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Cotton, Eenry.
Memoir of a French Translation of the
I
New Testament ,
London, 1827.

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YALE
UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

CRITICAL DISSERTATION
111 O N
2 Peter i. i6 —  21;
In w h I c ii
1
The F o R G E of the Apost le's
Reasoning is fliewn,
Andthe
C O N N. E X I O N of the WHO L E PASSAGE
explained.

LONDON:
Printed for J. Fa V N e and J. B o u q^u e T,
in Pater-Nofiir-Row.
Mdgcli.

ERRATA.
PAGE 4. 1. 5. of verfe 18. for ayia, read ayia. L, 4. of
verfe 21. for old, read God. laft line but 4. zitexfays, dele
of it.
Page 6. 1. 15. After /»/f»i/?i/, begin' a new paragraph.
Page 8. 1. 29. Dele the comma after •whereas. 1. penult, for
promife 0/ coming, read, protni/e of his coming.
Page 9. 1. 24. Aher nigh, for a conjma put a femicolon;
Page n . 1. 6. For as even ta aJk, read as to afk. 1. 26. for
uiuwv^ read ixiava^
Page 12. 1. 8. Vor enforce, se-dA infirce. 1. 15, 16 and 17. reiadi
//^ /.Jair, aj tuhat is faid. ijerfe the third, is flainkg brought
to gi've- 'weight to the tiuo •vei-fes preceding it, it ijuottld, &c.
I. 21. after hut, dele that.
Page 14. 1. 8. Dele [the fijiechina], \. 15 and 20. for contraSion,
read cantradiBion.
Page 16. 1. 14. For or rather in the futtire perfeSi, read ar in the
future perfe6htevfe.
Page 17. 1. U. For indifpojition, read :» a difpofltion. 1. ij.
fa<ve them, Ihould be in Italics. I7 27. forsloJon, read e'IoJo?.'
Page 18. 1 4. After Ifrael, for a comma put a femicolon. 1. 17,
for Ivmira, read ehkutb.
Page 21. 1. 28. Dele the comma after /iiaB.
Page 24. 1. penult. For faapofoq, read ^airpofof.
Page z6. I. 5. Re3.d. no prophecy of the fcripture.
Page 30. 1. ult. For htlie'ved, read /&«/?;:</. In the note I. %
and 3. For folutione deducitus, cum expofitia, read folutione
deducitur, cum expofitio.
Page 31. 1. 2. For yet he kntrw, readji«* kne^. 1. 3. ior the pro
phecy, read /'/. ^
Page 32. 1. 12. For preceeding, read preceding. Page 33. I, r
ofthe-riotCi ior profitable, reai. prof table.
Page 34- 1- S- hii^pleafed, for a comma put a femicolon.

( 3 )

Critical Diflertatiori O N
2 Peter i. 16-—  21.

16. O'u yct^ trsaro-
^itr[itevoi5 fiivdot; e^oiico-
JiovSvicrix.vjsg efvco^i&xj^osp
I'^trou Xpts-oti avvotfAtv *^
rsjrago^xrtxv, aXX' iTtoTFjiZi
'yivri&evltg t^? stcetvou fAs*
^aXeto-ti^og. 1 7. Atz&uv yu^ Tta^dt
©sou wtxlpog Tt[jf>jv ^ ao-
atjlu ro'ioitrSe uVo t.^?
jK.£y«Xo7rflE7roo? oe^ij?"
tujtig Is-iv 0 mog fioii o
dyoiTTi^og, eig ov eyca su- B

For we have not
followed cunningly de,'^
vifed fables, when we
made known Unto you
the power and coming
of our Lord Jefus
Chrift, but were eye*
witheiTes ofhis majefty.
For he received
from God the Father
honour and glory,
when there came fuch
a voice to him frorn
the excellent glory,
This is my beloved
Son, in whom I am
well plsafed. i8. K«t

(4
iS. Ktu ravrviv T'^v
jptav^v ^fjutyg rinoiicrctiiBv b^
OvpccvoZ Bvix^i^tra-Vy. irvv
amu hvJBg BV ria h^et tco
dyito,. 19. Kat £%0|itev f^B-
CatOTBfOV TOV W^oCpl^Tl-
xov Xoyov, Ct) KtxXcog 'srot-
eiTS "Wfiotre'xovJBg, ug
Xu-)Q/ca- S)atvov\t bv ai'%-
^ijpw TOTTca, Bug ov vij^B^a.
^tot.vyix.art^, 3^ (pci}a-(po^og
(xvuTBtXri BV TocTg xap-
SiCitg Vfiutv.
20. ToUTO "Sr^iOTOV
yivttXTKBvJBg, OTt tsroctra
'zvpoip-^Bioi y^a(pt\g, loiag
lynXvcTBCog ov yivBJxi.
2 1 . Ou yap BsXrifji.a-
Tt tx-vdotaTTOv vjvB'xPvi voJb
"TSr^oipi^Bia, tiXX' vtto
'srVBV[/.oijog uytov ^bqo-
fAiBVQt eXaXvitrxv ot. xytot
<diov CCvOpUTTOi.

And this voice which
came from heaven we
heard, when we were
w^ith him in the holy
mount. We have alfo a more
fure word of prophecy ;
whereunto ye do well
that ye take heed, as
unto a light that fhin-
eth in a dark place,
until the day dawn,
and the "day-ftar arife
in your hearts.
Knowing this firft,
that no prophecy of
the fcripture is of any
private interpretation :
For the prophecy
came not in old time
by the will of man ;
but holy men of old
fpake as they were
moved by the Holy
Ghoft.

THIS epiftle, by what St. Peter
himfelf fays of it, ch, i. 14. Knowing
that Jhortly I muji put off this my taber
nacle, was written but a very little time before
his death ; which happened under the emperor
Nero, towards the end of his reign, about the
year

( s ) .
yearofChrift 67, two or three years before
yerufalem was invefted by TzVwj, and twenty
five years according to the Romanijis, (which
opinion alfo Dr. Hammond follows,) thirteen
according to Mr. Dodwell, and only five or
fix according to Dr. Wells and Dr, Whitby,
after penning his firft epiftle. It was written;
as we learn from ch, iii. r. to the very fame
perfons, to whom the firft had been diredted,
i.e. to the converted Jews of the difperfion,'
fcattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappa-'
docia, 6cc. (i Pet. i. 1.) ; and one occafion of
it, ' nay, and a principal one, was to warn
them againft fcoffers, on account of Chrift's
not being then come, (ch. iii. i  10.) and
to vindicate himfelf, and fome other of the
apoftles, from the charge of falihood and im-
pofture, in what they had taught and delivered
concerning that important event ; Por, fays
he, ch. i. 16. we have not followed cunningly
devifed fables, when we made known unto you
the power and coming, or the powerful com
ing j of our LfOrd Jefus Chr i ft, but were eye-
witnejfes of his majefty. When St. Peter fays,
lyvmitrxfABv, liie made known, in a preter tenfe,
he neceflarily refers us to fom'ething he had
faid before upon the fame fubjedt in his for
mer epiftle ; and whereas it is in the plural
number, (contrary to his manner of expref-
fion, when he fpeaks of himfelf only, as is
evident from ver. 12, 13, 14, 1 5, of this very
chapter) hence by, we, he muft be fuppofed to
B 2 include

(6 )
include what fome of the other apoftles of opp
Lord had delivered and foretold concerning
the coming tf Chrift, (the fubjedt in queftion) ;
as well as himfelf. The places referred to in
his former epiftle, amongft others, feem to be
ch. iv. 7. Hdvluv Sb tq TBXog ^yytxB, But thfi
end of all things is at hand ; and ver. 17. The
time is come, that judgment muJi begin at the
houfe of God i and tf it fir/i begin at «x,
'wha.t pall the end [to TBXqg) be of them that
obey -not the gofpel of God ? Now if we con-
fider the nature of thefe expreflions, and com
pare them with fome parallel places^ we fliall
foon learn, what coming of Chrift the apoftle
'l^ere principally intended. The end oj all thingi
is at hand, fays he, ( i Pet. iv. 7.). 'Tis ob-
ferved by commentators, that urdvla. is not
always to be taken univerfally, but fometirnes
to be limited by the fubjed-matter ;^ as where
St. PW tells ^t Corinthians , i Epift. x. 23.
wdvlcc ^01 B^Bs-tv, All things are lawful for me j
not all things indifcriminately, but only the
things he is there fpeakingof ; all meats might
be lawfully eaten by him: and Mark iv. 34,
He expounded all things to his difciples, i. e".
All he had been teaching before in parables :
and fo srixvluv TO TsXt>g, does not neceflarily
mean the end of the world, but may fignify
only the end of the Jewifti ftate, which ia
^ni^phatically called by our Saviour, Mark xiii. 7,
TO TBXog, th End j^all not be yet, fpeaking to
(ome of his djifciples, who %^d, ^iked him
wheii

(7 )
when thf^ things ftiould be, mentioned ver. 2.
of there not being left one ftone upon anqther of
th-e buildijigs of the temple that Jhoidd not be
tbroTjgn down. And that this w^s adlually the
event, whiph St. Peter had in his eye, or at
leaft firft and principally, and not the final
difiTolution of all things, is evident firom, what
he affirms of it ; the end of all things (i^yyiKe)
is at hand. 'Tis remarked ofthe word Byyt^a *,
that it fignifies, both fo to approach, that you
are yet at fome diftance, though not very
far off, as Matt. xxi. i. koI otb Tiyyttrxv Big to.,
lefo(roXv[/,<x, &c. And when they drew nigh
unto Jerufalem, and were come to Bethphage
imto the mount af Olives : and it alfo fignifies,
fo to approach, as to be in a manner there,
or at the place, as Luke xii. ^,7^. Where no
thief approaches {lyyi^Bi) ; and if fpoken of time,
and in the preter tenfe, to be juft at hand, if
pot come, ^s Matt. 3cxv.i. 45, Behold the hour
is at hand {j%yyiyi.Bv ij wpa, &c,) t^nd the Son of
man is betrayed. Moft certainly the phrafe
cannot be ufed of an event at any very great
diftance ; wherefore our Saviour, in his predic
tion of what ftiould befal Jeruf&lem, Luke xxi.
* %yy'i?fi)i duo fignificat ; primo, fie apprqpijtjquai;?, ut
^dhuc *bfis, & fis non procul, ut Matt. xxi. i. fecvuiiio,
fie appropinquare, ut coram adfis, & attingas, ut Luc. xii.
33. hinc pafEm pro accedere & advenir.e ufurpatur in
evangelic i—.pi;aefertim v^ro in praeterito ^yyixs fignifijoat
japi ady^niffe, & aidefle.
LuD. ns DisVj Com. in (^uatuor Evang. 20J

en
20, &c. and which accordingly happened
about thirty feven years after his death, never
fays of it himfelf, eyy/^e* or ^yyme, it ap
proaches, or is at hand ; but only fixes fome
remarkable prbgnoftics, by which, when thefe
ftiould happen, it might then be 'known to
be at hand; particularly, the befieging of
Jerufalem; When you jhall fee Jerufalem
compaffed with armies, then know, the defola-
tion thereof is nigh, (ijyyixBv) : parallel to
which is Matt. xxiv. 33. When ye Jhall fee all
thefe things, know, that it is near, {lyyug \s-iv)
or, he is near, even at tbe doors. On the
contrary, having entered upon his public mi-
niftry, and begun to preach, he fays. Matt. iv.
17. ^yytjce, &c. the kingdom of heaven, or the
gofpel difpenfation,' is at hand.
There are yet fome other circumftances,-
which feem to determine the coming of Chrift,
in the text, to the vengeance he had threatened
to execute on the Jewijh nation ; as that it is
ftiled, ch. ii. i, To(.ytvy[v uwciiXBixv, fwift, or
fpeedy deJiru£lion ; that the power and coming
of our Lord Jefus Chriji here, is almoft a pa
rallel expreffion to the Son of man coming  ^-
with power, in St, Matt, xxiv, 30, where he
is unqueftionably fpeaking of the deftruftioa
oi Jerufalem, fee the 1 5th and following verfes ;
and laftly, that whereas, St, Peter mentions,
ch, ii. I. falfe teachers, and ch. iii. ^.fcoffers,
faying, where is the promife of coming? and
ch,ii,,9, a notable difcriminatjon that was to
be

( 9)
be made between the godly and the unrighteous^
the believing and unbelieving Jews, The Lord
knows how to deliver the godly, &c. Hence it
can hardly be queftioned, but he had in view
thofe feveral expreflions of our Saviour relating
to the dedruftion of the Jews, Matt. xxiv. 24.
There fhall arife falfe Chrifts and falfe prophets j
and Matt. xxiv. 40. Then Jl:all two be in the
field, the one fhall be taken, and the other left j
and Luke xviii. 8. When the Son of man cometh,
Jhall he find faith upon the earth ? The point
of dodtrine then, here to be vindicated, was,
as I apprehend, the coming of Chrift in power
to take vengeance on the unbelieving Jews-,
and which he had intimated in his former
epiftle was near upon being accompli ftied.
The end of all things is at hand, ch. iv. 7. And
to the like effedt St. James had fpoken, who
wrote his epiftle much about the fame time^
if not the very fame year, in which St. Peter
'penned his former one. He likewife, to com
fort the perfecuted Chriftians, tells them,
ch. v. 8. yi •sra^Mirix t5 Kvpia ^yyixe, the coming of
the Lord draws nigh, and ver. 9, The judge
fiands before the door ; which certainly denotes
an event very near at hand. And St. Paul, be
fore either of them, tells the Thejfaloniam
J Epiftle ii. 14, 15, 16. that they aljo hadfuf-
fered like' things of their own countrymen, as the
churches of God, which in Judea are in Chrifi
Jefus, had of the Jeivs ; who both killed the
Lord Jefui and their own. prophets, and have fer-

( 10 )
peffecuted us, vit. his apoftles ¦" ¦"¦^ — forbid^
dingus tojpeak to the Gentiles, ihat they might
be fmjed, to fill up their fins always, for the
•wrath is come updn them to the uttermoft : in
the latter part of which paflage, dvctTrX'/i^utrai
Kvjuv TaV exfiOi^TiOig, &c. to fill lip their fins ah
ways, &c. St. Paul evidently has his eye upon
that of our Saviour, Matt, xxiii. 32 — 36. kx)
tfAsTg TirXTifii^crcile, &c. Fill ye Up then the meafutd
of your fathers  beheld I fend you prophets—-^
and fome of them Jhall ye kill and crucify 
that upon you may come all the righteous blood
fhed upon the earth from the blood of righteous
Abel-  verily 1 fay unto you, all thefe things
Jhall come Upon this generation. This prediction,
St, Paul tells the Thefjahnians, the . Jews had
then fulfilled ; and by fulfilling it, had filled
up the meafure of their fins ; fo that they were
tipe for vengeance, and the time was in a
manner come, and within a very little while
the wr^th of God Would moft certainly over
take them, to deftroy their church and nation
ttg TBXog to the uttermojl, 'till there was an end
of them, or 'till the^ were confumsti, as the
phrafe often imports.' Thus we fee, it was
an argument very frequently ufed by the apoftles
to comfort the afflifted Chriftians under their
preffures and troubles, (in which th^Jews had
a principal hand, and which they every where
fomented againft them) that a very fignal
vengeance and deftrudfioh awaited that peo
ple, and would very fpeedily overtake them. But

But then, as this had been their language for
fome time; and as upon the loweft computa
tion there were five or fix years gone fince
St. Peter wrote his firft epiftle, ' and the end
not yet come : hence the faith of many waxed
cold; and fome went fo far, as even to afk
in derifion, ch. iii, 4. Saying, where is the
promife of his coming ? and to treat the whole,
as cunningly devifed fables, mere amufements
to keep up the fainting fpirits of the poor per
fecuted Chriftians. At firft fight, indeed, the
paftage now referred to in the 3d chapter
ftiould feem to refpeCt a time fubfequent to
the apoftle's age; for it is exprefied in the
future tenfe, as fomething that fhould happen
in the laft days, ver. 3. Knowing this firft, that
tfjere Jhall come in the laft days fcoffers. But
this obje<!lion foon vanifties, if you confider,
Firft, That the apoftle, in his reply to itj,
treats it as made then, and anfwers it in the
prefent tenfe, for this they are willingly ignorant
of &c. ver. 5.
Secondly, That the phrafe Itt' sir^aTSf Tm
^jwepwi/, in the laft days, (equivalent to which
is, xliav [iBXXuv, the world, or age, to come,
Heb. vi; 5. and tx tbXii Tm oiiiivi^v, the ends of the
world, or laft ofthe ages, i Cor.x. 11.) is
applicable to the whole gofpel difpenfation, and
might as truly be fpoken of the time in which
St. Peter lived, as of any fubfequeht time of
C the

(12)
the gofpel-ceconomy ; and accordingly St. Paul,
who is fuppofed to have writ his epiftle to the
Hebrews, A. D. 63. particularly applies it to
his own times, calling them, W Itrx'^Tuv rav
^fjLB^uv T^Tcav, in thefe laft days, ch. i. i.
Thirdly, That, as what is faid ver. 3. Kfiow-
ing this firft-, that there pall come in the laft
days f copers, &c. is brought to enforce v/hat
St. Peter had declared, ver. i, 2. to be the
general defign of his writing this epiftle, viz.
To fiir up their pure minds by way of remem
brance, that they might be mindful ofthe words,
which were fpoken before by the holy prophets,
und of the commandmefit of us, the apoftles oj
the Lord and Saviour ; I fay, as what is faid,
the third is plainly brought to give weight to
the fecond verfe preceding it, that it would
go but a little way towards anfwering this
purpofe to tell them, that in after-times, per
haps many ages to come, fcoffers pould arife,
&c. but that it might have a very good effedt,
to apprize them, that even then they were
expedled, and were actually come, and, con-
fequently, ought to be guarded againft. And
therefore. Fourthly, That the future time here men
tioned, was chiefly and principally in reference
to what had been before taught, both by the
prophets of old, and by Chrift and his apoftles,
{Habak. i, 5. Matt. xxiv. 12. 2 Theft', ii. 3.) of

( n )
of fcoffers that ftiould come, and of a defec
tion or falling away; and who, according to
thefe predidtions, as St. Peter reminds thofe
he writes to, were now come; and, as is
plainly intimated, ch. iii. ly. had led away
fome by their wicked errors, and occafioned
them to fall from their ft edfaftnefs. And in
like manner we muft interpret what is faid,
ch, ii. I. There ftall be falfe teachers among
you, as future, only with refpedt to what had
been foretold ; or, at leaft, as taking in the
then prefent times of Chriftlanity, as well as
the future : for of thefe v^ry perfons it is faid,
ver. I, in the prefent tepfe, that they bring
upon themf elves fwift defttuSlion ; and ve"r,, 3,.
that their judgment lingereth not, and their
damnation ftumbereth not. And the reafon I
have taken notice of this fo particularly, is,
that hereby we are ftill farther convinced of
the main drift of this epiftle : which was to
caution the faithful againft fcoffers, that were
then already come, as had been foretold j and
had made the coming of Chrift, and what the
apoftles had delivered upon that head, a prin
cipal fubjedt of their raillery.
Let us next fee how St, Peter vindicates
himfelf from the feoffs of thefe men, who
treated, ns cunningly devifed fables, what he
and fome other of the apoftles had taught of
the coming of Chrift, in a judicial capacity ;
not only to judge the world in the laft day,
but alfo to punifti the impenitent Jews now in
C 2 a ftiort

( H )
a ftiort time. In the firft place, he denies,
that thefe. were any devices of theirs, or any
ftratagems to deceive, when they made known
the power and coming of our Lord Jefus ChriJI j
for that he, and fome other of the apoftles,
were eye-witnepes of his Majefty *, when they
were with him in the holy mount -^ , andfaw
[the fchechina], the ftiining cloud, or excellent
glory %, the fymbol of thfe divine prefence ;
and alfo heard the voice that came from it,
bearing a moft fatisfadtory atteftation. This is
my beloved Son, in whom 1 am well pleafed.
Commentators are generally agreed, that
this paffage alludes to our Saviour's transfigura
tion on a mountain in Galilee, at which Peter,
and James, and John, were prefent.
Grotius indeed, for a very evident reafon
(becaufe he denies St. Peter to have been the
author of this epiftle) is forced, in contra-
dlion to his better judgment, as delivered
in his annotations on the hiftory of the
transfiguration. Matt, xvii, to refer it to
John xii. 28. when, in anfwer to our Saviour's
petition. Father, glorify thy name ; there came
a voice from heaven, faying, I have both glori-r
fied it, and will glorify it again. This he fup-
pofes to be fpoken in the temple, which ftand-
ing on mount Moriah, might be the holy mount
referred to in the- text ; and farther, that it
was in the hearing of Simeon or Simon, after^
» Ver. 16. f Ver. 18. j Ver. 17.
3 wards

( ^5)
wards bifhop of Jerufalem, and fucceffor of
James the brother of our Lord. But fup-
pofing thefe words were fpoken in the temple,
which does not certainly appear ; yet there is
not the leaft ftiadow of reafon to fay, that
Simeon was then prefent ; neither is there any
mention in St. John of a magnificent glory or
majefty, of which the ftanders-by were eye-
witnefTes ; nor are the words themfelves the
fame, as thofe faid to be heard in this epiftle.
Whereas every circumftance of the account
here agrees with the ftory of the transfigura
tion ; the words fpoken upon the occafion
are the very fame ; notice is taken in both
places of a ftiining cloud or vifible glory y in
both the fcene of adlion is a mountain ; and
what is moft- confiderable of all, as fhall be
fhewn prefently, the topic of converfation both
here and there, was the power and coming of
Chriji : from all which we may fairly colled:,
and indeed it affords a very good internal proof,
that the writer of this epiftle was one of the
three difciples that Chrift took up into the
mount with him at his transfiguration ; and that
St. Peter here is endeavouring to prove his
Eoint by what himfelf and the other two faw and
eard upon that occafion. But here it js natural
to aflc, wherein does the ftrength of St. Peters
evidence confift ? He would prove, he had not
J'ollowed cumiingly devifed fables, when he made
known the power and coming of Chrift, becaufe
he was an eye^witnefs of his majfi^ and glory on

( i6 )
on the mount, and heard a voice there attefting
him to be the beloved Son of God. Now a
perfon might have feen and heard all that was
tranfadted there, and yet not have had a compe
tent authority to declare a particular future event,
as this of the coming of Chrift was. ^ Let us
fee then in what manner thefe two things are
to be connedted, 'Tis very remarkable, that
each of the three accounts of Chrift's transfi
guration, as given by St. Matthew, St. Mark,
and St. Luke, are prefaced with our Lord's
faying ; Verily I Jay unto you, there he Jome
fiandmg here, wh'ich pall not tafte death, till
they Jee, or rather in the future-perfedt, till
they fhall have feen, the Son of man coming in
his kingdom. Matt, xvi. 28; or, according to
St. Mark ix. i . Till they have feen the kingdom
cf God come with poimer ; or, as St. Luke varies
it, ch, ix. 27. Till they fee the kingdom of God;
which words, though they feem to have
had their fuileft completion in the apoftle
St. John, who furvived the deftrudlion of Je
rufalem many years ; yet in all the three places,
being exprefied in the plural number, I cannot
but think, that in a certain fenfe, and in part,
they were alfo fulfilled in the other two di
fciples, in what they faw and heard upon the
mount : the honour and glory, which Chrift there
reeeivedfrom God the Father, when his face did
pine as the Jun and his raiment was white and
gliftering, being probably intended to give the
difciples a kind of image and reprefentationof his
future

_ ( V)
future glorious kingdom, in which he was then
inftated, as in a vifion ; and which, as it was foon
totakeplace,and adtually did commence at hisre-
furredtion ; fo this faint glim pfe and adumbration
of it was a kind of prophetic affurance and con
firmation, to the perfons prefent with our Lord
at that time, of the things he had told thera
.a few days before; ofhis being fliortly to come,
even in the life-time of fome of the ftanders-
by, to make a fignal difference between fuch
as were willing, or in difpofition to loje their
lives for his fake ; and fuch, as at all hazards
would fave them, (for this alfo is a part of the
context in all the Evangelifts) ; which as it was
one inftance of his judicial authority, or, of
the kingdom of God coming with power ; fo was
it remarkably fulfilled at the fiege and taking
of Jerufalem. And this , argument, v'tz. of
its being one defign of the transfiguration to
give the difciples a hint of Chrift's kingdom of
power, that was fhortly to come ; and in which
he was then inftated, as in a figure ; ftill re
ceives an additional ftrength, if we confider,
that the fubjedt of difcourfe betwixt Chrift, and
Mojes, and Elias, upon the mount, probably
turned upon this very point, St. Luke fays,
ch. ix. 31. "EAeyov tjjv 'b^d^ov xvtS, they fpake
of his dece'afe, of his Exodus, or departure.
The word l^o^og\ though it be acknowledged
fometimes to import no more than an exit or
death, as 2 Pet. '\. 15. ji*£Ta ttji/ s^iJv b^o^ov*
after my deceafe ; yet it is as true, that it is alfo
' fome-

( i8 )
fometimes ufed with a greater latitude, &s
Heb. xi. 2 2. By faith Jqfeph, when he died,
made mention -zerepi Trig b^o^h, &c. oJ tbe de
parting of the children of If ael, and accord
ingly, this word gives title to a book of fcrip
ture ; and Grotius is of opinion, that in the
place now under confideration, it has an allu-
fion to the Exodus or departure of the Ifraelites
out of Egypt ; which was a complicated event,
and does not barely fignify their departure from
thence, but includes in it fome of the moft
remarkable circumftances which attended it,
particularly the deftrudtion of the Egyptians,
and deliverance of God's people : analogous to
which the Exodus or departure of Chrift, which
he Pould accomplip at Jerufalem, (and which,
as I fhall fhew prefently, was the bufinefs dif-
courfed between Chrift, and Mofes, and Elias,)
may very well be fuppofed to take in, not
merely the fingle event of the crucifixion there i
but the feveral branches and confequences of
it, of which Jerufalem was to be the fcene,
as well as of his death. And what will far
ther warrant us in ufing the word with fuch a
latitude, is, that it is fo ufed, Exod. xxiii. 1 6.
where the end of the year is ftiled by the feventy
'i^oSog bvixvtS, not a particular day, but a con
tinuation of time, or a feafon.
To elucidate this matter ftill farther ; com-
paire what is here intimated in a fingle word,
with what is more plainly implied in that quef
tion of the difciples to their mafter. Matt. xvii.

10,

( 19 )
lb. ds they came down from the riioiintainj
Why then fay the fcribes, that Elias mujt firft
come f which, that it was not an impertinent
queftion, or that the fcribes did hot fay it
without good grounds, is plain by the fatis-
fadtion Chrift was pleafed to give it in the
two following verfes : Elias truly pall firft
come  but I Jay unto you that Elias is
come already. But ftrft come before what ?
why, to be fure, before fome remarkable pe
riod or other ; which, from their manner of
putting the queftion, they feem convinced was
now approaching, but only they could not
reconcile the nearnefs of it with Elias (as
they apprehended) not being yet come. Now
the period, before which it was afferted by
the fcribes, upon the authority of the Old
Teftament, That Elias muft firfl come, was the
great and dreadful day of the Lord, mentioned
by the prophet Malachi ch. iv. 5. Behold, I
. will fend you Elijah the prophet before the com
ing of the great arid terrible day of the Lord :
and as our Saviour has interpreted this Elijah
to he, John the Baptift, Matt. xvii. 13. called
Elijah or Elias, becaufe he came in the fpirit
and power of Elias, Luke i, 17, and refembled
,him in his offices ; hence this neceffarily de
termines the great event he was to precede, to
be, not the coming of tbe Lord at the laft
day, but only his coming to execute judgment
- on the Jewip nation ; which, becaufe it was
an eminent type of the former, and very ter-
D rible

(20 )
rible in its kind, is therefore frequently, in the
figurative ftile pf the prophets, conceived in
words that denote the general diffolution of all
things : though as to the place in Malachi, the
three firft verfes of the chapter, For behold the
day cometh that pall burn as an oven, and all
the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly pall be
fttibble  =- But unto you thaf fear my name.,
pall the Son oj righteoufnefs arife with healing
in his wings  ¦ and ye pall tread down the
wicked, for they Pall be apes under the Joles of
your feet ;  thefe words evidently fhew,
that only a particular judgment was here in
tended, which ftiould come upon the unbe
lieving Jews ; whilft the faithful and upright
fhould efcape that defolation : which was moft
extraordinarily verified, when, upon the taking
of the city and temple of Jerufalem by the
Roman army under Titus, the Chriftian Jews
(being alarmed and forewarned by a former
fiege, which was on a fudden raifed, as it
ftiould feem,- by a fpecial adt of Providence,
without any vifible caufe) took that oppor
tunity of fleeing out of Jerufalem ; fo that
when Titus came fome months after and be-
fieged the city, there were no Chriftians re
maining in it. See Eufeb. Eccl. hifi. lib. 3. c. 5.
For certain then, this firft coming of the
Lord, with the effedts and confequences of it,
was the period intended by the difciples, be
fore which they thought Elias was to come ;
and nothing but the fuppofition of this being the

( 21 )
the fubjedt of difcourfe upon the mount could
account for, or give rife to their queftion, as
they came down from it. Why then Jay the
fcribes that Elias muft firft come ? And by tfiis
time, I think, it appears pretty plain, why
St, Peter alledges in the text, the glory and
majefty of Chrift, which he faw upon the
mount, as a proof of his power and coming, that
was fhortly to commence, in which he would
exercife his kingly authority in the deftrudtion
of his enemies and deliverance of his faithful
fervants j the reafon, I fay, he alledges it upon
this occafion, is, becaufe it was That, by which
he was able to make known with certainty
the power and coming cf Chrift to them ; as
having had a particular revelation of it, having
by way of vifion feen Chrift folemnly inftated
in his kingdom of glory, having been a witnefs
to the converfation held upon the mountain
about this very point, and heard the whole in
a moft awful manner confirmed by a voice from
heaven, declaring Jefus to be the Son of God,
and injoining the difciples to hearken to him.
This is my beloved Son, in whom 1 am well plea^
fed, hear ye him. Matt. xvii. 5.
But then, as this evidence of the apoftle, at
the time of his writing this epiftle, was no
other ways convincing, than, as thofe whom
he wrote to were perfuaded of his veracity ; (for
the event was yet unaccomplifhed ; which be
caufe it had been declared by this very apoftle
fome time ago to be near at hand, but was not
D 2 yet

( 22 )
yet come ; hence, as I obferved above, many
grew very impatient, and were in ddnger of
jailing from their ftedfaftnefs, (2 Pet. ifi. 17.)
and fome even proceeded fo far as to fcoff at
this dodtrine, ahd to rank it among cunningly
devijed fables for the fupport of the gofpel ;)
wherefore, to corroborate his own teftimoriyj he
calls in th'e aid of ptophecy ; which he ktteW
would be readily acknowledged by all Jews in
general : vmi Bxof-t-Bv (iB^MoTB^ov tov ¦ts-^op^fikou
Xoyov, fays he, ver. 19. We have alfo, a more
fure word of prophecy. The prophecies alluded
to are probably thofe of Malachi above cited j
and that of Joel ii. i. Let all the inhabitants of
the land tremble, for the day of the Lord cometh,
for it is nigh at hand ; arid to be fure that of the
prophet Daniel, ch. ix. 27. applied by bur
bleffed Saviour to this very occafion ; he pall
caufe thefacrifice and the oblation to ceafe, and for
the overfpreading of abominations, or, as the
margin reads it, with the abdtninable armies,
be pall make it deflate even Until the confumi
mation. But Why does the apoftle fay, we have^
j3eQatoTB^ov, a more Jure word ? Can any thing
be furer than the evidence of miracles ? Can
any proof be ftronger, than to have the de-r
monftration of our eyes and ears to afcertairi
what we fay ? Some taking the comparifon in
this light, and being fenfible of the inconve
nience that would follow from fetting the evi-.
dence of miracles and Jirophecy in opp'ofition
to one another ; have thought it beft to give

( 23)
up the coniparifdn, and to cotifider the man
ner of expteffion, only as a ft^rtihg Way of af
firming ; as if he had faid. We have alfo a very
fure W6rd of prophecy : add if there was occa
fion fbr it, we might do fo ; nothing being
more cbmmon than to put one degree of com
parifon for another. Thus it is faid ofthe Athe-
. mans, Adts ±vii. 2 1 . That they fp'ent their tithe
in nothing elfe, but either to tell or to hear fome
NEW thing (xa<i/oT£f fly) : ahd when St. Paul fays,
I Cor. xiii. 13. -Now abideth faith, hope:, charity,
thefe three, but the greatest of thefe is cha
rity ; the original is only ^Bttfav, in the com
parative. But there is no heed of aiiy fuch
change of degree bf corhparifoh here ; for it is
not the apoftle's meaning, nOr is it the iVay of
the infpired Writers tb fet one fort of evidence
againft another: miracles and pi-b|)hcfcy are
two diftindt proofs ; both of them dethohftra-
tive in fbme circumftances ; and as far as they
are fo; neither of theiii furer, or ftronger than
the other. But St. Peters whole defign Was to
vindicate himfelf and the other difciples frorh
the charge; of undue ar'tificej ih what they had
advanced abbut the coriling of Chrift; for which
purpofe he, as it were, tells thofe whom he
addiref^S himfelf to, " If our own teftimony is
" not thought fiiffi'eient by you ; if you doubt
*' and call ih queftion the authority of lis, the
" apoftles bf Chrift ; we have yet fomething
•< farther to offerj which we thiiik yoU can-
f f riot pbjedt to : j^oU hive alfd the teftimony «' of

'( 24 )
« of your own prophets for the certainty of the
" event now in queftion, which teftimony,
" we know, carries the higheft weight and
" authority with you ; we have this on our
" fide to give a concurrent teftimony with our
" own." So that the comparifon lies between
the word and teftimony of St. Peter ; which,
however unreafonably, was yet fufpedted by
fome ; and the word and teftimony of pro
phecy, which was held authentic by all. Gro
tius gives another turn to this expreftion, as if
it were to be rendered thus. We have alfo the
word of prophecy furer, making the comparifon
to lie between the different ftates of prophecy j
between prophecy unaccomplifhed, and the
the fame afterwards compleated : his words are,
Sermo prophet arum habuit quidem f emper apud
nos auSlqritatem : at nunc multo majorem habet y
ex quo videmus eventus tam pulchre congruere
diBis de Meffa. But this interpretation pro
ceeds upon a fuppofition, that St. Peter was
not the author of this epiftle ; and that it was
written after the fubverfion of the Jewifh ftate ;
when the power and coming of Chrift, as to
that particular event, had been manifefted :
which is contrary to the tenor of the whole
epiftle, as well as to the words that imme
diately follow, Whereunto ye do well that ye take
heed, as unto a light, {Xvxve?,) : the word pro^
perly fignifies a candle, and'ought to be tranf-
Jated fo here, it ftanding in oppofition to ij/*£pas
and (pcaq-<po^og, the day^ and the day-fiar ; TJnto
I? light that pineth in a dark place^ until the
day

(25)
day daivn, and the day-fiar arife in your hearts".
Now whofoever was the author of this epiftle,
he could never call a prophecy compleated,
(as Grotius fuppofes this now to be) a light, or
candle, fhining in a dark place ; it would rather,
to carry on the metaphor, be the dawning of
the day, or the day-fiar itfelf
But to proceed ; St. Peter, having given
this charadter of prophecy before its accom-
plifhment, that it was but an obfcure light,
like that of a candle, which does not quite
difpel darknefs from the place it fhines in ; had
good reafon to prefs it fo ftrongly, as he does,
upon thofe whom he writes to, that they would
do well to take heed, or attend to it : for the
obfcurer things are, the more care and atten
tion they require, the more pains we muft
take to find out what their drift is, that we be
not milled by them. But as if he did not think
even this fufficient to excite and whet their
attention ; or left his countrymen fhould objedt,
that they could not fee clearly, and at firft view,
the force of any prophecies of the Old Tefta
ment to evince that particular event then under
confideration, viz. the power and coming of
Chrift; that therefore they might not expedl
more from prophecy unfulfilled, than was
ever intended by it ; nor imagine the fenfe and
meaning even of what, for the prefent, was
intended by it, to be always fo obvious, that
he that ran, could read it ; for this reafon he
lays it down, as a rule of prime confequence,
I ver.

(26)
ver. 20.' Knowing this firft, and which ought
always to be kept in mind, when we fet about
to examine the prophetic writings, oti ¦arxtrx
'!S-M(pyiTiix yfx(pvig, Uixg BTTiXviTEug 2 yivBTOit ; that
no prophecy fcripture is of any private interpre
tation. So our verfion renders it ; though, I am
affaid, this explication will hardly bear, or cbn-
nedt well, either with what goes before or fol
lows; the want of duly confidering which
connexion, is, I apprehend, the caufe of fo
many various expofitions which have been given
of this paffage, and fo few of them fatisfaftory.
As to our tranflation, that no prophecy, &c. is
of any private interpretation ; as, 'IStog, private,
muft then ftand in oppofition to, SvjfAoinog, public ^
fo the meaning muft be, that no one ought to
interpret fcripture-prophecies according to his
own private opinion and judgment, but fhould
fubmit to the more folemn and public determi
nations of the church. But meddling, as little as
poffible, with this controverfy here, I would
only obferve,
Firft. That this dodtrine is not true in fadt ;
there being many inftances in fcripture of the
ufe of private judgment in the application of
prophecies ; it was for this the Bereans are fo
honourably mentioned, A6ls xvii. i r. and when
our Saviour bade the Jews, John v. 39. Search
the fcriptures, he certainly fuppofed it was the
duty of every one that heard him, and was ca
pable of it, to do it; but why ftiould they
fqarch them, if, after all, it was not allowed them
to judge for themfelves. Secondly.

I 27 ;
Secondly. It is matter of queftion, if the adjec
tive, Uiog, be ever ufed throughout the whole
New Teftament, in contradiftindtion to SrifAotrtog,
and confequently, whether it ever fignifies,
private ; when ufed adverbially indeed it does,
as Matt. xvii. 19. Then came the difciples to
Jefus apart (kxt ISlxv;) but as an adjedtive, it
has the fignification of the reciptocal pronoun
fuus, fui, as John i. 11. He came to his own,
etg TK 'iSia, and his own, ol I'Stot, received him
not; and r Pet. iii. i. Wives be. in JubjeSlion
to your own huftands, (ISiog xv^^txinv.) So that
its oppofite feems to be aXXoT^tog, alienus, an
other's. But thirdly. Admitting the phrafe would bear
to be rendered, not of any private interpretation ;
fo far is this from being a reafon or motive to
inforce our taking heed and being more atten
tive to prophecy, that it is really the contrary ;
for we fhould have lefs occafion to attend to it
ourfelVes, if it were publicly and authenticly
interpreted for us. Nor will it connedt better
with what comes after, ver. 21, for jt matters
nothing, as to the original of prophecy, whe-
ther it be of private or public interpretation ;
and yet St. Peter gives this as the reafon, why
prophecy is not ISlxg BiriXva-Btag, becaufe it came
not by the will of man^ but holy men of God
fpake as fthey were moved by the Holy Ghoft.
Others, among whom are Grotius and Heinftus^
have thought it would contribute to the clear
ing up of this paffage, if there was an alteration
E in

( 28 )
in the reading ; and if, inftead oflSlxg IrnXvireug,
we read l^lxg BTrviXBva-Bug, * from £7r£^%e(j-.&«<,
ppervenire, invadere, to come upon, to invade .j
as if the meaning was, that no prophecy of
fcripture was proprii inftinSius, fays Heinfius ;
proprii impetus, fays Grotius ; i. e. of ¦ its own
inftindl or impulfe, what a man's own heart, or
thoughts, or imagination, could fuggefttohim.
But neither will this fatisfy our inquiry. To
obferve, that the word IvviXBvtrtg never occurs
in the New Teftament or Septuagint, may be
thought too trivial ; but it is certainly of fome
moment to know, that this reading is not coun-;
t_enanped by any copy or MS. whatever. Not
that this is all the exception we have to it ; for
in the firft place, it deferves a confideration,
whether to fay any thing is, ISixg BTri/iXsvirsug,
be not a contradidtion in terms : for that which
is adventitious or fuper-induced, as the word
eTre^^OjPtai imports ; that which, as Scapula fays,
violentiaftgmftcationem inclufam habet, h^s vio
lence or power included in the notion of it ; and
is feldom ufed in the New Teftament, but where
it denotes a great power or extraordinary gift,
as Luke i. 35. The Hol'y Ghoft fiall come upon
thee (eTreXauV^Ta;) and xi. 22. But when a ftronger
than he pall come, BTrsxBtu'v ; That in the na-»
ture of it muft be dxxoT^tog or another's, and
can never be applied to the thing it comes up
on, as ISiog, or its own. Secondly. If sTrijXsuo-;? be
* Heinfius reads iTfiAvamq witli an, e, fli}l deriving it from the
fame verb.
the

( ^9 )
the right reading, it would be hird to aftigri a
reafon', why the apoftle ftiould lay fo much
ftrefs upon, and ufher in fo emphatically, know
ing this firft, what the very nature ofthe thing
he was difcourfing of fuppofed, that prophecy
was not of its own inftindt or fuggeftion. Could
any Jew want to be informed of this f or could
he poffibly entertain any other notion of pro
phecy, than that it was, ©BdTrvBvs-og, divinely
infpired, or by infpiraticn of God, z Tim. iii.
i6. Befides, as what we read in the 2jft
verfe, is intended as a proof of what is laid
down in the verfe preceding it ; if that preced
ing verfe had treated of the original of prophe
cy,, as BTrriXivtrig, fuppofes it does ; what would
the proof in the a ifl verfe amount to, but only
a repetition, both negatively and pofitively, of
tbe very fame thing that had been affirmed be
fore. Retaining then t^e common reading, let
us fee what the true meaning of this text pro
bably may be ; No prophecy of the fcripture is
ISiiicg BTTiXviritag. Tfie word ISiog has already
been explained, and fliewn to ftand in oppofition
in this place, not to S'^f^ocnog, public, but to
dXXoT^iog, another's ; and therefore it muft be
rendered, own.
"ETrlXva-ig comes from BTnXvBiv, Jolvere, expli-
care, interpretari, to loofe, to unriddle, to
explain ; and is particularly applicable to things
intricate and that carry a difficulty in them ;
hence Jofeph is faid, Gen. xli. 12. To each man
accofding to his dream he did interpret, {^BmXvtn)
E 2 and

(30 )
and St. Mark fays, ch. iv, 34, But without a
parable fpake he not unto them, and when they
were alone^ he expounded all things to his di
fciples, {I'ffBXvi.) Analogous to this, 'E-n-iXvtng *
muft fignify, fxpUcatio, jolutio, interpretatio,
the unravelling, explaining, or folution of any
difficulty ; a word highly proper for the fub
jedt in hand, viz. prophecy unaccomplifhed ;
which is for the moft part obfcure, and efpe-
cially the predidtions relating to gofpel-events :
I fay, for the moft part, becaufe there is ho
occafion to take -syxorx 'zirfio(P'^£ix in the largeft
fenfe ; it may very well be reftrained by the
nature of the thing here fpoken of; or the
verfe might be rendered, every prophecy of
fcripture is not of its own interpretation ; which
is allowing that fome are ; (as indeed fome
things predidted are fo plain and intelligible,
that we know precifely beforehand, whenever
they fhall be compleated, what it is we expedl
from them ; for inftance, when during a fiege
and time of great fcarcity in Samaria, the pro
phet Elipa foretold, 2 Kings vii. i . Thus faith
the Lord, to morrow about this time pall a mear^
Jure of fine fiower be Jbldfor a pekel, and two
meajures of barley for a pekel in the gate of Sa
maria ; every one that believed this prophecy,
, * Ut apud Latinos verbum Explicandl a plicarum evolu-
tione; ita apud Graecos 'EotXuo-k a vinculorum 'folutione
deducitus, cum expofttU fit velut nodi alicujus folutio.
Gerh. in loc. although

(30
although he did not know the manner in, which
it would be accomplifhed, yet he knew ex-
adlly the contents of the prophecy, and what
muft be done, to reckon it duly compleated.)
But though fome are thus eafy and intelligible,
others are not : of which latter fort are thofe
relating to the coming bf Chrift ; which being
delivered at a great diftance of time from the
event, and often having a double fenfe, (as
the abomination of dejolation, fpoken of by the
prophet Danielj and applied by our Saviour,
Matt. xxiv. 1 5. to the deftruftion of Jeruja-
lem by the Roman armies, is thought primarily
to belong to times nearer the prophet's own ;
and to have been fulfilled in part by Antiochus
Epiphanes ; fee Dan- viii. 11, 12, 13. and
1 Maccab. i. 44 — 64,) ; hence I fay it comes,
that fuch prophecies as thefe are involved in
obfcurity, and are by no means l^ixg BTrtXwiug,
of their own explication or interpretation : they
can only be fully cleared up by the event ; and
though they may afford fome light, even be
fore their ultimate completion, yet it is only
to thofe that take heed to it, that fearch and
examine the fcriptures of the prophets, what
their drift and meaning is : but the ignorant,
or unattentive may eafily overlook their inten
tion, and not difcover that degree of convidlion
they are capable of, and were defigned to give ;
and inftead of having their faith ftrengthened
by them, their hopes raifed, thei? fears duly
alarm-

( 32 )
alarmed, and their curiofity excited, may turn
them' inta occaflons of fcoffing and ridicule ;
which was the very cafe of fome of thofe with'
whom St. Peter had to do ; and in this fenfe
we muft take that of jD(Z»zV/, ch. xii. lo. None
of the wicked pall under ft and, but the wife Pall
under ft and. What ftill adds weight to the ex
planation of l^ixg BTTtXvTBug, as given above, is,
that it makes the connexion very clear between
this verfe and the former; this latter being
brought , as it were in aid, more ftrongly to
inforce the caution given in the verfe preceed
ing it, that they would do well to take heed
mto the word of prophecy, as unto a light that
pineth in a dark place ; for unlefs they did fo,
and gave particular attention to it, they might
either fee no meaning at all, or miftake the
true one ; the fenfe oftentimes lying very deep,
and the prophecy not carrying its own folution
along with it.
But here, becaufe a queftion might arife, and
it might be natural to afk ; why then was the
word of prophecy given fo obfcurely .? why did
not the prophets deliver themfelves more intel
ligibly, that the reader might never have been
at a ftand, or obliged to look for 'their meaning
under the covert of figurative expreffions, and
dark reprefentations ? Now in anfwer to this,
he tells us, ver. 2 K and which at the fame
time is the reafon, why prophecy cannot always
explain itfelf, or unfold its own meaning ; y(?/-
prophecy

^ 33 )
prophecy came not in old time by the will of man j
but holy men of God fpake as they were moved, or
i:ather, fpake , being raoved by the Holy Ghoft.
The raeaning of which was not barely * to tell
^ejews, that prophecy had not man, but
God for its author ; and that every infpired per
fon fpake by the particular impulfe and direc
tion of the Spirit of God ; for though this was
indlfputably true, yet it proved nothing in the
prefent cafe ; and befides, the Jews, to a man,
believed as much, who held their prophets in
the higheft veneration, and had no other no
tion of prophecy, . but as the gift of God ; and
would not allow any thing, but what came
from

* It makes a great difference, whether any thing is af
firmed for its own fake, or for the fake of any thing that
is to be inferred from it : as wh^n St. Paul tells Timothyy
2 Epiftle iii. 1 6. All ftripture is given by infpiration of God,
arid ii proJkaUe for doRrine, far reproof, for correfiion, for
irtflruhion. in righteoufnefs ; the thing he means there to in--
culcate, is not fo much the divine infpiration of the books
of tbe Old Teftament, as the profitable ufe that was to be
made of them, confeffing them to be' fuch : accordingly
Dr. Hammond, in his marginal reading upon that place,
renders the words, Q)slmnvT.'>z xJ wipETitfM? being, infpired by
God is alfo profitable ; and fome verfions leave out the
^ropulative particle, xat, as . if it was to be tranflated, , all
writings that are, of divine infpiration are profitable, i^c.
And fo here, after St, Peter had confirmed his own tefti^
mony by the word offrvphecy^ and ftiled this latter (ScSair-*
rifot, he would never aft^r that, have formally gone about
to prove the divine origin of that prophetic word, which of
90urfe was to be fuppofecj, to malje his own argument of
any

( 34 ;
from him, to deferve that name : but his mean
ing is, that the prophets of old did not pro-
phefy when, and as often, and as much, as they,
pleafed ; but only at fuch times, and in fuch
manner and proportion, as God pleafed, which
is the very thing the author of the epiftle to the
Hebrews fay.s, God, who at fundry times and in
divers manners fpake in time paft unto the fathers
by the prophets, hath in thefe laft days fpoken
unto us by his Son, Heb. i. i . In a word, that
the fpirit wa9 not fubjedt to the prophets, but
the prophets wholly under the power and in
fluence of the fpirit. And hence it came to
pafs, that not only the hearers, to whom the
prophets fpake, frequently did not underftand
iny validity : and if he had done it, it would neither have
proved prophecy to be of its own interpretation, nor dif-
proved it ; for notwithftanding the divine original of pro
phecy, both parts of this propofition are true, that prophe
cies fometimes do, and fometimes do not, carry their own
explication in them. The only reafon therefore, why he
could make any mention here of the original of prophecy,
was in order to what was to be inferred from it, viz. that as
prophecy had not its rife from, or never came by the will
of man, hut holy men of God fpake as they were moved, or
carried, hy the Holy Ghofi ; fo, for that reafon they were
neceflarily confined to the diftates of the Holy Ghoft, and
could go no farther, either as to matter, or manner, or
any other circumftance attending prophecy, than he would
give them leave : and this contains a fufficient anfwer to
any cavil that might be made to the obfcurity of fome
prophecies ; and accounts for their not being perfeflly un-
derftood, till interpreted by the event 5 even becaufe the
Holy Spirit intended it fo. the

( 35 )
the import of the vifion or prophecy fent tq
them, as Ezek. XX. j^.g. Then faid I, Ah Lord
God, they Jay of me, dolh he not Jpeak parables?
but what is ftill more, even the prophets them
felves fometimes had not the interpretation of
dieir own prophecies vouchfafed to them ; as
Dan. xii, 8^, 9. And I heard, but 1 under ftood
not : then faid /, O my Lord, what pall be the
end <f thefe things ? And he faid, go thy way,
Daniel, for the words are do fed up and fealed,
till the time ofthe end. And if this was the
cafe, then is here a fufficient reafon of what was
faid at the 20th verfe, that all prophecy ofthe
fcripture is not of its own interpretation ; even
becaufe God for wife reafon s, was pleafed to
reftrain it ; to limit it to what was neceffary for
raifing the attention, and keeping up the faith
and hope of good men in their expedtations of
the Meffias, and ferving other ends of Divine
Providence in adminiftring the affairs of the
church ; and not to indulge a vain curiofity,
and grant men a wanton exercife of the pro
phetic gift : the inference from which was,
that they ought to be contented with fuch
degrees of light and knowledge (thou^ no'
itiore than that of a light pining, in a dark
place) as God thought fit to commumicate un
to them, and to wait for the fuller evidence
from prophecy, 'till' the completion of the
event : though as to the event in queftion,
enough had been revealed already by the pro-
F phets

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