it is a very considerable thing That in all the Series of Events foretold by the Prophets there was not one Generation amongst all the Offspring of the People but what saw the Accomplishment of several of these Oracles A little attention and care in comparing the Chronology of the Oracles with that of the Events will sufficiently justifie what I say I shall content my self with observing their different Orders which will satisfie a Judicious Reader since my Design do's not engage me necessarily to do a thing which would carry me too far and which may be done with little Application We may consider four sorts of Oracles 1. Those which have respect to particular Facts nigh at hand 2. Those which have respect to particular Facts but at a greater distance 3. Those which have respect to Facts which belong to the whole Jewish Nation 4. Those which have respect to Facts which belong to Foreign Nations either bordering upon Palestina or further from it Now there is nothing so exactly fulfilled as these four sorts of Oracles You have for particular Facts which were nigh at hand and foretold by the Prophets the Oracle of Moses concerning the advancement of Joshua and the Conquest of Palestine which happened soon after You have Debora's Oracle of the Victory promised to Barak You have Samuel's Oracle of the Advancement and Rejection of Saul You have an Oracle of the same Samuel of the Advancement of David You have Nathan's Oracle concerning Absalom's Revolt You have Ahijah's Oracle concerning the Advancement of Jeroboam and the Division of Solomon's Kingdom into Ten Tribes and into Two Tribes whereof the lesser part was to continue in the Possession of Solomon's Heirs You have Ahijah's Prediction of the Death of Jeroboam's Son. You have a Prediction of the Advancement of Jehu in the place of Jehoram King of Israel You have Elijah's Prediction of the exemplary Punishment of Ahab and Jezabel You have the Prediction of Jehoiakim's Death made by Jeremiah Chap. XXII 18 19. and Chap. XXXVI 30. which happened Ten years after You have the Prediction of Jechoniah's Miseries made by Jeremiah Chap. XXII 3. You have Jeremiah's Prediction of the Death of the false Prophet Ananiah but Seven Months before it happened You have an express Designation of Zorobabel to conclude the Re-building of the Temple made by Zechariah Chap. IV. 9. and which was compleated in Four years It is therefore fully evident That the Prediction of particular Facts which were to happen in a very short time served to establish the Authority of the Prophets And in effect one see 's that they proceeded upon the Authority which those Predictions of nearer Events gave them to foretell other particular Events at a greater distance So you see that Moses foretold after a sort after Jacob the manner how the Land of Canaan was to be divided tho' the thing was to be done by Lot. You see the same Moses foretelling the several Captivities which the People of Israel suffered after the Conquest and the Method of God's raising up several Judges to the number of Fourteen to bring them out of those Calamities You see the same Moses foretelling that the Temple should be built in the Tribe of Benjamin tho it was the least You have Joshua's Prediction of the way how the Re builder of Jericho should be exemplarily punished which was accomplished in Ahab's time I Kings XVI 34 about 570 years after this Prophetical Imprecation of Joshua You have the Prediction of a Prophet who was contemporary to Jeroboam about the Birth of Josiah which was not till 350 years after I Kings XIII and of the manner of his destroying the Altar which Jeroboam built One see 's a Prediction of the overthrow of the Kingdom of Samaria within 65 years by Isaiah in the Reign of Jotham One see 's the Destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar foretold by several of the Prophets One see 's the taking of Tyre by Nebuchadnezzar foretold by Isaiah Chap. XXIII 15 17. One see 's the Promise of its Re-establishment Seventy years after its Destruction One see 's the Promise of Cyrus's Birth made by Isaiah Chap. XLIV 45. as of one that should restore Liberty to the Jews and give them opportunities of Re-building their Temple at Jerusalem One see 's the Prediction of the manner how Antiochus Epiphanes would treat the Jews in his Life time and how he should be punished for his Cruelties and Sacriledges One see 's the Prediction of the Courage of the Maccabees who should oppose the Tyranny of that Prince and purifie anew the Divine Worship So that it is plain That the foretelling of these particular Facts which were at so great a distance revived the Memory of these Prophets amongst the Jews in every Age and made them read them with a singular attention One ought also to make the same Reflexion upon those Oracles which have respect to the particular Events of the state of the Jews and its Continuance until the time of the Messiah after which the Prophets foretel its Ruin and Destruction without Remedy In short one may say That there was no Revolution never so little considerable of which we do not find very many and very particular Predictions foretold by several Prophets upon very different Occasions and particular Circumstances One see 's in the Books of Moses exact Descriptions of the Pilgrimages of Abraham's Posterity of their continuance in Egypt of the Oppression they were there to undergo of their prodigious Increase of their robbing the Egyptians at their departure of their methods in conquering the Land of Canaan of the way how Kings should arise from Abraham which was accomplished in the Ishmaelites and Edomites and at last in the Israelites One see 's express Predictions of the several Judges whom God should raise up to the People of Israel One see 's an express Prediction of the Advancement of the Tribe of Juda to the Kingdom One see 's a Prediction of the future Subjection of the Edomites to the power of the Kings of Juda and of their conquering of the Countries which lye along the Banks of Euphrates which was fulfilled in David's time One see 's an express Division of that Kingdom into two very unequal parts One see 's great numbers of Predictions concerning the state of the Kings of Juda and Israel II Kings X. 30. For Instance you have an Oracle concerning the Destruction of Jehu's Family in the Fourth Generation The Destruction of the Kingdom of the Ten Tribes is expresly foretold and the Term is very exactly set down The Ruin of Jerusalem and of its Kings is also expresly foretold The time of the Captivity of the Jews in Babylon and Their Re-establishment by Cyrus after Seventy years are also very distinctly foretold The Desolation of Judea under the Empire of Alexander's Successors is foretold very exactly Their Re-establishment after these Desolations and the way by which they were to be defended by the Maccabees
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
to have designed to keep up a Spirit of Jealousie in the very Bosom of the Jewish Nation WE have seen in general that God by giving his Law to the Israelites intended to discriminate them from all other Nations of the World and in particular from those Nations which had shewed themselves to be jealous of that distinction I mean from the Moabites the Ammonites the Ismaelites and the Edomites as I shall hereafter shew I have likewise observed that God by his Conduct and his Oracles did also excite a Spirit of Jealousie amongst the several pretenders to the Promise I come now to shew that God hath follow'd the same design in his Law and that he hath made use of that Jealousie as of another means to make that People which he had separated from all other Nations keep up always amongst themselves a lively Notion and Expectation of the Messiah Perhaps the Reader may think that these Reflections may interrupt the Series of the Observations I have undertaken to make upon Moses's Law But besides that I shall resume them presently so one may easily discern that these two Remarks concerning the Spirit of Distinction and the Spirit of Jealousie kept up in the Bosom of this people ought to be well considered by those that desire to know the Genius of God's Laws and the original Causes of all the Transactions related by Moses and by the other sacred Authors who acted in pursuance of that Design which appears in those Laws which Moses gave to the People of Israel I begin with two general Reflexions which I think are very useful in the explication of God's Conduct upon this Occasion Two things as I have already observed have conduced to keep up that Jealousie whereof Moses has given so many instances in the Book of Genesis The first is The Preference which God hath commonly given to the younger Brothers before the elder The second is The choice which God hath made of such particular persons as appeared absolutely unworthy of God's choice So that here one see 's a continual Series in the Jewish History written by Moses and by the Prophets who made the same Observations upon that Model which Moses had given them First of all The Tribe of Judah is preferred before all the other Tribes of Israel and particularly before the Tribe of Reuben which afterwards occasioned the Insurrection of some Reubenites in their Sedition against Moses wherein Corah Dathan and Abiram perished Just as God's preferring Abel offended Cain and as Joseph's Brethren conspired together to put him to death because of his Dreams which foretold his greatness and their fall Secondly One see 's that Phares Judah's youngest Son is preferred not only before all the other Children of Judah but even before Zerah the eldest of the Twins which Judah had by Thamar just as Jacob was preferred before his Brother Esau tho' they were Twins and Esau born the first of the two One see 's afterwards That God having chosen Jesse of all the Posterity of Phares David the youngest of all his Sons was preferred before his Brethren when God was pleased to translate the Kingdom to the Tribe of Judah and to the Family of Jesse Just as we saw before that in the Election of the first King whom the Israelites desired to be set over them that he was chosen by Lot by an extraordinary effect of Providence out of the Tribe of Benjamin tho' the youngest of all Jacob's Children Thus one see 's that Solomon the youngest of David's Children was preferred before his Brothers and that the same Solomon built the Temple of God in the Tribe of Benjamin tho' he himself was of the Tribe of Judah We shall afterwards see That the Messiah was descended from David by Nathan Son to one of David's younger Children and by Resah Zorobabel's youngest Son from whom the Blessed Virgin drew her Original The second Remark is about the care God hath taken by his choice of some particular persons to accomplish the promise to furnish those with pretences and objections who might be interessed to oppose the Restrictions which God had made in favour of their equals for as they served to keep up a Jealousie amongst all the pretenders to the Promise so they also served to preserve a distinct knowledge of it and to make them inquire more diligently after it In short as we see that the Ismaelites might upbraid Sarah both with her frequent Rapes and with her Cruelty to Agar and Ismael As the Edomites might upbraid Jacob's Posterity with Rebecca's supplanting their Father Esau and cheating him of his Blessing so likewise we may observe that God not only chose Thamar to have the Messiah descend from her but also would have her Incest with her Father in-Law recorded What might all the other Tribes of Israel say were there then no honest Women in Israel that the Messiah's Ancestors must descend from those that were born of an Incestuous Commerce What probability is there that God should choose the Tribe of Judah Had not all the other Children of Judah a fairer pretension to this priviledge than Phares could have And might not their Posterity revive against the Posterity of Phares that severe Law against Bastard Children which we read of Deut. XXIII God chose in the like manner Ruth the Moabitess and had her History written and his choice recorded as if he had intended to prepare an excuse for those of the Israelites who afterwards would refuse to submit to David What probability is there might they say that God would have the Messiah to be born of a Moabitess seeing it was by his order that Moses caused all those Israelites to be put to death who after the pronunciation of Balaam's Prophesie held any commerce with the Daughters of Moab Was there any likelihood that such a thing could be possible especially seeing there was a Law which God would have to be inserted in Deuteronomy which excludeth the Moabites from the possibility of ever being admitted into the people of God. But at least was not this choice of Ruth the Moabitess a fair cause of Jealousie to all the other Families of Judah God caused the Adultery of Bathsheba the Mother of Solomon to be carefully recorded as it were on purpose to excuse the Rebellion of those who afterwards sided with Jeroboam against Rehoboam and his Authority Is it probable might these Rebels say that God would have chosen that Bloody Cruel Man David that Adulterer that he and Bathshebah should beget the Messiah together Had Jesse no other Children besides David And if David must needs have been the Man why should Solomon born of Bathshebah be preferred before all his Brothers There are three things considerable in this Matter The First is That God having given to Joshuah the conduct of the Israelites after he had formerly raised Joseph so much above his Brethren by his advancement in Egypt and given to his Tribe two portions of the Land of Canaan
own Tribe at their going forth out of Egypt but that God did also engage every Man to know his Tribe exactly nay he compelled them all in a manner to study their own Pedigrees that every one might claim and reap the benefit of the Law of Jubilee which had the force of an Entail in respect of every Family as I am now going to shew There are three things observable in that Matter The First is That it was by a superabundant precaution that God would engage the Tribes to continue distinguish'd from one another and to preserve and study their several Pedigrees namely he intended by that means to prevent the Objection which might otherwise have been made that it was impossible for a Tribe and a Family in that Tribe to continue distinguished from the rest of the Nation for so many Ages for certainly if all the Tribes in that Nation and all the Families in every Tribe did continue by God's Providence so long distinguished from one another there is no doubt to be made but he could preserve the single Tribe of Judah and the Family of the Messiah distinguished from all other Tribes and Families of the people of Israel The Second Remark is That it was for this distinction sake that the Books of the Old Testament were fill'd with Genealogical Tables to what purpose else had Books of that importance and which treated of such great Subjects been filled with Genealogies Moses's Books are full of them The first Book of Chronicles resumes those Genealogies with all possible exactness There is nothing more considerable in the Book of Ruth than the Genealogy of David and his Family The Third Remark is That if the Genealogy of the Priests seem to have been better known than that of other Families by reason of their being the Publick Ministers of Religion which seems to give the advantage of certainty of distinction to the Tribe of Levi above that of Judah in that particular yet we find that all the Families of the whole Nation took much the same care to preserve their own Genealogies so that if after the Babylonian Captivity some particular persons were excluded from the Priestly order to which they pretended because they could not make out their Pedigree So likewise all were thrown out from the other Tribes that could not justifie their Lineal Descent Nay there is something further deserves to be taken notice of as being very singular in that of Judah and one ought here to consider a Mistery of God's Providence and admire the Wisdom of his Conduct in pursuing the design which Moses first sets down and upon which one sees that the whole Jewish State was formed for when God resolved that the Messiah should descend from the Tribe of Juda and the House of David he made it more particularly known and distinguish'd than any other Family in the whole Nation and for that reason he sets David upon the Throne Every one knows that in every Kingdom the Genealogy of a King and of the Royal Family is of all others the most publickly known Now if the Blood Royal alone is always distinguished how much more must it be so when that Supream Dignity is conferred upon such a Family as God had particularly chosen to have the Messiah who is set forth as the desire of all Nations to be born out of it From hence I will boldly conclude that the only end for which God raised David's Family to the Throne was because the Messiah was really to be born out of that Family reduc'd to a low and private Condition which Isaiah foretold saying Isa XI LIII That a Rod should come forth out of the Stem of Jesse and a Branch grow out of his Roots and in another place That he should grow up as a Root out of a dry ground which was very agreeable to the Character of a Prophet and to the low state of Humiliation in which our Saviour was to appear in the World. CHAP. XVII A Solution of some Difficulties in these Genealogies INdeed the dispersion of the Ten Tribes seems to be a very Natural Objection to those who would dispute the Reflexions which I have already made upon these Genealogies But after all there is nothing in it but what confirms the more the said Reflexions And we may say that the intire dispersion of the whole Tribe of Ephraim and of the others which adhered to it in Jeroboam's Rebellion is a Mistery of Providence which challenges our admiration as much as the raising up that Family to the Throne out of which the Messiah was to be born To apprehend this the better we need only call to mind the pretensions of the Tribe of Ephraim This Ephraim was the younger Brother of Manasseh but Jacob had given him the Birth-right just as Isaac before had given it to Jacob tho it did of right belong to the elder Brother Jacob had particularly blessed Ephraim and even made it a Form of Blessing for after Ages as we read in the Book of Ruth that there was one made for Pharez Jacob had given to Joseph two Portions in the Land of Canaan and Ephraim had the Birthright before Manasseh by God's order it was then very natural for the Tribe of Ephraim as all Tribes did apply to themselves the several priviledges promised to their respective heads to look upon themselves as having a particular right to God's Blessing And they thought this right of theirs was plainly made out as by Joseph's Dreams so especially by the Words of that Prediction which Jacob gave in favour of Ephraim the words of which run so very high that after such a prejudice there might very well be a fair pretence for the hope which the Tribe of Ephraim had once to see a Messiah come out of their Tribe as those of Judah expected one out of theirs If to all this we add That Jeroboam's Rebellion was authoriz'd by a Prophetical Inspiration and by a special sign of God's Approbation and that on the other hand he desired to propose to his people the two Calves which he set up in Dan and Bethel as Symbols of the Deity only to pursue the Idea's of Pharaoh's Dreams which Joseph interpreted the representation whereof did clearly shew both the greatness of Joseph and the particular care of God's Providence over him Talm. in Succa c. 5. in Gem. It was then natural to the Men of Ephraim to feed themselves with such hopes as the Jews teach us they did when even to this very day they speak of a Messiah of the Tribe of Ephraim What did God then do to obviate these pretensions of the Tribe of Ephraim He dispersed them together with the other nine Tribes that submitted to the Authority of its Kings and so confounded them with all those Tribes which followed their fortune that tho there should be still some Ephraimites in the World yet it would be impossible for any of them to justifie his Pedigree so clearly as
expressions of this Psalm the Image of a Death which was equally shameful and cruel The other part of the Psalm gives us an Account of the deliverance of that person who is mentioned in this holy Hymn I. He obliges himself to praise the Name of the Lord in the most numerous Assembly II. He observes it as an effect of this deliverance that all the ends of the World should remember and turn unto the Lord and that all the Kindreds of the Nations should worship before him III. At last he takes notice that the Kingdom of God should spread it self over all the Nations of the World. One may judge by the History of David whe-this Psalm is applicable to him therein we may see all the Crosses which he underwent particularly represented during all the former years of his Reign But there we have no Account that David ever suffered any thing like that which is so exactly described in this Psalm And this may be said further that when David took any Occasion to paint out his Sufferings to us he has put in several stroaks which only relate to the Messiah and which shew us in a very lively manner that he was to pass through much greater Tryals than any of those from which David had been delivered The later Jews who endeavour to verifie this Prophecy in Esther or Mordecai agree with us at the bottom that David carried his views further than barely his own Sufferings And those also who apply it to the poople of Israel must acknowledge the same Truth even against their wills But the more ancient Jews were more equitable in their applications of the XXII Psalm to the Messiah They applyed it to him in earnest even after the time of Jesus Christ when the comparison of these Characters of the Messiah which may be found so exactly in the Death of Jesus Christ led them to an opposition of this Truth And certainly there needs very little equity to acknowledge that this Oracle or rather this heap of Oracles belong'd to the Messiah by the confession and agreement of the Jews in our Saviour's time I. They had not then resolved to make their advantages of the Writer's fault who writ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 like a Lion instead of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they have pierced my feet as they have done since In short Aquila who lived 100 years after Jesus Christ and the other Jewish Interpreters Symmachus and Theodotion translated that passage as we now read it II. The Notion which the Synagogue always had of the Sufferings of the Messiah obliged them to suppose two Messiahs one suffering and the other glorious rather than to contradict that Truth openly which is expressed by these Oracles in soparticular a manner III. Nothing can be imagined to be more ridiculous than to suppose that Jesus Christ should quote the first words of this Psalm upon the Cross thereby to engage all Mankind to take notice of the accomplishment of this ancient Oracle in all his Sufferings if we suppose that this Psalm even by the confession of the Jews had no relation to the Messiah The same Reflexion may be made concerning the Apostles who have quoted so many passages of this Psalm to prove that Jesus Christ was the Messiah because one may find in his Death and in the Circumstances of it such a litteral and exact accomplishment of this ancient Prophecy But if it should be objected That after all this agreement of the Synagogue can make no more than a strong prejudice this may be easily answered by considering that when the Psalmist speaks of the extent of his Kingdom over the whole Earth it was that Circumstance which determined the Synagogue in their application of this whole Psalm to the Messiah because as the Jews themselves acknowledge this extent of Empire is one of those Characters which according to the ancient Oracles is applicable to none but the Messiah In short because it is of great importance I shall repeat it here again common sense led those who considered these ancient Oracles to compare them as naturally they ought with those that went before and to determine the scope and intent of the later ones by the relation which they had to the precedent ones and there was only need of one considerable Clause to make a certain determination after they had made such a comparison This the Jews were certainly convinced of when they acknowledged that the last words of David II Sam. XXIII 1-8 were to be applyed to the Messiah by comparing them with Balaam's Oracle of the Messiah Numb XXIV We may therefore take it for granted That David did not absolutely speak of himself in the XXII Psalm and that he carried his views as far as the Messiah that he gave a great number of Characters to his Posterity whereby they might distinguish notwithstanding the greatness of his Sufferings and even the better by his very Sufferings than which no clearer marks can possibly be given because there is nothing more involuntary than enduring of Miseries nor nothing which depends less upon the choice of the person who is to undergo them than the particular kind of punishment or than the Circumstances which must accompany his Death when it is once left to the unjust power of violent Enemies We come now to the CX Psalm which in a very few words contains several very important Characters of the Messiah which are very distinctly expressed If one considers it exactly it seems to have been composed after that Nathan had acquainted David with the Glory of his Son which God had promised him such a Son who should build a House wherein God should dwell for ever and who should sit upon a Throne which should never be overturned whereas David had only form'd a Design of Building a Temple to the Lord. In short one see 's that the Spirit of Prophecy had given him a view of the Glory of this august King who should be born of his Seed and of the Glory of his Kingdom which should never be destroy'd David advances this King not only above all MEN by calling him his Lord who was himself a King but also above the Angels by making him sit at the right hand of God in the Kingdom of Heaven This is personal He also describes the Glory of his Office by considering him as a Priest of a higher order than that of Aaron from whom Melchisedech received Tithes in the person of Abraham And in a word he acquaints us with the progress of his Kingdom and the greatness of his Victories Let us examine all these Characters by themselves I. He brings in God speaking to the Messiah whom he calls his Lord Sit thou at my right hand until I make thy Enemies thy footstool This points out to us 1. That the Messiah ought to be advanced to Glory 2. That God intended to subdue his Enemies by little and little whilst the Messiah should be in his Glory as it was
foretold in the Second Psalm II. He observes That the Empire of the Messiah was to begin at Jerusalem or Sion which was then to be under the power of his Enemies III. He expresly points out the quick extent of the Kingdom of the Messiah with the Character of those who should submit to him without constraint or violence which was much practised under Moses's Law. IV. He positively asserts That the Messiah should be established a Priest after the order of Melchisedech which would overturn the whole Levitical Priesthood which then was to have an end Yet the very same King who designed the Draught of the Temple which Solomon built some time after undermines the Foundations of this material Building and clearly supposes that the Levitical Ministry which was fixed to Solomon's Temple should last no longer than until the Coming of the Messiah V. He particularly takes notice That the Messiah should by the Divine Assistance destroy all that should oppose his power and should bring all things under his Dominion as a Conquerour who should overturn all things with the utmost violence Nothing can be greater than these several Oracles nothing can be more particular than his description of the Glory to which the Messiah was to be advanced after that prodigious Humiliation which is described in the XXII Psalm But what can we suppose to be the reason of David's speaking of the Messiah in this Psalm This I am further to consider One may say that the Jews did not constantly apply these Prophecies to the Messiah before the Coming of Jesus Christ without good grounds They could not apply them to any of David's Successors none of David's Successors was both King and Priest Uzziah was the only man who dared to usurp the Priesthood and he was punished by God himself The Maccabees were not of David's Tribe but were Levites and none of them ever went up into Heaven to set at the right hand of God. Besides their Kingdom did not begin in Sion and they never brought any other Kings under their Authority They applyed it therefore to the Messiah pursuant to the Maxim which they drew from a frequent meditation upon the ancient Oracles that we ought only to look for an accomplishment of those Prophecies in the person of the Messiah which they could never sind to be fulfilled any where else when at the same time they knew that the exactness and truth of those Predictions could not be any ways contested In short it plainly appears that they did unanimously apply it to the Messiah before Jesus Christ came into the World from the manner of their confessing it to our Saviour when he pressed them with the CX Psalm tho' they could not explain the manner how David should call the Messiah Lord when they allow'd him to be his Son Matth. XXII 48. One see 's nothing so frequently urg'd by the Apostles as this CX Psalm they use it upon all Occasions to prove that Jesus Christ had the Characters of the true Messiah such as David had given him in the CX Psalm supposing still as a thing beyond dispute that David spoke of the Messiah in this famous Prophecy So that what Evasions soever the Jews may endeavour to make use of yet they cannot deny but that their most famous Doctors since Jesus Christ have upon several Occasions follow'd the old Notions of the Synagogue in this matter One finds in their Writings great numbers of Testimonies which confirm this Truth I shall not mention them at present because they are well enough known and because I would make haste to come to that new degree of Revelations which God gave to those Prophets who gave new Characters of the Messiah to the Jewish Nation for some Ages after David's time They are in too great a number to be spoken of one by one and I am forced to range them under certain Heads tho' I intend at the same time to make more particular Reflexions upon some of those which give us an account of the most remarkable Truths and so by that means furnish us with the most sensible Character whereby we may know more certainly the person whom God proposed to his People in such a manner as the Saviour of Israel and whom he had before called The Expectation of the Gentiles CHAP. XII That the Messiah was to have a Forerunner and what was to be his Character WE shall make it manifest in the sequel of the Discourse That the Messiah was to appear in a very despicable state and consequently that his Appearance would be very distastful to those who expected him in the splendour of a great King and Conquerour To oppose this preconceived Opinion of theirs the Divine Wisdom thought fit to appoint one to be his Forerunner who should call the Jews to Repentance and a Reformation of their Lives and form in them a true Notion of the Ministry of the Messiah as of a Person who was to prescribe to them Laws of the greatest purity and holiness And indeed in examining the holy Scriptures we find That the Appearance of the Messiah was to be usher'd in by a Person thus distinguish'd the following Prophecies are very express to this purpose The first of these we find in the XL of Isaiah verse 3. where the Prophet speaks thus before the Destruction of the first Temple Isai XL. 3. The voice of him that crieth in the Wilderness prepare ye the way of the Lord make straight in the Desert a High way for our God. Abenezra The Jews acknowledge that this Chapter speaks of the comfort the Messiah was to procure for his People and that the Voice mention'd here refers to those who were to declare and proclaim his Coming We meet with a second Prophecy in Malachy who prophecied after the Rebuilding of the Temple and who having shut up the Vision precisely points at the Time wherein he was to appear viz. during the second Temple Chap. III. verse 1 2 3 4. Behold I will send my Messenger and he shall prepare the way before me and the Lord whom ye seek shall suddainly come to his Temple even the Messenger of the Covenant whom ye delight in behold he shall come saith the Lord of Hosts But who may abide the day of his coming And who shall stand when he appeareth For he is like a Refiners fire and like Fullers sope And he shall sit as a Refiner and Purifier of Silver and he shall purifie the Sons of Levi and purge them as gold and silver that they may offer unto the Lord an Offering in Righteousness The Jews own that these words also of Malachy R. Saad speak of the Forerunner of the Messias But we ought to observe in the foregoing Passages 1. That they have a manifest Relation to the Time of the Messiah's coming should the Jews deny this as indeed they unanimously acknowledge it it would be an easie matter to convince them 1. By urging the Authority of the Evangelists
Oracle as we understand it hath been entertain'd amongst the Heathens who built their Fable of Perseus upon it whom they pretend to have been born of a Virgin. 3. It appears that all those Laws which I mentioned in my Reflexions upon Exodus and the following Books Chap. XX. and which have Relation to the distinct knowledge of the state of Virginity receive much light from this Notion and are without it altogether useless 4. 'T is evident that the Jews did not dispute this Character till after they saw that the Christians apply'd it to Jesus Christ and thereupon have fallen upon such childish Fancies as may justly cover them with Confusion But we shall be yet further satisfied hereof if we add to all these just Prejudices only the following Reflexions on the terms the Prophet makes use of The first is That the LXX Interpreters have in translating this Prophecy made use of a word that signifies a Virgin and not a young Woman as the Jews have understood it since our Saviour's time The first who rejected the Interpretation of the Septuagint was Symmachus In Dialog cum Tryphon Tertull. cont Jud. cap. 9. who lived in the second Century as it is observed by Justin Martyr and Tertullian who for this reason accuse the Jews of having falsified the Holy Scripture The second is That the Hebrew word expresly signifies such an one as according to the Law of Virgins was kept under Lock and Key from the Eyes of Men according to the custom of the Eastern Nations and especially of the Jews which continues amongst them till this day The third is That this word hath been taken by the Africans in the same signification as St. Jerome observes The fourth is That the Prophet doth set forth this Child-bearing as a Prodigy and Miracle altogether unheard of and as a particular Character by which the House of David was to be strongly confirmed in the hope of seeing the accomplishment of the Promise which God had made of setling an eternal Kingdom upon it which could not be accomplished but by means of the Messiah The fifth is That tho' some Jews have applyed this Prophecy to King Hezekiah Raschi in h. l. which yet to others of them seems very ridiculous he being Nine years of Age when the Prophecy was uttered by Isaiah and themselves never making use of this Evasion except in their Disputes against the Christians and so on this occasion have dropt a Confession which alone was sufficient to confound them Yet it hath been a thing so generally received amongst them That this Prophecy did respect the Messiah that after they had applyed it to Hezekiah one of their most famous Doctors concludes Gemar in Sanhed Cap. Chelech That they ought to look for no Messiah since the time of Hezekiah that Prophecy having had its accomplishment in him an Opinion which those that succeeded him have rejected with the greatest abhorrence The sixth is That the Title of Immanuel given to this Son whose Birth is here promised is represented to us Chap. VIII as the Name of him who was Lord of the Land which is a true Representation of the Heir promised to David to whom David said O God thy God hath anointed thee with the Oyl of Gladness above thy Fellows Psal XLV 7 8. The seventh is That the Prophet Isaiah having alledged and cited two Witnesses Uriah the Son of Shemaiah a Prophet who was put to death by Jehoiakim and Zechariah the Son of Jeberechiah the former of which lived long after Ahaz and the latter since the Captivity under Darius King of Persia according to the account the Jews themselves give of them he sufficiently hints by this Circumstance That the Prophecy concerning the Birth of the Immanuel he speaks of was to be fulfill'd many Ages after and not in that Age wherein he prophecies CHAP. XV. That the Messiah was to be born at Bethlehem of the Family of David which at that time was reduc'd to a private state GOD had not only pointed out the time in which the Messiah was to appear with the miraculous Manner and Circumstances of his Birth but he had also named the Family the Place with the State and Condition of the Family in which he was to be born as a triple Character by which he might be known I say first That according to the Divine Oracles the Messiah was to be born of the Family of David as will appear if we consider the following Oracles 1. God expresly promiseth as much to David II Sam. Chap. VII a place I have quoted before which proves that the Messiah was to be born of the Family of David 2. It appeareth that David believ'd this himself from Psalm CXXXII vers 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 and 18. The Lord hath sworn in truth unto David he will not turn from it of the fruit of thy Body will I set upon thy Throne And after having said Verse 12. That if his Children would keep his Covenant that their Children also should sit upon his Throne for evermore And this because Vers 13 14. the Lord had chosen Zion and desired it for his habitation c. and promised Verse 15. That he would abundantly bless her Provision and satisfie her Poor with Bread that he would Verse 16. Clothe her Priests with Salvation and make her Saints shout for joy He subjoyns Vers 17 18. There I will make the horn of David to bud I have ordained a Lamp for mine Anointed His Enemies I will clothe with shame but upon himself shall his Crown flourish It is very evident That by this Horn of David is to be meant a King the Messiah whom he distinguishes by that Expression from all the rest of David's Children And Zachariah in his Song of Praise Luke I. verse 69. applying it to our Saviour puts the Matter out of all doubt 3. Hence it was the Prophets took occasion to give to the Messiah the Name of David So Ezek. XXXIV vers 23 24. And I will set up one Shepherd over them and he shall feed them even my Servant David he shall feed them and he shall be their Shepherd And I the Lord will be their God and my Servant David a Prince among them I the Lord have spoken it 4. The Jews are and have always been firm in this perswasion grounded on the foresaid and other like places of Scripture which they constantly refer to the Messiah I say in the second place That the Divine Oracles expresly point out Bethlehem for the Birth-place of the Messiah Micah the V. Verse 2. But thou Bethlehem Ephratah though thou be little among the thousands of Judah yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be Ruler in Israel whose goings forth have been from of old from the days of Eternity The Jews acknowledge that this Oracle speaks of the Messiah and indeed the Prophet distinguishing by Bethlehem adding the word Ephratah whence the Family