all this while even the same that appeared to him in the Bush Moses being thus employ'd by the Word of God as his Messenger to the Children of Israel for the discharge of his Ministry had both his Instructions and Credentials from the Word according to the Targums For the first of these God appeared to him oftener than to any before him R. Akiba who lived since Christ's time saith that Moses acted as Mediator between the Gevura that is the Word of God and the People of Israel and observeth that God spake to him 175 times They were times without number that God spake to him from off the Mercy-seat upon the Ark of Testimony from between the two Cherubims Numb vii 89. But those which R. Akiba reckons were Appearances upon extraordinary occasions In both these Appearances ordinary and extraordinary it was the Word of God that spake to Moses according to the Targums Thus of God's speaking to him from the Mercy-seat to appoint my Word for thee as God promised there according to Onkelos and Jonathan on Exod. xxv 22. xxx 36. So Numb vii 89. Jonathan saith it was the Word that spake to him And thus likewise in those Occasional Appearances both Jonathan and the Jerusalem Targums tell us once for all Deut. xxxiv 10. The Word of the Lord knew Moses 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 speaking to Moses as oft as Moses spake to him on any occasion For his Credentials were as we see Deut. xxxiv 11. All the Signs and Wonders which the Lord sent him to do or according to the Targums which the Word of the Lord sent him to do in Egypt to Pharaoh and his Servants and all his Land and in all that mighty Land and that great terrour which Moses shewed in the sight of all Israel For the Acts of his Ministry they were chiefly these three 1. His bringing the People out of Egypt 2. His giving them Laws and Statutes and Judgments from God 3. His Leading them through the Wilderness to the Confines of Canaan In each of these was the Word that appeared to him according to the Targums His bringing the People out of Egypt is wholly ascribed to the Word by Onkelos and Jonathan on Deut. xx 1. and by Jonathan on Deut. xxiv 18. The People were commanded to teach this to their Children that it was the Word of the Lord that did all those Signs and Wonders in Egypt saith Jonathan on Exod. xiii 8. It was the Word that sent all those Plagues on Pharaoh and his Servants and all the Land of Egypt saith Jonathan on Deut. xxviii 6. and xxix 2. Especially it was the Word that gave that stroke which finisht the work according to the Jerusalem Targum Exod. xii 29. namely It was the Word of the Lord that appeared against the Egyptians at midnight and his right hand kill'd the first-born of the Egyptians and delivered his own first-born the Children of Israel After this the Word of the Lord led the People through the Desert to the Red-Sea saith the same Targum on Exod. xiii 18. The Word of the Lord being their Leader in a Pillar of Fire by night and of a Cloud by day saith Onkelos on Deut. i. 32 33. And when the People being come to the Red-Sea and seeing Pharaoh with his Army behind them were in a rage against Moses and he cried to God Exod. xiv 15. according to the Jerusalem Targum the Word of the Lord said to Moses How long dost thou stand and pray before me Bid the Children of Israel come forward and do thou reach out thy Rod and divide the Red Sea He did so and according to the Jerusalem Targum on Deut. i. 1. The Word divided the Sea before them So that the Children of Israel went into the midst of the Sea on dry ground Exod. xiv 22. the Egyptians following them And at morning v. 24. according to the Jerusalem Targum The Word of the Lord lookt upon the Army of the Egyptians and threw upon them Bitumen and Fire and Hail out of Heaven and v. 25. The Egyptians said Let us fly from before the People of Israel for this is the Word of the Lord that gets them victory But their flight was in vain for by the Word of the Lord the waters were made heaps according to Onkelos on Exod. xv 8. And according to him also when God spoke by his Word the Sea covered them v. 10. Thus as the whole work of the People of Israel's Deliverance out of Egypt so every part of it has been ascribed to the Word of the Lord by the Targums For the giving of the Laws by which they were to be formed into a Church and Kingdom First immediately after their coming out of the Red-Sea Exod. xv 25. according to the Jerusalem Targum the Word of the Lord gave them Precepts and Orders of Judgments particularly as Jonathan has it the Word of the Lord gave them there the Law of the Sabbath and that of Honouring Father and Mother and Judgments concerning Bruises and Wounds and for the Punishment of Transgressours Afterwards when they were come into the Wilderness of Sinai Exod. xix 3. the Text saith Moses went up to God and the Lord called to him out of the Mount saying Thus shalt thou say to the House of Israel c. there Onkelos saith according to one of Clark's various Readings Moses went up to meet the Word of the Lord Exod. xix 8. Moses returns with the People's Answer to the Lord then v. 9. according to the Jerusalem Targum the Word of the Lord said to Moses Go to the People and sanctifie them to day and to morrow and let them wash their Clothes and be ready against the third day for the third day the Lord will come down in the sight of all the People upon Mount Sinai Accordingly the People having prepared themselves on the third day according to Onkelos Exod. xix 17. Moses brought the People out of the Camp to meet the word of God Yet the People only saw Thunder and Lightning and the Mountain smoking and felt the Earth quake under them They also heard the noise of the Trumpet which so affrighted them that they removed and stood at a distance and said to Moses Speak thou to us and we will hear but let not the Word from before the Lord speak with us lest we die Exod. xx 19. according to Onkelos in one of Clark's various Readings Moses therefore according to Jonathan on Deut. v. 5. Stood between them and the Word of the Lord to shew them the Pithgama the matter and words that were spoken to him from the Lord. What they were we read Exod. xx 1 c. where according to the Jerusalem Targum the Word of the Lord spoke the tenor of all these words saying I am the Lord thy God which brought thee out of the Land of Egypt out of the House of Bondage then follow the Ten Commandments commonly called the Decalogue That it was
God the Word that spoke this to the People the ancient Church could not doubt as we see in the Book of Deuteronomy where Jonathan tells us that thus Moses minded his People of what they had heard and seen at the giving of the Law Deut. iv 33. Is it possible that a People should have heard the voice of the Word of the Lord the Living God speak out of the middle of the fire as you have heard and yet live Again v. 36. Out of Heaven he hath made you hear the voice of his Word and ye have heard his words out of the midst of the fire Again he puts them in mind of the fright they were in Deut. v. 23. After ye had heard the voice of the Word out of the midst of the Darkness on the Mount burning with fire all the Chiefs of you came to me and said Behold the Word of the Lord our God has shewed us the Divine Majesty of his Glory and the Excellence of his Magnificence and we have heard the voice of his Word out of the midst of the fire why should we die as we must if we hear any more of the voice of the Word of the Lord our God for who is there living in flesh that hears the voice of the Word of the Living God speaking out of the middle of the fire as we do and yet live Again Deut. xviii 16. he minds them of the same thing in some of the same Words Many more such Quotations might be added but these are sufficient to prove that it was the undoubted Tradition of the ancient Jewish Church That their Law was given by the Word of God and that it was he that appeared to Moses for this purpose As the Word gave the Law it was he that made those many Appearances to Moses throughout his whole Conduct of the People of Israel through the Wilderness To begin with that Divine Appearance which was continually in sight of all the People of Israel for forty years together throughout their whole Travel in the Wilderness namely the Pillar which they saw in the Air day and night Where this Pillar is first spoken of namely at the coming of the People of Israel up out of Egypt there it is expresly said That the Lord went before them in the Pillar of Cloud by day and fire by night Exod. xiii 21. Afterward indeed he is called the Angel of God Exod. xiv 19. where we read that the People being come to the Red-Sea and being there in imminent danger of being overtaken by the Egyptians by whom they were closely pursued the Angel which had gone before the Camp of Israel all day removed at night and went behind them That this Angel was God it is certain not only because he is called God Exod. xiii 21. xiv 24. Numb xii 5. But also because he was Worshipped Exod. xxxiii 10. which was a sure Proof of his Divinity Being therefore God himself and yet the Messenger of God it must be that this was the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Word and that this was the Tradition of the ancient Church we are taught not only by Philo in the place above mentioned Quis rer Div. haeres p. 397. F.G. but also by the Jerusalem Targum on Exod. xiv 24. and Jonathan on Exod. xxxiii 9. and by Onkelos on Deut. i. 32 33. as has been mentioned When the Children of Israel after the first three days march found no other Waters but what were too bitter for them to drink at which they murmured Moses cried unto the Lord who thereupon shewed him a Tree which they threw into the Waters and thereby made them sweet Exod. xv 25. Here was a Divine Appearance and it was of the Word of the Lord according to the Jerusalem Targum A Month after their coming out of Egypt for want of Bread they murmured against Moses and Aaron at which God shewed himself so much concerned that he made his Glory appear to them in the Pillar of Cloud Exod. xvi 7 10 That according to the sense of the ancient Church this was the Shekinah of the Word has been newly shown both from Philo and from all the Targums and the same we find here in this place v. 8. where Moses tells them your murmurings are not against us but against the Word of the Lord according to Onkelos and Jonathan When Exod. xvii 8 c. the Amalekites came against this poor people that had never seen War and smote the hindmost of them God not only gave his people a Victory over them but also said unto Moses write this for a Memorial in a Book That I will utterly put out the Remembrance of Amalek from under Heaven Exod. xvii 14. See how Moses performs this v. 15. In the place where they had fought he set up an Altar inscribed Jehovah Nissi The Lord is my Standard meaning that it was the will of God they should be in perpetual War against Amalek and this reason for it he entreth in his Book v. 16. according to Jonathan for the Word of the Lord has sworn by his Glory that he will have war against Amalek for all Generations The next Divine Appearance we read of was at the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai whereof enough has been already said and we must avoid being too long For which reason we omit much more that might be said of the following Appearances in the Wilderness which are all ascribed to the Word in one or other of the Targums But I ought not to omit to take notice of some special things So for their places of Worship God promised according to the Jerusalem Targum Exod. xx 24. Wheresoever you shall mention my Holy Name my Word shall appear to you and shall bless you and the Temple is called the place which the Word of the Lord your God will chuse to place his Shekinah there according to Jonathan's and the Jerusalem Targums on Deut. xii 4. Especially at the Altar for Sacrifice which was before the Door of the Tabernacle God promised Moses both for himself and the People according to Onkelos and Jonathan on Exod. xxix 42. I will appoint my Word to speak with thee there and I will appoint my Word there for the Children of Israel Above all at the Mercy-seat where the Ark stood God promised to Moses according to those Targums on Exod. xxv 22. xxx 36. Numb xxvii 4. I will appoint my Word to speak with thee there And in sum of all the Precepts in Leviticus it is said at the end of that Book according to those Targums on Levit. xxvi 46. These are the Statutes and Judgments and Laws which the Lord made between his Word and the Children of Israel When they entred into Covenant with God obliging themselves to live according to his Laws Hereby they made the Word to be their King and themselves his Subjects So Moses tells them Deut. xxvi 17. according to the Jerusalem Targum You have
made the Word of the Lord King over you this day that he may be your Glory And v. 18. The VVord of the Lord is become King over you in his own Name as over his beloved and peculiar people In consequence hereof as being their King he ordered them by his chief Minister Moses to make him a Royal Pavilion or Tabernacle and to set it up in the midst of their Camp Both that and all the furniture of it he ordered Moses to make according to the Pattern show'd him in the Mount Exod. xxv 40. Especially for the Presence of the great King there must be an Apartment in the inner part of the Tabernacle separated from the rest with a Veil Embroidered with Cherubims Exod. xxvii 31. which part was called the Most Holy Place or the Holy of Holies Exod. xxvi 33. There was to be placed the Ark overlay'd with pure Gold and having a Crown of Gold round about it In the Ark were contain'd the Tables of the Law Upon it was placed the Mercy-seat overshadowed with the Wings of two Cherubims that stood on the two Ends of the Mercy-seat Exod. xxxvii 9. looking each of them toward the other and both of them toward the Mercy-seat This Provision being made for the place of his Shekinah the Word which shewed it self before in a Pillar of Cloud by day and fire by night that stood over the Camp now from thence came to take possession of his Royal Seat in the Tabernacle over the Ark from whence out of the void space between these Cherubims it was that the Word used to speak to Moses and to give him Orders from time to time for the Government of his People according to the Paraphrasts on Exod. xxv 22. xxx 36. Numb xvii 4. and especially Numb vii 8 9. as has been above mentioned Henceforward throughout their whole Journey through the Wilderness the Pillar was constantly over the Tabernacle and the People attended his motion But whensoever he gave the Commandment then the Pillar removed and shewed which way the Camp was to go Upon notice of that then Moses first gave the word in a set form of Prayer which we have in the first six verses of the lxviii Psalm The first verse of it is Numb x. 35. in these words according to the Jerusalem Targum Arise now Oh Word of the Lord in the might of thy strength According to Jonathan's Paraphrase Appear now Oh Word of the Lord in the strength of thy wrath In both the Targums it followeth as in the Hebrew Text and the enemies of thy people shall be scattered and they that hate thee shall flee before thee When they had performed their Journey according to the will of their King which they knew by seeing the Pillar stand still then Moses used the Form for the resting of the Ark Numb x. 36. according to the forementioned Targums Return now Oh Word of the Lord to thy people Israel make the Glory of thy Shekinah dwell among them and have mercy on the Thousands of Israel This being said the Priests who carried the several â—ins of the Tabernacle took down their Burdens and set up all things as before and the Pillar returned to its place over the midst of the Tabernacle In this State of Theocracy their keeping of God's Laws is called by their Targums The believing and obeying of the Word their breaches of his Laws are called their despising and rebelling against the Word Of the use of both these manners of speaking there might be given more instances than can be easily numbred The Targums likewise ascribe to the Word both the rewarding of their Obedience and the punishing of their Transgressions On their Obedience according to the Targums it was the usual promise that the Word should be their help or support Numb xxiii 8 21. that he should bless them and multiply them Deut. xxiv 19. that he should rejoice over them to do them good Deut. xxviii 63. xxx 9. They were told that he would be a consuming fire to their enemies Deut. iv 24. particularly that he was so to the Anakims Deut. ix 3. That it was he that delivered Og into their hands Deut. iii. 2. That it was he that would cast out all the Nations before them Deut. xi 22. On the other hand according to the sense of the ancient Church it was the Word that punished them for their disobedience and also it was he that forgave them upon their Repentance Of both these kinds there are many remarkable instances as particularly of the punishing of their disobedience according to Jonathan on Exod. xxxii 35. It was the Word that destroyed the people for worshipping the Calf that Aaron made For their lusting at Kibroth-hattaava Moses told them whom they provoked by it Numb xi 20. according to Onkelos and Jonathan You have despised the Word of the Lord whose Shekinah dwelleth among you Their refusing to go forward toward the promised Land upon the Spies evil report of it Moses tells them according to those Targums Deut. i. 26. It was rebelling against the Word of the Lord. Afterward when they would go up contrary to order Numb xiv 41. Moses asks them Why do you transgress the decree of the Word of the Lord In their murmuring at Zalmona Polyglot Vol. IV. Numb xxi 5. according to Onkelos in one of Clerk's various Readings They spoke against the Word of the Lord and against Moses Wherefore v. 6. according to the Jerusalem Targum The Word of the Lord sent fiery Serpents among the People Upon their Whoring with Baal-Peor Numb xxv 4. according to the Jerusalem Targum The Word of the Lord said to Moses take all the heads of the people and hang them up before the Lord. In short according to the Targums on Deut. xxviii 20 21 22 c. It was the Word of the Lord that would send all his Judgments and Curses that are there denounced against impenitent Sinners But on the other hand according to those Targums the Word had the dispencing of pardon to them that were Qualified for it So when Moses beg'd pardon for his People that had sinned beyond mercy if it had not been infinite Numb xiv 20. according to the Jerusalem Targum the Word of the Lord answered him and said behold I have forgiven and pardoned according to thy word And in case upon the inflicting of God's Judgments above mentioned God's People should be thereby brought to repentance It was promised Deut. xxx 3. according to Jonathan's Targum that then the Word should accept their repentance according to his good pleasure and should have mercy on them and gather them out of all Naons c. So likewise c. xxxii 36. according to the same Targum it is promised that the Word of the Lord by his mercy should judge the judgment of his people and should repent him of the evil that he had decreed against his Servants It were easie to add many more such Instances out of
the Creator of all things so the Author of Wisdom ch ix 1. O God of my Fathers and Lord of mercy who hath made all things with thy word Or more properly by thy Word And so they call that Wisdom the Worker of all things Wisd ch vli 22. They speak of the Wisdom in the same words as Solomon doth Prov. iii. and ch viii 22. where he expresseth the true notion of Eternity And indeed they attribute to her to have been eternal Ecclus ch iv 18. They refer constantly to God himself that is to the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of God as we shall hereafter shew at large what is attributed to the Angel of the Lord in many places of the Books of Moses as to have delivered the Israelites from the Red Sea so Wisd ch xix 9. They went at large like horses and leaped like lambs praising thee O Lord who hadst delivered them Again to have had his Throne in a cloudy Pillar Ecclus xxiv 4. To have been caused by the Creator of all things to rest and to have his dwelling in Jacob and to have his inheritance in Israel Ibid. v. 8. and so to have given his memorial to his Children which is the Law commanded for an heritage into the Congregation of Jews Ib. 23. So they attribute to him to have spoken with Moses Ecclus ch xlv 5. He made him to hear his voice and brought him into the dark cloud and gave him commandments before his face even the Law of life and knowledg that he might teach Jacob his Covenants and Israel his Judgments Again to come down from Heaven to fight against the Egyptians Wisd ch xviii 15 16 17. Thine Almighty Word leapt down from Heaven out of thy Royal Throne as a fierce man of war into the midst of a land of destruction And brought thine unfeigned Commandment as a sharp sword and standing up filled all things with death and it touched the Heaven but it stood upon the Earth So they maintain that the Angel who appeared to Joshuah ch 5. was the Lord himself so the Author of Ecclesiasticus ch xlvi 5 6. He call'd upon the most high Lord when the enemies pressed upon him on every side and the great Lord heard him And with hailstones of mighty power he made the battle to fall violently upon the Nations and in the descent of Bethoron he destroyed them that resisted that the Nations might know all their strength because he fought in the sight of the Lord and he followed the mighty one They refer the Miracles wrought by Elias to the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as you see in Ecclesiasticus ch xlviii 3 4 5. By the Word of the Lord he shut up the Heaven and also three times brought down fire O Elias how wast thou honoured in thy wondrous deeds and who may glory like unto thee Who didst raise up a dead man from death and his soul from the place of the dead by the Word of the most High As there is nothing more common in the Old Testament than to call the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Angel of the Lord because the Father sent him to do all things under the Old Dispensation so one can see that there is nothing more ordinary in the Apocryphal Books than to speak of an Angel in particular to whom is attributed all things which could not be performed but by God Three things prove clearly that they did not conceive a created Angel but an Angel who is God 1. Because they have this Maxim according to the constant Divinity of the Jews built upon Scripture Deut. xxxii 9. that God did take Israel for his Portion among all the Nations of the World as if he had left other Nations to the conduct of Angels so Esth ch xiii 15. 2ly Because they refer to the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 some Histories of the Old Testament which the Jews till this day refer to an Uncreated Angel or to the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Shekina or Memra da Jehova as I shall prove afterwards We see that Wisd ch xvi 12. For it was neither herb nor mollifying Plaister that restored them to health but thy Word O Lord which healeth all things So Wisd ch xviii 15 16 17. Thine Almighty Word leapt down from Heaven out of thy Royal Throne as a fierce man of war into the midst of a land of destruction and brought thine unfeigned commandment as a sharp sword and standing up filled all things with death and it touched the Heaven but it stood upon the earth I thought fit to repeat this place here to make Mr. N. ashamed who hath exposed those Ideas and laught at them which I believe he would not have done if he had reflected upon two things one is That this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 who is spoken of is that very man of war mentioned in Moses his Canticle Exod. xii 3. and in Juâ—lith ch ix 7. The other is that St. Paul hath followed the Notions of the Book of Wisdom speaking of a sharp sword which is to be understood not of the Gospel but of the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Heb. x. 12. But Mr. N. was in the right to laugh at such an authority which destroys to the ground the Unitarians Principles for nothing can be more clear than that this Author acknowledges a Plurality in God that the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 must be a Person and a Person equal to the Father being set upon the Royal Throne 3ly Because they bring such appearances of that Angel which shew they conceived him as the God who ruled Israel and who had taken their Temple for the place of his abode And on the contrary they speak of God whom they considered as dwelling in the Temple in the same words which are used in Scripture when it is spoken of the name of God Exod. xxiii 21. and 1 Sam. viii 16. of the Angel of the Covenant Malach. iii. 1. and such expressions So you see in the 1. Book of Esdras ch ii 5 7. If therefore there be any of you that are of his people let the Lord even his Lord be with him and let him go up to Jerusalem that is in Judea and build the House of the Lord of Israel for he is the Lord that dwelleth in Jerusalem And ch iv v. 58. Now when this young man was gone forth he lifted up his face to Heaven toward Jerusalem and praised the King of Heaven And Judith ch v. 18. and ch ix 8. and 2 Macch. i. 25. The only giver of all things the only just Almighty and Everlasting thou that deliveredst Israel from all trouble and didst chuse the fathers and sanctifie them And ch ii 17. We hope also that the God that delivered all his people and gave them all on heritage and the Kingdom and the Priesthood and the Sanctuary And ch xiv 35. Thou O Lord of all things who hast need of nothing was pleased that the Temple of thine habitation should be
Words which God spake to Solomon on this occasion First the time of this Divine Appearance to Solomon was when he had finish'd the building of the House of the Lord 1 Kings ix 1. He had brought the Ark into the most Holy Place even under the Wings of the Cherubims 1 Kings viii 6. The Glory of the Lord had taken possession of this House ver 10 11. and Solomon had made his Prayer and Supplication before it ver 12 61. Thereupon God appears and tells him I have heard thy Prayer and Supplication that thou hast made before me I have hallowed this House which thou hast built ix 3. that is I have taken it for my own to put my name there for ever 1 Chron. vii 12. I have chosen this place to my self for a House of Sacrifice This was a plain declaration from God that it was of this House that he had spoken by Moses in these words Deut. xii 5 11. There shall be a place which the Lord your God shall chuse to place his Name there thither shall you bring all that I command you your Burnt-offerings and your Sacrifices c. Now see how those words of Moses are rendred in Jonathan's Targum on Deuteronomy There will be a place which the Word of the Lord will chuse to place his Shekinah there Thither shall you bring your Offerings c. Here the Reader cannot but see that he that appeared to Solomon and said to him I have chosen this place c. all along in the First Person is the same of whom Moses said all the same things speaking of him in the Third Person And that as it appears in Jonathan's Targum both ver 5. and ver 11. of that Chapter this was no other than the Word according to the mind of the Ancient Jewish Church though in their Targum on 1 Kings ix which also is called Jonathan's but how truly the Reader may see by this Instance there is not the least mention of the Word upon this occasion The Word of the Lord being now in his Resting-place in Solomon's Temple 1 Chron. viii 41. and having put an end to his Theocracy by setting up Kings of Solomon's Race that came in by Hereditary Succession and governed after the manner of the Kings of other Nations after this in the Scripture-History of those Times while the first Temple was standing we read of no more such Divine Appearances as we had formerly There is only one to be excepted namely that which was made to Elias in a small still Voice 1 Kings xix Of which something ought to be said more particularly It may be observed that this was in that part of Israel which had no Communion with the Temple It was in Ahab's time when the Children of Israel had not only cast off the Seed of David but seem'd to have quite forsaken the Covenant which God had made with their Fathers by his Servant Moses To reduce them to their duty God had now sent Elias who was a kind of second Moses God shewed he was so by putting him into so many of Moses his Circumstances After a Fast of Forty Days such as none but Moses had ever kept before him he comes to Horeb the Mount of God 1 Kings xix 8. So called first Exod. iii. i in the History of God's first appearing to Moses in that place And as there ver 6. Moses hid his Face being afraid to look upon God so did Elias in this place 1 Kings xix 13. He wrapt his Face in his Mantle and then God spoke to him as he had done at first unto Moses He that spoke now was the same that spoke then as appears by comparing the Circumstances and he that spoke then was God the Word as we have proved before in this Chapter This must needs have been the Sense of the Ancient Jewish Church And to us Christians it cannot but look very agreeable That as when Moses and Elias were upon the Earth the Word appeared to them and spoke with them on Mount Horeb So when he was made Flesh and dwelt among us Moses and Elias came to him on Mount Tabor and spoke with him at his Transfiguration Of those Appearances of Angels to Elias 1 Kings xix 5 7. 2 Kings i. And of the Angel that made that Slaughter in Sennacherib's Army 2 Kings xix 35. we have no more to say in this place because they seem to have been no other but Created Angels and neither of them is called the Word of the Lord in their Targum But we are concerned for that Vision of God which was seen by the Prophet Micaiah 1 Kings xxii 19. although he doth not say that God appeared to him nor that he saw any thing more of God than a meer resemblance of a King sitting in State which was at that time visibly represented before him For we must take notice of one thing which is of some moment that is that when he saith I saw the Lord sitting on his Throne and all the Host of Heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left c. the most Learned Jews conceive that he saw the Shekinah with the Angels of his Attendance and that this Vision of Micaiah is the same which was shewn to Isaiah ch vi and to some other Prophets In the Prophetical Books of Isaiah and Ezekiel there are two Appearances of God or of the Shekinah in his Temple which we are obliged to give some account of And of these as I shall shew we have no reason to doubt but that it was the Word that appeared to those Prophets according to the sense of the ancient Jewish Church First for that in Isai vi 1 c. The Prophet saith I saw the Lord sitting upon a Throne high and lifted up and his Train filled the Temple above it stood the Cherubims c. crying one to another and saying Holy Holy Holy Lord of Hosts the whole Earth is full of thy glory and the House was filled with smoke That this House was the Temple is expresly said in the end of the first verse And the smoke was the token of the Shekinah of God with which the Temple was filled now as it was at his first entrance into it 1 King viii 10 11. So that here the Lord sitting upon his Throne was no other than God sitting upon his Mercy-seat over the Ark that is He was the Word of the Lord according to the opinion of the ancient Jewish Church as has been abundantly proved before in this Chapter Of which here is also some remain in their Paraphrase for whereas the Prophet speaking still of the Lord whom he saw sitting on his Throne v. 1. saith v. 8. Also I heard the voice of the Lord saying whom shall I send The Targum thus renders it I heard the Voice of the Word of the Lord saying Whom shall I send We Christians need not thank them for this being fully assured as we are
by what the Apostle saith Joh. xii 41. that this was no other than our Lord Jesus Christ For there the Apostle having quoted the words that Isaiah heard from the Lord that spoke to him Isai vi 9 10. tells us These things said Isaiah when he saw his Glory and spoke of him That the Apostle here speaks of the Word made flesh is clear enough from the Text. But besides it has been proved by our Writers beyond all contradiction See Plac. lib. ii Disput 1. In like manner that which the Prophet Ezekiel saw was an Appearance of God represented to him as a Man sitting on a Throne of Glory Ezek. i. 26 27 28. x. 1. Which Throne was then upon Wheels after the manner of a Sella Curulis They were living Wheels animated and supported by Cherubims i. 21. each of which had four Faces i. 6. such as were carved on the Walls of the Temple xli 19. In short that which Ezekiel saw though he was then in Chaldea was nothing else but the Appearance of God as yet dwelling in his Temple at Jerusalem but quite weary of it and now about to remove and to leave his dwelling-place to be destroyed by the Chaldeans To shew that this was the meaning of it he saw this Glorious Appearance of God first in his place iii. 12. i. e. on the Mercy-seat in the Temple ix 3. Next he saw him gone from his place to the Threshold of the House Judges use to give Judgment in the Gate so there over the Threshold of his House God gave Sentence against his rebellious people v. 5 6 7. Afterward from the Threshold of the House x. 4. the Prophet saw the Glory departed yet farther and mounted up from the Earth over the midst of the City x. 18 19. And lastly he saw it go from thence and stand upon the Mountain on the East-side of the City xi 23. That is on Mount Olivet which is before Jerusalem on the East Zech. xiv 4. and so the Targum has it on this place After this departure of the Divine Presence Ezekiel saw his forsaken Temple and City destroyed and his People carried away into Captivity xxxiii 21 c. After this he saw no more Appearance of God till his People's return from Captivity And then the Temple being rebuilt according to the measures given from God xl xli xlii the Prophet could not but expect that God would return to it as of old So he saw it come to pass in his Vision xliii 2. Behold the Glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the East where the Prophet saw it last at M. Olivet So again v. 4. The Glory of the Lord came into the House by the way of the Gate whose prospect is toward the East And v. 5. Behold the Glory of the Lord filled the House So again xliv 4. It filled the House now as it had done in Solomon's time 1 King viii 11. All along in this Prophecy of Ezekiel it was but one Person that appeared from the beginning to the end In the beginning of this Prophecy it was God that appeared in his Temple over the Cherubims and there we find him again in the end of this Prophecy But that it was no other but the Word that so appeared in the Temple according to the sense of the ancient Jewish Church has been proved so fully out of their Targums elswhere that we need not trouble our selves about that any farther though we cannot find it in the Targum on this Book In the Books of Chronicles there is nothing remarkable of this kind but what has been considered already in the account that we have given of the Divine Appearances in the Books of Kings And there is no mention of any such Appearance in any of the other Books that were written after the Babylonian Captivity except on the Books of Daniel and Zechariah Of Daniel the Jews have not given us any Targum therefore we have nothing to say of that Book They have given us a Targum such as it is of the Book of Zechariah which is the last we have to consider In this Book of Zechariah we read of three Angels that appeared to the Prophet The first appeared to him as a Man i. 8 -10. But is called an Angel v. 9. In Zechary's words The Angel that talked with me By which Title he is often distinguisht from all others in the same Book i. 13 14 19. ii 3. v. 5 6. vi 4. A second Angel appeared to him also as a Man with a Measuring Line in his hand ii 1. But whosoever compares this Text with Ezek. xl 3 4 5 c. will find that this who appeared as a Man was truly an Angel of God Next the first Angel going forth from the place where he appeared ii 3. Another Angel comes to meet him and bids him Run speak to this young man whether to the Angel Surveyor or whether to Zechary himself and tell him Jerusalem shall be inhabited c. ii 4. He that commands another should be his Superior And yet this Superior owns himself sent from God But he own'd it in such terms as shew'd that he was God himself This the Reader will see more than once in his speech which is continued from v. 4. to the end of the Chapter It appears especially in v. 8 9 11. of this Chapter First in v. 5. having declared what God would do for Jerusalem in these words according to the Targum The Lord hath said my Word shall be a wall of fire about her and my Glory will I place in the midst of her He goes on to v. 8. and there he delivers a Message from God to his People in these words Thus saith the Lord of Hosts After the Glory * After the Glory of his Shekinah being returned into the Temple when that was rebuilt they should soon after see Babylon it self taken and spotled by their ancient Servants the Persians hath he sent me to the Nations that spoiled you c. Here the sense is ambiguous for it seems strange that the Lord of Hosts should say another hath sent me But so it is again and much clearer exprest in v. 9. where he saith Behold I will shake my hand upon them and they shall be a spoil to their Servants This none but God could say But he addeth in the next words And ye shall know that the Lord of Hosts hath sent me which words plainly shew that though he stiled himself God yet he came as a Messenger from God This is plainer yet v. 11. where he saith Many Nations shall be joyned to the Lord in that day and shall be my people and I will dwell in the midst of thee Thee Thou Thee are all Feminines in the Hebrew and therefore all three refer to Zion Thee Oh Zion v. 10. This again none but God could say And yet it followeth Thou Oh Zion shalt know that the Lord of Hosts hath sent
shall offer gifts Yea all Kings shall fall down before him all Nations shall serve him Simeon inspired by the Spirit of Prophecy said that Christ was to be a light to lighten the Gentiles Luk. i. 79. alluding to Isaiah xlii 6. and lx 1. which speaks of the Messias He said further that this Child was to prove the fall of many in Israel according to that Prophecy Is viii 13 14. Sanctify the Lord of Hosts himself and let him be your fear and let him be your dread And he the Lord of Hosts shall be for a sanctuary but for a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem In which place the Prophet speaks of the Lord of Hosts and clearly points out the Messias or the Word according to Jonathan's Targum And because the Angels had celebrated the Nativity of Christ with their Acclamations St. Paul Heb. i. 6. applies to him what the Jews had added to the Song of Moses in the LXX Deut. xxxii 43. Let all the Angels of God worship him at his coming into the World which words are also found Psal xcvii 7. from whence they had added them as well as some others borrowed from other places of Scripture which the Jews understand of the Messias Hitherto a judicious Reader will find no notion but what is perfectly like to those of the Old Testament and of the Writings of the Jews about those places of Scripture which call the Messias Jehovah or represent Jehovah as him that should be the Messias Mr. N. who does suspect the Primitive Christians to have added these words Matt. xxviii 19. Go and teach all Nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost to favour the new Doctrine of the Trinity might as well at one blow have cut off those places in St. Matthew Matth. i. 20. and St. Luke Luk. i. 79. which do more strongly assert that Doctrine For there we find the Highest the Son of the Highest and the Holy Ghost three Persons as distinct as words could make them And the Messias is as plainly called Jehovah as can be Both Angels and Prophets either shew or own the Ancient Prophets to have been fulfilled in Christ There is nothing in all this that looks like a Collusion John the Baptist Luk. iii. 3. preacht Repentance as it is written Is xl 3. The voice of one crying in the wilderness prepare ye the way of the Lord make his paths strait and all flesh shall see the salvation of God owning the Messias to be God and Jehovah When the Jews took him to be the Messias he told them that he was not worthy to unloose the latchet of his shoes that he was before him that he shall baptize them with the Holy Ghost and with fire And that he was spoken of Mal. iii. 1. Now Malachi calls him Jehova though he also calls him the messenger of the Covenant as I observed before Christ is baptized by John who at first refused to baptize him knowing the dignity of his Person whose Forerunner he only was But God the Father cries from Heaven This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased confirming what he had said of the Messias Is xliii 10. The Holy Spirit descended upon him in the form of a Dove to fulfil the Prophecy of David Psal xlv 7. O God thy God has anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows And that of Is xi 2. And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him The three Persons of the Trinity did then so visibly manifest themselves that the Ancients took from thence occasion to bid the Arians Go to the river Jordan and you shall see the Trinity He was in the Wilderness tempted by the Devil but the main stress of his Temptation the Devil laid on these words if or rather since thou art the Son of God For knowing the illustrious Testimony which was given him at Jordan and by John the Baptist Joh. i. 34. I saw and bare record that this is the Son of God He took from thence occasion to tempt him In his conversation with Nathanael he begins to discover to him the Mystery of his being God by comparing himself to the Ladder which Jacob saw in a Dream Joh. i. 51. Hereafter you shall see heaven open and the Angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man And I observed before that Philo attributed that Apparition to the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as the Restorer of intercourse between God and Man At a Marriage in Cana to shew that his Commission was much above the meanness of his Education and Trade he spoke something sharply to his Mother Joh. ii 4. Woman what have I to do with thee Much as he had done being yet but Twelve years old when upon her complaining that his Father and her self had sought him sorrowing he gave her this Answer How is it that you sought me wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business Luk. ii 49 Soon after he went to Jerusalem and drove out of the Temple the Sellers and Money-Changers and told them Take these things hence make not my Father's house a house of merchandise Joh. ii 16. The Jews surprized at that commanding Style askt him a Sign to shew his Authority To whom he answered Destroy this Temple and in three days I 'll raise it up ver 19. foretelling his Resurrection and declaring that he was to be the Author of it v. 21. which in the opinion of the Jews themselves is the proper Character of God who has say they the Key of the Womb to make it fruitful the Key of the Heavens to send down Rain and the Key of the Grave to raise the Dead out of it Beth Israel ex Sanhedrim fol. 140. col 3. To satisfy Nicodemus a Ruler of the Jews about the greatness of his Person he tells him contrary to the opinion of some Jews Pirke R. Eliezer c. 41. who believed that Moses had ascended up into Heaven from Mount Sina That no man had ascended up thither but he that was come from thence even the Son of man which was there Joh. iii. 13. But how could he be in Heaven and have descended from thence Because he was the Son of God whom God had sent to save the world v. 17. In which Expressions he alludes to the Prayers of the Old Jews before mentioned where the Church begs that a Saviour would come down from Heaven even the true Jehovah Is lxiv. 1. When John's Disciples came to their Master to complain that he whom he had lately baptized did himself baptize and draw the Multitude after him To give them a nobler notion of Christ than they had before he told them plainly that he was only the friend of the bridegroom but that Christ was the bridegroom himself Joh. iii. 29. Intimating by that Similitude
have already quoted Being by Judas's Treason apprehended he declared that the Angels were his Ministers had he been pleased to make use of their Service Matt. 26.53 Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father And he shall presently give me more than twelve Legions of Angels For what he said about his asking his Father for them was because he was then in a state of Humiliation He did not ask when he came attended with them at his giving of the Law on Mount Sinai nor when Isaiah saw his Glory in the Temple and heard them sing Holy Holy Holy They were then in their Duty which as the Jews understand their Prophets say is to adore the Messias Being brought before Caiaphas at whose House the Counsel of the Jews was met upon Caiaphas his adjuring him by the living God to tell them whether he was the Christ the Son of God Matth. xxvi 63. Jesus said unto him v. 64. Thou hast said Nevertheless I say unto you Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power and coming in the clouds of heaven Upon which he was condemned to dye as a Blasphemer From whence it appears what notion the Jews had of the Messias And that they believed that Son of man spoken of Dan. vii 13 14. to be the very Son of God who had a second Throne set for him and came with the Clouds of Heaven as God This being the ordinary description the Prophets make of him Being condemned as a Blasphemer for taking the Title of Jehovah and of the Son of God the People by way of mockery called him the King of the Jews the Son of God and Saviour which justified his Pretension Luke xxiii 35 36 37 38. And the people stood beholding and the rulers also with them derided him saying He saved others let him save himself if he be Christ the chosen of God And the Souldiers also said If thou be the King of the Jews save thy self And a superscription was written over him This is the King of the Jews And Matt. xxvii 39 40 41 42 43. They that passed by reviled him saying Save thy self If thou be the Son of God come down from the Cross Likewise also the Chief Priests said He saved others himself he cannot save If he be the King of Israel let him now come down from the Cross and we will believe him He trusted in God let him deliver him now if he will have him For he said I am the Son of God He cried upon the Cross with a loud voice Eli Eli Lamma sabachthani My God my God why hast thou forsaken me Mat. xxvii 46. These words are the beginning of the 22th Psalm and very agreeable to those words in Psal xlv where he that is God himself or the Psalmist for him does nevertheless call the Father his God saying O God thy God has anointed thee Accordingly the Centurion that guarded him having heard this Cry and also that with which he expired saying Father into thy hands I commend my Spirit said Truly this was the Son of God Mark xiv 39. After his Death his side was run through that the Scripture might be fulfilled Joh. xix 37. relating to that Prophecy Zech. xii 10. which the Ancient Jews understood of the Messias Breshit Rabba on Gen. xxviii and Rabbi Abenezra on this Text. And yet the words of that Prophecy come from the mouth of the Lord Jehovah Zech. xii 1 4. saying I will pour upon the House of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication and they shall look upon ME whom they have pierced and they shall mourn for him as one mourns for his only Son Being risen from the Dead the third day as he had foretold the Angel that gave the Women the first news of it called him Lord that is Jehovah Mat. xxviii 6. as the Angel had done who gave the Shepherds the tidings of his Birth Luk. ii 11. Soon after he appeared to his Disciples and did constitute them Heralds of the New Covenant which he had made with Mankind in his Blood of which Covenant Jehovah is said to be the Author Jer. xxxii 40. I will make an everlasting Covenant with them And I will put my fear in their hearts they shall not depart from me Afterwards he did promise to send them the Holy Ghost Luk. xxiv 46 47 48 49. He said to them Thus it is written and thus it behoved Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day And that repentance and remission of sins should be preacht in his name among all Nations beginning at Jerusalem And ye are witnesses of these things And behold I send the promise of my Father upon you But tarry ye in the City of Jerusalem until ye be endued with power from on high Before his Ascension he gave them Symbolically the Holy Ghost which he was to send fully upon them forty days after Joh. xx 22. He breathed on them and said receive the Holy Ghost Thomas not being then present nor believing what others told him that they had seen the Lord Jesus Christ appear'd to him and so throughly satisfied him of the truth of his Resurrection that thereupon he remarkably owned him his Lord and his God v. 28. He bids them Baptize in the Name of the Trinity Mat. xxvii 18 19 20. All power is given unto me in Heaven and in Earth Go ye therefore and teach all Nations Baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you And lo I am with you always even unto the end of the World In which words he visibly relates to many Persons and where he represents himself as the Shekinah that was always with the people under his conduct Being ready to go up into Heaven he received their Adorations Luk. xxiv 51 52. While he blest them he was parted from them and carried up into Heaven And they worshipt him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy And St. John declares that the end for which he writ his Gospel was That we might believe that Jesus is Christ the Son of God and that believing we might have life through his Name Joh. xx 31. I thought it necessary thus in short to sum up the chief Particulars which the Four Evangelists have observed about the Life of our Saviour To shew plainly and briefly to the Reader that the Gospel follows the same Notions which the Old Testament had given of the Messias and which the Jews in Christ's days had generally received First That in the Divine Nature there is a Father a Son and a Holy Ghost Secondly That the Son which was the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is the promised Messias Thirdly That the Holy Ghost was to be given by the Messias and to come being sent both by the Father and the Son as the Son was sent
is mentioned This is he of whom it is said and God called Moses out of the Bush He is called an Angel because he Governs the World for it is written in one place And Jehovah that is the Lord God brought us out of Egypt and in another place He sent his Angel and brought us out of Egypt And again The Angel of his Presence saved them viz. that Angel who is the face of God of whom it is said My face shall go before you Lastly that Angel of whom the Prophet Malachi mentions And the Lord whom you seek shall suddenly come to his Temple even the Angel of the Covenant whom you desire At length he adds The face of God is God himself as all Interpreters do acknowledge but no one can rightly understand this without being instructed in the Mysteries of the Law R. Menachem of Rekan on Gen. xlviii 16. the same that afterwards commented on the whole Pentateuch was no stranger to this Notion Saith he He means the Shekinah when he speaks of the Redeeming Angel f. 52. See also f. 55. The like has R. Bechai the famous Jewish Writer whose Comments are constantly in the hands of the Jewish Doctors He proves that this Blessing is not different from that which is afterwards repeated Gen. xlix where no Angel is mentioned Whence it follows that the three terms in Gen. xlviii God God that fed me the Angel that redeemed me are Synonimous to the mighty one of Jacob Ch. xlix which Title the Jews in their Prayers do frequently ascribe to God Bech f. 71. c. 4. Ed. Rivae di Trento He also there teaches that this Angel was the Shekinah As does R. Joseph Gekatilia in his Book called Saare Ora according to Menasseh Ben Israel q. 64. in Gen. p. 118. Aben Sueb on this place a Man of Name among his Party writes much to the same purpose on this place These are followed by two Eminent Authors of the Cabalists The one in his Notes on Zohar f. 122. toward the end saith the Angel that delivered me from all evil is the Shekinah of whom Exod. xiv 19. And the Angel of the Lord which went before the camp of Israel removed and went behind them and may God bless us in the age to come The other is he who contracted the Zohar on Genesis and is called R. David the less He in that Book Ed. Thessalonic f. 174. professes to follow the opinion of R. Gekatalia in his Saare Ora. Nor does Menasseh Ben Israel himself much dissent from these in the above-mentioned place For though he attempts to reconcile Gen. xxviii 16. with the first Commandment Exod. xx Thou shalt have no other Gods before me by saying it was the opinion of several of their Masters that there was no contradiction between them yet at length he produces the opinion of the Cabalists for the satisfaction of his Readers who possibly would not acquiesce in his former reason drawn only from Modern Authorities I mention not R. Levi ben Gersom's opinion who denies the Angel here spoken of to be a Creature but calls him the Intellectus Agens because he seems to have borrowed the Notion from the Arabian Philosophers nor is it commonly received by those of his Religion Many others might be added to these Jewish Testimonies but what I have already produced is I think very sufficient SECT V. Having thus shewed the Opinions of the ancient Jews concerning Jacob's Angel and that to this day the Tradition is not quite worn out that exalts him above a created Angel I now proceed to the third Question the clearing of which will fully justifie that Opinion of the Ancients concerning this Text. And that is Whether this form of Blessing be not an express Prayer The soundest and most part as well of Jews as Christians do agree That we can't worship Angels without Idolatry This Maimonides affirms as I quoted him above and the Protestants as all Men know do abhor this Idolatry in the Roman Church I do therefore positively assert That these words contain a Prayer to the Angel as well as to God for a Blessing on his Children This the Jews can't gain-say since Jonathan their Paraphrast and other Writers after him do commonly term this Blessing 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or a Prayer And for this reason R. Menasseh thought it necessary to endeavour to reconcile this Prayer of Jacob with the first Commandment which forbids Angel-Worship according to the Jews Interpretation R. Menach de Rek in Pent. f. 97. c. 4. It is true Jacob's form of Blessing does seem to proceed from him either as a Wish or a Prophecy A Wish as if he had said Would to the Lord God and his Angel would bless the Lads A Prophecy as if he had foretold that God and his Angel should in after-times fulfill what he now wished But it might be both Wish and Prophecy and notwithstanding be a direct Prayer to God and the Redeeming Angel 'T is well known how the Jews commonly delivered their Petitions to God in this form And yet I can't forbear giving one instance to confirm it You may read it in Deut. vi 22 c. And the Lord said to Moses saying Speak to Aaron and his Sons thus shall you bless the children of Israel and say The Lord bless thee and keep thee 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Lord make his face shine upon thee and be gracious unto thee the Lord lift up his countenance upon thee and give thee peace And they shall invoke my name for the children of Israel so our Translation is to be mended and I will bless them So that in plain terms the form of Blessing here prescribed by God is called Invocation I cannot therefore see what should hinder but that we after Jacob's example may offer up our Prayers to a created Angel supposing as some do that Jacob prayed for a Blessing to such a kind of Angel De Sanct. Beat. l. 1. c. 29. Corn. A Lap. on Gen. xlviii It is a necessary consequence that Bellarmine and others of his Communion draw from this instance Holy Jacob invoked an Angel therefore it is not unlawful for the pretended reformed to do the like therefore one may worship others besides God these things saith he cannot be denied unless you reckon Prayer to be no act of Worship not peculiar to God alone But let them of his Church get out of these difficulties as they can who believe Jacob's Angel to have been a meer Creature Let them try how they can convince a Socinian from Ephes i. 2. and other places of Scripture where Worship is ascribed to Christ The Socinian has his answer ready he may wish and pray to Christ for Grace though he be not God since he does no more than Jacob did when he prayed for a Blessing on his Children to a meer Angel I am more concerned for these Divines of the Reformed Church who have given the same Interpretation of Jacob's Angel