 and so checked, persecuted, and condemn- 
 ed, 
 
'•> 
 
 8S 
 
 eel, by all the ruling powers, should have 
 previously gained so much ground, and ac- 
 quired an establishment in so many parts 
 of the world, in little more than three 
 centuries. At the time when Constan- 
 tino published the edict beforementioned, 
 in the year S24, the religion of Christ had 
 been preached, and churches planted *, 
 over all Syria, Asia Minor, and some 
 parts of Mesopotamia, Arabia, Persia and 
 Armenia; in Egypt, and Abyssinia; in 
 all the north of Africa as far as the Atlan- 
 tic Ocean ; in all the Mediterranean 
 Islands; in all that part of Europe which 
 lies south of the Danube ; in Italy, France, 
 Spain and Portugal, England, and part 
 of Germany. In all these countries, and 
 perhaps in some others, there were regu- 
 lar establishments of the christian reli- 
 gion; and it had also been preached, 
 though probably not with equal success, 
 in India, and some of the northern parts 
 of Asia and Europe. 
 
 # See Eusebius, passim; Bingham's Antiquities; 
 Shard's ami Mosbeim's Ecclesiastical Histories. 
 
 chap. 
 
384 
 
 CHAPTER XVI n. 
 
 Conclusion* 
 
 oUCII was the rise and progress of the 
 christian religion from the fall of Adam* 
 which occasioned the necessity of it, to 
 its establishment by human laws in the 
 reign of Constantine. It continued to 
 gain ground for some centuries after that 
 memorable epoch ; but its latter ages 
 have not been attended with'similar success. 
 It has pleased God to suffer it to be 
 eclipsed, and in a great measure super- 
 seded, in the southern and eastern parts 
 of our hemisphere, by the religion of 
 Mahomet. This in its turn seems now 
 to be on the decline ; and the wise pro- 
 vidence of God, in suffering it to flourish 
 for a time, has without doubt made it 
 subservient to his own gracious designs. 
 
 What 
 
S83 
 
 What these are it would be presumptuous 
 in us to guess, had he not chosen to re- 
 veal, however darkly, somewhat of his 
 future intentions in the writings of his 
 prophets. Some of these prophecies are 
 certainly not yet fulfilled ; and some 
 of them are not improbably even now 
 fulfilling *. 
 
 If we at all comprehend the meaning 
 of these unfulfilled prophecies, the end 
 of this world must be yet at a consider- 
 able distance, unless it pleases God ac- 
 tively, miraculously, and almost visibly, 
 to interpose his power. The Jews, the 
 lost and unknown Israel as well as Judah, 
 are certainly^ I think, to be converted 
 first, and probably to be restored also to 
 their own land. And the Gentiles, all 
 the heathen, idolatrous, and Mahometan 
 nations, must first seek the ensign of the 
 root of Jesse -f and acknowledge Christ. 
 And then — but alas, to use the words of 
 
 * See Mr. Faber's learned and ingenious Dissertations 
 upon this interesting subject, which are very useful and 
 instructive even where they fail to convince, 
 f Isaiah xi. 10. 
 
 Cc 
 
386 
 
 the prophet * f alas, who shall live when 
 God cloeth this ! — then cometh the end -f ; the 
 end of all things here below; the begin- 
 ning of the kingdom of God, 
 
 That end must come; the long triumph 
 of death shall end in defeat, and the 
 grave shall yield up its prey. All shall 
 surely rise ; whether to happiness or 
 to misery depends upon ourselves ; upon 
 our conduct here, upon the use which we 
 Christians in particular make of the light 
 and blessings which we enjoy, our ever- 
 lasting state depends. What manner of per* 
 sons then ought we to be in all holy conversation 
 and godliness J. 
 
 Let me be permitted to add with the 
 Apostle, Wherefore beloved, seeing that ye 
 look for these things, be diligent that ye may 
 be found of him in peace, without spot, and 
 blameless §. For in truth this should be the 
 only design, the alpha and omega of all stu- 
 dies connected with religion, of all writings 
 
 * Numbers xxiv. 23. 
 + 1 Cor. xv. 24. " Finis rnundi et regni Christi com* 
 SLplementum, sive perfection" Beza in locum. , 
 
 J % Peter iii. J I. | Id- ibid. ver. 14, 
 
 I upou 
 
387 
 
 upon scriptural subjects. Without this 
 great end in view, all controversies, all 
 attempts to promote christian knowledge, 
 all enquiries into the scriptures, all endea- 
 vours to unfold and explain the mysteries 
 of the kingdom of God, are mere idle 
 speculations and trifling as vanity itself. 
 However humble the execution of this 
 little work, however inadequate to the 
 important end proposed, still has such 
 been its true design ; and may God grant 
 that when the head which has com- 
 posed, and the hand which has written it 
 be mouldering in the dust, it may in some 
 degree at least, serve to promote the glory 
 of God and the salvation of man, through 
 Jesus Christ our Lord. 
 
 THE ESTD. 
 
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 1. MEMOIRS of the LIFE of Mrs. ELIZABETH 
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