said to them you take too much upon you they could not mean less than Moses did when he returned the d v. y. same words to Korah and his Brethren It was as much as to say you take that which God has not given you Vers. 7. God had surely given it to Aaron as he shewed by e 〈◊〉 IX ult sending Fire from Heaven on his Sacrifice Therefore this which they were now doing was directly in opposition to God So Moses f Nâ—… XVI 〈◊〉 tells Korah v. 11. both thou and all thy Company are gather'd together against the Lord and what is Aaron that you murmure against Him That Miracle was wrought in the sight of all Israel And they could not have forgotten it since being wrought but five months before their coming to Kadesh Barnea But it seems they ascribed it to some other cause and not to God's approbation of Aâ—…ron Therefore now there was no convincing them of their Error any otherwise than by putting the matter to God Moses offers them this that they all should g v. 5 6 7. take Censers and put Fire on them and offer Incense before the Tabernacle and Aaron should do the same and then they should see whom God would chuse Moses at the same time h v. 11. sent for those Sons of Reuben But they seemed to have a mind to the civil Government and â—…refore they Refused to obey him They said i v. 11. we will not come up It is plain in the following words that they charged him with making himself k v. 13. a Prince over them v. 13. and with breach of Trust and deluding the People with Promises of things of which now their l v. 14. senses shewed them the contrary v. 14. They ended as they begun we will not come up So they m v. 24. stay'd still in their Tabernacles v. 24. which were near to Korah's the Cohathites being encamped next to the Reubenites Perhaps on account of this Conspiracy they might have one Tabernacle in common There to shew they did not fear what Moses could do to them they had brought their wives and all their Children together to stand or fall with them in the event of this matter Korah the mean while seems to have been every where He was surely very busy to bring up all the Numbers he could that he might head them against Moses and Aaron That he was a great Demagogue a Ios. Aut. IV. 2. Iosephus saith and he shewed it throughout this whole Action In his speech at the beginning to Moses and Aaron he tells them all the Congregation are holy every one of them and the Lord is among them in his Tabernacle wherefore then lift you up your selves above the Congregation of the Lord b Num. XVI 3. v. 3. with these and such like flatteries of the People he had charmed them to that degree that now he had c vers 19. gather'd all the Congregation together against Moses and Aaron at the door of the Tabernacle There it was now to be tried who it was that God had chosen or would chuse 101. But while the 250 were preparing to offer their incense God's Judgements on Him and his Complices Moses went where Dathan and Abiram were together and called off the People d vers 26. that they might not perish with those Men. He declared that here would be the Trial whether God had spoke by him or no. e v. 28 29 30. If these Men dye the Common Death of all Men then the Lord has not sent me but if the Earth open her Mouth and swallow them up with all that is theirs then it will appear that these Men have provoked the Lord. No sooner had he made an end of speaking those words but f 31 3â—… the ground clave under them and swallowed them up and their Families even all that belonged to them The mean while for the 250 Men that were offering Incense and likely Korah was among them g v. 40. see vers 40. against them h v. 35. there came out a fire from the Lord and consumed them in the very Fact It was well for Korah's Sons that they i Num. XXVI II. deserted him in this Action for by that means they saved their Lives and continued his Family of whom came k 1 Chron. VI. 22 29. Samuel the great Saint of the Lord whom David l Ps. XCIX 6. and on the incorrigible People plaâ—… next to Moses and Aaron Ps. XCIX 6. 101. It was wonderful to see the People's stupidity under all this They that just now had been Eye witnesses of those dreadful Judgements of God employing both Heaven and Earth for the destruction of those Rebels yet as if all this had happen'd in their favour they still called them m Num. XVI 41. the People of the Lord. This they did after time for Deliberation for it was on the morrow after their death that all the Congregation of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron charging them with the Murder of these Men. They told them plainly you have killed the People of the Lord as if it had not been God's Work but theirs perhaps by Art Magick in which they might think that Moses and Aaron outdid the Magicians of Egypt The People were so enraged at this time that they broke out into an open Insurrection n v. 42. The Congregation was gather'd against Moses and against Aaron It was high time for God to put a stop to this as he did by his Glory appearing in the Tabernacle God declared his meaning by it to Moses that he would a v. 49. consume them as in a moment But to prevent this both Moses and Aaron fell upon their faces and prayed At their Prayer God forbore destroying those Rebels but he sent the Plague among them that presently b v. 49. consumed 14700 persons beside them that died in the Earthquake and by Fire from Heaven 102. It was very visible by this great Example that Miraculous God appoints two Memorials to be kept Judgements were not sufficient to quell the Rebellious Spirits of this People but that there must be some permanent Tokens besides to continue with them and to mind them from time to time what they or their Forefathers had suffer'd or seen Therefore God was pleased to c Num. XVI 37 40. order the taking up of the Censers of Korah and his 250 Men and the working of them into broad plates for the covering of the Altar to be a Memorial to the Children of Israel that none that d v. 40. was not of the seed of Aaron should come near to offer Incense before the Lord that he be not as Korah c. And to give them a further Memorial of this he caused e XVII 1 c. twelve Rods or Staves one for each of the twelve Tribes of Israel with the Tribe's name written upon it
and one for Levi besides with Aaron's Name written upon it to be laid up in the Tabernacle before the Ark of God and to ly there only for one night God told Moses what would be the issue of it and accordingly he found it so the next morning Behold the Rod of Aaron was budded and had brought forth Blossoms and those came to be Almonds all in that one night Moses brought out all those Rods that the Children of Israel might see them Of the Princes of the twelve Tribes every one acknowledged his own Rod. Then God caused Moses to bring back Aaron's Rod and to lay it before the Ark to remain there for a Token against those Rebels and quite to take away their Murmuring for the future 103. Now the whole Nation of Israel had seen these miraculous The People obstinate to the last proofs of God's insisting on his choice of Aaron to be Priest as well as his asserting the Authority of Moses They had also seen those dreadful Judgements of God Earthquake and Fire from Heaven and Plagues that he sent all in one day to cut off those Rebels that attempted to set up themselves against these his Ministers What disposition that People were in after this God has been pleased to let us know by giving us the Passionate words into which they broke out on this occasion He tells us f Num. XVII the Children of Israel spake unto Moses saying behold we dye we perish we all perish Whosoever cometh any thing near to the Tabernacle of the Lord shall dye Shall we be consumed with dying * After Moseâ—… and Aaron had brought the Children of Israel out of Egypt their first Complaint against them was this that whereas they had put the people in hope of bringing them into g Ex. XIII 5. a Land flowing with milk and honey Ex. XIII 5. They found fault that they had brought them into a a Ex. XIV 11. wilderness Ex. XIV 11. where first their b XV. 24. water was bâ—…r XV. 24. and where there was c XVI 3. nothing to eat XVI 3. and at last there was d XVII 3. no water XVII 3. God was so Gracious as notwithstanding all this to supply fall these defects and to forgive their Sin of murmuring so that not one of them died for it And after that he was pleased to renew to them that Promise of bringing them into e Num. XXXIII 3. Lev. XX. 24. a Land flowing with milk and honey Num. XXXIII 3. But when he had just brought them to that Land and the Spies whom they had sent to look into the nature of it had told them it was f Num. XIII 32. a Land that eat up the Inhabitants thereof which was quite contrary to what Moses had promised them then they broke out into a Tumuk worse than any of the former For this in the first place God g XIV 37. cut off those Spies that had given them that false information Then for their so often repeated Sin of murmuring against God he declared that they all should h vers 32. dye in the wilderness and that within the space of i 33. forty years This terrible Sentence daunted them for a while But soon after in the time of Korâ—…h's Rebellion Dathâ—… and Abiram k XVI 13 14. revived this very thing Num. XVI 13 14. In their charge against Moses they told him Thou hast brought us up to kill us in the wilderness thou hast not brought us into a Land that flows with milk and honey Wilt thou put out the eyes of these men Wilt thou make them believe this is a Land flowing with milk and honey when they see it is a Wilderness This was a downright Rebellion against God for which as those Ten Spies l XIV 37. died of the plague so these two Daâ—…han and Abiranâ—… and all that belonged to them were m XVI 32. swallowed up at once by the Ground opening under them But it seems the Sin these Men died for was no other than what all the People had in their hearts There seems to be an acknowledgement of it in these words when reflecting upon this Judgement on Dathan and Abâ—…ram they could not forbear telling Moses n XVII 1â—… XVII 12. behold we dye we perish we all perish that is to say if all that are of this opinion must dye then there is no help for it we must all dye and perish They were as good as their words They boldly said this again and again when they saw many others to join with them in it And o XX. 2 3. XXI 5. this was the cause of their dying in the next judgements of God that came upon them in the Wilderness Num. XX. 2 3. and XXI 5. But that which was freshest in their minds and which most stuck with them was this that Moses had advanced his Brother Aaron and his Sons to the Priesthood which always belonged to the first born in former times This was in their opinion such an engrossing of Honour and Riches into one Family as ought not to be endured That this was the People's sense of the matter it appeared by their so generally joyning with Korah and his Company in opposition to Aaron's Priesthood Koráh had with him p Num. XVI 2. vers 18. 250 men of the chief of their Nation who all took Censers in their hands to officiate as Priests in burning Incense at the Door of the Tabernacle The People saw them all struck dead with q v. 35. Fire from Heaven After which as Moses said by God's Command r v. 37 38 39. their Censers were taken up and wrought into Plates for the covering of the Altar and that expressly for this reason that it should be s v. 40. a Memorial to all others that were not of the â—…ons of Aaron that t Num. XVI 40. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. not a man of them should come near to offer incense before the Lord that he be not as Korah and his Company Num. XVI 40. All this the People must have known or else it could not hare been a warning to them They might also know what Moses now said as from God concerning u Num. XVII 10 11. Aaron's Rod being now laid up before the Ark for a second Memorial He had said that it was to mind the People not to meddle with any office of the Priesthood x vers 10. that they dye not It was as most think upon the hearing of this that the y v. 12. Children of Israel spoke to Moses those passionate words we dye we perish we all perish that is in effect we hear of nothing but dying But those words especially went to their hearts that Moses had z XVI 40. XVII 13. said on occasion of the Plates being made of those Censers for a Memorial c. They repeat them here in effect 〈◊〉 〈◊〉
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 every one that shall come near the Tabernacle of the Lord shall dye God heard this and thereupon for a farther provision against their falling into this Sin he made a fresh Declaration of his mind almost in the same words in which the People had repeated the former They had said 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 every one that comes near shall dye God repeated it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 every one that comes near shall be put to death For the Reason of this enough XVIII 7. has been said in the Context of this Discourse 104. The direful Complaints of the heavy Judgements of God as appeared by their bitter complaints that they had seen inflicted on others and expected the like on themselves do plainly shew that they had no Abhorrence of the Sins by which those their Brethren that died and perish'd had provoked the Righteous God to send these Judgements upon them So far they were from that that in the mind they were in they seem to have thought of no other but that they should a Num. XVII 12. all perish in like manner though they knew that could not be unless they themselves were guilty of the same Sins They did not know but they might all murmur against Moses and do all the rest that Dathan and Aoiram had done 105. But it seems they took a more particular notice of the Sin especially on Kâ—…rah's death of Korah and his Fellows and of the Judgement of God inflicted on them God had appointed b Num. XVI 38. the Censers of those Sinners against their own Souls to be worked into a Covering for the Altar that it might be a Memorial to all that were not of the Seed of Aaron that not c See Num. XVI 40. in the bottom of page 47. oâ—…e Man of them should come near to offer Incense that is to officiate as a Priest that they might not suffer as Korah and his Company had done Moses d Num. XVII 10 11. warned them again of the same at the setting up of that Second Memorial of Aaron's Rod which warning of his seems to have been the immediate occasion of those passionate words Thereupon the Text saith a vers 12. the Children of Israel spake unto Moses saying behold we dye we perish we all perish then adding that which stuck most in their thoughts namely the b XVI 40. words that he spake at the setting up of the former Memorial Num. XVI 40. There it was declared as they here repeated the words c XVII 13. See it here in the bottom Every one that comes near the Tabernacle of the Lord to offer Incense shall dye How then say they have we done dying Is the Danger over No certainly unless we give up our Right of doing the same that Korah did which it seems they would not promise for themselves In short here is nothing else in all their speech but Tokens of the utmost impenitence They neither ask Pardon of God nor of either of his Ministers they did not so much as desire that Moses would Pray for them nor did they make the least confession of any Sin that either they or those Rebels were guilty of The last mention they made of them in all this History was d XVI 41. Num. XVI 41 where they charged Moses and Aaron with killing them They told them plainly you have killed the People of the Lord. For this God justly called them a Num. XVII 10. Rebels ch XVII 10. and provided the second Memorial quite to take away their murmurings that they dye not But they were still for b vers 22 13. dying and perishing rather than they would promise to Amend and give over those Rebellions by which they that did dye and perish had brought those Judgements on themselves 106. By what has been said it abundantly appears that as yet God gives a New Law against intruding into the Priesthood the Murmurings were not quite taken away nor were like to be as long as this Generation was living God was therefore so much the more concerned to take care that they might not destroy themselves by their Rebellions before the Time was run out that he had set them to wander in the Wilderness And since for the preventing of this no sort of Miracles would do for all had been tried and cast away on this stiff-necked People therefore God was pleased to resort to the Ordinary means by enacting Judicial Laws with strict Penalties and making it the business of Persons concern'd to see them put in Execution It was Aaron himself that was chiefly concern'd in all matters of publick worship He was the High Priest that was appointed of God to be Judge in all causes touching Religion and c Deut. XVII 11. 12. from the Sentence of the Law which he should deliver there was to be no Appeal Deut. XVII 11 12. Therefore now to put an end to those disputes about the Priesthood God was pleased to deliver to Aaron a Judicial Law concerning Holy places and things Num. XVIII 1 7. By which in the first place d Num. XVIII 1 7. God laid upon Him and his Sons the whole charge of those places and things that belonged to the Priesthood viz. of the Sanctuary and the Vessels thereof and also of the Priest's Court wherein was the Altar of Sacrifice But for the People's Court and all the Offices in the outer Verge of the Tabernacle God laid the charge of all these on the other Levites that were not of the Sons of Aaron And as well to oblige them both Priests and Levites to look to their respective charges as to deter others from breaking in upon them he ordain'd that if any one who was not of the Tribe of Levi should intrude into any place of their Ministry or should meddle with any of the Vessels belonging to it he should be put to death and so should the Levites that suffer'd him to do it And for those places and vessels that were within the charge of the Priests the Sons of Aaron if any stranger should presume to come near them he must be e vers 7. put to death v. 7. nay though he were a Levite as Korah was he must dye for it and the Priests that suffer'd it must also dye with him f v. 3. Their second Massa and Meriba v. 3. 107. They were by this Ordinance of God kept under a lasting Aw which they could not be by Temporary Miracles So that now from this time forward we read no more of any one 's intruding into the office of Priesthood in Moses's time or his Successors Nor do we read of the People's Murmuring on any other account till 37 years after their departure from Kadesh Barnea Then the Children of Israel being come down to a Num. XXXIII 35. Ezion Geber Num. XXXIII 35. which was by the Red Sea b 1 Kings IX 26. n. 73. 1 Kings
very near * see DISSERT III. equal to 69 Iulian must necessarily expire in the first year of King Darius And so it came to pass for in a Ann. 538. before Christ. that very year those 70 years being ACCOMPLISHED God did punish Belshazzar King of Babylon and his Nation as it hath been already shewn 38. The other a BOOK for so it is called in the Original a a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 was the b Ier. XXIX II. that after LXX weeks he would bring back his Captive people Epistle which Ieremy sent from Ierusalem to his Brethren that were in the Babylonian Captivity In this Epistle among other things the Prophet saies thus saith the Lord AFTER 70 years be ACCOMPLISHED at Babylon I will visit you and perform my Good Word towards you in Causing you to return to this place c Ier. XXIX v. 10. v. 10. It was in the fourth year of Iehoiakim that Nebucadnezzar smote the Army of Pharaoh Necho King of Aegypt at Charchemish d Ier. XLVI 1. Ierem. XL. VI. 1. And then it was that he took Ierusalem and brought Iehoiakim under Tribute e XXV 1. Ierem. XXV 1. At which time also he carryed away Daniel and many others together with a great part of the Vessels of the Temple to Babylon f Dan. I. 2. II Chron. XXXVI 7. Dan. I. 2. 2 Chron. XXXVI 7. In that g Ann. 606. before Christ. fourth year of Iehoiakim was the beginning of the 70 years of Captivity which years according to that Prophecy must be ACCOMPLISHED at Babylon There were just so many Chaldee years from the fourth of Iehoiakim till h Ann. 537. before Christ. the second year of year of Darius inclusively And AFTER these 70 years were ACCOMPLISHED then God was to visit his people and to cause them to return to Ierusalem accordingly this came to pass in the first year of Cyrus i Ezra I. 1. Ezra I. 1. 39. That there were just 70 Chaldee years from the third year of Daniel saw that the first LXX years were past and Babylon punished Iehoiakim till the first of Darius and so likewise from the fourth of Iehoiakim till the Second of Darius this will be k Dissert III. afterwards shewn in the proper place The mean while by what has been said thâ—… Readâ—…r â—…ay understand that which l Dan. IX 2. Daniel saith IX 2. In the â—…st year of HIS that is of K. DARIUS'S Reign I Daniel understood by m 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 BOOKS the number of the years whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the Prophet that he would Accomplish 70 years in the Desolation of Jerusalem 40. By these n 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He saw the second year near past but nothing done for his People BOOKS or Prophecies Daniel understood now in the first year of DARIUS that his People were within a year or little more of being restored from their Captivity And though at this time he was for his own part in a most prosperous and flourishing Condition o Dan. VI. 2 3. Dan. VI. 2 3. such as drew upon him the Envy of them that were the Chief men about King Darius p v. 4. c. v. 4 c. yet he considered not Himself nor any thing that he enjoyed nor any thing that could happen to him All his thoughts were taken up with those Promises of God concerning his people's Deliverance and especially the building of the Temple at Ierusalem 41. These Promises being made without any Condition God was He knew they must Pray for it sure to perform for his Truth 's sake even to them that should have no benefit by it The Benefit would be only to them that were qualified by Faith and Obedience and that sought it with fervent Prayer All this Daniel could not but know to be so according to the General rules of God's dealing with his people But besides he knew that as to these partâ—…cular Promises God was pleased a Iâ—… XXIX 12 13 14. in the Prophecy it self to charge them with this Condition that whosoever would receive any benefit by them should obtain it by Prayer he should not have it otherwise This God had expresly b vers 1â—… required of his people v. 12. Then shall you call upon me and you shall go and pray unto me and I will hearken unto you And you shall seek me and find me when you shall search for me with all your Heart And I will be found of you saith the Lord and I will turn your Captivity c. 42. It is more likely that also at this time his People having been He Prayed and joyn'd Fasting with it for many years Captives at Babylon had contracted much Impurity by living so long in that Idolatrous City and Nation And that Righteous man dwelling among them might have seen and known so much of this that though he could not doubt of God's Truth in performing his Promisâ—… 〈◊〉 he might fear least the Generality of his people might be very 〈◊〉 to receive any Benefit by it Therefore he not only prays for their Deliverance 〈◊〉 he joyns fasting with it and Confession of those Sins by which they 〈◊〉 made themselves unworthy of that Mercy c Dan. IX 3 4. Dan. IX 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 43. First as for Daniel's Fast on this occaâ—… 〈◊〉 â—…rs to have He kept a strict Fast. been only for One day But how strict a Fast it was he expresly tells us It was not such a fast as he says he kept d Dan. X. 2 3. in the third year of Cyrus Dan. X. 2 3. That was not so properly a fast as a MOURNING for three full weeks v. 3. that is for e 1. 13. one and twenty days together v. 13. All which time he eat no f 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 pleasant Victuals particularly no flesh nor wine came into his mouth nor did he * The Persians used to anoint themselves every day delicately and profusely Pâ—…in Nat. Hist. XIII 1. Anoint himself he used no manner of delicacy But then he kept his Fast as devout people do among us their Passion week or as many do their whole Lent as well here as in other Countreys But this one days Fast on this solemn occasion was joined with g Dan. IX 〈◊〉 Sackcloth and Ashes v. 3. These are higher expressions of â—…row than were used in any ordinary Fast. They were such 〈◊〉 King of Ninive used for the averting of the Judgements of God 〈◊〉 were denounced by the Prophet h 〈◊〉 III. 6. Ionas against him and his people Ionas III. 6. Whether he did it by the Prophet's advice or out of a meer natural sense of Religion In like manner did i Eâ—… IV. 1 2 3. Mordecai and many other of the Jews afflict their souls for the Sins of their People when they were at the very brink of Destruction
Daniel now did the same he sought the Lord by prayer with a Dan. IX 1 2 3. Fasting and Sackcloth and Ashes out of a holy fear lest his people by their Sins should obstruct their approaching Deliverance 44. In the next place as to Daniel's Prayer here are several things Of DANIEL'S PRAYER to be observed in it As namely First The Time This as we shall shew in it's proper b Tract IV. place was at one of the Hours of Prayer and particularly at the Ninth Hour which was the time of the c Dan. IX 21. Evening Sacrifice Secondly The Ceremonies that he used in his Devotions of these here is nothing expressed but only this which Daniel saies of himself v. 3. d Dan. IX 3. I set my face unto the Lord God meaning thereby towards the Ruins of the Temple of God at Ierusalem as he shews e Dan. VI. 10. v. Grotium in â—…oc elsewhere Dan. VI. 10. Thirdly The Substance of his Prayer This he f IX 20. divides in two parts the Confession of his Sins and his People's and his Supplication to God IX 20. Before all he begins with an g vers 4. Address to God the same that was afterwards used by h Neh. I. 5. Nehemiah in his Prayer on a like occasion His Confession of Sins we shall i Tract V. shew he also begins with a k Dan. IX 5. set Form composed by King l Ps. CVI. 6. David and prescribed by his Son m 〈◊〉 Kin. VIII 47. Solomon to the used by God's People when they should be in Captivity as 〈◊〉 were now in Daniel's time 45. But for these Circumstantial things the use of set forms of Circumstantial things are only toucht at Prayer the Houâ—… of Prayer that Daniel observed and the Ceremony abovâ—… 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they do all deserve a longer consideration than we caâ—… 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 them in this place so our enlarging upon them here is not â—…ry for the understanding of this Prophecy And therefore a farther discourse upon these is reserved for some of the n Tract IV. V. Tracts that are to follow in the end of this work As to our present business it will be sufficient to observe those things in Daniel's Prayer to which the Angel plainly refers in any part of his Answer but especially in the words of this Prophecy 46. In the first place whosoever reads Daniel's Prayer and well In the Main it shews us his excellent Spirit considers it cannot but admire his excellent temper of Spirit made up wholely of Humility and Self-denial and of ardent Zeal for God's Glory and the good of his Church There is a wonderfull mixture oâ—… 〈◊〉 these together that shines forth throughout his whole Prayer for which as it was intimated o see 〈◊〉 1 2 3. before the Angel that brought him this Prophecy told him in his Preface to it that he was GREATLY Bâ—…LOVED OF GOD. 47. First to speak of his Humility Throughout the first part of his Humility 〈◊〉 Prayer which is chiefly a Confession of Sin he every were joins his own Sins with those of his People as if He had been one of the Number of them that had drawn down those heavy Judgements of God upon themselves and their Nation of whom a great part were destroyed and the rest were now as he was in Captivity in a forreign Land But he does more than this he calls that whole part of his Prayer a Dan. IX 4. MY CONFESSION v. 4. And so at last all the matters of his Confession he summs up in these words I was confessing MY SIN and the Sin of my people Israel He speaks as if he had been the Chief Sinner of Israel He b Ezek. XIV 14 20. see Dissert I. whom * See Usser Ann. 594. before Christ and remember this Prayer was Iâ—…o Dâ—…ll that is in the year before Christ 537 near threescore years after that Prophecy above fifty years before all they that were then in Captivity with him at Babylon looked upon as so great a Saint that they hoped to be delivered on the account of his Holiness 48. In the second part of his Prayer which he calls his Supplication his Self Denial to God first as to the Matters he had to ask in it this holy man was so intent on the concernments of his People that he quite left out himself as if he were not worth thinking of It may indeed seem as if he had not any thing to ask for himself being then as great as the greatest King in the World could make him in his worldly condition But besides he could have no concernment himself in that which he was chiefly to ask for his People His great suit for them was that God would put an end to their Captivity that they might return to their own Land But that was above c Ezra VII 9. four months Journey too much for a Man of his Age being then above d See Dissert I. Ninety years old Yet now at this age being first Minister of State in that great Empire he underwent perhaps a greater toil for his People's sake than that Journey would have been And he continued in it e Dan. VI. 28. even till King Cyrus's time It was four years at least till the third year of Cyrus after which God was pleased to give him his dismission f Dan. XII 12 13. Dan. XII 12 13. His Zeal for God's Glory will appear in the Arguments that he uses in his Prayer which we shall presently come to consider 49. But first something more must be said of the Persons and his Concern for God's People especially for the City of Ierusalem things that he prayed for He asked only in general for his People that God would bring them back into the Land of their Fathers But there he seems to have thought of nothing but the City of Ierusalem It is that which he insists upon more than any thing else in his Prayer It appears by his mentioning this five or six times at least whereas he does not mention the Temple more than once though that was surely the most valuable thing in that City Both these Daniel g Dissert I. had seen in their Glory in the end of King Iosiah's Reign though he was very young at that time But Ierusalem he could never forget nor no Captive at Babylon could that had read those passionate words in h Ps CXXXVII 5 6. King David's beloved City Ps. CXXXVII 50. The Royal Psalmist himself could not but have a vehement affection i See Ps. CXXII for that City on many accounts It was that which he having taken it from the Iebusites first made the Royal Seat of his Kingdom afterwards having brought the Ark of God thither he made it the Mother-Church of all Israel and to perpetuate that Privilege to it he would have built a Temple there for
man did especially insist on that Privilege that especially in praying for the Jews as God's People the Jews had above all other Nations on the account of their particular Relation to God He sheweth it all along in his Prayer where speaking to God he calls him sometimes b Dan IX 9 15. the Lord our God v. 9 15. sometimes c verse 10 13 14. JEHOVAH our God verse 10 13 14. And of the â—…ewish Nation he tells him We are thy People d vers 15 16. v. 15 16. thy People that are called by thy Name e vers 19. v. 19. All the Jew's Prayers for their People and Nation are full of such Instances as these 57. To shew what ground they had for this it will be necessary A DIGRESSION to look so far back into the Iewish Origins that some may think it a tedious Digression from our main Business But we hope they will think otherwise when they see the Use of it in our explaining of some parts of the following Prophecy by such Notes as they will find in this Disquisition 58. The Jews have an ancient Tradition in their Talmud which Of the Rabbins three Olams divides the whole Age of the world into three Olamim as they call them The first they call Olam Tohu the Age of Emptiness being all that which passed before their Divine Revelation The second they call Olam Tora the Age of the Law which contains all that space of time from the Call of Abraham Gen. XII till the coming of the Messias The other they call the Age of the Messias which is to extend from his coming to the end of the world To each of these Ages there was assigned by their Tradition the space of two thousand years That reckoning of years the present Iews would be glad to be rid of for if that Tradition be true the Messias is come and gone above a thousand years since We see f v. Raim Mart. pugio â—…d II. 10 1. c. Hoornb de Conv. Iud. II. p. 180. what miserable shifts they are driven to for the avoiding of this 59. But for their account of the three Ages here mentioned we the threefold Dispensation of the Covenant of Grace have no occasion to differ from them about that It is plain that God has so order'd a threefold dispensation of the Covenant of Grace to Mankind in that Estate into which we are faln by the sin of our first Parents The first Dispensation began with that Gracious Promise of a Gen. III. 15. the Seed of the Woman which God made to them immediately after the Fall We all acknowledge this to have been the first promise of the Messias The History of the Creation together with this and afterwards the History of Noah's Flood was doubtless convey'd from â—…e to age by unwritten Tradition And the knowledge of these â—…ings together with something of Instituted worship being added to the Natural Religion was all that God gave Mankind to conduct them in the way to Eternal Life during that whole first Dispensation Afterwards when God had given us a sufficient trial what shift Human Nature could make without any other helps than those before mentioned then he proceeded to a second Dispensation wherein he superadded to the former an immediate Divine Revelation With this he was pleased to entrust one particular Nation not only to be the Depositaries of it but also to be Patterns to all the rest of Mankind by living up to it as he had reason to expect that they should during that Dispensation Then at last it pleased God to begin a third Dispensation by sending his Son into the World with the most perfect Revelation that ever shall be given to Mankind causing this to be put in writing for the use of all future ages even unto the end of the world 60. For that second Dispensation of which we are to speak par especially the second being that of the Jewish Church ticularly at this time God made choice first of Abraham a Man of such Godlike qualities that he was therefore called the b 2 Chron. XX. 7. Esai XLI 8. Iam. II. 23. Friend of God To that excellent Man God first gave the Promise that there should be one of c Gen. XII 3. his Seed in whom all the Families of the earth should be blessed Gen. XII 3. which promise the Jews understood of the Messâ—…as and accordingly St. Paul apply'd it to d Gal. III. 1â—… Christ Gal. III. 18. After this God was pleased to establish a Covenant with him that he would be a God to Him and his Seed Gen. XVII 7. For a lasting token whereof God gave him first the mark of e Gen. XVII 1â—… Circumcision in his Flesh and order'd that to be continued on all his male Issue that should be born into the world The first of these namely Isaac was called f Gen. XXI 12. the Seed of Promise as being not only the Ancestor of Christ but also a most lively Type of him in sundry respects but especially in his being offer'd up by his Father in Sacriâ—…ce to God as the Apostle observes g Heb. XI 17 18 19. Hebr. XI 17 18 19. This Covenant God having first made with Abraham personally by the Name of ELSHADDAI that is h Gen. XVII 1. God Almighty Gen. XVII 1. did afterward by the same name confirm it in his son i XXVIII 3. Isaac XXVIII 3. and after him to his son k XXXV 11. Iacob XXXV 11. and after him to a NATION that should come out of his Loins This was in effect an Exclusion to all the rest of Abraham's Seed and of Isaâ—…c's also from being of the National Church 61. But yet this Covenant of God he did never appropriate to the First in Egypâ—… God called them to be a National Church Seed of Iacob or Israil till above two hundred years after his death They were then in the land of Egypt whither at first they came only a Gen. XLVI 27. LXX persons in number * There went thither of Abraham's Seed only Iacob himself and Lâ—…IV Sons and Grandsons of his together with one daughter Diâ—… and Grandaughter Serâ—… and there they found Ioseph and his two Sons which made up that whole number of LXX l Gen. XLVI 7 27. Gen. XLVI 7. 27. In that space of time they were so encreased that they came to be b Deut X. 22. like the Stars of Heaven in multitude Deut. X. 22. In little more than half that time their Numbers had made them formidable to the Egyptians c Ex. I. 7 10. Ex. I. 7. 10. insomuch that they thought it necessary for their own safety to make them thâ—… In order to that first they brought them under such a slavery as d v. 14. made their lives bitter to them v. 14. When that would not do 〈◊〉 were for e v. 22. drowning all
only murmured against Moses but they outright chid with him and were almost ready to stone him e Ex. XVII 1 4. Ex. XVII 1. 4. Nay they went farther in their Rebellion f v. 7. They tempted the Lord saying is the Lord among us or not God shewed them he was by g v. 5. bidding Moses take the Elders of Israel with him and in their sight smite the Rock with the Rod in his hand whereupon there came out such a stream of water as supply'd all their present needs And not only so but it follow'd them wherever they went in the wilderness till the fourtieth year after this Then upon their coming back to the Red Sea where this stream of water ran out they were at a loss for water again and thereupon they broke out into a second h Num. XX. 2. Massa and Mereba worse than the former Num. XX. 2 c. 74. But all the Instances that we have given hitherto except this God still bore with them and took care of them last were within 40 Days after their coming out of Egypt And it is remarkable that during all this time notwithstanding all their great provocations God made them no other return but in deliverances and blessings Of this kind there was one more than we have yet mentioned viz. the Victory that God gave them over the i Ex. XVII 8 c. Aâ—…alekites These their unnatural Brethren looking upon them as no other than heartless slaves that had never seen fighting and had no other Arms but what the Sea threw up together with the dead Bodies of the Egyptians fell upon them k Deut. XXV 18. faint and weary as they were with their Journey and smote all the hindmost of them not doubting to have taken the rest with all the riches of which they had l Ex. XII 36. spoiled the Egyptians Ex. XII 36. But Moses orderd Ioshua to draw out all the men of Israel that were likeliest to fight and to lead them against the Enemy He did so and God shewed them to whom they owed their Success by ordering that to attend the motions of Moses's hands * It is hand in the singular Number in the Hebrew text but hands in the Samaritan and LXX in his prayer m Ex. XVII 11. When he held them up Israel prevailed when he let them down Amalek prevailed But Moses seeing that and finding his hands to grow weary a vers 12. got help to keep them up till the Evening and so obtain'd a complete Victory for Israel 75. With this farther Instance of God's good Providence over He brought them to M. Horeb. them they came to Mount Horeb in the wilderness of Sinai It is that which Moses calls the Mount of God for it was there he had the vision of God in a b Ex. III. 1. 2. flame of fire in a bush And there first God gave him the charge over his People and a promise withal c Ex. III. 12. that when he had brought them forth out of Egypt they should serve God on that very mountain Ex. III. 12. As soon as they were come thither d XIX 3 4 5. Moses went up forth with to God who called to him out of the Mount saying thus shalt thou say to the Children of Israel ye have seen what I did to the Egyptians and how I bare e XIX 3 6. you on Eagles wings and brought you to my self Now therefore if you will obey my voice indeed and keep my Covenant then you shall be a peculiar treasure to me above all People c. Upon his bringing them this Message from God f v. 8. they all answered together v. 8. all that the Lord has spoken we will do Hereupon by God's Command g v. 10 11. v. 10 11. to make the more Impression on their souls they sanctified themselves by washing their Bodies for three days together with the Baptism of Repentance * So the Jews understand it as the learned Selden sheweth q Selden de Syned 1. 3. p. 24 c. at large in his Book dé Synedriis The whole manner of it is described in that command of God for r Lev. VIII 7. Sanctifying of the Levites Lev. VIII 7. They joyn'd strict Abstinence with it h Ex. XIX 14. Ex. XIX 14. And so being ready against the third day then being brought by Moses to the bottom of Mount Sinai there they saw and heard from the Top of it all those Glorious and dreadful sights and noises i v. 18. and XX. 18. of thunder and lightning and clouds and the voice of a Trumpet exceeding loud the Mountain smoking like a Furnace above and the earth quaking under them so that all the People being stricken with Terror removed and stood afar off It seems they did this even while God was speaking to them For as it presently follows l v. 19. they said unto Moses speak thou with us and we will hear but let not God speak with us lest we die These were surely such Evidences of an Almighty power that all they that were present at that time if they had any sense in them could not but as God told Moses they should on this Conviction m Ex. XIX 9. believe him for ever Ex. XIX 9. 76. What it was that God spoke to them we see n Ex. XX. 1 17. Ex. XX. He gave them the Law at M. Sinai 1. 17. Where first by way of Preface he minded them that he had performed his part of the Covenant in these words o vers 〈◊〉 I am JEHOVAH thy God which have brought thee out of the Land of Egypt c. Then to let them know what he expected on their part he spoke to them those p Ex. XXXIV 28. Deut. X. 13. Ten words as God calls them which we call the Decalogue being the ten Precepts of the Moral Law The first of them was in these words a Ex. XX. 3. Thou shalt have no other God before me * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 being in the singular Number shews that it should be render'd thou shalt have no other God And by those words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 before me it was intimated to them that if they had any other God they could not hide it so but that the great JEHOVAH must see it The second is in these words b vers 4. thou shalt not make to thee any graven Image or the likeness of any thing that is in Heaven or Earth c. thou shalt not bow down thy self to them nor worship them for I the Lord thy God am a Iealous God c. intimating that however he might bear with the Idolatry of other Nations yet he could not endure it in his own People no more than a Husband can Adultery in his own wife which if he knows he will surely punish if he be able 77. God knew what need there
was of using such threatnings to a Warning them especially against Idolatry People that were so inclined to Idolatry And therefore the more to secure them against that when he had gone through all the rest of his Ten words as it were in one breath he return'd to this against Idolatry for so we see it again vers 22 23. c v. 22 23. The Lord said unto Moses thus shalt thou say to the Children of Israel you have seen that I have talked with you from Heaven from thence d Deut. IV. 13 15. you only heard a Voice but you saw no similitude therefore take heed and do not make with me Gods of Silver nor Gods of Gold This plainly shews what the especial danger was against which God thought fit to provide for the safety of his People in Religious matters 78. After this God gave them a Body of e Ex. XXI XXII XXIII Political Judicial He gave them the Judicial Law Laws chiefly for the keeping of that vast number of People together and the Governing of them in Civil Society Then Moses having f Ex. XXIV 3 4. written all these in a Book as well the Ten words before-mention'd as also the Iudgements now deliver'd did by God's Command call all the People together and read the Book in their hearing Which having done he g v. 7. bound them to the observation of these Laws by h v. 8. an especial Covenant made by Sacrifice for that purpose And to make the stronger impression on their minds he first sprinkled i Ex. XXIV 6. half the blood of the Sacrifice on the Altar of God and then having taken a solemn promise from them in these words k v. 7. all that the Lord hath said we will do and be obedient then he sprinkled the other half of the blood on the People saying to them l v. 8. Behold the Blood of the Covenant which the Lord has made with you concerning all these words viz. all the words of the Law and also of the Judgements beforementioned 79. When this Business was over then Moses by God's Command Moses gets up into the Mount went up to him into the Mount there to receive m Deut. IX 11. the Tables of the Covenant from God himself They were two Tables of Stone on which there were written n Ex. XXIV 12. the Law and the Commandment as Moses calls them Ex. XXIV that is to say o Deut. IX 10. the words which the Lord spake to them out of the midst of the fire on Mount Sinai Deut. IX The Tables were no bigger than Moses could carry in his hands Ex. XXXII 19. and yet they were cut out of the Rock by the Almighty hand of God which also writ all that was contained in them to give them the more Authority with his People 80. There Moses continued in the Mount a Ex. XXIV 18. fourty daies and Stays there forty daies fourty nights neither eating nor drinking but wholely taken up with Attention to God who delivered to him those Instructions and Laws concerning the b Ex. XXV XXXI making of the Ark and the Tabernacle and all the furniture of it together with all the Utensils for his Instituted worship and also concerning the Priest's Vestments and their Consecration c. They were matters in which there was c Ezek. XX 25. no Intrinsec Goodness at all Ezek. XX. 25. And therefore these things were d Ier. VII 22. not commanded by God to his People at their first coming up our of Egypt Ier. VII 22. but were superadded afterwards to fill the Eyes and the Ears of a Sensual People that seemed to be scarce capable of any thing of Spiritual Religion having their minds wholely taken up with the remembrance of those Pompous and Noisy rites they had seen among the Idolatrous Nations 81. They shew'd now a great Instance of this upon occasion of The People set up a Golden Calf Moses's being so long absent from them while he was with God in Mount Sinai fourty daies e Ex. XXXII 1. For when the People saw that Moses delaied to come down out of the Mount in all that time they came in a Body to Aaron whom he had left in charge over them and said to him up make us Gods to go before us for as for this Moses the Man that brought us up out of the Land of Egypt we know not what is become of him It was strange indeed that they that within three months before had seen all those plagues of Egypt and their wonderful deliverance from thence and had been ever since conducted by the Pillar of Cloud and of Fire and did neither eat nor drink any thing but what came to them immediately from God by perpetual Miracles should notwithstanding all this so f Ps. CVI. 21. forget God their Saviour as to say it was that Man Moses that brought us up out of the Land of Egypt It was yet more strange that when by their g Ex. XXXII 22. importunity and threats they had gotten Aaron to make them a Molten Calf the likeness of an Ox that eateth Grass Ps. CVI. 20. they would cry up that as they did saying h vers 4 8. * This is thy God .... So it is in Neh. IX 18. this is thy God O Israel which brought thee up out of the Land of Egypt But this was strangest of all that Aaron who had seen the Glory of God should so quite forget that as to build an Altar to this Image of a beast and make Proclamation before it as if the great God had come down to dwell in it saying i v. 5. tomorrow is a Feast to JEHOVAH But however they had brought him to do this the People were pleased it was done And as if it were a God indeed k v. 6. on the morrow the People rose up early and offer'd Sacrifices of all sorts as well burnt offerings to this new made God as peace offerings to feast themselves with After which a Ib. 7. they rose up to play b vers 17 18 19. singing dancing and shouting as they had seen it done by the Egyptians at the Feasts of their Idols 82. On that very Morning Moses being to come down from the Moses intercedes for them Mount God c v. 7. hasten'd him away to see what they were doing in the Camp And it may be observed that as they had called Moses d v. 1. the Man that brought us up out of Egyt so God speaking to Moses called them e v. 7. thy People which thou hast brought up out of Egypt Ex. XXXII 7. As the People gave the Honour of that great work from God to Moses so in effect God bids him take the People together with it Their making an Image of the Lord Iehovah their God was so great a breach of their Covenant with him after so
strict a charge he had given them to the contrary that now he might well have rid his hands of them and f v. 10. Deut. IX 26. consumed them all at once v. 10 Deut. IX 26. And it would not have been inconsistent at all with his Oath to Abraham Isaac and Iacob of what he would do for their seed in bringing them to the land of Canaan for that might have been perform'd to Moses and his seed which was theirs and so here God offer'd it to Moses saying g Ex. XXXII 10. Deut. IX 14. I will make of thee a Nation mightier and greater than they Moses could not hear of this h v. 11. He besought the Lord his God that the People of Israel might be his People still as ill as they deserved That Title But his concernment was chiefly for the honour of God lest his destroying them might give occasion to the Egyptians to blaspheme charging God with Inconstancy as if he knew not his own mind in bringing them out of Egypt or with Weakness and not being able to Carry them farther or that it was out of Hatred to them that he brought them out of Egypt to do them i Deut. IX 28. a Mischief to consume them there in the Wilderness Upon Moses's most earnest Intercession God was pleased to try them farther laying it upon Moses for the present to correct what he saw amiss in the People and for Aaron whom God would have destroy'd he k Deut. IX 20. Pardon'd him on his Brother's prayer 83. It was so horrible a sight to Moses when he came to the Camp He breaks the Tables l Deut. IX 15. wiih the two Tables in his hand which were m Ex. XXXII 16. the work of God and so was the writing on the Tables that in a violent Passion he n v. 19. threw them out of his hands and broke them beneath the Mount to make the People sensible what they had done in breaking their Covenant with God Then with a Just Indignation he o vers 20. threw down the Calf from it's Basis and melted it and ground it to powder which he p Deut IX 21. threw into the Brook that followed them out of the Mount Deut. IX 21. and so q Ex XXXII 7. mingled it with the water they were to drink Ex. XXXII 20. 84. But for Example's sake he took another course with those bigotted Idolaters that were now in the midst of their Jollity He cried out a Ex. XXXII 26. who is on the Lord's Side let him come to me All those that came in upon that call were of the Sons of Levi whom he commanded to take Arms and fall upon them and kill every one of them that came in their way They did as he bade them and so by their hands b ver 2â—… there fell of the People that day about three thousand men v. 28. This Act of the Levites not only expiated the Crime of their Father in killing the Shechemites But also instead of c Gen. XLIX 7. Iacob's curse it entitled them to that Blessing of their being called to the Ministery of God to which this was their d Deut. XXXIII 9 10. first Consecration Deut. XXXIII 9 10. 85. But after all God did not think fit that this being a National God requires their Publick Repentance Sin should be pardon'd without a National Repentance Moses seem'd to fear he could not bring them to that in such measure as might reconcile them to God for such a breach of their Covenant with him Therefore he begg'd that rather than this Sin should not be forgiven them e Ex. XXXII 32. he himself might bear the punishment of it in this life instead of his People But God was not for being reconciled to them presently without giving them such Marks of his displeasure as would make them wiser for the future At first he had proposed instead of conducting them himself as hitherto he had done to turn them over henceforward to a created f vers 34. and Ex. XXXIII 2. Angel Ex. XXXII 34. and XXXIII 2. most probably to Michael their Prince as Daniel calls him Dan. XII 2. In the next place he declared that although hitherto he had not punished them for any of their Sins but on the contrary he had by his Mercy and Justice as it were hired them to their Duty now he would treat them in another manner for the future and as oft as they fell into Sin g Ex. XXXII 34. he would punish them for it and that the rather to bring this particular sin afresh into their memory Lastly to affect them the more with a Sense of the Provocation they had given him h Ex. XXXIII 7. God caused Moses to remove his Tbernacle that stood in the midst of the Camp over which God's Pillar used to appear and to place it at a distance from the Camp that the whole Nation might see the great change of God's Countenance toward them The mean while God commanded them to i vers 5. lay aside all their Ornaments as a punishment for their abuse of them in parting with their Golden Ear rings of which Aaron made them a Golden Calf At the hearing of this they not only k vers 6. stripped themselves of all their Ornaments but l vers 4. put themselves in Mourning Ex. XXXIII 4. 86. This set Moses again to his Prayers with great Vehemence and forgives them on Moseâ—…'s prayer to beg of God that he would afford his Presence again to his People And at last he did obtain it God promised m vers 14. my Presence shall go with thee v. 14. and afterwards having n vers 16 17. repeated it v. 16 17. that he would go with them so as that all People should know that they were restored to his favour By this it appears that the Tabernacle was return'd to the Camp together with the Pillar over it which was the visible token of his Presence And then God a Ex. XXXIV 10. renew'd his Covenant with them promising now again that he would bring them into the Land of Canaan But withal he obliged them afresh to take heed of Idolatry b v. 14. in these words v. 14. Thou shalt worship no other God for the Lord whose name is Iealous is a jealous God 87. This and some other Precepts Moses received when by God's Moses a second 40 days in the Mount Command he was a second time with him in the Mount c Ex. XXXIV 28. Deut. IX 18 25. X. 10. for forty days and forty nights fasting for the sins of his People Now Moses himself d Deut. X. 1. by God's command had hewed two other Tables out of the rock instead of those he had broken And in these God himself e v. 2 4. had written the words of the Covenant even the Ten words or Decalogue as he
LXXVIII 30 31. while the meat was yet in their Mouths the wrath of God came upon them and slew d 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. even the healthiest and lustiest Men of all their Nation Ps. LXXVIII 30 31. It seems the disease that they died of rotted out the palates of their Mouths for it was said that what they eat should come out of their Nostrils e Num. XI 20. Num. XI 20. But this happen'd only to them that had murmured from whom the place where they died was called Kibroth Hattaava the Graves where they f v. 34. buried them that lusted 91. After this the People being come to Kadesh Barnea in the Of twelve Spies sent to Canaan ten misrepresent it Confines of Canaan Moses told them how near they were to it and bade them now g Deut. I. 19 20 and 21. IX 23. Go up and possess it Deut. I. 19 20 21. He told them plainly God would have them do it and he would stand by them so that they need fear nothing But they durst not trust the wisdom of God They came up to Moses and proposed to him the sending of spies to search out the Land and bring word what way they should go c. Moses saw no ill in this and therefore he consulted God about it God gave him leave to send one of every Tribe to h Num. XIII 1 2. view the Land Num. XIII 1 2. So Moses sent twelve chosen men of the chief of them with Instructions proper for that occasion i v. 17 20. v. 17 20. They went and viewed the Countrey and returned after k v. 25. forty days with their mouths full of the l v. 26 27. Deut. I. 25. praises of it bringing with them some Tasts of the delicate Fruits of it particularly m See Bp. Patrick on verse 23. Grapes of an extraordinary bigness But withal they brought such a frightful n v. 28 29. Account of the strength of their Towns and of the Giants and Giantlike men that lived there that it struck the People with such terror that they would scarce hear Ioshua and Caleb telling them the Truth of these matters Especially when the other Ten in Opposition to these two not only o v. 31. persisted in what they had said of the Towns and of the People but contradicted themselves in what they had said before of the Goodness of the Land For whereas before they had said it was p v. 27. 32. a Land that flowed with Milk and Honey now they said it was a Land that eat up the Inhabitants thereof Num. XIII 32. 92. This put the People into a Rage insomuch that q Num. XIV 1. Num. This put all the People in a Sedition XIV 1. all the Congregation lifted up their voice and cried that night And the next day r v. 2. v. 2. all the Children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron and the whole Congregation said to them would God that we had died in the land of Egypt or would God we had died in this wilderness Nay more they plainly said it is s Deut. I. 27. because the Lord hated us that he brought us forth out of the land of Egypt hither for the Amorites to destroy us They were now for a Num. XIV 3. returning back into Egypt which was in effect the undoing of all that God had done for them And to shew they were in earnest they said b v. 4. let us make a Captain to bring us thither The hearing of this so struck Moses and Aaron that they c v. 5. fell on their faces before all the Congregation And for Ioshua and Caleb who would have appeased this Rage by informing them better d v. 10. all the congregation bade stone them with stones Which probably had been done but that at that instant the Glory of the Lord appear'd at the Tabernacle before all the children of Israel 93. This was a universal Rebellion of the whole Israelitish Nation It was a brutish perversness That vast number of them of twenty years old and upward which were e Num. I. 1 3. number'd within six months before was not lessen'd since but by the death of those persons that were cut off for having to do in the two last Mutinies And after the first of these two there were f Num. Xâ—… 21. six hundred thousand of them living of whom those that lusted for flesh being dead of the plague g Num. XIV 36 37. all the rest were engaged in this Rebellion except only Ioshua and Caleb and perhaps some few others that were of less consideration It seems to be a wonderful thing how they could so utterly forget what they had seen within two years last past in Egypt and at the Red Sea and in the wilderness being so many unquestionable Proofs of God's infinite Power and of his Providence over them And later yet what they had both seen and heard at God's giving them the Law on h Ex. XX. 19. Mount Sinai with such Astonishing Evidences of it as made them beg they might hear and see no more such things lest they should dye It is yet more wonderful how they that when they thought themselves dying with i Ex. XVI 8. hunger one time and another time with k XVII 6. thirst in the wilderness being told before hand by Moses both times that they should have Bread come down to them from Heaven and that they should have Water out of the Rock they both saw these things come to pass and had both their Bread and their Water continued to them ever since by perpetual Miracles Most of all it is to be Admired how they could every day and even at this present see over the Tabernacle a l Num. X. 11 34. Pillar of Cloud by day and Fire by night which they knew was a Token of God's Presence with them and of his Care over them and yet as if all this were nothing should throw off all regard to God and his Ministers and give up themselves entirely to follow their own vain Fancies and Lusts and what other ill designing men should put into their heads That this was their case is most evident in all their History They were much like Beasts that have Sense and Memory enough but have no manner of Consideration They think of nothing more than the Present nor even that when they have been Used to it This People were now come to that pass that they minded the Pillar no more than Brutes do the Sun which they see every day But as Beasts are â—…artled with a sudden Fire because they know not what may come of it so this People started at the sudden appearance of that Glory in and over a Num. XIV 10. the Tabernacle That was it that put a stop to their Rage against Ioshua and Caleb They were now in fear of
themselves lest this Fire might break out upon them as that at Tabera did so lately even the other day 94. For that fright they were in there was more Cause than they for which the ten Spies dyed presently the People must all dye in 40 years knew of For now at this very time God said unto Moses how long shall this People provoke me c. b v. 11. I will smite this People with pestilence c v. 12. And I will make of thee a greater Nation and mightier than they God did accordingly smite those ten Spies that had stir'd up the People to this Sin d v. 37. They dyed of the Plague before the Lord. That the People might not dye in like manner e v. 13 〈◊〉 19. Moses vehemently prayed using the like Arguments as he had done f see n. 82. before at the time of the Golden Calf And he had the same success For now again g Ex. XXXII 14. the Lord repented of the evil that he thought to do unto his People He said unto Moses h Num. XIV 20. I have pardon'd according to thy word But withal God i Num. XXXII 10. Deut. I. 34. sware he would make an Example of them such as should be famous to all Nations His words were these all those Men which have seen my Glory and my Miracles which I did in Egypt and in the Wilderness and have k Num. XIV 22 23. tempted me now these Ten times and have not hearken'd to my voice surely they shall not see the Land of which I sware unto their Fathers That their Tempting of God first in Egypt and then in the wilderness was Ten times in all neither more nor fewer will appear in the following Account out of Moses's books * That the Men here spoken of were all those that came out of Egypt at the age of Ten times they had tempted God 20 years and upward except Ioshua and Calâ—…b this appears by what follows afterward v. 29 30. And of these men it was that God said l Num. XIV 22. they have seen my Miracles in Egypt and in the wilderness and have tempted me now these Ten times These Times are therefore to be understood of what happen'd in Egypt as well as what happen'd in the wilderness And it was plainly in Egypt that God first shewed them his Miracles There first he gave Moses the power to work those three Miracles that are m Ex. IV. 1 9. mention'd Ex. IV. 1 9. for the proving of his Mission to the people of Israel Accordingly Moses did shew those Signs in the sight of the People and thereupon they believed n v. 30 31. v. 30 31. But when upon his delivering his message to Pharaoh soon after they saw no other Effect of it but that by this means Pharaoh was provoked to use them worse and to make their burthens heavier to them Thereupon it was that the Officers of the Children of Israel fell upon Moses and Aaron with those bitter words o Ex. V. 20 21. Ex. V. 20 21. This was their first murmuring I. against Moses and therein they first tempted God that had given him the power of working those Miracles before them II. Upon Moses complaint of this to God he sent Moses to them a second time p Ex. VI. 2 8. Ex. VI. 2 8. But when he was about to deliver his Message they had not Patience to hear him q v. 9 12. v. 9 12. they bid him let us alone to serve the Egyptians for it is better for us to do so than to dye in the wilderness This was their second murmuring against Moses there in the Land of Egypt III. Afterwards when he had brought them out of Egypt and they were come to the very edge of the Red Sea there seeing Pharaoh and his host in pursuit of them they murmured against Moses a third time r Ex. XIV 11 12. Ex. XIV 11 12. minding him of the hard words they had given him that second Time IV. After this when they were passed through the Red Sea and come into the wilderness there finding the water to be bitter at the place which from thence was called a Ex. XV. 23. i v. 24. Mara Ex. XV. 23. There a fourth Time the People murmured against Moses b v. 24. V. After that when their Victuals were spent then they murmured a fifth time even the whole Congregation of the Children of Israel wishing they had died in the land of Egypt rather than come to be starved in this wilderness c Ex. XVI 2 3. Ex. XVI 2 3. Thereupon God sent them Manna from Heaven d v. 15. v. 15. c. VI. After that when they came to want Water thereupon they murmured the e Ex. XVII 2 7. sixth time which was at the place called Massa and Meriba in the wilderness of Sin Hitherto the Long Suffering of God had shewed it self wonderfully in passing by all their provocations so that not one Man died for any of them VII The seventh was when Moses had been receiving God's Commands on Mount Sinai for forty days upon which long Absence of his who had never been from them one day before the People said f Ex. XXXIII 1. c. as for this Moses we know not what is become of him let us make a God to go before us c. Thereupon they made the Golden Calf which being the Sin of Idolatry God who had spared them hitherto now began to punish them for this But it was only by cutting off the most notorious Transgressors and putting a Penance on the rest VIII Their eighth murmuring was at Tabera for which many of them were consumed by the fire of the Lord that burns among them g Num. XI 1. Num. XI 1. IX The ninth was at Kibroth Hattaavah where they that lusted for flesh had their fill of it for a whole month h Num. XI 4. Num. XI 4. But they died with it in their mouths i v. 33. v. 33. X. Therefore this murmuring against Moses and this tempting of God upon the occasion of the Spies ill Report was certainly k Num. XIV 1 c the Tenth including those two in Egypt And it was the Act of those Men that had seen l v. 22. 23. God's Miracles in Egypt as well as in the wilderness for he saith of those very men they have Tempted me now these Ten times Moses seems to have thought of the same when speaking of this very matter of their Rebellion at Kadesh Barnea he told them that this was no new thing for saith he m Deut. XI 24. you have been Rebellious against the Lord from the day that I knew you Deut. XI 24. It plainly appears that they were so by the Account that He gives us of their Murmuring against him and therein their Tempting of God first in Egypt and afterward in the Wilderness till
land they had despised they must now go wandring the rest of their days in the wilderness For this they e v. 45. wept before the Lord. They would have got him to take off that sentence but that could not be only this God was pleased to change in it whereas he had ordered them to begin their Journey to morrow into the wilderness and so on f Num. XIV 45. to the Red Sea Num. XIV 45. Now in compassion to their wounded men he gave them leave to lie still g Deut. l. 46. many daies till they were so well cured as to be able to go with the rest 98. After this they took their Iourney into the wilderness as God They wâ—…nder 38 yeâ—…rs in the wilderness had commanded them Their way was now directly from Canaan toward the h Deut. II. 1. Red Sea But it was not the same way that they came hither For now they were to i v. 4. compass the land of Edom Deut. II. 1 4. first from North to South till they came to the Red Sea and then from South to North still compassing k v. 8. Idumaea till they came to the wilderness of Moab Deut. II. 8. There they were to pass the brook l v. 13. Zered v. 13. And so they did thirty eight years after their coming from m v. 14. 1â—… Kadesh-Barnea In which time all those that came out of Egypt at the age of twenty years old and upward were n v. 16. consumed and dead from among the people It was a long and tedious Journey as God ordered it for them For it was at his Commandment that they journied and at his Commandment they pitched their Camp His pleasure was fignified to them by the Pillar of Cloud by day and of Fire by night When the Pillar was taken up from the Tabernacle then after that they journied and wheresoever that rested there they pitched their Camp The way of it is largely and clearly a Num. IX 15 23. described Num. IX 15 23. And whereas from Kadesh Barnea to the Red Sea it was not above b Bp. Patrick on Nâ—…m XXXIII 19. â—…en days Journey the shortest way they made it a Journey of 37 years in all which time they had no more than 17 Resting places So that if in every one of those places they had rested an equal space of time every time they had rested it would have been more than two years No doubt in some places they rested a less time and in some much longer Then from Ezion Geber at the Red Sea they went somewhat quicker to the Brook Zered which was in the Confines of Moab They went it in one year during which they had no more but eight Resting places But now they had been full thirty and eight years in coming from Kadesh Barnea to the Brook Zered which as we are told by one c Geo. Synceâ—…us in Chronogr p. 142. 〈◊〉 Paris that travel'd it himself is no more than five days Iourney Thus it pleased God to give those Rebel's time to dye in the wilderness as every one of them did within those thirty eight years in all which time a New Generation was growing up which Ioshua and Caleb were to bring into the promised Land and there to shew them how that good Land was belied by their ungrateful and rebellious Fathers 99 Of what they did in those first thirty seven years or what Of their three last Rebellions happen'd to them in all that time we have very little Information in History only Moses gives us an account of three of their Rebellions in that time which shewed how far they were from being reclaim'd by all their warnings and punishments 100. The first of these Rebellions was that which Korah and his 〈◊〉 that of Korah Complices raised against Moses and Aaron It was as the d Ios. Ant. IV. 1. Iewish Historian tells us such a Sedition as never was known among the Greek or Barbarous Nations The chief mover in it was Korah a Levite whose father Izhar was Brother to Amram the father of Moses and Aaron He was himself a chief man among those of his Tribe but he was not contented with that He was for the Chief Priesthood if he could get it But there was no other way to come at that but by breaking through the divine Institution of the three Orders of the Ministry It was by God's immediate e Ex. XXIX Command that Moses had f Lev. IX consecrated Aaron and his Sons to be Priests which Act of his God had confirmed by sending Fire from heaven on their Sacrifice in the sight of all the People of Israel g Lev. IX 24. Lev. IX 24. He had also given them the Levites to assist them h Num. III. 9. VIII 19. Num. III. 9. VIII 19. in all the inferior parts of their ministry But this was it which Korah could not endure He was for the Priesthood himself and so were others of his Tribe Num. XVI 10. Which since God had taken from them they would have it of the People's Gift The People of Israel could not forget that before this Divine Institution the Priesthood had gone by Primogeniture It was i instead of all the First born of Israel that God took the Levites into Num. III. 12 〈◊〉 his Service Num. III. 12 41. For this reason it seems that Korah applied himself to Dathan and Abiram the Sons of Reuben who was the first-born Son of Israel together with them there were a Nuâ—… XVI 〈◊〉 3. two hundred and fifty Princes of the Assembly famous in the Congregation that rose against Moses and Aaron It appears that all these took the Priesthood upon them as well as Korah himself For b v. 1â—… they took every man his Censer and put fire in them no doubt from the Altar of God and laid incense thereon to offer it before the Lord. He that was not a Priest and did this was to be put to death Num. III. 10 38. * King Uzzialâ—… attempting to burn incense to God though he was not put to death he was chastised with the utmost severity for it n Câ—…ron XXVI 16 21. The Leprosy rose up in his Foreâ—… at that Instant and they that saw it thrust hâ—… out of the Temple yea himself also hasted to go out and he dwelâ—… ever after in a separate house being a Leper unto the day of his death and Iotham his Son took upon him the Government of Israel 2 Chron XXVI 16 21. This they could not but know But they would venture it thinking perhaps that the Laws which Moses delivered from God concerning the Priesthood were not God's but his Own made in favour of and Combination with his Brother Aaron If they had not thought so they would not have dared to break out into such Language as they c Nuâ—… XVI 〈◊〉 gave Moses and Aaron v. 3. When they
the People of Israel and together with him the Daughter of a King of the Midianites who would surely make it a National Quarrel This was such a thing as God would not let vs be ignorant of and therefore he plainly tells us that the Name of the Man was g v. 14. Zimri the Son of Salu a Prince of the cheif family among thr Simeonites and that the Woman was h v. 15. Cozbi the Daughter of Zur who as he tells us i XXXI 8. elsewhere was one of the five Kings of Midian Such an Heroic Action as this was being done in pure Zeal for Gods Cause was so highly acceptable to him that thereupon he stopt his hand and would not suffer the Plague to proceed any farther And not onely so but as well for a Reward to Phineas at present as for a Memorial of it in future times God gave him the promise of continuing the Priesthood to him and his seed after him for ever 120. By this one Act of his it came to pass that this Judgment of The Plague held but one day God was no more than k 〈◊〉 Cor. X. 9. one days work It was l Num. XXV 18. the Day of the Plague as Moses calls it But in that short space of time there dyed m v. 9. of the Plague no fewer than 24000. Moses elsewhere has told us that those were n Deut. IV. 3. all the Men that followed Baal-Peor And that none dyed after this day till the Date of the Book o Deut. I. 3. of Deuteronomy which was but one Month before his death This is certain from what he told them in the next words p v. 4. You that did cleave unto the Lord your God are alive every one of you this day 121. No doubt they that saw this terrible Judgment of God Moses's last numbring of the People though they knew how just it was upon them that perished in it yet could not but be in some kind of fear for themselves none of them being secure but that living as they did among those Idolatrous Nations with whom God would not let them be in hostility they might by conversing with them be ensnared into some Sin or other for which they might perish in like manner God was pleased therefore to let them know that the danger they were in on that account was not long to continue There was onely the a Num. XXVI 3. River Iordan between them and the Land which God had promised to their Fathers Their next Remove would bring them thither And when they had taken possession of that Land which God could give them as easily as he had given them all on this side Iordan they were then b 53 ... 55. to divide it for an Inheritance among themselves To let them see it was the Care of Gods Providence that it should be equally shared he was pleased to order c v. 1. Moses and Eleazar the High Priest to make a second Numbring of the People like that which Moses and Aaron had d Num. l. 1. formerly made in the Wilderness of Sinai It could not but comfort them to see that after the dying away of more than e v. 46. 600000 men that had been then Numbred many of them no doubt dying Natural deaths but all the rest save f Num. XXVI 65. onely Ioshua and Caleb having been swept away by those Judgments of God that had fallen upon them within these last 38. Years yet now they were but g v. 51. 1120. men fewer than they were at that former Numbring which small Number of men might very likely have been lost by their own Miscarriages in the h XXI 31 35. Conquering of those two Kingdoms 122. All this while as well they as their Fathers before them They had now all Extraordinary means had continually before their Eyes those i v. 71 86 93. evident proofs of Gods presence among them in the Pillar of fire all night and of cloud all day either moving before them or resting over the Tabernacle They had the k Deut. VIII 3. Manna which their Bread was made of immediately from Heaven They had their l v. 15. Water first out of one Rock and then out of another still following them all the while they were in the Wilderness None of them had his Raiment waxen old nor his m v 4. and XXIX 1. Shoes grown uneasy to his feet in all these 40. Years God was pleased to let them know that his design in all this was as well to n v. 2 3 16. humble them seeing they had nothing they could call their own as also to teach them to live in an entire Dependance on his Providence 123. There was certainly Need of such Extraordinary ways to With little of the Ordinary instruct them and to mind them of their duties there being then so little of the Ordinary means which God gave to his People in after times They had not the Sacrament of o Iosh. V. 5. Circumcision since their coming up out of Egypt They had no p v. 10 12. Passeover since the second Year after that They had no written Rule to walk by but onely that of the q Ex. XX. Ten Commandments r XXXIV 27. written in Tables of stone and they had also those National Judgments which are all conteined in s Ex. XXI XXII XXIII three Chapters of Exodus Whatsoever Teaching they had more it could be no other than what they had from the mouth of Moses for he writ nothing till the last l Deut. XXXI 9 25. year of his life 124. And yet perhaps no people in the world ever needed teaching Their great Degeneracy more than they did For though they were Abraham's Seed by Sarah his wife and that according to the a Gen. XVII 19. promise of God which was their great Privilege yet even that did not free them from Original Corruption that came to them from much nearer Parents than Abraham and Sarah The immediate Fathers of the Twelve Tribes of Israel were the Twelve Sons of Iacob by whose names they were called But for these Patriarchs how any of them lived or what they did we have no Account in any other Book but that of Genesis and even there we have nothing told us particularly but of the four Eldest Sons and of Ioseph And though this last appears to us wholely without Spot yet of those four others the most that we know is of their Crimes We cannot read of the Incests of b Gen. XXXV 22. Reuben and c XXXVIII 18. Iudah the Faithbreach and Cruelty of d XXXIV 27. Simeon and Levi without sad reflections on the Ignorance of those times For the rest of Iacob's Sons God has not been pleased to let us know any thing of them save only this that when those two Bloudy men were for e XXXVII
Dr. Lightfoot says in his Jewish Chorography he went over Iordan at the bridge of Scythopolis and so came into Peraea which was called Galilee as being a part of Hered's Tetrarchy The reason of his going that way is plain enough from what has been said His Enemies then were enquiring and laying the roads for him where soever they expected he would come He therefore took his way through the midst of Samaria where the Sanhedrim had no power And thence he went into Peraea where Herod durst not touch him There he had a multitude of Disciples ready at hand Ioh. X. 42. who no doubt came many of them up to the Passeover and helpt to make up that great multitude that attended him from Iericho Matt. XX. 29. and that much greater that welcomed him to Ierusalem with their Acclamations That that part of Galilee which Luka there speaks of was no other then Peraea we find by those Passages of his History Luk. XVIII 15 18. c. which happened when he was in Peraea as we are told in the other Gospels Matt. XIX 13 16. Mar. X. 13 17. Saint Luke goes on as both those Gospels doe with our Saviour's Journey from thence to Ierusalem Where by the way having his Disciples by themselves he gave them the last Notice of his Sufferings in these Words behold we go up to Jerusalem and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief Priests and unto the Scribes and they shall condemn him to death and shall deliver him to the Gentiles that is to the ROMANS to mock and to scourge and to crucify him and the third day he shall rise again Matt. XX. 18 19. Mar. X. 33 34. St. Luke has the same Prediction XVIII 31. tho not in the very same words he has not the word crucify in any of the Warnings they had from our Saviour But he tells us that after Christ's resurrection the Angel minded them of this very Word Luk. XXIV 6 7. remember how he spake to you while he was yet in Galilee saying the Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinfull men and be crucifyed Where it may be observed by the way that he saith the words were spoken in Galilee which were spoken in Peraea as it is plain in both the other Gospels But one thing St. Luke adds in our Saviours Prediction which ought not here to be omitted It was that part of it which virtually contained all the rest Luk. XVIII 31. Behold we go up to Jerusalem and all things that are written by the Prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished Could our Saviour mention what the Prophets had written concerning his suffering and not think of Daniels Words in this Prophecy that after LXII Weeks MESSIAS was to be cut off It can scarce be imagined that the Disciples could hear what he said now without thinking of them All the Nation of the Iews seemed to have them in their heads at this time One can judge no otherwise by the account that St. Luke gives of what our Saviour said then to them that were about him at Iericho Luk. XIX 11. He saith that Christ spoke the Parable there following because he was nigh to Jerusalem and because they thought that the Kingdom of heaven should immediately appear The Disciples it seems were not singular in this Opinion for as Dr. Lightfoot saith Vol. II. pag. 468. It was that Nations universal Opinion being so taught by the Prophecy of Daniel He saies that hence arose the Question of the Apostles Acts I. 6. and hence was that conflux of the Iews from all Countries to Ierusalem Acts II. 1. He saith the same of this Prophecy Daniel IX expressly in Vol. I. pag. 276. Our blessed Lord in his way to Ierusalem with a multitude of people about him passed through Iericho where he lodged at the house of Zacchaeus the Publican And from thence he came to Bethany abovementioned There †For the Days see the page before Daniel's Tables on Palm-Sunday eve the 9th of Nisan beginning he was entertained at supper by Simon a Leper being probably one of the many of that sort whom our Saviour had cured There were with him his most especial Friends Lazarus whom he had raised from the dead now sitting at Supper with him and his sister Martha serving our Lord at the Table and Mary anointing him with an Oil of very great price This costly Ointment our Saviour's purs-bearer Iudas would fain have turned into Money and so have got it into the Bag that he might have made his profit of it Whereupon there passed some Words between our Saviour and him that stuck in his Stomach afterwards and that and his covetousnesse together set him on that cursed Design of betraying his Lord. This occasioned the two first writers of our Saviours History to place this part of it concerning that Supper at Bethany so much later to the time when Iudas made his bargain with the chief Priests That Bargain was struck but two days before the Passeover and from that time Iudas sought opportunity to betray him Matt. XXVI 3. 16. Mar. XIV 1 11. The whole History of this Supper in those two Gospels is placed as it were in a Parenthesis between the beginning and concluding of that Bargain which occasioned the placing of it there It began with the Consultation of the Sanhedrim Matt. XXVI 3 5. It ended with Iudas's striking in with them Vers. 14 15 16. But St. Iohn who no doubt was present at that Supper and had read the Account of it in these two Gospels thought fit to bring it into its right Place as he doth Ioh. XII 1. Six days before the Passeover He that reads and observes all the Words that Christ spoke as they are delivered here Ioh. XII 7 8. and as they are in the two other Gospels Matt. XXVI 10 12. and Mar. XIV 7 9. will find they are the same Words and will not doubt but that they were spoke at the same Supper The next day being Palm-Sunday and still the 9th of Nisan our Saviour made his publick Entry into Ierusalem the History whereof is recorded in all the four Gospels His Attendance and their Acclamations were such as daunted his Enemys So that tho they were mad at what they both saw and heard yet they durst not murmur against it Onely to be eased of it a little they prayed him to make his Disciples hold their peace Luk. XIX 39 40. Which he told them could not be for it was the fulfilling of the Prophecy Zech. IX 9. before mentioned It is to be observed that coming down from Mount Olivet where he had the City in full view he could not forbear weeping over it and withall he broke out into these Words If thou hadst known even thou in this thy day the things that belong unto thy Peace but now they are hid from thine Eyes Thereupon he declared the approaching Destruction which had been so long
Question was whether it were lawfull to give Tribute to Caesar or not Not a word of his Answer should be lost and therefore it ought to be read in the Text. Matt. XXII 18. 21 Mar. XII 15 16. Luk. XX. 23. 25. It was a just and full Answer to their Question yet such as they could not take hold of either way which struck them all with Admiration So that they gave him over and returned to those that sent them The same Day came to him the Sadducees Matt. XXII who might probably hope to magnify themselves by bafling him that had been too hard for the Pharisees for they were among a multitude of People Vers. 33. And therefore they brought him such a Question as they thought was not to be Answered It was concerning a Woman who according to their Law had been marryed to seven Brethren one after another all of them dying without Children The Sadducees for their parts believ'd no Resurrection And perhaps they had posed the other Iews that did by asking them whose Wife she should be of the seven when they all came together at the Resurrection They put this Question to our Saviour Matt. XXII 23 32. Mar. XII 18 27. Luk. XX. 27 38. In his Answer he shewd them their Ignorance of the Scriptures and proved the truth of that Article of the Resurrection so that the multitude were astonished at his Doctrine Matt. XXII 33. This advancing the Peoples esteem of our Saviour was that which the Pharisees could not endure And therefore though they had left him yet to try him once more they set one of their Lawyers to attacque him with a Question in his own Profession Matt. XXII 35. He askt him which was the great Commandment of the Law To this learned man our blessed Lord gave such an Answer as himself could not but approve And after that no man for the present neither Pharisee nor other durst ask him any Questions Matt. XXII 46. But when the Pharisees had done with him then he began with Them and askt them such a Question as they could not Answer consistently with their Doctrine So they had not a word to say more neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more Questions Matt. XXII 46. It does not seem likely that St. Matthew would have used these last words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 if our Saviour had not given the Pharisees sufficient opportunity after that Day to have asked him more Questions if they would especially that day being now near expired For this and other reasons that follow it may be presumed that our Saviour bestowed another Day after this in teaching in the Temple according to his dayly practice mention'd Luke XIX 47. and XXI 37. And even this day after the Pharisees had done with him still the common People heard him gladly Mar. XII 37. till toward night when as St. Luke there tells us XXI 37. he went out and abode in the Mount of Olives It was at Bethany where he had lodged every night since Palm Sunday Eve and no doubt there he lodged also this Tuesday night which begun the thirteenth of Nisan The next day which was Wednesday the first of April Our blessed Lord having done with the Pharisees applied himself wholely to the People who as St. Luke says XXI 38. came early in the morning to him in the Temple to hear him Of what he said this day in teaching the People Mar. XII 38. there is nothing recorded in Scripture but onely the Warnings that he gave them of that dangerous Sect of the Pharisees which he foresaw would harden them to their utter destruction He had formerly said as much to the Pharisees themselves Luk. XI 39 52 telling them plainly how they had spoil'd the Religion of the Iewish Church with their Oral Tradition and denouncing Woes against them for their Hypocrisy particularly in adorning the Sepulchres of the dead Prophets and killing the living ones whom God sent to reprove them for their Sins Some of the same things he said of them now to his Disciples in the audience of all the People Luk. XX. 46 47. Mar. XII 38 39 40. But he added a great deal more which St. Matthew has given us at large XXIII 13 36. At last out of a deep sense of the approaching ruine which that harden'd People were now bringing on themselves he repeated there in the City and Temple that form of Lamentation that he had made for them formerly at his coming thither Luk. XIII 34 35. O Ierusalem Ierusalem c. Matt. XXIII 37 39. The effect of what he said was to let that People know he had done with them and was now leaving THEIR HOUSE to them DESOLATE that is leaving the City and Temple to that utter Destruction which Daniel had so long since foretold would come upon them when the MESSIAS was CUT OFF Dan. IX 26. By this Act they were now about to fill up the measure of their Sins after which they were no more to expect that he should send them a National Call till they should be ready at their Conversion to give Him that National wellcome foretold in Psal. CXVIII 25 26. The Words of which they sing allwayes in their great Hallel at every Passeover and the fulfilling whereof was typified in those public acclamations given him at his last Entrance into their City Matt. XXI 9. above mention'd Having given this sad Farwell to the City and Temple he sate a little while to see the People throw their Money into the Treasury where the rich threw in much but the poor Widow's two mites he valued above all Mar. XII 41. 44. Luk. XXI 1 4. After this he went out and departed from the Temple Matt. XXIV 1. to go to his retirement in Bethany Luk. XXI 37. But in his way thither one of his Disciples Mar. XIII 1. speaking of those vast buildings of the Temple and the goodly stones and gifts which they saw in them our blessed Lord told them the time was now coming when of all they now saw there should not be left one stone upon another Matt. XXIV 2. Mar. XIII 2. Luke XXI 6. Then it seems he dismissed all his other Disciples but Peter and Iames and Iohn and Andrew for these four stay'd and talk'd privately with Him Mar. XIII 3. He was now sitting on the Mount of Olives Matt. XXIV 3. Mar. XIII 3. in full view of the Temple And it appears they were thinking on what he had said at his leaving it They desir'd him to tell them when that Destruction should be and with this they joyn'd two other Questions that it seems run much in their minds viz. what the Signs would be of his coming and of the end of the World His answer to these three Questions takes up near the whole Chapters Matt. XXIV Mar. XIII and Luk. XXI His answer to the first Question is in Matt. XXIV 4 28. Mar. XIII 5 23. Luk. XXI 8 29. He told them
Nothing At which Pilate marvelled believing there was something Extraordinary in it Mar. XV. 3 5. To find the bottom of this Pilate thought fit to ask our blessed Lord by Himself what the meaning might be of that which they insisted upon and he himself did not deny namely of his taking upon him to be a King For this purpose he took our Saviour with him into the Iudgement-Hall and there he asked him a Second time Ioh. XVIII 33 38 saying Art thou the King of the Iews Our blessed Lord desired to know his Meaning in Asking him this whether it was for his own Information to know the truth of his Doctrine or whether it was to know what he had to say to that Accusation Pilate told him in the first place vers 35. he would know what he had done to give Occasion for this Accusation Our Saviour told him plainly My Kingdom is not of this World And as to his doing any thing that might give Occasion for this charge the contrary had sufficiently appear'd in his Suffering himself to be delivered to the Iews and forbidding any resistance Pilate asked him vers 37. Art thou a King then in any sense He would know what our Saviour meant by it The explaining of that matter so as to make Pilate understand it was not to be done in few Words and there was not time now for many But as to the matters of the Accusation Pilate was now satisfied that there was nothing in Them and therefore he went out again to the Iews and told them I find in him no fault at all Ioh. XVIII 38. Luke XXIII 4. What followed on Pilates clearing our Saviour we are to learn from St. Luke who goes on with the Account of it XXIII 5 16. He tells us the chief Priests having heard what Pilate said for the clearing of our Lord were therefore the more fierce in Accusing him They said he stirrs up the People teaching throughout all Iewry beginning from Galilee to this place No doubt by their mention of Galilee they would have it to be understood that he was one of that Sect which was very prevalent in that Countrey ever since the Time of the Taxing Acts V. 37. when Iudas of Galilee †See Dr. Hammond on Acts V. Not h. took up Arms to oppose the paying of Tribute to Caesar. It seems very likely that those Galileans whose Blood Pilate mingled with their Sacrifices were of that Sect. Luke XIII 1. If they were then the destroying of them was doing of Service to Caesar and therefore Herod being Caesar's Tetrarch of Galilee had so much the more reason to take it ill of Pilate that he should take this Office out of his hands This might very well be the occasion of the Enmity that was between Pilate and Herod at this time Luke XXIII 12. Pilate knowing that Herod was now at Ierusalem on the Account of the Passeover did gladly take this Occasion both to get rid of this troublesome matter by putting it over to Herod and also to let him see by this Instance how unwilling he was without a present necessity for it to meddle with any that belonged to Herod's Iurisdiction And therefore as soon as he heard that our blessed Saviour was of Galilee he presently sent him to Herod that he might be Judge of this matter Herod could not but be glad at our Saviour's first coming to him because he had been so long desirous to see him in hope of seeing some Miracle done by him But he soon found how much he was mistaken in his expectation Our blessed Lord had something else to do than to satisfy men's Curiosities And therefore though Herod asked him many Questions he Answered him nothing Luk. XXIII 9. Much lesse would he Answer the chief Priests and Rulers who having followed him thither vers 10. Stood and vehemently accused him before Herod and all his Court It could not but be a sad Spectacle to see our blessed Lord as he stood there before them so disfigur'd with the Barbarous Usage he had newly received from those very men that were now his Accusers And now to hear them charge him with such Ambitious and turbulent Practices and Designs to make himself King of the Iews it was a meer Jest to these Courtiers And to carry it on a little farther they arrayed him in a Gorgeous Robe and so sent him back to Pilate in that Ludicrous Dresse without any other Censure Hereupon Pilate called together the chief Priests and the Rulers and the People to give them an Account of this matter Luke XXIII 13. It seems that the People were now coming to Pilate with their Demand for the Release of a Prisoner which was a Favor the Governors had usually granted them against that good Time of the Passeover vers 17. Matt XXVII 15. Mar. XV. 6. Pilate having them and the chief Priests there together told them he had sent the Prisoner to Herod and found Herod was of His Opinion touching the Prisoner's Innocence as to any matter that could reach his Life He therefore proposed it to the People that this might be the Man they would chuse to have him Release to them now at the Passeover Ioh. XVIII 39. But withall for the Satisfying of the Priests that they might not seem to have made all this Stirr about nothing he offer'd that he would Chastise him first before he Released him Luke XXIII 14 17. The chief Priests were not at all pleased with this And Pilate did not wonder at it for he knew they had deliver'd him for Envy Matth. XXVII 18. But the People being the Body whom he most studyed to oblige were by this time ingaged for the saving of another Prisoner One Barabbas that had been taken in an Insurrection wherein he had also committed a Murder Mar. XV. 7. for all this had found Friends among the chief Priests And they had secretly moved the People to shew Him this Favor Mar. XV. 11. Pilate seem'd not to have so ill an Opinion of the People as to think a Majority of them would be so wickedly partial as to preferr so great a Criminal before an Innocent Person And therefore he ventured to join them both together in his Question He asked the People Whom will you that I release unto you Barabbas or Jesus which is called Christ Matt. XXVII 17. Now the Chief Priests and Elders with all their might perswaded the Multitude that they should ask Barabbas and destroy Jesus vers 20. Whereupon as St. Matthew goes on when the Governor asked them again whether of the Twain will you that I Release unto you Matt. XXVII 21. They cryed out all at once saying Away with this man and Release to us Barabbas Luk. XXIII 18 19. Ioh. XVIII 40. Thereupon Pilate asked them what shall I do then with Jesus who is called Christ They all cryed saying Crucify him Crucify him Matt. XXVII 22. Luke XXIII 20 21. He said to them the third time Why what
Evil hath he done Matt. XXVII 23. Mar. XV. 14. Luk. XXIII 22. Then hearing no Answer but a confused Noise he declared to them as he had done before I have found no Cause of Death in him I will therefore Chastise him and let him go Luk. XXIII 22. And having said this he returned with his Prisoner to the Judgement-Hall Mar. XV. 16. What the Chastisement was that our Saviour received there we are told briefly in the two first Gospels Matt. XXVII 27 30. Mar. XV. 16 19. for which reason St. Luke quite omitts it But St. Iohn gives a fuller Account of this matter and of all that followed it in Order till Pilate's giving the Sentence of Death on our Saviour Ioh. XIX 1 16. That Evangelist shews how Pilate strove as much as such an Obnoxious man could to have avoided the giving of that Sentence Especially since his Wife had sent him an Account of her Dream and thereupon warned him to have nothing to do against that just Man Matt. XXVII 19. This Message came to him When he was set down on the Iudgment-Seat Ibid. And that might probably be at the time when he gave Sentence for that which he called Chastising him whom a little before he had owned to be an Innocent Person In all our blessed Lord's accusation the only thing that stuck with Pilate was his taking upon him to be a King For tho he had explained himself by saying his Kingdom was not of this World yet in Pilate's Opinion that did not clear him from being guilty of an innocent folly in affecting a Greatness that did not belong to him He might think it necessary he should be Corrected for this And therefore he condemned him to be Scourged which among the Romans was properly the punishment of Slaves For the executing of the Governor's Sentence that being the Soldier 's business the whole Band of Pilate's Guards were called together and our blessed Lord was delivered into their merciless Hands No doubt they were acquainted with that which they were to Correct him for which could not but seem extremely Ridiculous to them in one of so despicable a Figure as he then made It seems to have moved their Indignation and Scorn to the utmost Degree Which they shewed not only in Scourging him according to his Sentence but also in Handling him afterwards in a most cruel and Insolent manner First they platted a Crown of Thorns and put it on his Head Then they stripped off his Clothes and put on him a Robe of Scarlett Matt. XXVII 28. of Purple Mar. XV. 20. Iohn XIX 2. probably it was patched up of both these together And to make the Mock Royalty complete they put a Reed in his right Hand and made him hold that for a Scepter Matt XXVII 29. Then as it were doing Homage they bowed the knee before him saying Hail King of the Iews Matt. XXVII 29. Mar. XV. 19. Iohn XIX 3. And to finish their Sport they spit on him and taking the Reed out of his Hand they †〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Iohn XIX 3. gave him several blows with it on his Head Matt. XXVII 30. Pilate seeing our blessed Lord in this cruel Mockery of Royall Attire having his Face all besmear'd with their Spittle and his own Blood had Reason to hope such a Spectacle as this might have moved the Compassion of the People especially since he that suffered all this for ought that appeared to Them was an Innocent Person And therefore he brought him forth to them saying behold the Man into what a miserable Condition you have brought him and this for Nothing It seems not unlikely that this might have moved the People but the Chief Priests no sooner Saw him but they and their Officers cryed out saying Crucifie him Crucifie him Ioh. XIX 6. Then the People also following their Example were Instant with loud voices requiring that he might be Crucified Luke XXIII 23. But Pilats knowing these were set on by the Chief Priests applied himself to Them in particular and told them if they would have this Man Crucified they must do it themselves For his part he found no fault in him Ioh. XIX 6. They Answer'd him we have a Law and by our Law he ought to dye because he made himself the Son of God vers 7. By the Son of God they meant the Christ as appears Matt. XXVI 63. And it was true that by their Law he that falsely made himself to be the Christ ought to dye Deut. XVIII 20. But Pilate understood not the Language of their Scriptures And therefore hearing that this Man made himself the Son of God he understood by it that he pretended to be of Divine Extraction and Linage And having likely heard of his Miracles especially of his raising of Lazarus and of his last Publick Entring into Ierusalem having seen also his unmovable firmness of mind in all this Trial and having heard from his Wife what Dreams she had of him this very day and hearing this at last which the Chief Priests said of him he was afraid as Grotius thinks he might be indeed of such a Birth as some of those whom he worship't were said to have been And therefore taking him again into the Iudgement-Hall he asked him Whence art thou Inquiring into his Birth and Family Iesus gave him no Answer Ioh. XIX 8 9. for he saw as to himself that there needed none to this last charge because it came without any Proof and he could do Pilate no good by any thing he could say at this time to his Question Therefore our blessed Lord gave him no Answer Then Pilate asked him in some kind of Anger Speakest thou not to Mee Knowest thou not that I have Power to Crucifie thee and Power to Release thee vers 10. It was true he had the Power of Life and Death in his Hands but he could Act by it no farther than God would give him leave And our blessed Lord had often shewn that when He pleased no Humane Power could touch him But it was the Will of God that the Messias should be cut off and Now the Time appointed for it was come which things the Iews might have known by their Prophecies and it was their Fault that they did not This is what Grotius takes to be the effect of his Answer Ioh. XIX 11. Thou couldest have no Power at all against Me but that it is given thee FROM ABOVE Therefore He that Deliver'd me to Thee has the greater Sin It was chiefly Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin that deliver'd him to Pilate and They were the Men that chiefly ought to have known who he was as if they had been so disposed they might have known by their Scriptures Therefore though it was a great Sin in Pilate to do what he was now going to do against Law and against his own Conscience yet it was a far Greater Sin in Them that went against a far Greater Light even that of Divine Revelation This