The first part takes in all that happened after Moses 'till the establishment of the Kingdom which is related in the Books of Joshua Judges Ruth and the First Book of Samuel The second contains the History of the Kings of Juda and Israel 'till the Destruction of Samaria and Jerusalem The third contains an Account of what passed during the Jewish Captivity and after their re-establishment Now there is not one of these Books which concern the History of this People in one or other of these Epocha's which has not certain Characters of the truth of its Relations by the necessary Connexion which it has either with those Events which went before it or with those which follow'd it and this by a natural and immediate dependance This ought to be confirm'd by some Observations The Book of Joshua which contains the Conquest and division of the Land of Canaan is the Execution of Moses's design who brought the People of Israel out of Egypt to go and make themselves Masters of a Countrey which the Jews pretend that God promised to Abraham The Division of this Land amongst the Tribes is the Title which each Tribe had to its Possessions in it and this Division subsisted a great while very distinct and well known by the several Tribes of this People There happened no considerable Change but only when the Kings of Assyria carried the Ten Tribes into Captivity after the taking of Samaria in the Three thousand two hundred and eighty third year of the World The Country continuing in the same state under the two remaining Tribes without any Change ensuing upon their Transportation into Babylon as I have observed in the Nineteenth Chapter of my Reflexions upon Exodus and the following Books This Book has a very natural Influence upon the following Books as is manifest from the History of the Alliance which the Gibeonites got from the Jews by surprize It serves for a foundation to all that happened for Four hundred and thirty years after in David's Reign under whom the Commonwealth being already changed into a Monarchical Government had in all appearance undergone a great Alteration The Book of Judges has an essential Relation to the Books of Moses and Joshua the most part of the Captivities of the People of Israel being a Consequence of their Quarrels with the Nations which they had subdued or with their Neighbours as the Moabites and Ammonites descended from Lot who were jealous of this People that was descended from Abraham There we may see for Instance the Israelites upon the Defensive part because God forbad them to set upon the Moabites and the Ammonites whereas these last pretended that Israel had usurped some part of their Country It must be granted that there is nothing so remarkable markable as the Actions of these Judges whom God raised up to deliver his People from those different Captivities through which they passed for Three hundred fifty six years together But we may find the Memory of some of them preserved by those publick Hymns which were famous throughout the Nation and by these illustrious Monuments of their Judicial Authority which were preserved amongst them and which kept up a Remembrance of them amongst the Israelites and the Neighbour Nations For this ought to be observed with care That since the Jews could not invent any thing upon this Head which would not be well known by all the Neighbouring Nations as the Tyrians who kept up their own Government 'till Alexander's time who subdued them intirely and the Moabites whose Empire continued for Fourteen Ages after Lot's time until the Destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar it was not easie for any fabulous Relations in this matter to obtain Authority The Book of Ruth seems not to have any thing considerable but the Conversion of Ruth a Moabitess who rely'd upon the hopes of the House of Juda out of which she had marry'd her Husband But we may take notice of three things besides 1. Of the exact Practise of that Law which obliged them to marry the Widow of a Relation who dy'd without Issue 2. Of their lively remembrance of the Deeds of their Ancestors as of Juda's Incest with Thamar which was look'd upon however as a fountain and a pattern of Blessings 3. Of the Lineage of David whom this Author represents as deriving his Pedigree from a Moabitess which not making much for the Honour of a King of Israel do's at the same time confirm the Truth of the Relations which are contained in that Book The First Book of Samuel contains the History of Eli's and Samuel's Judicatures of the change of the Government from a Commonwealth to a Monarchy under Saul of David's Anoynting Saul's Rejection and Death The Second contains the History of David his Victories his design of building a Temple a design which God left to Solomon to execute his Wars with the Ammonites his Crime with Bathshebah his Son Absalom's Insurrection against him and his great Successes against his Enemies There is nothing in these two Books which has not an exact Connexion with what went before and what follows One see 's throughout an exact Relation to the Law of Moses One see 's throughout Monuments set up in several Places to preserve the memory of particular Actions One see 's also in the Wars of the Israelites with their Neighbours a constant Series of those old Differences which were the Fruits of the Jealousie of these Nations against the Children of Israel The Books of the Kings which the Jews reckon but as one Book contain an Abridgment of Solomon's Establishment in the Place of David of the Glory of his Empire which was carried by David to the Banks of Eüphrates according to the ancient Prophecyes of his Marriage with the King of Egypt's Daughter of the Building of the Temple and his own Palace with the help of Hiram King of Tyre One see 's the manner of the Queen of Sheba's visit to Solomon of his Alliances with the Moabites the Ammonites the Edomites the Zidonians and the Hittites thinking by these Marriages to have put an end to the old Quarrels between his People and these Nations who were jealous of the People of Israel All this was done in the Forty years of Solomon's Reign and as there never was so famous a Reign in Judea so never was there any of which there are left so many Monuments as well there as in the Neighbouring Countreys One see 's afterwards in the same Book the Division of Solomon's Empire into two Governments that of Juda which continued from Solomon's Death during the Reign of Eighteen Successors for Three hundred eighty six years to the taking of Jerusalem by Nebuchaanezzar and that of Israel form'd by Jeroboam which lasted Two hundred fifty four years under the Reign of Nineteen Successors until the taking of Samaria the Capital City of the Kingdom of Israel The History of the Chronicles which was written about Twenty six years after that of the Kings carries
of one that was Blind and another that was Lame at Alexandria He that would know the Particulars may consult Tacitus his History And last of all we ought to observe That the Jews do not only agree that this Oracle of Isaiah refers to the Messiah but they also still propose the Power of working Miracles as a Character which would render the Messiah very illustrious and certainly known CHAP. XVII That the Messiah was to be an illustrious Prophet THis Truth I have already asserted in the Reflexions I made on the Prophecy of Moses Deut. XVIII But one ought to explain this Character of the Messiah more particularly God having been pleased further to illustrate this Oracle of Moses First then We say that the word Messiah implies Anointing which was common to Kings Prophets and Priests and since David's time we find nothing more common than this Title in the Books of the Old Testament where we may observe that Moses was dignified with this Gift of Prophecy and that Samuel communicated the same to Saul and David when he anointed them to be Kings Yea the Jews to this day are of opinion that Elias the Prophet shall anoint the Messiah that is initiate him in his Prophetical as well as his Royal Function Secondly God more precisely signifies this Isai XI Vers 1 2 3. where he declares he would communicate all the necessary Gifts of the Prophetical Function to the Messiah There shall come forth a Rod out of the stem of Jesse and a branch shall grow out of his Roots And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him the Spirit of Wisdom and Understanding the Spirit of Counsel and Might the Spirit of Knowledge and of the Fear of the Lord. So that he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes neither reprove after the hearing of his ears These words need no Commentary For the Jews refer them constantly to the Messiah and they plainly import that he was to be a great Prophet forasmuch as all the Characters which are there given to the Spirit which was to rest on the Messiah are the same which in the Old Testament we find attributed to the Prophets and may easily be taken notice of in the History of the Prophets especially of David and Solomon And much to the same purpose is that passage Isai XLII vers 1 2 3 4 5 6 and 7. Behold my Servant whom I uphold mine Elect in whom my Soul delighteth I have put my Spirit upon him he shall bring forth 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 He shall not fail nor be discouraged till he have set Judgment in the Earth and the Isles shall wait for his Law. 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 to the People upon it and spirit to them that walk therein I the Lord have called thee in Righteousness and will hold thine and will keep 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 In which Oracle one ought to take notice particularly of those things which the Jews apply to the Messiah 1. That God proposes the Gifts of the Spirit which he bestowed upon him as an Effect of his Love and the choice he had made of him 2. That the Messiah was to make use of the same as Rules for reforming the Country and propounding Gods Covenant to the Gentiles which clearly suppose the necessity of the Gift of Prophecy to qualifie him for such great Undertakings 3. That contrary to the thundring Character which distinguished the rest of the Prophets who were as so many publick Censors the Messiah was to speak with all meekness and sweetness to the Nations which should receive his Preaching One see 's that Isaiah repeats the same Idea's Chap. LXI vers 1 2 3 4 5 6 and 7. The Spirit of the Lord God 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 Oyl 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 And they shall build the old Wasts they shall raise up the former Desolations and they shall repair the waste Cities the Desolations of many Generations And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks and the sons of the Alien shall be your Plowmen and your Vine dressers But ye shall be named the Priests of the Lord men shall call you the Ministers of our God ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles and in their glory shall ye boast your selves For your shame ye shall have double and for confusion they shall rejoyce in their portion therefore in their Land they shall possess the double everlasting joy shall be upon them In short he represents in this and the former Oracle the Gentiles as a People being in darkness and in the misery of a Prison from whence we may easily infer First That the Messiah was to be a Prophet how vile and abject soever that Character might appear in the eyes of the World as I have shewed that it was where I spake of the Prophets in general Secondly That he was to discharge these Functions during the whole course of his Life and that it was to be his chief Employment here upon Earth David had before signified Psalm XXII verse 22. that the Messiah was to declare the Name of God unto his Brethren viz. the Jews by exercising his Prophetical Function in Judea but the Holy Spirit did something more when he seem'd to point out Galilee as the place where this Sacred Doctor was chiefly to fix his abode This is in effect insinuated when God tells us that he was to begin his Ministerial Functions in the Tribes of Naphtali and Zebulon Isai IX vers 1 2 and 3. Nevertheless the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation when at the first he lightly afflicted the Land of Zebulon and the Land of Naphtali and afterwards did more grievously afflict her by the way of the Sea beyond Jordan in Galilee of the Nations The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light they that dwell in the land
re-establishment in the said Country about the year of the World 3600. Here we read the Conquest of Palestina under the Conduct of Joshua how it was divided amongst the Tribes after they had destroyed drove out or subdued the Inhabitants thereof how often they were brought into bondage by the bordering Nations whose rise and pretensions Moses sets down Here we have recorded the several Names and actions of the Judges which God from time to time raised to the Israelites to restore them to their first estate Here we have an account of the establishment of a Kingly Government amongst them which happened about the year 2909 as likewise of the division of this people into two Kingdomes which for three Ages together were most opposite in their interests and made great wars against each other as well as against their neighbouring States We find here the utter ruin of the most puissant of these two States viz. That of Israel by the Arms of the Kings of Assyria about the year of the World 3283 and after that the destruction of that of Judah by Nebuchadnezar King of the Chaldeans Anno Mundi 3283. And last of all we have an account of the Jews Restoration by Cyrus King of Persia and the State of the Jews under his Successors The Third thing observable is That in the remaining Books of the Old Testament we find several historical Relations relating to both Kingdomes with several prophecies relating to their decay and restoration as likewise many Discourses of Morality and Piety and that all these relations and prophecies appear to have been writ at such a time and with those circumstances which have a natural reference to what the other Books recite to us and an essential Relation to the Books and Laws of Moses which we find to be the foundation of all these prophesies relations and whatsoever else we find there concerning their Government or Religion The Fourth is That the Books of the New Testament contain an exact relation of the Life of Jesus Christ who appeared to the World under the Reign of Tiberius of the establishment of his Religion in the World together with some disputes with the Jews who refused to own him for the Messiah promised by the Prophets and lastly Prophesies declaring what in in process of time was to happen both to the Jews and Christians until the end of the World. These Books take the Truth of Moses's Writings every where for granted as also of all the other Sacred Writings of the Old Testament both Historical Prophetical and Moral These Four particulars do in a manner give us an intire Idea of the Holy Scripture and we shall scarcely stand in need of ought else to manifest the Truth of those Writings if we consider those undisputable matters of fact I am now to speak of and will but make some very natural reflexions upon them The First is That the Christians notwithstanding their being divided into several Sects and Parties presently after our Saviours time have and do still in all places every first day of the Week read the Books of the New Testament translated into their respective Languages so that it appears absolutely impossible that any spurious Writings should have been slipt in amongst them The Second is That as the Christians have had the Books of the Old Testament amongst them in Greek these 1600. years so the Heathens had them in that Language 300. years before being translated by order of one of the Ptolomy's Kings of Egypt whither a considerable party of the Jews were carried after that Alexander the Great had conquered the greatest part of Asia having overthrown the Empire of Persia to which the Jews were in subjection The Third is That tho' the Jews had not all the Books of the Old Testament from the beginning of their Commonwealth they that followed the Party of Jeroboam and formed the Kingdom of Israel having only had the Five Books of Moses amongst them yet notwithstanding their irreconcilable hatred against the House of David they have most religiously preserved the said Books from Anno Mundi 3030. in which the divisions of the two Kingdoms happen'd even until this day The Fourth and last is That as the Jews every where at this day read the Books of Moses and of the Prophets each Sabbath day which is also observed by the Samaritanes and the Christians read them every first day of the week so the Jews have always continued to read them for a long series of Ages as esteeming it a great part of the sanctification of the Sabbath Besides which they also solemnly read them every seventh year in obedience to a Law of Moses as being one of the principal parts of their Religion I say that the sole consideration of these matters of fact which are indisputable are sufficient to prove in general the truth of the Books of the Old and New Testament First then I affirm that it is as ridiculous to maintain that the Books of the Old and New Testament translated into so many Languages cited by an infinite number of Authors and which have been the subject of various disputes from the very times of the Apostles or soon after should be supposititious as to aver that the Books of Justinian or Mahomets Alcoran have been falsly obtruded on the World under their names I speak now only of the Books themselves not of the truth of the History they contain Secondly It is ridiculous to suppose that the Books of the Old Testament were forged since the time of Ptolomy Philadelphus forasmuch as they have been in the hands of the Heathens themselves ever since that time Thirdly It is as inconsistent to suppose them contrived since the time of the separation of the ten Tribes from Judah because we find the Books of Moses among the Samaritanes who have preserved them ever since their Revolt without any other change but what is incident to all Manuscripts that pass through many hands I grant indeed that the Samaritans have none of the other Books of the Old Testament but this being to be look'd upon only as an effect of their departure from the Kingdom of Judah it cannot in the least shake the certainty we have of those Books For first the three other Tribes had them and preserv'd them with the greatest care esteeming them of Divine Authority Secondly there were also reasons of State which made the Kings of Israel not to regard the divisions made by Joshuah of the Land of Canaan nor the authority of the Priesthood which Reasons of State hereafter mentioned where the cause why the ten Tribes would not allow the same authority to some of those Books which were written before their Revolt as those of Samuel and the writings of David and Solomon which they did to the Pentateuch of Moses Most of the others we know were pen'd since the Division of the two Kingdomes and so did more particularly respect the Kingdom of Judah and some them after the
was chosen by God out of the Family of Abraham because the Author of it decides these Important Questions and Differences without any visible partiality and without being by assed by the pretensions of his Birth Now there are three things in it which clearly prove that it could not be unknown to Moses The First is That immediately after this Prophesie which was as publick and well known amongst the Moabites as any Prophesie could be after the tedious preparation and the many difficulties which Balaam made to come to Balac After the many Ceremonies and Mysteries which he used upon that occasion and notwithstanding the great and panick terror of the Moabites at the approach of the Israelites Nay and notwithstanding the express Threats and Ominous Prophesies of Balaam against that people notwithstanding all this I say we see the Daughters of Moab imitating the carnal prudence of Lot's Daughters and courting the alliance of the Israelites as if they had had a mind to make themselves amends that way for the loss and wrong they had suffered by the Sentence which Balaam pronounced in favour of Israel We see I say that Moses immediately after he had related the Prophecies of Balaam tells us that the Daughters of Moab invited the People of Israel to the Sacrifices of their Gods and that the People of Israel accepted of the invitation and accordingly feasted and began then to defile themselves with the Daughters of Moab Now that such a thing should happen presently after Balaam had uttered his Prophesie shews evidently that there was some Relation betwixt those two Transactions And this may be further made out from the manner and nature of the punishment which God inflicted upon the Israelites for their Criminal Commerce with the Moabites although the pretence of it might be grounded upon the design which the Daughters of Moab had formed according to the Principles of their Education to share in the accomplishment of the Promise by their conceiving and getting Children by those whom Balaam's Prophesie had invested with the right and priviledge of accomplishing that Promise The Second is That accordingly about two hundred years after Moses we see that Ruth the Moabitess left her own Country to settle and live at Bethlehem and affected besides to marry there again one of the Tribe of Judah no doubt because she had got in her own Country a certain knowledge of that famous Oracle which afterwards made her easily yield to the Counsels and receive Instructions both of her Mother in Law and of her own Husband who was of the Tribe of Judah and no doubt had the Books of Moses wherein were inserted both the Prophesie of Jacob in favour of Judah and that of Balaam in favour of the Israelites against the Moabites The Third is That the Jews have now for several Ages constantly maintained I Kings II. 8. that Simei's Curses against David which afterwards he called Maledictionem pessimam 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 contained an upbraiding Reflexion as well upon the meanness of his Birth as being descended from a Moabitess as upon his Adultery c. This is related by St. Jerome or some other ancient Author who writ that Discourse de Traditionibus Hebraeorum upon the second Chapter of the third Book of Kings This Jewish Interpretation would be very proâ—â—ble if that was but true what Rabbi Salomon saith upon the II. Chap. of the first Book of Kings v. 19. that when we read there that Solomon caused a Seat to be set for the King's Mother we ought to understand it of Ruth the Moabitess and not of Bathsheba we know the Jews ascribe a much longer Life to Zarah the Daughter of Asher one of Jacob's Sons for they are still of the same Opinion as they were in St. Hierome's time that she was yet alive in David's time No Body can condemn this Reflexion upon Ruth if he will but consider that her Faith having been so rewarded that the Messiah came our of her Posterity she is particularly made mention of in his Genealogy and that on the other hand her History hath been preserved amongst the other Books of the Old Testament as a kind of prescription not only against the Moabites pretensions long before condemned by Balaam's Prophesie but also against those of the Ismaelites and Edomites who had no better claim to the Promise than the Moabites having no other than that of a general Call and of their Birthright before Jacob's Posterity CHAP. XII That one may see also in Moses 's Law plain Footsteps of God's Design in distinguishing these from whom he would have the Messiah to be Born. IT was altogether necessary for the execution of my design to establish well the Authority of Moses's Books upon which I intend to make some Reflexions It was likewise necessary to shew as I think I have done sufficiently that Moses was perfectly acquainted with God's Promise concerning the Messiah Therefore I believe I may now come to shew that both Moses and those that came after him had all an Eye upon the Messiah in their chiefest Regulations But to give a greater insight and understanding into the things that I am to say I think it may not be amiss to remind the Reader and to lay before him once more the several Characters of God's Conduct in that matter that he may be the better able to judge of the whole Series of his design I have heretofore shew'd that Moses's intention was to establish two things in the Book of Genesis The one that all Men have derived their Original from Adam whom God Created The other That Men having sinned God promised to reinstate him by one of his own Posterity The First of these was then solidly proved by a plain matter of Fact when I shew'd that such a Tradition as Moses relates about the Creation of the World cannot reasonably be doubted of As for what concerns the other viz. The Promise of the Messiah which was the chiefest Object of Man's hope and comfort I have also shew'd I think that the Notion and Expectation of it was very strong and lively and the original cause of all the extraordinary Actions recorded by Moses But as this promise was not to be fulfilled for many Ages so God made it only in very general terms and had still reserved to himself the Revelation for after Ages as he thought fit both as to the manner and time of its accomplishment It is therefore absolutely necessary that we should consider also how God preserved all along the distinct knowledge of it amongst men Now in reading my Reflexions upon Genesis one must needs have observed that God even in those early times of the World did restrain the priviledge of accomplishing that promise by little and little to some particular Men till at last he openly declared that he had setled it in the Tribe of Judah as we read it Gen. XLIX Thus we see that God in the very beginning of the World restrained
manner of writing the Prophetical Books of the Old Testament shews that those Oracles could not have been forged after their Completion I Have several things to taken notice of to make this Truth more sensible The first is taken from the necessary connexion of all the parts of the History of the Old Testament the truth of which I have proved by several Characters This History is exactly written by several Authors Now the History of the Prophets and of their Oracles is so exactly framed into the History that it is impossible to take it out without confounding the whole The Books of Samuel which were written by Samuel by Nathan and by Gad as appears by I Chron. XXIX 29. contain the History from the Year of the World 2888 to the Year 2987. The Books of the Kings contain the History of the Kings and of the Prophets from the Year 2989. to the Year 3442. The Books of the Chronicles recapitulate the History from the beginning of the World to the Year 3468. Ezra writ his History from the Year 3468. to the Year 3538. Nehemiah continued it from 3550. to 3563. Here is therefore on the one side an uninterrupted Series of History and on the other side a continued Succession of Prophecies David who began to Reign in the Year 2950. with several other Prophets of that time writ the most part of the Psalms which are full of Oracles and which were sung by the People as a part of the Divine Service Isaiah began his Prophecy in 3246. and dy'd in the Year 3306. Hosea Micah and Nahum were contemporary with him Jeremiah begun his Prophecy in the Year 3375. and liv'd at the same time with Zephaniah Daniel was carry'd into Babylon in 3401. and prophesied until 3470. Ezechiel prophecy'd at Babylon in 3509. Haggai and Zachariah prophecy'd in 3590. soon after Ezra in the time of Nehemiah Malachy seems to have lived until the Year 3589. Can we therefore in the least imagine that a History should be so intermixed with Prophesies and Oracles without conceiving at the same time the Truth of both by an invincible necessity But we may make a second Reflexion hereupon There are three general Characters which distinguish Prophets very sensibly from the generality of Authors I. They were publick Censors Let us but read the History of Isaiah's conduct who called all the Heads of the People Rulers of Sodom or that of Jeremiah Chap. XXXVI or of any other of the Prophets in general II. They were Comforters of the People when they had brought them to Repentance by their preaching There are as many Instances of this as there are Prophets III. They foretold remarkable Occurrences happy or unfortunate long before there was any probability that they should happen It is impossible to consider these Characters without seeing that the state of Affairs was that which gave a foundation for their Sermons So that one must of necessity have framed their History of new to give ground for a Forgery This change in the style of the Prophets follows the Circumstances of the Jewish State exactly All that Isaiah or Jeremiah say will hold no longer than whilst you suppose the State of the Jews to be as corrupt as the History of that time represents it But if you suppose it to be as the History do's distinctly explain it nothing can be imagined more forcible than their Sermons For as they joyned Oracles with Promises in their thundring Sermons so one see 's that they cannot be parted One may make another Reflexion upon this matter by shewing that these Oracles and these Books were so famous amongst the Jews that no Forgery can be supposed The times in which they were writ are a great proof for they appeared upon very remarkable Occasions One may rank the Prophets into four Orders according to the several times in which they appeared David and the Prophets of his time Those who lived before the Babylonish Captivity as Jonah Hosea Joel Amos Obadiah Isaiah Micah Nahum Habakkuk Zephaniah Jeremiah Those who prophesied during the Captivity Jeremiah Ezekiel and Daniel Those who lived after their Return from Babybylon Haggai Zechariah and Malachy Now we have an equal Assurance of all these Prophets that they were famous Who can deny the Oracles of David to have been famous when they were preserv'd amongst their publick Hymns One see 's that Micah's prediction sav'd Jeremiah whom they would have condemned for prophecying the Ruin of the Temple under Jehoiakim when Micah had prophesied the same thing under Hezekiah that is to say about One hundred and twenty years before this Prediction of Jeremiah Here 's an Event which assures us without affectation That this Prophecy was very well known were not therefore the other Prophecies which were in the hands of the Jews very well known by the whole Nation The other Prophets lived in very remarkable times Isaiah under Jotham Ahaz and Manasseh impious Princes the last of which put him to a cruel Death for the freedom of his Censures and Predictions There was in the time of every Prophet a great number of Circumstances which may be enlarged upon and which will further prove That their Works must of necessity have been very publick and very famous amongst the Jews We must not here neglect what do's more particularly regard the persons of the Prophets I. Some of them were Priests that is to say publick Ministers of their Religion Jeremiah and Ezechiel were of that number This may be observed in reading of their Works and in observing the nature of their Revelations which were for the most part accommodated by God to those Idea's about which the Prophets were most employ'd II. Some were very illustrious by their Birth Thus David for instance was King of Israel Isaiah was a Prince of the Blood and Daniel was one of the Princes of Judah which may be easily found out by considering the Majesty of their Style and greatness of their Expressions III. Some were very contemptible by their Employment and by their Birth So Amos for instance and those other Prophets whose Father is barely named without joyning to it any honourable Title if the Jews observation has any strength Now it is well known that tho' the gift of Prophecy made him who had it sufficiently famous yet the Character of the Person often made the Prophecy famous Sometimes indeed the meanness of the Person as in Amos made the Work to be more regarded every Body taking occasion from the ancient Profession or the Prophet to consider the Prophecies which he published with more attention One ought to observe with care That those Prophets whose Writings are preserv'd as well as those who did not write were continually struck at by false Prophets who opposed them with great heat Since then we have no Prophecies preserved but of those whose Predictions were accomplished the Event justifying the Truth of their Predictions with regard to particular Facts near the time which they had foretold
and his Asses Colt unto the choice Vine he washed his Garments in Wine and his Clothes in the Blood of Grapes His eyes shall be red with Wine and his Teeth white with Milk. Gen. XLIX 8. 12. I know very well that some of the Jews have pretended that Moses ought to be understood for Shiloh But this is so ridiculous an Opinion that there is not the least probability to maintain it What Scepter had Judah before Moses came How was Moses the Expectation of the Gentiles and the Object of their Hope And indeed the Body of the Jewish Nation are agreed that this Oracle was meant of the Messiah so Onkelos the Chaldee Paraphrast so the Jerusalem Targum and Jonathan's so R. Solomon Jarchi Abenezra and Kimchi are agreed Now these Reflexions may be naturally drawn from this Oracle which Jacob uttered upon his Death-bed I. This Oracle is found amongst a great number of Oracles which concern the other Tribes of the Israelites and which were accomplished as to every Tribe II. This Oracle contains several particular Events which relate to private Transactions in the Tribe of Judah III. This Oracle was as it were Jacob's Will in favour of Judah at a time when he divided amongst his Children their Portions which they were to expect from him IV. This was a Preference of Judah who was but the fourth to Reuben who was the eldest and who by consequence ought to have been the Head of his Family The Scepter and the Authority of Legislator was promised to Judah which did not belong to him by the right of his Birth Jacob therefore prepared his Children to look for an accomplishment of those Promises made to Abraham in Judah as well for the Kings who were to be descended from him as for the Nations of the Earth who were to be blessed in Abraham's Seed But we must go yet further I shall therefore observe I. That this Prophecy particularly regarded the Tribe of Judah as all the preceding and following Oracles concern'd those Tribes whose Heads were then named by Jacob. II. That this Prophecy concerns the Tribe of Judah as settled in the Land of Canaan by a distinct establishment from the other Tribes In short it is certain that the Tribe of Judah had some superiority Thus God for instance commanded that Tribe to march the first Numb II. X. Its Heads offered their presents first Numb VII 11 12 83. In Joshua's time this Tribe took its Division without drawing Lots for it One see 's that God ordered the Tribe of Judah to lead the People out to the Conquest of the rest of the Country One see 's the same Prerogatives in the Book of Judges tho' they were often of other Tribes From David's time to the taking of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar the Kings were all of that Tribe and Zorobabel afterwards headed those who returned out of Chaldea The Book of the Chronicles names the Tribe of Judah first Herod was the first King who was wholly a Stranger III. That Jacob supposed that the Tribe of Judah should be in possession of a Form of Government and of a Community till the coming of the Messiah This was all very proper and indeed we see that this Tribe continued under its own Governours after the other Tribes had been transported II Kings XVII 18. It almost swallowed up Benjamin and Levi who settled in their Country and indeed Josephus assures us That there were but few of the Ten Tribes who came back again into Judea under Ezra for the greatest part of them stayed beyond Euphrates And we see that at last they gave their Name to the whole Country IV. That this Oracle was fulfilled by degrees This I have observed already of the preheminency of the Tribe of Judah before David's time which was a step to the advancement of it to the Throne And the lessening of their Dignity which was to be entirely taken away when the Messiah came had also the same Gradations David was set upon the Throne over all Israel but his House lost the Government over Ten Tribes in his Grandson Rehoboam's time His Successors were Tributary to the neighbouring Princes whereas David carried his Empire to the Walls of Babylon tho' afterwards the Babylonians subdued the Jews and deposed the Kings of Judah At last they absolutely lost all that Authority which they had hitherto kept They recovered a little in the Person of Zorobabel and tho' they were soon after invaded by the Seleucidae yet the Maccabees preserved them a little till Herod and the Romans took away all those Remnants which they had yet left In carrying these Views of this Oracle further we may yet further observe I. That God intended to oblige the Israelites to wait for the Scepter in the Tribe of Judah It must be there before it could depart thence It was natural to conceive that the Jews were to look yet much further than David Those words It shall not depart denote a continuance of the Scepter in the House of David for some considerable time II. It is easie to comprehend a lessening of the Dignity in the term Lawgiver See Judges V. 14. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which God seems to have made use of as a Mark of the Fall which I have observed in the Person of Zorobabel who as to the time was about the middle of the Oracle III. In a word it is easie to acknowledge that this Oracle assigns the Epocha in gross for the time of the coming of the Messiah viz. the Ruin of that Authority and Power which the Jews properly so called from the Tribe of Judah should enjoy after their re-establishment God could not explain himself more particularly in stating the precise time when this thing should happen There are two other very considerable Oracles one uttered by Balaam in the Year 2553 before the King of the Moabites who had sent for him to curse the People of Israel that lay in the Plains the other uttered the same Year by Moses the famous Legislator of the Jews the first is inserted by Moses in the XXIV Chapter of Numbers the other is in the XVIII of Deuteronomy The first is in these words I shall see him but not now I shall behold him but not nigh there shall come a Star out of Jacob and a Scepter shall rise out of Israel and shall smite all the Corners of Moab and destroy all the Children of Seth And Edom shall be a Possession Seir also shall be a Possession for his Enemies and Israel shall do valiantly Out of Jacob shall come he that shall have Dominion and shall destroy him that remaineth of the City One ought to observe that Balaam's Character the presence of the King and the Elders of Moab and all the Circumstances in which it was uttered do advance its Authority considerably But the turn of his Expressions is equally singular and remarkable I. He speaks of the Messiah as of a Star hinting out to us the Celestial Nature
prescrib'd to them in the other Books of Moses but the occasion and ground of them all is no where to be found but in Genesis to which all these Laws have a natural Relation The Second is That the Book of Genesis taking for granted that the Posterity of Abraham as well as his Ancestors had always observ'd the Sabbath and Circumcision and the Books of Moses ordering the same to be constantly read in every Family to which the Sabbath day was more peculiarly appropriated and the whole to be read over every seventh year as we know the Jews practice was according to the Law of Moses the first of which Injunctions they practice still in all places and have left off the other only because they cannot do it now they are out of their own Land I say supposing all this it is absolutely impossible that any other than Moses could have made this Book to be received The forgery at the beginning would have been palpable even to Children themselves As for Example let us suppose that Solomon had form'd a design of deceiving the People in publishing the Book of Genesis for a Book of Moses Is it possible he should so far impose on his People as to make them to receive the said Book all at once as that which had been constantly read in their Families every seventh day and year and that for 600 years before his time and therefore as a Book that had been so long in all their Families tho' indeed it was never heard of by them before that time If an Impostor can create a Belief in others that he hath some secret Communication with the Deity those who are thus perswaded by him will easily submit themselves to his Laws but it is absolutely impossible that a whole People should all at once forget whatsoever they have learn'd or heard of their Parents and Fore-Fathers and instead thereof admit of Tales forged at pleasure Some Nations have been so ridiculous to derive themselves from a Fabulous Original but they never fell into such Mistakes about those things which were at no great distance from the time in which they lived Besides we know that these Fabulous Originals never made so lively an impression upon the Minds of a whole Nations especially the Learned amongst them as generally to be believed but we rather find that they have endeavoured to reconcile them to truth by shewing something else was hinted thereby as we may see by the Explication the Heathens themselves have given us of all their Fables and utterly rejected those which they could not reconcile to good sense But in this case we find a whole Nation to this very day maintaining all the Matters of Fact related in Genesis and in particular that of the Creation as of Matters whose Memorial they have constantly celebrated every seventh day since the time they first happened Lastly It cannot be deny'd but that this Book was constantly used to be read amongst the Jews especially on the Sabbath day and that under the Name of Moses For instance since the time of Jesus Christ or since that of David Neither can it be denied but this constant reading was observ'd by virtue of a Law contain'd in the said Book Now if this Law has always been in this Book from the first appearing of it which cannot be question'd how was it possible to forge and foist in this Book under the Name of Moses the Founder of the Jewish Government I say this Book which besides all this contains such extraordinary Matters and is the very Foundation of all their Religion I will not repeat here what I mention'd in the third Chapter to make the Vanity of those Men appear who imagine the Book of Genesis and the four that follow it might have been forged by others under Moses his Name Yet I think I ought before I proceed further to remove a seeming difficulty which is often alledg'd by this sort of People For say they it cannot be that these Books were ever read with that care and constancy we speak of because a time can be pointed at wherein the said Book was wholly unknown in the Kingdom of Judah and indeed the History plainly informs us that the Book of the Law was found again in the Reign of Josias from whence they infer that if it were then unknown it might as well be forged But indeed they may conclude from hence that which willingly we allow them that there was a time wherein Ungodliness did prevail and Idolatry was publickly establish'd in the Kingdom of Judah it self yet can they not from this instance draw any other Consequence which might support their pretensions They must needs acknowledge first that the Books of Moses were not only amongst the three Tribes but also amongst the ten since the time of their Revolt under Rehoboam that they who were carried by Salmanassar into the Land of Assyria had the said Books amongst them as well as those of the ten Tribes who were left in their own Countrey Thus we see that when the King of Assyria sent some of the Priests of Samaria to instruct the Colony which he had setled in their Countrey in the Law of God it is not said that those Priests went to borrow the Law of Moses from them of Judah nor that the said Laws was altogether unknown in that Countrey but only that they had formerly violated the Law of God in serving strange Gods as they still did but that withal they kept the Law of God which to this day is yet found among their Posterity Secondly It is evident that tho the wickedness and violence of Manasseh caused a great change in Matters of Religion yet not so great but that his Subjects notwithstanding had still the Books of Moses amongst them the Blood which he shed in Jerusalem was an evident sign that there were some Godly men left amongst them who continued true to their Religion and observed the Laws of God. Besides if we consider his Repentance we must conclude that towards the end of his Reign he did in some degree re-establish the purity of that Religion he had before prophaned a main part of which was the expounding and reading of the Books of Moses according to those Laws before mention'd In the third place it is visible that the reason why Hilkiah having found the Book of the Law in the Temple as they were cleansing and repairing it sent the same to Josiah was not because there was no other such Book left in Judah but because the said Book being written by the hand of Moses himself there seem'd to be something very extraordinary in the finding of it at that very time when they were endeavouring a Reformation and it was this Circumstance which did in a more particular manner excite the Zeal of this good Prince And indeed if we suppose that Josiah had never before seen the Book of the Law how could he have apply'd himself to the reforming of his
Joshua concerning the several Blessings and Curses which were to be pronounced upon the Mounts Ebal and Gerizim because the form of them was to be borrowed from the Books of Moses which were Publick and Authentick The same Reflexion may be made upon the Law of the First-fruits and upon the Prayer which was to be made upon the Tithes of the third year as likewise upon many other Laws Fourthly It is certain that those Books were read over every seventh Year according to the Injunction of that Law which we find Deuteronomy XXXI 10 11. which was commanded to be done for the instruction of Posterity as it is intimated in the Thirteenth Verse of the same Chapter Whereupon it may not be preposterous to consider here God's Methods to prevent all Forgery and Imposture in this Matter We see that it was during the Longaevity of Human Life a constant and universal Custom amongst all the Patriarch's to Moses's time to put when they lay on their Death beds their Posterity in mind of the most important Truths and of the Fundamental Articles of Religion because as all Admonitions and Exhortations made at such a time are always look'd upon as sincere so they seldom fail of being favourably construed and better entertained than they would be at any other time We have as instances of this ancient Custom the Examples of Abraham of Isaac of Jacob of Joseph c. who in that I make no doubt follow'd the Custom of their pious Ancestors who in all likelyhood derived it from Adam himself That Custom we see was of an admirable use to perpetuate the memory of illustrious Transactions What was then spoken by those pious venerable men was a kind of a publick Sermon because it was delivered before those numerous Families which met then altogether about the Bed of their common Head and Father and that upon such an Occasion as did extraordinarily excite their attention To this Custom succeeded another which was that when the greatest Captains and Judges of the People of Israel were sensible of their approaching Death then they usually called the People together to give them such Exhortations Reproofs and Admonitions as they judged most proper either for their encouragement or for their Reformation nay and that even in some occasions many of them have affected to have their Speeches made publick and deposited in the Tabernacle Thus did Moses and Joshuah and the greatest number of the Judges and Samuel and Solomon c. We know that the Books of Moses were formerly read every Sabbath day as St. James does attest it in Acts XV. And tho there be no express command about it in Moses's Writings yet we find there something equivalent to it in the strict charge given by him to all the People to be continually conversant in his Books and to instruct their Families at all times in the Laws and Doctrines delivered in them for it is plain that if the Israelites were bound by that command of Moses to read his Books every day they were more particularly obliged by the same command to read them on the Sabbath day which was made a day of rest by God particularly on purpose that all Men might the better attend on that day to the reading and meditating God's Laws and the performing all other Religious Duties We know besides that those Books were continually explained both by the Doctors of the Law and the Levites who were on purpose dispersed through the whole Land of Canaan that they might the better attend and perform the Duties of their Ministry We see that Moses in his Writings hath exactly kept a kind of Journal which cannot easily receive any alteration If we read hereupon what relates to the sojourning of the Israelites and the several removals of their Tents in the Desert we shall be easily convinc'd by the very form and stile of those Books as we have them now that they were formerly publickly received and were exactly transcribed out of the Original and that if in Process of time they suffered any alteration it was only as to some Appendices or Postscripts inserted by Esrah or some other Prophet by way of Explication We see in those Books a History written without disguise or partiality exact in relating all Circumstances of Places Times and Persons even in the Narration of things of small importance for the main drift of the Author there are besides some Passages recorded in them which any Author who lived after Moses's time would certainly have left out if for no other reason yet at least to abolish the memory of some actions dishonourable to some great Families and whole Tribes of Israel Again we read in them the Songs and other Publick Monuments which were made upon extraordinary occasions to preserve the memory of them the better I have but three Observations more to make here and then I have done with this Chapter The First is That those Books have been constantly quoted by all the Authors amongst that People who followed Moses and that their Quotations do exactly agree with the Text of those Books as we have them now which is a certain sign as well of the Sincerity as of the Antiquity of that Author They were as much esteemed in Israel as in Juda both People did observe them as their Law The Prophets that arose from time to time did always and upon all Occasions acknowledge and maintain their Authority Thus we find in the Book of Joshua quoted out of them what relates to the Curses and Blessings to the Prophecies and Divisions of the Land of Canaan amongst the Tribes of Israel The whole History of the thirteen Judges whom God raised up amongst the People is nothing in general but an account of the accomplishment of that Promise which God had made formerly by Moses to raise up from among that People such Men in the time of their Afflictions and Captivities as would be the Assertors of their Liberty We see there in particular the Execution of Moses's order concerning Caleb Judg I. 20. Judg. VII 3. Judg. XIII 3. and of that Law in Deuteronomy which prescribes the manner of dismissing from the Army those that are fearful and faint-hearted and of that other concerning the Nazarites c. Thus we see that the Rule and Laws prescribed in those Books continued in force in the time of Ruth David's Great Grand-Mother that appears plainly by their Observation of those Laws which enjoyn'd the next Kinsman to take to Wife the Widow of his Deceased Relation and to redeem his Inheritance As for David and Solomon they are continually alluding to something or other delivered in those Books Nehemiah quotes them in Chap. XIII of his Book and that was in the year of the World 3563 and so does Malachy in the IV. and V. Chapters of his Prophesie in the year 3580. The Second Observation which is very material is that the Author of those Books hath inserted in them an express prohibition of adding
of the Messiah whereas hitherto God had only described him under the Figure of a bare man tho' the other was made sufficiently intelligible when the Destruction of the Empire of the Tempter and the right of procuring a Blessing unto all the Nations of the Earth which he was personally to enjoy were attributed to him things infinitely beyond the power and condition of Mankind to perform were attributed to him II. He observes That this Person of whom he speaks such magnificent things ought however to be descended from Jacob which ratifies Jacob's Prophecy in favour of Judah III. Tho' he hints very clearly at the effects of those Blessings and Temporal Victories which Jacob's Posterity was to obtain over their Neighbours yet at the same time he infinuates plainly enough that the bestowing of the Blessing which all the Nations of the World should obtain was to be reserved to Jacob's Seed when he refused to retract those Promises of Blessing which God had made to Abraham Isaac and Jacob to which Oracles he made a sensible Allusion And it is very important to consider that the Jews always applyed this Oracle to the Messiah as may be seen by their Chaldee Paraphrast and it was acknowledged so generally that the famous Achiba who lived under the Emperour Hadrian pretended that Barchocheba was the Messiah because his name was Chochab which is a Star in Hebrew as if God intended to mark that Impostor for the true Messiah by foretelling what name he should be called by The Oracle which Moses uttered a little before his Death is very considerable The People being terrified with the manner of God's speaking to them upon Mount Sinai desired that God would no longer speak as he had done before but that Moses should give them an Account of whatever God should command Hereupon God consents to their Request and promised them by Moses that he would raise them up a Prophet like unto Moses to whom they ought to hearken upon pain of being cut off He that made the Addition to the last Book of Moses wherein his Death is described takes notice that there never rose up afterwards a Prophet in Israel like to Moses If it was Ezra who made that Addition then here is a plain and clear decision against the Jews some of whom assert that Joshua or Jeremiah was the Prophet whom Moses promised If it was Eleazar who liv'd in Joshua's time then here Joshua at least is excluded from this priviledge of being designed by Moses But it is to no purpose to stop at such frivolous Objections One needs only observe Moses's Character to take notice of four certain Marks of Moses's Prophecies which advance him infinitely above all the other Prophets I. He had all the sorts of Revelations which are generally found amongst all the Prophets II. He was illustrious for great numbers of Miracles III. He not only reform'd the Errors and false ways of Worship then prevailing amongst the Jews but he set up a new Worship and a new Form of Religion IV. He introduced this Law and this way of worshipping God by such a conversation with God as one see 's amongst two intimate Friends In which of the Prophets may these four Characters be found The Galileans themselves testified plainly that these Characters ought only to be found in the person of the Messiah when they saw the Miracles of Jesus Christ John VI. 14. and the Jews acknowledged the same in our Saviours time when they applyed that Oracle to the Messiah John I. 45. But if these Oracles were obscurely hinted at in this Oracle one may see them clearly apply'd to the Messiah in the following Oracles proportionably as the Revelation encreased and as God unravelled the Idea's of these ancient Oracles by explaining them more particularly by those Prophets whom he afterwards raised up This may clearly be seen if we pass on to those Oracles which were uttered by David and the other Prophets who lived about his time CHAP. X. Of the Oracles which concern the Messiah in the Book of Psalms THese were the Oracles which were the subjects of the Meditations of the Faithful from the Year of the World 2553 in which Moses dyed until David's time who was particularly chosen by God to be the only man of his Family which was also separated from all the other Families of Judah who came from Pharez from whom the Messiah was to be descended I have observed in another place that in all probability God raised David to the Throne only to make the Genealogy of that Family better known from which the Messiah was to spring As this double advancement of David one to the Throne of Israel the other to be the Father to the Messiah ought to have inspired him with lively Resentments of Gratitude and as his Oracles would be much more famous being uttered by a Royal Prophet and the rather because God employ'd him in the making a just Regulation of the Service of the Sanctuary so we see that David employ'd his Pen in giving more distinct Idea's of that Messiah which he promised them The Name Messiah properly signifies a person consecrated by anointing to be King Priest or Prophet This Name was particularly applyed by David and the Prophets who lived after him to that holy Seed which God had promised to Abraham's Family by Isaac by Jacob by Judah and by David and one may observe in David's Psalms and in the Prophets of his time that they gave the Name of Messiah to the promised Seed under one or other of these three Senses The Characters both of a Prophet and a Priest tho' each of them are august enough yet yield to that of a King. These are the different Idea's which David and the Prophets of that time follow'd in all the variety of their Descriptions But it is not my Design to give a particular Account of all those Oracles which describe these different Characters for fear of being excessively long So I shall content my self with observing two things I. That David alone uttered more Oracles than all the Prophets who came before him II. That these Oracles of David concerning the Messiah are clearer than all the precedent ones Now I say that David alone uttered more Oracles than any one Prophet who came before him Thus in the XL Psalm he explains the Decree by which the Messiah became the Servant of God and clothed himself with the form of a Servant to offer unto God a more perfect Obedience than that which had formerly been offered by Burnt-Offerings and Sacrifices He describes the measure and the Nature of his Ministry which was to consist in the instruction of the People in Righteousness Truth and the Salvation of God. Psalm XL. 7. 11. Sacrifice and Offering thou didst not desire mine Ears hast thou opened Burnt-offering and Sin offering hast thou not required Then said I Lo I come in the Volume of the Book it is written of me I delight to do thy will
Oyl of Gladness above his Fellows This exactly sets forth the august Character of the Messiah and his Anointing to be the King of all Nations their Prophet and their Priest Psalm XLV 1. My heart is inditing a good matter I speak of the things which I have made touching the King my tongue is the pen of a ready writer Verse 7 8. Thy Throne O God is for ever and ever the Scepter of thy Kingdom is a right Scepter Thou lovest righteousness and hatest wickedness therefore God thy God hath anointed thee with Oyl of Gladness above thy Fellows Verse 16. Instead of thy Fathers shall be thy Children whom thou maist make Princes in all the Earth One see 's the same Prophets inviting all Nations in the XLVII Psalm to acknowledge the Kingdom of God which Daniel afterwards describes as that which the Jews already knew was to be governed by the Messiah One see 's Asaph describing in the L Psalm the manner of the Messiah's assembling all People and of his rejecting the ancient and Legal Service and prescribing a Spiritual one even Sacrifices of Vows and of Praise Verse 6 7 8 9 10. And the Heavens shall declare his Righteousness for God is Judge himself Hear O my people and I will speak O Israel and I will testifie against thee I am God even thy God. I will not reprove thee for thy Sacrifices or thy Burnt-offerings to have been continually before me I will take no Bullock out of thy House nor He-goat out of thy Folds For every Beast of the Forest is mine and the Cattle upon a thousand Hills One sees the Author of the LXXII Psalm describing the glory and happiness of Solomon's Kingdom in such a manner that he carries his views as high as the Messiah at the same time He foretels the continuance of his Kingdom as long as the Sun and Moon endures that all the Kings of the World should bring Presents to him and that all the Nations of the Earth should worship before him Verse 5. They shall fear thee as long as the Sun and Moon endure throughout all Generations Verse 8. He shall have Dominion also from Sea to Sea and from the River unto the ends of the Earth Verse 11. All Kings shall fall down before him all Nations shall serve him Verse 17 18 19. His Name shall endure for ever his Name shall be continued as long as the Sun and Men shall be blessed in him all Nations shall call him blessed Blessed be the Lord God of Israel who only doth wondrous things And blessed be his glorious Name for ever and let the whole Earth be filled with all his Glory Amen and Amen One sees that Ethan the Ezrahite who is represented to us as the wisest Man in that Age after Solomon explains the promise made to David of a Son who should reign for ever and whose Throne should be immoveable in the LXXXIX Psalm This agrees to none but the Messiah whom he describes as the First-born of the Princes of the Earth and as the Son of God in a manner which is not applicable to any of David's Posterity except only to the Messiah Verse 19 20. Then thou spakest in Visions to the holy one and say'st I have laid help upon one that is mighty I have exalted one chosen out of the people I have found David my servant with my holy Oyl have I anointed him Verse 24 25 26 27 28 29. My Faithfulness and my Mercy shall be with him and in my Name shall his Horn be exalted I will set his Hand also in the Sea and his right hand in the Rivers He shall cry unto me Thou art my Father my God and the Rock of my Salvation Also I will make him my First-born higher than the Kings of the Earth My Mercy will I keep for him for evermore and my Covenant shall stand fast with him His Seed also will I make to endure for ever and his Throne as the days of Heaven Verse 33.34 35 36 37. Nevertheless my loving kindness will I not utterly take from him nor suffer my faithfulness to fail My Covenant will I not break nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips Once have I sworn by my Holiness that I will not lye unto David His Seed shall endure for ever and his Throne as the Sun before me It shall be established for ever as the Moon and as a faithful Witness in Heaven One needs only read over the Psalms which I have now taken notice of and which are almost all applyed by the Jews to the Messiah to see the great Number of Oracles which God gave in David's time concerning this matter not to speak of those which describe the Calling of the Gentiles which fill up the Book of the Psalms almost entirely I come now to the proof of the second Article which is to shew That the Oracles which David uttered are much clearer and much more particular than those which were given before This I hope to prove beyond all contradiction by considering two Psalms the one whereof describes the prodigious Humiliation of the Messiah and the other describes his Advancement at the right hand of God two of the greatest Truths declared by the Prophets and two the most singular of all the Characters which belong to the promised Messiah CHAP. XI Considerations upon the Sufferings of the Messiah and upon his glorious Ascension into Heaven foretold by David in the XXII and CX Psalms IT cannot be deny'd when one reads the XXII Psalm but that the person there spoken of is described figuratively as one exposed to the severest Sufferings from which he is afterwards delivered by the Divine assistance and advanced to rule an Empire which extends it self over all the Nations of the World and afterwards universally adored I. He that speaks cries out as if God had forsaken him and had stopped his Ears unto his Cry. II. He describes himself as a Worm and no Man as the reproach of Men and one despised by the people III. He takes notice that those who were witnesses of his Sufferings made a mock at them bidding him trust in God that he might deliver him IV. He ranks his Enemies amongst the Bulls of Bashan and raging Lions who according to the Prophetical way of speaking are the chief Men in the Nation Amos IV. 1. Ezech. XXII 25. V. He joyns the Dogs with them that is prophane persons or the Gentiles VI. He represents his Hands and his Feet as pierced with Nails VII He shews that he was stretched out before in such a manner that they might count all his Bones this expresses the Idea of a Man fastned to a Cross and exposed to the view of all the World as he afterwards describes himself to be quite dry'd up from the loss of Blood when he was crucify'd VIII He takes notice of their parting his Garments and IX Of their casting Lots upon his Vesture In short one see 's throughout all the