IX 26. there it seems they lost the Brook that Moses fetcht out of the Rock at Massa and Meriba Ex. XVII This Brook had followed them hitherto but it could not ascend as they did to their next station which was at c Num. XX. 1. and XXXIII 36. Kadesh in the * There it was that Miriam the Sister of Moses dyed by which we know the just Time of their being there For at Mount Hor which was their very next stage there her Brother Aaron dyed which was in a Num. XXXIII 38. the fortieth year of the Peoples coming out of Egypt and on the first day of the fifth month of that year But Miriam's death is remember'd by the Iews on the Tenth day of the first month by which account she dyed not quite four months before him b Ios. Ant. IV. 4. p. 109. G. Iosephus saith she was buried there on a Mountain which they call Sein So it seems it was remember'd in his time wilderness of Zin Num. XX. 1. Hereupon there was a second d Num. XXVIII 14. and Deut. XXXII 51. Massa and Meriba so called on the following occasion There being no water for the Congregation they gather'd themselves together against Moses and Aaron and the People dd Num. XX. 2. v. 3. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 chid with Moses and said would to God we had dyed with our Brethren c. wherefore have you made us to come out of Egypt to bring us into this evil place Here is none of all those good things we were to have in the promised Land e v. 5. neither is there any water to drink This want of water was a Temptation that they had not Faith to withstand And yet even now at this present they could not but see by the Pillar of Chud that the same God which brought them up out of Egypt was still with them And they knew what he could do in this very case by having ee Ex. XVII 6. seen what he did in the like which they could not forget having lived upon the effects of it ever since But besides they had seen many other wonderful proofs of an Almighty Providence over them by which they had been deliver'd out of Egypt brought through the Red Sea and preserv'd and fed for so many years since in the wilderness But all these great works of God they threw back to him with Contempt wishing they had never been They wished that f Num. XX. 3. they had dyed with that Rebellious Crew that perished in the gain saying of Korah This was such a g 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 v. 13. quarelling with God as he calls it v. 13. that Moses the meekest Man on the Earth could not bear it It provoked him to that degree that he could not speak to them with Patience Insomuch that when God commanded him to take his Rod and go and speak to the Rock before their Eyes and told him that that being done it should give forth its water abundantly He called the People together to see this work of God and as they stood there h v. 10. together before the Rock v. 10. He said unto them Hear now you Rebels must we fetch you water out of this Rock i v. 11. And Moses lift up his hand and with his Rod he sinote the Rock twice and the water came out abundantly In his Anger it seems he did so far forget himself as to do things like one that believed not what God had said to him He struck the Rock twice when God had told him only a Num. XX. 8. speaking to it would suffice Aaron was as it seems in the same fault with Moses for which the dignity of their Persons being consider'd God thought fit to lay Exemplary Punishments on both of them and so he declared that b v. 12. neither of them should enter into Canaan As for Aaron God shorten'd his Journey then presently for he dyed at the next station which was at c v. 28. Mount Hor as has been already shewn and Moses dyed at d Deut. XXXIV 5. Mount Nebo within six months after 108. The next Journey of the People of Israel was through a Third Murmuring at Tsalmona tedious and troublesome e Num. XXI 4. way in which they had nothing to live upon but what came by daily and continual Miracles And whereas they ought to have been thankful for this they were so far from it that they spoke as well against God himself as against Moses They joined them both together in this bitter Expostulation ee v. 5. wherefore have You brought us up out of Egypt to dye in the wilderness Num. XXI 5. This was their Third Rebellion and the last that we read of in the History of this Generation For the punishment of this Sin f v. 6. punisht with fiery Serpents God sent fiery Serpents among them v. 6. It was a most venemous sort of Creature with which that Wilderness did abound And they bit the People so as that a Multitude of them dyed of it The rest came to Moses to intercede for them g v. 7. They said we have sinned for we have spoken against the Lord and against thee pray unto the Lord that he take away the Serpents from us They could not have asked a thing which Moses was readier to do He prayed and God order'd him to h v. 8. set up the Image of such a Serpent made of Brass on the top of a very high Pole that every one that was bitten might look up to it and live It is more than once that our blessed Lord minds us of this as a Type of his being i Ioh. III. 14. XII 32. lifted up on the Cross that they that are bitten with Sin may look up to Him and be saved 109. This last Rebellion was at Tsalmona * This place was so called from Tselem which signifieth an Image in memory of this Brazen Serpent It seems the People took this away with them and had it in so great esteem that in process of time they came to worship it as an Idol for which it was r 2 Kin. XVIII 4 broken in pieces by King Hezekiah 2 Kings XVIII 4. which was the thirty At Zered was an end of this murmuring Generation fift station of God's People in the k Num. XXXIII 41. wilderness Num. XXXIII 41. In four stations more they came to the place called l v. 45. Dibon-Gad in the Valley of Zered There as Moses tells us being m Deut. II. 13. come over the Brook of that name there were now none remaining of that Generation of men that were twenty years old or upward when they came up out of Egypt It was now n v. 14. thirty eight years since they came from Kadesh Barnea and full forty years since God took them first to be his People in Egypt All which time of o
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 every one that shall come near the Tabernacle of the Lord shall dye God heard this and thereupon for a farther provision against their falling into this Sin he made a fresh Declaration of his mind almost in the same words in which the People had repeated the former They had said 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 every one that comes near shall dye God repeated it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 every one that comes near shall be put to death For the Reason of this enough XVIII 7. has been said in the Context of this Discourse 104. The direful Complaints of the heavy Judgements of God as appeared by their bitter complaints that they had seen inflicted on others and expected the like on themselves do plainly shew that they had no Abhorrence of the Sins by which those their Brethren that died and perish'd had provoked the Righteous God to send these Judgements upon them So far they were from that that in the mind they were in they seem to have thought of no other but that they should a Num. XVII 12. all perish in like manner though they knew that could not be unless they themselves were guilty of the same Sins They did not know but they might all murmur against Moses and do all the rest that Dathan and Aoiram had done 105. But it seems they took a more particular notice of the Sin especially on Kâ—…rah's death of Korah and his Fellows and of the Judgement of God inflicted on them God had appointed b Num. XVI 38. the Censers of those Sinners against their own Souls to be worked into a Covering for the Altar that it might be a Memorial to all that were not of the Seed of Aaron that not c See Num. XVI 40. in the bottom of page 47. oâ—…e Man of them should come near to offer Incense that is to officiate as a Priest that they might not suffer as Korah and his Company had done Moses d Num. XVII 10 11. warned them again of the same at the setting up of that Second Memorial of Aaron's Rod which warning of his seems to have been the immediate occasion of those passionate words Thereupon the Text saith a vers 12. the Children of Israel spake unto Moses saying behold we dye we perish we all perish then adding that which stuck most in their thoughts namely the b XVI 40. words that he spake at the setting up of the former Memorial Num. XVI 40. There it was declared as they here repeated the words c XVII 13. See it here in the bottom Every one that comes near the Tabernacle of the Lord to offer Incense shall dye How then say they have we done dying Is the Danger over No certainly unless we give up our Right of doing the same that Korah did which it seems they would not promise for themselves In short here is nothing else in all their speech but Tokens of the utmost impenitence They neither ask Pardon of God nor of either of his Ministers they did not so much as desire that Moses would Pray for them nor did they make the least confession of any Sin that either they or those Rebels were guilty of The last mention they made of them in all this History was d XVI 41. Num. XVI 41 where they charged Moses and Aaron with killing them They told them plainly you have killed the People of the Lord. For this God justly called them a Num. XVII 10. Rebels ch XVII 10. and provided the second Memorial quite to take away their murmurings that they dye not But they were still for b vers 22 13. dying and perishing rather than they would promise to Amend and give over those Rebellions by which they that did dye and perish had brought those Judgements on themselves 106. By what has been said it abundantly appears that as yet God gives a New Law against intruding into the Priesthood the Murmurings were not quite taken away nor were like to be as long as this Generation was living God was therefore so much the more concerned to take care that they might not destroy themselves by their Rebellions before the Time was run out that he had set them to wander in the Wilderness And since for the preventing of this no sort of Miracles would do for all had been tried and cast away on this stiff-necked People therefore God was pleased to resort to the Ordinary means by enacting Judicial Laws with strict Penalties and making it the business of Persons concern'd to see them put in Execution It was Aaron himself that was chiefly concern'd in all matters of publick worship He was the High Priest that was appointed of God to be Judge in all causes touching Religion and c Deut. XVII 11. 12. from the Sentence of the Law which he should deliver there was to be no Appeal Deut. XVII 11 12. Therefore now to put an end to those disputes about the Priesthood God was pleased to deliver to Aaron a Judicial Law concerning Holy places and things Num. XVIII 1 7. By which in the first place d Num. XVIII 1 7. God laid upon Him and his Sons the whole charge of those places and things that belonged to the Priesthood viz. of the Sanctuary and the Vessels thereof and also of the Priest's Court wherein was the Altar of Sacrifice But for the People's Court and all the Offices in the outer Verge of the Tabernacle God laid the charge of all these on the other Levites that were not of the Sons of Aaron And as well to oblige them both Priests and Levites to look to their respective charges as to deter others from breaking in upon them he ordain'd that if any one who was not of the Tribe of Levi should intrude into any place of their Ministry or should meddle with any of the Vessels belonging to it he should be put to death and so should the Levites that suffer'd him to do it And for those places and vessels that were within the charge of the Priests the Sons of Aaron if any stranger should presume to come near them he must be e vers 7. put to death v. 7. nay though he were a Levite as Korah was he must dye for it and the Priests that suffer'd it must also dye with him f v. 3. Their second Massa and Meriba v. 3. 107. They were by this Ordinance of God kept under a lasting Aw which they could not be by Temporary Miracles So that now from this time forward we read no more of any one 's intruding into the office of Priesthood in Moses's time or his Successors Nor do we read of the People's Murmuring on any other account till 37 years after their departure from Kadesh Barnea Then the Children of Israel being come down to a Num. XXXIII 35. Ezion Geber Num. XXXIII 35. which was by the Red Sea b 1 Kings IX 26. n. 73. 1 Kings
debate with the Pharisees and Sadducees in the first verse of that chapter They required of him a Sign from heaven to prove that he was the Messias which they resolved not to beleive He sighed deeply in his spirit Mar. VIII 12. and asked them Ye Hypocrites you can discern the face of the Sky but can you not discern the Signes of the Times Matt. XVI 3. It is hard to say what Times he should mean but those two times that are mentioned in this Prophecy namely first the time of the Messias being cut off which was to be After the LXII Weeks and 2dly the time of the single Week that follows in the end of the chapter the Week that was appointed of God for the destroying of the City and Temple at Jerusalem and the dissolving of the Jewish Church That our Saviour intended the former of these namely the time when the Messias was to be cut off it will presently appear by considering at what time it was that he said this It was now this very year on the 11th day of May or some little time later that the LXII Weeks were expired †The LXII Weeks expired Now our Saviour knew the time was come that St. Luke speaks of Luke IX 51. the Time when he should be taken up that is crucifyed as the pious and learned Dr. Hammond expounds it Or rather as Christ expounds it himself for this was his manner of speaking He said the Son of man should be lifted up Ioh. III. 14. He used the word lifted up thereby signifying what death he should dye XII 32 33. and he was therefore delivered to Pilate to be crucifyed for the fulfilling of this Prophecy as the Evangelist expounds it Ioh. XVIII 32. For the precise TIME of the Messias his death there is no other prediction of it in Scripture than that which we have in this Prophecy Therefore those words of St. Luke before mentioned can signify no other TIME than this AFTER the expireing of the LXII Weeks So the most learned Grotius in his Annotations on that Text Matt. XVI 3. understands those words of our blessed Saviour to the Pharisees and Saducees before mention'd He takes them as if Christ had said to those Jews if you lookt into the Prophecies of Scripture with as much concernedness as you doe into the face of Heaven when you are taking a Iourney you would see and acknowledge out of doubt that the end of DANIEL'S Weeks is at hand Our blessed Lord knew it to be so near that there was not one DAY of another Week left he had not a year longer to live But he also knew that his peice of a DAY should not be at an end till next Passeover He knew that that was his HOUR Ioh. XIII I. He should be cut off then and no sooner Therefore in the mean space he takes particular care that this should be no surprize to his Disciples He first broke it to them immediately after the reproof that he gave to the Pharisees It was in his progress in the parts about Caesarea Philippi that he * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. BEGAN to shew his Disciples that he must go up to Jerusalem and there be rejected by the Sanhedrim and be kill'd and after three days must rise again Matt. XVI 21. Mar. VIII 31. Luk. IX 22. These Words were so frightfull to them that Peter took him aside and rebuked him for saying such things Our blessed Lord sharply returned it upon him but nevertheless a week after this he took Peter together with Iames and Iohn to be present at his Transfiguration Matt. XVII 1. Mar. IX 2. Luk. IX 28. It seems not improbable that the Feast of Transfiguration is rightly placed on the 6th of August For it was kept on that day in the Eastern Church in St. Saba's time which was within 500 years after this as appears in the 60th chapter of his Life published by Cotelerius in the 3d Vol. of his Greek Monuments There are also in that Volume some pieces of Nicon by which it appears that this Feast was kept yearly 8 days at Ierusalem but in the Church of Antioch onely on the day abovementioned At this time the Apostles both saw and heard Moses and Elias there present and talking with our Saviour Their discourse was concerning his EXODUS 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a proper word for the time of the Passeover that being the very Type of his suffering which 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he was about to accomplish at Ierusalem Luk. IX 31. After this our Saviour being returned to the rest of his Disciples he again told them all and bid them remember it that he should be betrayed and delivered into the hands of men and that they should kill him and the third day he should rise again Matt. XVII 22. Mar. IX 31. Luk. IX 44. This was so contrary to their Notion of a Messias that they could not understand any thing that he said of this kind and yet they would not shew their Ignorance by asking him what he meant by it b. 32 35 19  On the 19th of August which was about this time the Emperour TIBERIUS began the 19th year of his reign It appears that our Saviour came to Capernaum and staid there some little time after this Matt. XVII 24. till XIX 1. Mar. IX 33. till X. 1. But as St. Luke goes on IX 51. the time being come that he should be taken up he resolved thereupon to go to Ierusalem to be there at all the great Feasts and to make use of those Opportunities to do all the good that he could before his going out of the World The next Feast was that of TABERNACLES on the 15th day of Tisri which was about the middle of October Against that Feast his angry Relations at Nazareth would needs have him go up with them to Ierusalem to advance them together with himself to Greatness by his working Miracles there or else to leave him to his Enemies Whatsoever the matter was he would not go up with them but stayd behind them in Galilee Ioh. VII 9. When they were gone up he came after them as it were in secret Vers. 10. leaving a great part of his company behind him For whereas he was stopt in his next way through Samaria Luk. IX 52. for towards any of the great Feasts the people there would hardly receive any one that was going up to Ierusalem Our Saviour took this Occasion to send out LXX of his Disciples to prepare the people to receive him in all places where he should come for the future Luk. X. 1. and so took none but the Twelve and those perhaps not all together along with him in his Journey to Ierusalem Thither he came about the midst of the Feast Ioh. VII 14 Where immediately as soon as it was known the Iews were ready to kill him Vers. 19. upon the old grudge they had against him for healing on the Sabbath day