thousands of his Saints v. 14. And S t Paul makes mention of the Egyptian Sorcerers Iannes and Iambres 2 Tim. 3. 8 whose Names are not found in Exodus but were taken out of the Traditions of the Jews In like manner our Evangelist quotes that here which was reported to have been said by certain Prophets of old whose Predictions were delivered from one to another It is not improbable that S t Matthew had by Tradition such a Prophecy as in express syllables foretold that our Saviour should be called a Nazarene i. e. he should have his Name from Nazareth the place where he was to dwell for 't is very likely that This no less then the Place of his Nativity Bethlehem was predicted by some Inspired and Prophetick men The next thing I am to prove is that this Prophetick Rumour which prevailed among the Jews was actually fulfilled i. e. that our Blessed Master was called a Nazarene or one of Nazareth as that Name hath reference to the place of his Habitation It cannot escape our observation that it is particularly recorded and that sundry times not only in the four Gospels but in the Acts of the Apostles that Christ was called Iesus of Nazareth and that this was a Name given him by all sorts of persons He was called so by the Multitude Luke 18. 37 and more Expresly and Emphatically in Mat. 21. 11. This say they is Iesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee he had this Name given him by his Friends and Followers by his Apostles and Disciples as you read in Luke 24. 19. Iohn 1. 45. Acts 2. 22 4. 10 I0 38. 26. 9. The same Name was attributed to him by his professed Enemies Mark 14. 67. Iohn 18. 5. Acts 6. 14. and more especially by Pilate his Judge who fixed this Title on the Crosse Iesus of Nazareth King of the Iews Iohn 〈…〉 and as for the other Titles set over him mentioned by the rest of the Evanglists they were but Abbreviatures of this Observe farther that the Angels of heaven called him by this Name Mark 16â—â—6 and so did the Devils Mark 1. 23. Luke 4. 34. Lastly he is thus Named by Himself Acts 22. 8. where we find that even from Heaven he was pleased to own this Title I am Iesus of Nazareth saith he to the surious Sauls Now is not this very remarkable and much to our present purpose that his being of Nazareth constantly gave the Denomination to him He hath his Name from no other place unless it be from Galilâ—e Mat. 21. 12. and Nazareth was part of that Galilee so that in a manner it was the Same Name He shall be called a Nazarene said the Prophers and behold he was So In Nazareth he was bred up and thence he had his Name which you see is most particularly and signally taken notice of in the Evangelical Writings as it were to tell us that the Prophecy concerning this Name of Christ was really fulfilled We have now passed the Boine we have overcome that Great Difficulty for so it was thought by some and looked upon as insuperable viz. the proving that Christ's being called a Naâ—arene i. e. one of Nazareth was in that very notion and sense both foreâ—old and fulfilled Let us now proceed to Vanquish this seeming Difficulty by Other Arguments Secondly then we are to consider this Name as it is a Name of Reproach and so I shall shew that it was foretold by the Prophets even the very Prophets who were Penmen of the Old Testament that our Lord should be called by this Name and likewise that he was so called in way of Reproach The first of these is to be proved only in a general way from the Old Testament where it is often declared that Holy and Righteous persons shall meet with Reproachfull words from the mouths of wicked men that it is their usuall lot in this world to suffer in their Names and Reputations to be scoffed at and defamed by that sort of people and to be represented as persons loathed and forsaken by the Divine Numen More particularly of our Saviour 't is said that he shall be a Despised and Contemptible person in the eyes of men I am a worm and no man a reproach of men and despised of the People All they that see me laugh me to scorn they shoot out the lip they shake the head c. Psal. 22. 6 7. And again For thy sake I have born reproach shame hath covered my face Psal. 69. 7. The reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me v. 9. They that sit in the gate speak against me v. 12. It is universally granted that David was a Type of Christ and what he here saith is spoken also of Him whose Representative he was This no man who is acquainted with the Bible and the genius of it will so much as think of denying yea he will acknowledge that that whole 22 â— Psalm is more especially and peculiarly applicable to our Saviour and 't is certain that he rehearsed either all or part of it when he hung on the Crosse. Of this Despised Iesus speaks that Evangelicall Prophet His visage was marrâ—ed more then any man and his form more than the Sons of men Isai. 52. 14. He hath no form nor comelinesse and when they Shall see him there is no beauty that they should desire him He is Despised and rejected of men they hide as it were their faces from him he is despised and they esteem him not ch 53. v. 2 3. Thus it was plainly foretold that Christ our Redeemer shold be despised and reproached and spoken against in which General Predictions this Particular one is included viz. that he should be despised and defamed because of the meannesse of the Place of his habitation he shall be called a Nazarene he shall be reproached and vilified by reason of his Education and Abode in that Town Although the Prophesies which I have alledged are spoken generally and at large yet this is clear and undeniable that if the Title of Nazarene was used by Christ's Enemies as a mark of their despising and rejecting him which I shall make good anon then even this Particular Name was implied and contained in the General Prediction concerning him Or take it thus though these Individuall words here set down by the Evangelist He shall be called a Nazarene are no where found in the Writings of the Prophets yet the Sense and Meaning of them are there which is sufficient as in Acts 10. 42. S t Peter alledges This as testified by all the Prophets that through Christ's name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of Sins and yet among all the Prophets there is not one extant that hath these words which he here delivereth He speaks not the very words but the sense of the Prophets and so doth S t Matthew here he tells us that it was spoken of by the Prophets that Christ shall be called a Nazarene
Leviticus chiefly respects the Idolatrous Custom of throwing theiâ— Hair into the Sepulchres of the dead and devoting them to the departed souls and such like practises among the Pagans But now from this particular Custom of cutting off their hair or Shaving in case of Great Mourning we may gather that at Other times they did not cut so close for it is clear that if they did they would have left nothing to cut when the Mourning-Time came It is reasonable therefore to conclude that they generally wore their hair of a Moderate Dimension and as they cut not close or in that Spherical way before spoken of so they ran not into the Other Exâ—â—eam viz. of indulging Uncut and Long Hair And This is as evident as the other for the practise of the Nazarites is a demonstration of it These were a peculiar sort of Devotionists among the Iews who suffered their hair to grow and wore it Long and put it in fillets or knots and locks as the women then did Samson was such a Nazarite A razor shall not come upon his head saith the Angel to Manoâ—h's wife And God promised him that as long as he continued a Nazarite and cut not his Hair but let it grow this should be a token to him of that Strength which God extraordinarily 〈◊〉 him with but he broke the Vow of Nazarism and suffered his hair to be cut off Some distinguish between Perpetual and Temporary Nazarites among the former they reckon this Samson Samuel and John the Baptist among the latter Absalom who cut his hair the thirtieth day of his Vow and S t Paul who had made a Vow not to shave for a time but this being expired he cut his hair after a solemn manner as was the Custom and is expressed in Acts 18. 18. Having shorn his head in Cenchrea for he had a vow Though it is thought by some that this refers to Aquila just before mentioned and not to S t Paul And such were the Nazarites spoken of in Acts 21. 23 24. Yea D r Lightfoot is of opinion that these Corinthians some of them at least in a superstitious humour affected Nazaritism and that this was the occasion of the Apostle's reproving them for their Long Hair But though it be the received opinion that there were some Perpetual and others Temporary Nazarites yet I am not satisfied about it I rather think that they were All left to their liberty to vow as they pleased and that some observed the Vow a longer and others a shorter time He that 〈◊〉 Num. 6. which Chapter is wholly spent in setting down the Law of Nazarites will be perswaded to think so especially if he well weigh the 17 18. v. Thence it will appear that it is a mistake that some Nazarites never cut their hair From this place it is clear that none of them for This is an Universal Law concerning Nazarites nourished their hair Continually but that after such a certain time they cut it off and devoted it to God All Nazarites might after a set season dispose of their Hair But that which I infer from the premises is this that the Law of Nazaritism concerning Long and Uncut Hair thougâ— but for a time proves that the wearing of Long Hair was not the common usâ—ge of the Jewish people If it was peculiar to few and that by Vow then it was not the practise of the general body of the Nation The Nazarites abstain'd from cutting their hair therefore others who were not obliged by the Law of Nazaritism did cut their hair and suffered it not to grow Long. Nazarites by Vow wore Long Hair therefore those who were not tied by that Vow as the Generallity of the Jewish people took up another usage Long Hair was a thing Unusual and Extraordinary in those Religious and Separate persons therefore it was the Usual Custom not to have long hair These I take to be very Rational Inferences This was the first thing I undertook to acquaint you what was the Custom of the Iews And here there is something more to be seen and gathered then among Other People of the world because besides the Law of Nature they had the Law of God to direct them in this as well as in other things In the second place let us see the practise of the Gentiles The Arabians among whom Iâ—b lived used to shave their heads in time of Mourning and Lamentation as you may gather from his practice Iob 1. 20. And this was so notorious that Herodotus testifies of them that they were clipp'd as Apollo was in a round figure they cut off all the angles about their temples These are thought by some to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Ier. 9. 26. 25. 23. prâ—cisi angulo those that are cut off in the corners i. e. those that cut their hair round and left no corners viz. when they had a solemn occasion of Lamenting From Arabia if you pass into Egypt you may gather from their custom of letting their hair grow Long in time of Calamity and Sorrow that they did not nourish Long Hair at other times Thus Herodotus acquaints us that the Egyptians contrary to the Iews in the days of Mourning let their hair grow Long on their heads The truth of which is confirmed to us by the Sacred Records which tell us that Ioseph cut his hair when he was released from Prison and was to goe into King Pharaohs presence But Herodotus in the same place adds that the Egyptians used to shave their beards in time of Sorrow though they let the hair of their heads grow And therefore in the Egyptian Hieroglyphicks where Hair cut off signifies Grief and Bondage it must be understood of the Hair of the beard not of the head And as the people indulged not themselves in an Excessive Length of hair so neither did their Priests for the â—ore said Author relates that they were so far from this that they were all of them Shaven But the Grecians make the greatest figure here and therefore I will in the next place shew what their Custom and Practice was as to the wearing of their Hair That these people of old were used to wear their hair Long we learn from their constant Epithet in Homer 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Though it is certain that at first the Grecians were of another fashion Short or Moderately-grown hair was thought by them to be best and accordingly they used themselves to it the Lacedaemonians especially were noted for this But if you would know how they came to alter their primitive usage I am able to satisfie you by offering These following things to your thoughts 1. It was a Philosophick humour to wear the hair long which though it began at first with their Beards yet afterwards it proceeded higher to the hair of their Heads The reason was because Gravity and Majesty were thought to be in this sort of Hair And yet these very men who of
the Main difficulty of the Text lies I must also Premise and Observe this to you 3 ly That it is not barely 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 without an Article as the Learned Scaliger also noteth on the place and saith it is not without some singular Emphasis The Praepositive Article o is frequently of the like force with the Hebrew 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and the English that which are notes of Emphasis and Specification It is probable therefore tht not All but Some Certain dead are here meant for this Article which is here Demonstrative denotes something that is Certain and Definitive It is true it is sometimes left out and other times inserted and yet the sense is neither heightned not impaired and I deny not that it is so in some places in This Chapter But since it is oftentimes Significant and Emphatical and becomes a Relative and Demonstrative Pronoun it may be so in This Text that is before us especially the Article being expressed twice and it being likely as I will make it appear that it particularly relates to something mention'd before in this Chapter So that the words are to run thus What shall they do that are baptized by reason of or for the sake of those dead viz. those dead before spoken of And now that you may understand Who those dead are and that we may the better apprehend the Whole Arguing of the Apostle in the Text and at the same time give the Confirmation of the Sense which I am to offer I will present you with a short view of the Context This is the best way certainly to enervate and destroy the former Opinions and to establish a right Judgement of the Text By setting before you the Scope of the words and their Coherence with and Relation to the foregoing parts of the Chapter I despair not of leading you to the True Meaning of the words The Scope and Design of S t Paul in this Chapter is to establish the Doctrine of Our Resurrection That so Weighty and Important Doctrine to which he gives the Name of The Gospel v. 1. This Great Article of the Christian faith which some of the Corinthians had called into question is here maintain'd by several Arguments the first whereof is Christs Resurrection which he tells us was attested by above five hundred witnesses some of whom he saith are fallen asleep v. 6. The same you know is expressly said of S t Stephen by the Evangelist S t Luke and without doubt our Apostle speaks here of S t Stephen who was stoned to death Acts 7. 60. and of S t Iames the first Martyr of all the Apostles who was beheaded by Herod Agripppa Acts 12. 2. And Clemens tells us that another died at the very same time he relates how the person that carried S t Iames to the Place of Judgement and heard him there so fully give testimony to Christ was thereby Converted and presently professed himself to be a Christian whereupon both of them were carried together to Execution and were as he reports beheaded The Apostle may be thought likewise to speak here of the Other Iames who was also called Iames the Iust who was barbarously knock'd on the head by the Jews in Nero's time as Eusebius reports But whether This Iames was put to death before S t Paul writ This Epistle to the Corinthians I will not confidently determine We might also here reckon Philip the Apostle who was put to death at the same time that Iames the Iust was as some relate whence it is that Our Church celebrates the memory of them both on the same day But it is unquestionable that Iohn the Baptist who was the First Martyr fell asleep before all These being beheaded by a former Herod in the first year of our Saviours Preaching And there were Many Others who were crowned with Martyrdom as our Apostle himself testifieth Acts 26. 10. Many of the Saints did I shut up in prison and when they were put to death I gave my voice against them There were Many that suffered Martyrdom who are therefore said to be fallen asleep in Christ v. 18 th of this Chapter Still he mentions those that are fallen asleep viz. those holy men that Sacrificed their lives for the Gospel those are the dead whom the Text speaks of And hence he frames a Second Argument to prove the Absurdity which would follow upon denying the Resurrection Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished To These very Saints who are thus fallen asleep who are the same with those mentioned in 1 Thess. 4. 14. them which sleep in Iesus and in v. 16. the dead in Christ the blessed Martyrs who died for Christs sake to These my Text hath relation These were 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 those dead for whose sakes and because of whom so many in the Apostle's days became Converts and were Baptized These Martyrs saith he who are fallen asleep in Christ are perished if there be no Resurrection they have utterly Undone themselves and others by losing their lives for Christ. Thirdly he proceeds to Argue thus as those Martyrs were arrant Fools and Perished like such if there be no Resurrection so We that survive are the Wretchedest creatures upon earth if that be true If in this life only we have hope in Christ we are of all men most miserable v. 19. But now is Christ risen from the dead and become the first-fruits of them that slept saith the Apostle triumphantly in the next verse By this confident Assumption he baffles the Gainsayers and comforts the Christian Church But within two verses after he breaks off this Argument which he had newly resumed and after a Digression about the Manner of the future Resurrection and the final Consummation of the world which reaches from the 23. v. to the words of my Text he falls into a Fresh Argument thus Else what shall they do that are baptized for the dead if the dead rise not at all why are they also baptized for the dead The first word as we have it translated Else implies that this verse refers to the immediately foregoing ones or to some General Conclusion before But if you examine both you will not find any Connection between This and the immediately preceding verses and indeed the Syriack leaves out this Alioquin or Else as if the Sentence were entire without it I conceive then that the Greek word is not rightly translated here but that it ought to be rendred Moreover 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifying sometimes so in the Septuagints Version as in Psalm 78. 20. and in Prophane Authors as in Herodotus and Plutarch especially in this latter out of whom many places might be produced wherein 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is as much as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 deinde praeterea and That is the import of the word in the Text. So then the Apostle returns here to his discourse about the Resurrection and tenders another