when he rid forth in State signifying as they think that the People ought to salute him most humbly and even to bow the Knee to him This is certain that Barak is a general Word for Saluting whether at meeting or parting either by Word or Gesture and is equivalent with the Greek word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And because at such times they generally used to bow the Knee it hath that particular Signification as in 2 Chron. 16. 13. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 according to the LXX So in Dan. 6. 10. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And in Gen. 24. 11. the Kneeling down of Camels to take up their Burden is expressed by it Yea the word Barak is sometimes transferr'd from its signification of Civil Respect and Kneeling and applied unto Religious Worship as in 2 Chron. 6. 13. Solomon when he pray'd kneeled upon his Knees c. And in Psal. 95. 6. Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker The Word is here made use of to denote bending the Knee in Divine Worship and prostrating themselves before God So that this word Barak in the Original Denotation of it answers to the word Nashak which signifies to salute in a lowly and humble manner to submit and do Obeisance and more particularly Kissing is express'd by it which was a Token of Homage and Subjection of old 1 Sam. 10. 1. But from this first and simple Import of the Word another ariseth which is this viz. to take leave of one because Salutations and Greetings at last end in this Men part and go their way after a short saluting and accosting one another Thus the Word is taken in 2 Sam. 14. 22. Joab â—ell to the Ground on his Face and bowed himself and thanked the King Hebr. Jeberek he took his leave of him he made that Salutation which was becoming at his going out of his Presence In which Notion it likewise answers to Nashak which besides its former Sense signifies to take leave of to bid adieu to one as in Gen. 31. 28. therefore that Valedictory Salutation of Kissing was call'd Neshikah Parashah osculum separationis the Kiss at parting or taking their leave of one another And then there is another derivative Sense of the Word which flows both from this and the former meaning of it and that is twofold for Persons are wont at Saluting and taking Leave to wish well or ill to one another and to express these by good or evil Words whence it is that Barak is either benè or malè precari it imports either to bless or to curse This as I take it is the true and exact Account of the Word and so you see what is the primary and more restrain'd Acception of it and what is the secondary and more general Sense of it Now that which I offer is this that the Word in that Place of Iob is to be understood chiefly in the first and most proper Denotations of it i. e. as it signifies humbly to salute to bow down and do Obeisance or as it signifies to take one's leave According to the former Acception of the Word Iob's Wife speaks thus to him Do not continue to retain thine Integrity or to hold fast thy Perfection as it is in the Original Do not justify thy self before God as if thou wert void of all Guilt but with humble Reverence bow thy self before the Lord adore and worship the most High and submit thy self to him and acknowledg thy Meanness and Sinfulness Do thus and then thou mayst die with Peace and Comfort In this only she might incur the Imputation of speaking foolishly because she like Iob's Friends afterwards had wrong Apprehensions of this Good Man and imagined that he justified himself and was in his own Thoughts a Sinless Person Or else this was the Worser Language of that Woman Take now thy leave of God and die i. e. seeing thou art in this miserable Condition smote with fore Boils from the Sole of thy Foot to the Crown of thy Head ver 7. think not of living but rather desire to quit this World and to be gone Bid God adieu take your Farewel of him and only beg this of him that you may die as soon as may be Or you may suppose this Woman's Language or Meaning rather to be much worser yet even after this sort Take your last Valâ— of Heaven utterly renounce God as well as your Integrity shake him off and have nothing to do with him since he deals so severely with you abandon him for ever and hasten out of the World Though this be not so harsh as downright Cursing of God yet this was indeed speaking like one of the foolish sottish Women as he roundly told her v. 10. The Stile was something too rough to say Curse God She would not speak after that rate to her Pious Confort but she impiously counsels him to take his Leave of God and Religion and to bid an eternal Farewel to both In three other Places in this Book the Word is taken in this latter Sense for it is most probable that in this particular Book the Word is always used in the same Meaning as in ch 1. 5. It may be my Sons have as 't were taken their leave of i. e. tacitely renounced God in their Hearts in the midst of their Pleasures and Entertainments it may be they have had an Aversion to God they have in some measure departed from him for it is not likely that Iob's Children openly blasphemed or strictly speaking cursed God So that part of the 11th Verse of this Chapter and of the 5th of the next which we translate he will curse thee to thy Face seems to be too harsh a Representation even from the Mouth of the Devil of that Holy Man's Carriage for though he cursed the Day of his Birth he never curs'd and blasphemed the Almighty and that to his Face i. e. openly and audaciously but he might be said in some Degree to have forsaken and abandoned God and to have turned himself from him by indulging too much to Impatience and Murmuring And not only these Places in Iob but that in 1 Kings before-mentioned which we translate thus Naboth blasphemed or cursed God and the King may be understood in this Sense He by certain Actions discovered as was pretended that he had forsaken God and revolted from his Duty to the King But I submit this to the Judgment of the Learned Thus you see that Words of Different much more of Contrary Significations occasion some Difficulty in interpreting the Texts where they are found There are many Other Hebrew Words in Scripture which signify Contrary things the Sense sometimes as well as the Letters must be read backwards Nor is the Greek wholly destitute of such Words as in Tit. 1. 12. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 may be rendred either slow or quick Bellies for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is both piger and celer The Cretians of whom this is spoken might be said
of this Question and let you see by what means the Pagan Writers arrived to a Knowledg though â—ndeed dark and obscure not only of these Particulars already named but of a great number more which I shall now proceed to add II. The Production of Adam and Eve is attested by the same Persons That the First Man was made of the Earth or the Clay of the Ground is delivered by the most Authentick Authors among them I will not insist upon the constant Opinion and Perswasion of the Athenians who held they were sprung from the Ground they lived on and were not descended from other Nations Which perhaps arose first from the Tradition concerning the making the first Man out of the Earth Plato and several good antient Authors testify that this People of Greece held themselves to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. born of the Earth and in memory of this they wore Golden Grashoppers and were called from those Animals Tettigophori because this sort of Creatures is thought and believed to have its Rise from the Earth And there were said to be not only in Attica but in Thessaly and Arcadia some of these Autochthones People that were begot out of the Soil Yea the old Britains our Ancestors were said to be such as Diodorus the Sicilian and Caesar tell us nay seem to believe They were Aborigines i. e. they had their Original from the very Ground they lived on Which Notion as I conceive was either from the Giaâ—â— called Sons of the Earth or from Adam and 〈◊〉 who we are certain were formed out of the Earâ—â— These were the true 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the antient Aâ—â—rigines born from their own Soil the Earth wâ— their Parent This Terrestrial Extraction of tâ— First Man is mentioned in several Places by Plâ— And Empedocles as Censorinus tell us and 〈◊〉 Eleates as Laertius relates held the samâ— There is a Passage in Cornelius Tacitus which I 〈◊〉 perswaded refers to this for speaking of the Original of the Germans he saith 't is recorded â— their antient Annals and Monuments which aâ— in Verse that the God Tuit and his Son Mannus born of the Earth were the Founders of that Nation Tuit or Thuet is the same with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Mannus or Man is Adam the first Man for Man in the German Language is Vir who was the Son of God and the reason is here given because he was made by him out of the Earth for I conceive there is a Transposition in the Words i. e. et should be placed before terrâ editum which Words belong to the next viz. filium Mannum Hence it appears that this Notion of Man's Original from the Earth was among the old Germans who derived it first from the Mosaick Records I will at present omit several Quotations out of the Greek Poets who were the first Divines and Philosophers among the Pagans as Orpheus Hesiod Homer who testify this very thing From these the Latins borrowed it as Iuvenal who speaking of the first and antientest People of the World describes their Original thus Compositique luto nullos habuere Parentes Which Words are a plain Reference to Adam's 〈◊〉 made of Clay or Earth But Ovid who was â—ell acquainted with all the antient Notions of the Geâ—tiles is more clear and open and relates the 〈◊〉 Passages in the Mosaick Story concerning the Original of the World and that in Words coming â—s near to Moses as may be In the close he tells how Man was made after the Creation of all other things Sanctius his animal mentisque capacius altae Deerat adhuc quod dominari in caetera posset Natus homo est This is Moses exactly Deerat adhue answers to Gen. 2. 5. there was not a Man Quod dominari in caetera posset is the same with what we read in Gen. 1. 26 28. that Man was made to have Domiâ—on over the Fish of the Sea and over the Fowl of the Air and over every living thing that moveth on the Earth Here are two of the chief things which â—re delivered in the beginning of that Sacred History in Genesis viz. that Man was made last of all and to have Rule and Dominion over all the Creatures Sanctius animal excellently expresses that Man was made for Religion 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as Plato calls him or he is stiled Holy because made after God's Likeness which follows presently after Finxit in effigiem moderantum cuncta Deorum The word finxit here is the proper Version of thâ— Hebrew Iitzer which is used in Gen. 2. 7. Tâ— Lord God formed Man Deorum answers to Elobâ— in the plural Number and so Moses introduceâ— God speaking Let Vs make Man Vs in the plâ— ral In effigiem Deorum is the true Translation of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Image of God in which Man is said to be created Gen. 1. 27. So that there is another grand Truth which the Pagâ— took from the Holy Writings viz. that God created Man after his Likeness or in his own Image Gen. 1. 26 27. Thus you see this Interpreter of the antieâ— Theology agrees with Moses yea it is evident without any fanciful straining that he not only took the Things themselves but the very Word and Expressions from the Divine Writings Oâ— applies and attributes this Formation of Man â— Prometheus the Name certainly of the Wise God for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with the Greeks from whom â— borrowed this is Sapiens Providens Sagax Aâ— this Prometheus formed Men of Clay which agree with the Formation of Adam recorded by the Iâ— spired Writer Wherefore both Tertullian anâ— Lactantius think it reasonable to believe that thâ— first Formation and Origine of Man's Body which the fabulous Poets speak of was transmitted from the sacred and inspired Verity and that the thing is the same in both though disguised by the Poets in other Words and Names And when Ovid adds that he took Fire from Heaven to animate his lumpish Clay you must pardon this innocent Addition for as you shall observe all along it is the way of these Men to put in something of their own to disguise the Sacred Stories with their own Inventions and Fables though truly here we are noâ— able to interpret this very appositely and to applaud the Poet who knew that dull and inert Matter could not actuate and enliven it self but that there was need of some Heavenly and Divine Principle to set it on work some active Ray of Life from above to inspire it And what is this but the Breath of Life mentioned in Gen. 2. 7. by which Man's Body was enlivened and envigorated for when it is said there that God formed Man out of the Earth it is immediately added He breathed into his Nostrils the Breath of Life and Man became a living Soul From which manner of Expression Nismath hajim and that other in Gen. 7. 22. Nismath tuach
notice of this particular Reproach of the Christians for you must know to a Heathen a Iew and a Christian were the same for the first Christians being Jews by Birth the same Calumny was fix'd on both that they adored the Head of that most vile Beast Which also Petronius Arbiter testifies in those words Iudâ—â—us licèt porcinum numen adoret Et coeli sumâ—ias advocet auriculas From the first Verse it appears that the Gentiles thought the Jews worshipp'd Swine perhaps because they abstain'd from eating their Flesh for among the Gentiles what they did not eat was generally worshipp'd And in the next Verse there is is a mistake of coeli for cilli i. e. asini as some Criticks have well observ'd for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is the Dorick word for an Ass so that as before the Poet chargeth the Jews with worshipping of Swine so here he alludes to that flying Story among the Pagans that that Nation reverenced an Ass's Head for auriculae is put here for caput which could not stand in the Verse the prominent and most conspicuous Parts of the Head are put for the Head it self And if they worshipp'd the Ears because a part of the Head then they paid the same Honour to the Cheeks to the Jaws and to the Jaw-bone which is a more solid Part. None of the Authors of the foregoing Opinions have attended to this that it was the Head of an Ass not an Ass in general that was said to be worshipp'd by the Jews and thence arose their Mistakes Let it 〈◊〉 be noted therefore that this was the scurrilous Reflection of the Pagans on the Jews that they gave Religious Honour to the Head of an Ass and let it be observed at the same time that it was an Ass's Head which Samson found and so bravely managed though it was one particular Part of it viz. the Iaw-bone with which he did execution on his Enemies Wherefore I offer it as a probable Assertion that the Report concerning the Jewish People reverencing of an Ass's Head took its rise from that prodigious Exploit of Samson that strange Execution which he did with the Iaw-bone of an Ass. This gave occasion to the Israelites to extol and magnify that marvellous Weapon and at the same time the Providence of God in administring such an unexpected Engine to him and enabling him to do such great things with it The neighbouring Gentiles soon heard of this and spread abroad this Rumour that the Hebrews celebrated and worshipp'd the Ass's Head or Jaw and it is likely they thought they really did so because they themselves used to make any thing the Object of their Adoration or because an Ass 〈◊〉 a contemptible Creature they said this as a 〈◊〉 to the Jews And then if you remember the 〈◊〉 son which is assigned by the foresaid Histori◠〈◊〉 why they worshipp'd an Ass you will be furthâ— confirmed in this Notion which I now tendâ— The Reason as you have heard was because tâ— Creature as they said was instrumental in 〈◊〉 out a Fountain of Water whereby they allâ—yâ— their Thirst in the Desart They worshipp'd an 〈◊〉 saith Plutarch because it directed them to a Spâ— of Water Which excellently agrees with 〈◊〉 the Inspired History tells us that there was a 〈◊〉 Place in the Iaw whence Water came forth 〈◊〉 therewith Samson quenched his Thirst. This 〈◊〉 the Pagan Story parallel with this in the Book 〈◊〉 Iudges from whence it is most probable they 〈◊〉 borrowed it And whereas 't is said by some 〈◊〉 the forecited Authors that this was done in tâ—â— Wilderness they may be well excused herein 〈◊〉 it is only a mistake of the Place Yet by the by 〈◊〉 is a Pagan Confirmation that the Israelites 〈◊〉 once in the Wilderness according as the Scripture relateth yea and what Tacitus adds further coâ—cerning the Jews at that time viz. their want of Water in the Wilderness one of the most remark-able things that happened to that People in their Travels is yet a greater Proof and Confirmatioâ— of the Reality of the Sacred History I could add that this happened not long after this People had been come out of the Wilderness and so theâ— was no great mis-timing of the Story Thâ— whereas 't is said by the Historian last named 〈◊〉 thâ— Jâ—ws dedicated this Animal to their Temple 〈◊〉 is added perhaps of his own Head which is 〈◊〉 â—â—common Practice among the Gentiles as well Historians as Poets when they are relating tâ—ings concerning those whom they have no Kindâ—â—ss for This is the best Account I am able to give of this Gentile Tradition which was of so antient â— Date for I question not but that the Jewish Writer was overseen when he saith Appion the Grammarian of Alexandria was the first that raised this Lie And Monsieur Bochart talks as vainly when he tells us that Appion had the occasion of this Fable from the mistake of the words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 pi jao the Mouth or Word of the Lord for 〈◊〉 asinus in the Egyptian Tongue for Appion forsooth was an Egyptian and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 was antiently read Iao. Supposing this latter to be true yet â—e could not learn hence that an Ass's Head was placed in the Jewish Temple and afterward reâ—oved by Antiochus Wherefore I see no Dependance or Connection between these things and consequently this great Critick's Notion may be look'd upon as groundless as any one that is conversant in that ingenious Man's Writings knows there are many such The short is we must take this old Obloquy against the Jews as it is represented by the Pagan Writers with whom we have to do at present with its proper Circumstances and if we do so I conceive we cannot refer it to any Passage in the Old Testament so pertinently as to this which I have propounded If I am not mistaken this antient Calumny is derived from that part of the History of Samson which I have mentioned which shews the Antiquity and Authority of the Sacred Writings and that the scrâ—â—pture-History is the Ground of the most of the â—â—â—bulous Passages and Reports in the Writings of 〈◊〉 Heathens I could mention here also that the Jews weâ— accused of Pagan Writers to have worshipp'd 〈◊〉 Clouds and the Heavens Nil praeter Nubes Coeli numen adorant Which the Satyrist speaks of the Jews Aâ— Strabo reports the same Some have thougâ—â— that the Coelicolae the Heaven-worshippers meâ—tioned in that Title of the Codex De Iudaeis 〈◊〉 Coelicolis hath relation to this Mattâ—r but I thinâ— it is evident from the Title it self that the Ieâ— and Coelicolae were not the same but two different sort of People else it would not have been Of the Iews and Coelicolae but of the Iews or Coelicolae Moreover he that looks into the Tâ—eodosian Code from whence Iustinian took this will be convinced that the Jews are not meant
proceed from their ignorance of the right pronunciation of it but from a Superstiâ—ious Reverence and Fear of Prophaning that word by taking it into their Mouths But the Holy Scripture it self warrants the Pronouncing of this Name for in Gen. 22. 14. Abraâ—am calls the place where he would have Sacrificed Isaac Iehovah-jireh now a Place can't be call'd by its Name unless the Name be pronounced So Gideon built an Altar and call'd it Iehovah-Sâ—alom Iudg. 6. 24. Besides the Iews themselves as precise and nice as they are in this matter compound many Proper Names of it though with some abbreviating of it as Iehochanan Iehonathan whence it is evident that they knew how to pronounce this Name of God but from the reverend esteem which they had of it they refus'd to do it The Rabbies foolishly pretend Scripture for this Isa. 45. 15. Verily thou art a God that hidest thy self applying these words to the concealing of his Name And they corrupt another Text to maintain this their Superstitious Fancy and Practice Exod. 3. 15. This is my Name le gnolam for ever they read it legnalem to be concealed Now I say to this Practice of the Iews viz. their obscure and uncertain Pronouncing or rather their not knowing how to pronounce the Name of the true God the Heathens seem to refer when they call him the Vnknown and the Vncertain God and the God that is not to be named Socrates exhorted the Athenians saith Iustin Martyr to the knowledge of the Vnknown God that is the God of the Iews The Inscription on the Altar erected at Athens To the Vnknown God shews that they gave the True God that Name for the Apostle interprets it of Him Acts 17. 23. Thence that in Lucian By the Vnknown God in Athens And Hesychius tells us that there were a sort of Gods called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Worshipp'd by these Athenians and the Feasts kept in Honour of these strange Deities were call'd 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 especially the Hebrew God was number'd by them among the strange ones therefore when the Gentiles were speaking of this God of the Iews they added whosoever he be as much as to say he and his Name are not known And in imitation of this perhaps some of the Pagans would have their Gods to be Vnknown Macrobius Acquaints us particularly concerning the People of Rome that they would have their God under whose protection the City was conceal'd and he pretends this reason for it because if the Name of their Tutelar God were known the Enemy would make use of it and call him out by their Magick Art But the true reason might be their fond imitating of the Iews whom in many other things they were wont to follow hence they were not to know the Name of the Tutelar God of Rome he was Vnknown and Vnutterable as Plutarch testifies But as the Iews pretended out of a superstitious humour that the Name 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 was not unknown to them when they knew well enough the right pronunciation of it so the Gentiles though they called the God of the Iews the Vnknown God and seem'd to be ignorant of his Names yet it appears that they had some knowledge of them and that they Intituled their Gods by the Names of the God of the Iews Which I prove thus the Tetragrammaton was â—ot unknown to the Chaldeans as is clear from 〈◊〉 36. 15 18 20. where we read that the Idolatrous Rabshakeh who at that time spake in the Iews Language v. 13. knew it and often pronounc'd it And this Name of God is found among the Grecians also though altered and corrupted From Macrobius we learn that Iao was the Chief God of all among the Gentiles for which he quoteth the Oracle of Apollo Clarius 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Know this that the Supream God of all is Iao. A most Illustrious Attestation to the Holy Writ and the Great Name of God contain'd therein Iehovah was corruptly pronounced Iao and Io was a contract of Iao as in the Songs and Hymns wherein they Sung Io Paean This latter word as one conjectures is from Panah to look or behold and so Io Paean is as much as Iehovah Penoth Lord look upon us For it is probable that Io Iao and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for all these were in use were abreviatures of Iehovah as Iah among the Iews was an Abridgment of this Several of the Ancient Fathers are positive that Iehovah was written by the Greeks who were not well acquainted with the pronunciation of it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Accordingly saith Porphyrius the Philosopher cited by Eusebius Sanconiathon receiv'd the account he gives of the Iews from a Priest of the God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And it is testified by Diodorus that Moses receiv'd his Laws from the God that is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Mistake arose from the ignorance of the Name Iehovah Whence it appears that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is the same with Iah and Iehovah and that the former is but a mistaken pronunciation of these latter I will add that Plato's 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 came from Moses's 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Exod. 3. 14. according to the Septuagint and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I am according to the Original And the same Philosopher's Tò 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 answer to Iehovah which is a Name of Existence Nay that is more remarkable which we meet with in Plutarch who assirms that the Inscription on the Temple of Minerva in Egypt was thus I am all that is and was and shall be Which is a plain reference to God's Name in Exodus And he speaks of another Inscription of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Temple at Delphos which he thus applies to the peculiar Essence and Existence of God is the compleat Appellation of God in our answering and speaking to God we say Thou art attributing to him this true certain and only Appellation which agrees to him alone which is called Being or Existing And afterwards he expatiates concerning the uncertain labile and flux Nature of Man and all things in Comparison of God who is most properly said to be Eternally Existing This is Ehejeh 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I am of which Name of the True God these Gentiles had some notice and that from the Hebrews and imitated in the Names that they gave to their false Deities Iovis the old Nominative Case for Iupiter as Priscian saith and so it is used by Ennius and Varro is borrowed from this Name Iehovah Iupiter is no other than Iovis-piter or Iovis-Pater Father Iove or Iehove and so answers to Iehovah who hath the Name of Father given him often in Scripture And it is likely that heretofore some contracted the word Iehovah and read or pronounced it Iovah as the Iews pronounced Iudah for Iehudah Nay Iove or Iova the
Abreviature of Iehovah was perhaps used by Moses himself which I gather from what Iosephus saith of the Name Written on the High-Priest's Mitre viz. That it had four Vowels and consisted of four Vowels alone This seems to have been Iova which consists of just so many Vowels though two of them are used as Consonants unless you will say they pronounced I and V. as Vowels thus Ioua We may then reasonably believe that the Name of the Heathens God Iovis came from the corrupt pronouncing or contracting the word Iehovah or which comes nearer to it Iehovih for so you will find it Written in Deut. 3. 24. 9. 26. And that Iovis is of Hebrew Original and derived from the Tetragrammaton is confess'd by Varro who thought that Iovis was first of all the God of the Iews as St. Augustin quotes him And though the Pagans alter'd the Name and made it sometimes exceed and at other times come short of four Letters yet this did not extinguish the sense and notion among some of them that the Original Name was a Tetragrammaton For it is likely that the Pythagoreans 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Number Four by which they used to Swear especially they confirmed the most serious Truths with this Oath was taken from the Iews Tetragrammaton The Excellent Commentator on Pythagoras's Golden Verses and particularly on this passage in them talks at large why God is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Quaternarius so that it seems the Pythagoreans applied it to God Whence a Learned Antiquary of our own concludes that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 was Iehovah and he conceives that Pythagoras who speaks of it in his Verses had this Mystery of Quaternity from the Hebrews who had in great veneration the Tetragrammaton the Name of God of Four Letters It was easie for this Philosopher who convers'd in his Travels as is acknowledg'd with Hebrews and Chaldees to arrive to the knowledge of this Name Let me suggest this in the next place that since the Name Iehovah was commonly pronounced Adonai by the superstitious Iews it might hence come to pass that this Adonai with a very small change gave the Name to one of the Poetick Gods among the Heathens viz. Adonis To confirm which add what Hesychius saith that Adonis is as much Lord among the Phaenicians He mistakes the Phaenicians for the Hebrews here as is very usual Whence then can we with greater probability think that Name was given to a Pagan God than from its being of so near affinity with Adonai the Name of the True God among the Iews Again Baal-Berith i. e. the Lord of the Covenant was the Name of a God or Idol of the Phaenicians Iudg. 8. 33. Which seems to be an imitation of the Title of the True God who as soon as the Deluge was past made a Covenant with Mankind and after that we find him Covenanting with Abraham and afterward with the whole People of the Iews and frequently in Scripture we see he is making a Covenant with his Servants so that he is the true Baal-Berith the Lord of the Covenant The Phaenicians borrowed this out of the Jewish and Sacred Writings and applied it to one of their Gods whence it was propagated to other Nations and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Foederator the Covenanter was the Title of Iupiter Among the Names which the Gentiles give to their Gods I may reckon 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Sabazius for it is sometimes Latinised to be one That this was the Name of iupiter especially you read in Strabo Valerius Maximus Apuleius That it was a Title also given to Bacchus is witnessed by others In allusion to this the word Sabos is often heard in the Orgia i. e. the Sacred Rites of Liber as Plutarch acquaints us And from Aristophanes we learn that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 were words of Acclamation and Rejoycing among the Pagans at their Great Solemnities and Festivals Now this Name seems to be of Hebrew Original and refers to the Iudaick Sabbath that Sacred Festival in which God was most solemnly Worshipp'd by that Nation And this Plutarch was sensible of viz. That there was an assinity between 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 before mention'd the word used in the Gentile Festivities especially by those that kept the Bacchanalia and the Iewish Sabbath only in this he err'd not knowing the derivation of the Hebrew word that he thought this was taken from that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as he expresly saith Or perhaps this Name 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which was given to their false Gods was taken from that of the true one and Iupiter Sabazius is as much as Iehovah Zabaoth which both Isaiah and Ieremiah frequently repeat as the proper Name of God Iehovah Zabaoth the Lord of Hosts is his Name Some have thought the word Tzebaoth is placed here by way of Apposition as if it should be rendred Dominus Sabaoth and thence Ierom reckons Sabaoth among the Names of God But questionless this word is in the Plural Number in regimine and so the true rendering is Lord of Sabaoth i. e. of Hosts Yea you will find the Hebrew word retain'd even in the Greek as if there were something more than ordinarily remarkable in the Hebrew The Pagans who got the sound of this word as very famous among the Hebrews took it by it self for God's Name and thence it is likely framed the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 This shall suffice in brief for a proof of what I undertook that the Names of the God of Israel are applied by the Heathens to their Idol-Gods The Pagans call their Deities by Titles which are given to the True God Iehovah This makes good what I aim'd at that the Heathens had these as well as other things from the Sacred Scriptures and it is certain they could have them from these only which is a proof of the verity and antiquity of those Holy Writings Speaking here of the Heathen-Gods and their Names as borrowed from Scripture it may not be impertinent to observe that even the Title of Gods given by the Pagans to their Kings and Princes was derived from the same inspired Writings I grant that it partly proceeded from their sottish Opinion that they were Gods indeed But it is as true that it might be derived to Prophane Writers from the stile of the Holy Ghost in the Old Testament where Magistrates are called Gods Thus in Exod. 22. 8. the Gods and the Rulers of the People are Synonimous Moses was to Aarâ—â— instead of a God Ex. 4. 16. i. e. according to the Chaldee and Arabick a Iudge or Prince God himself honours the Rulers of the Sanhedrim with the Title of Gods Ps. 82. 6. I have said ye are Gods So in Psalm 138. Gods in the 1st verse are Kings of the Earth in the 4th It might be
is an Epithet rather than a Name of God and therefore was not it is likely put into a Formal Oath Again the word an which this Author makes one of the ingredients of this word which the Poet useth hath no such lignification as he pretends it hath Indeed ajin and the contraction of it in is non but an hath no other signification but ubi or quorsum or quous 〈◊〉 as any Man may satissie himself by consultâ—â—â— the places where it occurs But another Person of infinite Literature who 〈◊〉 is of Opinion that it is an Oath and a Iewish 〈◊〉 that is here meant tells us that per Anchialum is a corruption of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. ulciseatur is qui vivit in aternum For we read saith he that Chi olam is one of Gods Great Names Dan. 4. 31. and we read also of Swearing by this Name Dan. 12. 17. wherefore Martial's Verse should have been written thus Non credo jura verpe iperan Chi olam 〈◊〉 Let him who lives for ever viz. God take â—â—â—geance on me viz. if I forswear my self This is a Criticism worthy of so Learned an Antiquary 〈◊〉 I have something considerable to object against a as first this iperang which he here brings in is â—â—â—â—ether redundant for we read not that they â—â—â—d this word in Swearing therefore there was 〈◊〉 reason to insert it here and to make it part of the form of a Iewish Oath Moreover Chiâ—â—â—â— is mistaken for Chi gnolma in Dan. 4. 31. which will not come into the Verse But chiefly I make bold to dissent from this Worthy Person 's Opinion because I think I have an easier and 〈◊〉 to propound That which I offer is this that this word Anâ—â—â—â—â— contains in it these three words an chi 〈◊〉 The word an is an abreviature of 〈◊〉 which is an usual Interjection sometimes translated now Psal. 118. 25. and sometimes oh 〈◊〉 exclamatory Syllable Ex. 32. 31. yea in all or most of the places where we find it it bear this last signification or borders very near upâ—â— it It is a particle used among the Hebrews 〈◊〉 express the Affections and Emotions of the 〈◊〉 as Mercer hath well observ'd which are frequently accompanied with Exclamations And by enquiring into the Texts where 't is used it will appear that it is also an Interjection of Asseveration and is as much as sanè profecto certè To thâ—â— purpose it is rightly rendred truly Ps. 116. 16. wherefore it is no wonder that it is used it Swearing I find that this Passionate Expletive 〈◊〉 of the same signification in the beginning of Word or Sentence with na in the end of them whence perhaps the Greek word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and Latin 〈◊〉 both used in Oaths are derived This I have said to shew the fitness of this first word in this place The two others are Chi and Elohim which being joined together are the same that God liveth which you will find to be the very expreâ—â— words which are used in the Old Testament wheâ— they Swore as in 1 Sam. 2. 27. 1 Kings 17. 12 18. 10. Chai Elohim God liveth but we rendeâ— it as God liveth and perhaps very significantly because an Oath is generally express'd by a defective Speech some word is left out and our Translators supply it This we are certain of that 〈◊〉 is usual in the Old Testament to Swear by God Life and in these very terms The Lord liveâ—â— God liveth Yea God himself Swears by his Life Am. 6. 8. As I live saith the Lord. Thence God in the Old Testament is called the Living God Which Epithet is so commonly given him and was without doubt so frequently used by the Iews that it came by that means to be well known to the Gentiles which I should guess gave rise 〈◊〉 the Greek Name of Iupiter The Heathens Named him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Living God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And I am apt to think that from the Nominative 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is of the same Original the Name Deus comes for 't is probable that heretofore it was pronounced as one Syllable and so was as much as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is the same with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for you see the is turn'd into in the three next Cases as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Therefore even Deus 15 the Living God But to proceed God's Life is himself and therefore 't is no wonder that God's People the Iews Swore by it Chi Elohim was the constant form of words which they used and it was taken as you have heard out of the Holy Scriptures So then An chi elohim is no other than Verily truly the Lord liveth the word an being presix'd by the Iews to express their affection and concern about the thing which they asserted or denied with a Solemn Oath Now when the Iews pronounced this Oath in these words those that were ignorant of the Tongue thought it was all but one word or Name Our Witty Poet who was not skill'd in the Hebrew was guilty of the same mistake and put the Iew upon Swearing by Anchialum which was a misunderstanding of An chi Elohim which words when they were pronounced fast and indistinctly seem'd unto those who were not skill'd in the Hebrew Tongue to sound like Anchialum Therefore Martial saith Iura verpe per Anchialum i. e. per an chi Eloim or with an usual Synalaepha An ch' Eloim which likewise is an instance of what I asserted before that Transpositions Abbreviatures and Corruptions of words are very usual and that their right Terminations are laid aside very often Or perhaps the Name 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 El which is also the usual Name of God in the Old Testament is here intended For that also was used in Oaths as appears from Iob 27. 2. Chai El. As God liveth And without doubt it was used by the Iews as well as Eloah and Elohim in Swearing yea some Hebritians have thought that these words are derived from the Verb Alah juravit because they are used in Swearing An chi El Verily God liveth was a common form of an Oath no less than An chi Elohim and thence the ignorant Hearers among the Pagans thought that the Name of the Iews God was Anchiel or Anchial And Martial here having occasion to use it in the Accusative Case adds the usual termination to it and makes it Anchialum Swear to me saith he to his Brother Poet who was a Iew by a Jewish Oath Swear by the most Solemn and Sacred Oath that you have in use among you and that is as I have heard Anchial or Anchiel which is no other then An chi El Verily God liveth With great deference and respect to the judgments of the foresaid Learned Criticks I propound either of these to be the â—airest and easiest solution of that controverted place of Martial It is not Chi
Alah nor Chi Alon nor Chi gnolam but Chi Elohim or Chi El take which you please that is referr'd to here by the Poet for these are the very words used in Scripture and we read that one of them especially is the express form of Swearing among the Hebrews Which is the thing I alledged this passage for viz. To let you see how Pagan Writers have frequent references to the Book of God and particularly the Name of the True God and to the Customs and Usages there spoken of and thereby do in some measure give testimony to the Truth and Reality of those Writings I would offer to the Learned another Notion in prosecution of the Subject I have been so long upon I am of the Opinion that from The frequent mention of Horns in the Old Testament the Heathens borrow'd the like expression and apply'd it in that very sense in which 't is used in those Holy Writings The Hebrew Keren whence the Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Latin Cornu and the German and English Horn signifies Might Strength Fortitude as also Ioy Safety Prosperity whence you read of the Horn of Salvation 2 Sam. 22. 3. Psal. 18. 2. and the exalting lifting up and setting 〈◊〉 the Horn 1 Sam. 2. 1. Ps. 75. 4 10. Ps. 89. 17. Ps. 112. 9. Lam. 2. 17. Zach. 1. 21. On the contrary cutting off the Horn signifies debasing degrading a mournful unsafe afflicted Condition 〈◊〉 is clear from Ps. 75 10. Ier. 48. 25. Lam. 2. 3. And defiling the Horn is of the same import 〈◊〉 16. 5. From the signification of the Verb Kuran we may be partly confirmed in this sense of the Noun Keren for 't is said of Moses's Face that it shone Ex. 34. 29. it was very Bright and Glorious The vulgar Latin renders it it was Horn'd and thence was said before Moses is â—sually Pictured with Horns But we must unâ—â—rstand it spoken Metaphorically viz. of those â—ays or Beams of Light which darted from his face and which were as 't were Horns of Light So in Hab. 3. 4. by Horns is meant Brightness or Light and it is so expresly interpreted in that rerse The Radiency the Splendour of Moses's Face was very great and is rightly called by the Apostle the Glory of his Countenance 2 Cor. 3. 7. So that hence we may gather that the word imports Outward Glory And as this word Keren signifies more generally Power Grandeur Ourward Glory and Prosperity so it more particularly denotes Kingly Power Soveraign Dominiou and Empire the Greatness and Splendor of Crowned Heads Whence by the way I propound it as probable that from the Eastern words Karan and Keren are derived the Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Dominus Imperator and the Latin Corona Thus Horn is applied in 1 Sam. 2. 10. He shall give strength unto his King and exalt the Horn of his Annointed And in the Psalms you will find that this word hath particular reference to David as King Ps. 89. 24. 91. 10. So in Ps. 132. 17. 't is spoken of him as the Lord 's Annointed and 't is joyn'd with a Crown in the next verse In the Book of Daniel this Language is very common in the 7th and 8th Chapters a Horn and Horns signifie Princely Dominion and the Persons that exercis'd it and in the latter of these Chapters those two Horn'd Beasts a Ram and a Goat are Representatives of Kings and Kingdoms It is in express words said in two places Horns are Kings Dan. 7. 24. 8. 7. Now from this particular stile and idiom of the Ancient Holy Book of the Scriptures the Heathen Writers learnt to speak after the same manner Not only in a general way was the word Horn used by some of their Authors to express Vigour Spirit Strength and Power but more especially and signally they makâ— use of it to signifie Supream Power and Dignity such as that of their Gods and of their Kings Thus Corniger was the Epithet of Iupiter Hammon and we may inform our selves from several Writers that he was commonly pictured with Horns which had its rise I conceive from the like representation of Great Ones in the Old Testament as you have heard I know other Reasons are alledg'd as that of Servius who thinks this Iupiter had that Title and was represented Horned because of his Winding Oracles because his Answers had as many crooked Turnings as a Ram's Horn. Macrobius and some others tell us that this Hammon was no other than the Sun whose Beams are Cornute whose Rays are in the fashion of Horns If the Moon had been meant then I confess the Epithet of Horned had been very Natural But I don't think that the Metaphorical Horns of the Sun which are its Rays were thought of here by the Antients Wherefore I look upon these as mean and trifling Reasons But the true occasion if I mistake not of their describing Iupiter Hammon with Horns and of representing other Gods as Pan and Bacchus after the same manner was this that they complied with the Stile of the Sacred Writings as was an usual thing with them which set forth Great Power Magnificence and Glory especially Kingly Power and Greatness by the expression of Horns This suited well with their Gods who were Great Folks and generally Deified Kings We read that a Ram and a Goat are Symbols of Regal Strength in the Prophetick Writings in imitation of which it is probable Iupiter Hammon was worshipp'd in Afsrick in the shape of an Image which had partly the proportions of a Ram and partly of a Goat And from the same Original viz. the Holy Scriptures it was that Antiently the Pagan Kings and Monarchs were represented and stiled Horned as we may satisfie our selves from several Authors It is well known that Alexander the Great was called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 bicornis of which some give this Reason because say they of the amplitude of his Empire which was extended to both the extream Horns of the World East and West Others say he would have been thought to be the Son of Iupiter Hammon who was Cornute and accordingly they drew Alexander so And there are other Reasons assign'd by Authors why this Great Conquerour had the denomination of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but they seem to be far fetch'd and not to give us the true and genuine account of it which I take to be this viz. That this Title was derived to the Gentiles from the frequent Language and Phraseology of the Old Testament which expresses Kingly Power by Horns and more especially from the Prophecy of Daniel where the Grecian Monarchy is deseribed by a He Goat an Horn'd Animal and the first King of that third Monarchy viz. Alexander the Great is signified by Keren Chazuth a Notable Horn Dan. 8. 5. a Great and Visible Horn as the Hebrew word properly signifies And again he is call'd in the same Chapter the Great Horn v. 21. All Interpreters agree in
and this Abgarus among the Ecclesiastical Writers of the First Age and farther professeth that upon a diligent enquiry into these Letters he cannot discern any flaw or falshood in them he cannot find any appearance of Fraud and Imposture he sees nothing unworthy of our Blessed Lord in the stile or contexture of that Epistle which is attributed to him Yea next to the Bible he thinks these are the most remarkable and venerable piece of Antiquity that respects Christianity As to those Objections which are started against the Authority of these Epistles by a Learned Divine of the Sorbon it must be said that they are unworthy of him for they are very frivolous and groundless and he might have used the same Arguments â—gainst many parts of the Evangelical History and the passages that occur there But suppose after all that these Epistles were not really written by Christ and by Abgarus yet notwithstanding this they are no mean Testimony for us If we should only grant that Eusebius â—ound them among the Records of Edessa this is â—ery considerable Though I think there is good Evidence of the Truth of these Writings yet I am not mightily concern'd whether these Writings were real or feigned that is whether Abgarus did send such a Letter to Christ and whether our Saâ—â—our return'd an Answer to it This is sufficient that Eusebius who translated them out of Syriack â—nto Greek was welâ— satisfied that there were such Records at that time in Edessa Whether they were Spurious or not is not so material for whether they were such or not they give a Testimony of the Person whom we speak of they certifie â—s of this Truth that such a one really was at that time when these Records bear date For suppose the People of Edessa forged them as being ambitious to retain the Memory of their Prince and to celebrate it by this particular Memorial inserted into their Records yet this makes not a little for our purpose for though we should grant the Letters to be Supposititious as some Learned Men have concluded them to be yet the Registring of such may be true though they â—eigned these in a poletick Remembrance of one whose Name they intended to transmit to Posterity yet the Recording of them is thus far an Attestation given to Christ that hereby his Person and Worth were acknowledg'd by these Edessens so long ago But I pass this by I could relate here what was done by Pagans in Testimony of their acknowledging and approving of Christ. Thus the Emperor Augustus refused the Title of Lord saith Dio and it is not improbable that he did it on our Saviour's Account Some indeed tell us that it was upon another occasion viz. when at a Play Dominus aequus bonus was pronounced and thereupon the People as if the words were said of Augustus with great signs of Joy shewed their Approbation of them the Emperor labour'd by signs to stifle their Flattery and the day after put forth an Edict forbidding any to call him Lord. Such a thing as this might happen and yet the first and truest Motive to his refusing that Title might be with reference to our Lord Christ who was born not long before The reason to believe it is this that this Emperor was much changed after Christ's Birth and after the Fame of him was spread abroad he became a great favourer of the Iews and their Religion as Philo the Iew acquaints us in the Account which he gives of his Embassy to Caius in behalf of his Country-men of Alexandria He there relateth several particular kindnesses which he shew'd to the Iewish Nation and all grant that Philo is a very credible Author in this case And though Suetonius gives an Instance of his Aversion to the Iews and to Ierusalem it self yet it is likely this was before the other and so it inhanseth the Emperor's after-Esteem and Favour for that Nation and People If you thus consider that he was now much altered it is not hard to believe that his putting out the foresaid Edict was done in honour to Christ He would not be called Lord after our Saviour was come into the World who was Lord of Lords and King of Kings And this may appear to be the more probable if that be true which is farther related of Augustus that about the close of his Reign he inquired at Apollo's Oracle who was to adminster the Affairs of the Empire after him and received this Answer 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 A Hebrew Babe a God himself and King Of blessed Subjects bids me quit this place And trudge again to Hell wherefore great Sir From these our Altars silently be gone Whereupon the Emperor left off Sacrificing and returning to Rome built in the Capitol an Altar with this Inscription Ara Primogeniti Dei But because no very ancient Historian reports this and those that do are thought to be sometimes fabulous therefore I offer it not as if I much relied upon it Nor do I on that other passage in Suidas viz. that one Theodosius a Iew ascertain'd a Christian whom he discours'd with that Christ was chosen one of the Priests of the Temple upon the death of another and that they writ him down as the Custom was to Register the Names of those that were elected Priests and to assign also their Parents Names The Son of God and of the Virgin Mary The Book wherein this was recorded was kept in the Temple till the Destruction of Ierusalem and it was well known to the Priests and Rulers of the People This is a remarkable Testimony but because it wants evident Authority I will not insist on it That which I have said already may suffice towards the proving what I undertook that Christ's Life is attested even by Pagan Witnesses Thirdly his Death with some of the most considerable attendants of it is related by Persons of the same Character Thus the great Roman Historian expresly voucheth this Article of our Chri-Christian Belief that Christ suffered under Pontius Pilate and that in the Reign of Tiberius Lucian who was famed for his Taunts and Scoffs at the Christians calls their Great Master and Founder The Man that was fastned to a Gibbet and hung up upon it in Palestine And this is confess'd by Iews as well as Pagans the particular manner of his Suffering namely on the Cross is acknowledg'd by the Talmudick Writers very often and by the Iews in Contempt and Scorn our Saviour is blasphemously call'd Talui suspensus He that was hang'd The Eclipse at Christ's Passion mentioned by the Evangelists and that as an Universal One is left upon Record also by Heathens Dionysius an Athenian by Birth before he was converted to the Faith when he was a Student in Egypt was an Eye-witness of this miraculous Eclipse which he gives an Account of in an Epistle that he
for Prestegian or Protegian as some think but this is disputable Maldon in Essex by the Saxons called Malodune is a Corruption of Camalodunum the old Colony of the Romans here Godmanchester in Huntingdon shire is so written in stead of Gormonchester from one Gormon a Danish Prince that had this part of the Country alotted to him But Charter-House for Chartreuse the Covent heretofore of the Carthusians and Shingles the common word for St. Anthony's Fire because it incompasses the Body like a Girdle for Cingles and Good Morrow for Good Morning are not so great Depravations of the Words Refer this to Page 254. Line 25. If 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signified any such thing as furtum we might perhaps think the English Felony came thence If 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or stola signified Sedile we should be inclined to fetch Stool thâ—nce We should have derived Smoke from the Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 if it had signified any thing like fumus and so a Spade from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and Spado Nay If 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 denoted any thing like Placenta or laganum we then should have vouched even our English word of that sound to be derived from it FINIS BOOKS Sold by Richard Wilkin at the King's-Head in St. Paul's Church-Yard THE Glorious Epiphany with the Devout Christian's Love to it The Second Edition Octavo Search the Scriptures A Treatise shewing that all Christians ought to Read the Holy Books With Directions to them therein Twelves A Discourse concerning Prayer especially of frequenting the Daily Publick Prayers Twelves All Three by the Reverend Dr. Patrick now Lord Bishop of Ely The Old Religion demonstrated in the Principles and described in the Life and Practice thereof By I. Goodman D. D. The Second Edition Twelves Imprimatur April 6. 1694. CAROLUS ALSTON R. P. D. Hen. Episc. Lond. à sacris A DISCOURSE Concerning the Authority Stile and Perfection OF THE BOOKS OF THE Old and New Testament Vol. II. Wherein the Author 's former Underta king is further prosecuted viz. an Enquiry into several Remarkable Texts which contain some Difficulty in them with a Probable Resolution of them By IOHN EDWARDS B. D. sometime Fellow of St. Iohn's College in Cambridge LONDON Printed by I. D. for Ionathan Robinson at the Golden Lion and Iohn Wyat at the Rose in St. Paul's Church-yard MDCXCIV Imprimatur Cantab. Oct. 19. 1693. Geo. Oxenden LL. D. Procan Jo. Beaumont S. T. D. Regius Theologiae Professor Nath. Coga S. T. D. Aul. Pembr Custos Jo. Covell S. T. D. Coll. Christi Praefect TO THE Right Reverend Father in God SIMON Lord Bishop of ELY My LORD I Once more presume to prefix your Lordship's Name which is so Great and Celebrated to my Obscure Papers thereby to create them some Credit and to derive a Repute upon my self Your Matchless Pen hath purchas'd You a lasting Renown and Your Exemplarly Life and Practice have added a farther Glory to You. So that all the understanding World counts You worthy of douâ—le Honour If You had lived in the Primitive times You would have been one of the most Eminent Fathers of the Church in those Days as You have the Honour to be now in these And Your Strict Life would have entituled You a Saint You do all the Parts of an Excellent Man and a Christian Bishop You perform Great and Worthy things Your self and You countenance even the lower and meaner Attempts of others In a word all that are intelligent proclaim You the Chief Glory of our English Prelacy My Lord I do not apprehend that this can offend You for He that is eminently Vertuous and Learned provokes the World to speak his Worth and they would be infinitely blameable if they robb'd him of his due Praise Therefore I must confess I do not see the Reasonableness of those Writerâ— that tell their Patrons they will not praise them lest they should offend their Modesty I would not dedicate my Labours as mean as they are to a Person of a mean Figure in the Learned World or in the Accounts of the Religious For the Design of the Dedication is to let the World know that such a Person is really Praise-worthy and tâ—at even to a Wonder that he is one that ought to be extremely honoured and venerated for his Transcendent Excellencies and that he is to be a Pattern to the rest of Mankind And yet my Lord You see I do not enter on the Task of Enlarging on Your Lordship's Praises the Reason is not because it is unlawful or unfit but because it is too Great for me Not to give Your Lordship any farther Trouble if I have offended by this repeated Presumption I have this to plead in my Excuse that Your Merits as well as my Own Inclinations have made me Criminal And seeing my Fault bears the Name of Duty I despair not but that it will meet with a Pardon and that Your Lordship will aceept of this poor Oblation from My Lord Your Lordship 's most Devoted Son and Servant J. EDWARDS THE PREFACE WHen I had by my long Forbearance satisfied the World that I was not fond of shewing my self in Publick and offering any Discourses in Print at leâ—st with open Face I at last prevail'd with my sâ—lf to venture visibly to the Press And truly I think I may appear now with the more Confidence because I have a great while deliberated on what I have done in this Nature Though I was very shy at first yet now being enter'd into thiâ— employment I believe I shall make a Practice of it till it may be I shall be thought by some to run into another Extream But I shall not consult or attend to the Opinion of a few prejudiced or envious Folks but go on with my Work which I design'd And if it be said that some of the Texts and Other Subjects which I discourse upon have been often treated of by others my Answer is that I â—m glad they have for then it will appear what I have done then the Reader will see I hope that I am no Filching Plâ—giary no Apish Imitator no Rash and Credâ—lous Swearer unto other Mens Opinions that when I handle the same Matter which others have before me I present the World with something beside Different Phrase and New Method that by offering a fresh Critical Gloss upon several Dubious and Difficult Passages in the Old and New Testament I have cleared up the Sâ—â—se of them and in short that I hâ—ve made some Remarkable Observations on the Best Book in the World If I have not perform'd this which the Iudicious only can be Iudges of I â—m sure I have endeâ—vour'd it and have all along made it my grand Design and Business to â—elp my Readers to understand the Bible aright which certainly is of the highest Concern next to the Religioâ—s Practice of it In order to the pursuit of this I had sufficient Warrant to break out of my Retirement to
four thousand p. 369. KINGS Book 2. ch 6. v. 25. The fourth Part of a Cab of Doves Dung was sold for five Pieces of Silver p. 288. CHRONICLES Book 2. ch 14. v. 5. He took away out of all the Cities of Judah the High Places and the Images p. 358. JOB Ch. 1. v. 5. It may be my Sons have cursed God in their Hearts p. 342. Ver. 11. He will curse thee to thy Face ibid. Ch. 2. v. 9. Curse God and die p. 337. Ch. 4. v. 18. His Angels he charged with Folly p. 269. PSALMS Psal. 120. v. 5. Wo is me that I sojourn in Meshec and dwell in the Tents of Kedar p. 115. Psal. 133. v. 3. As the Dew of Hermon and as the Dew that descendeth upon the Mountains of Zion p. 331. ECCLESIASTES Ch. 12. v. 2. While the Sun or the Light or the Moon or the Stars be not darkned nor the Clouds return after the Rain Ver. 4. And the Doors shall be shut in the Streets He shall rise up at the Voice of the Bird. Ver. 5. The Grashopper shall be a Burden and Desire shall fail Ver. 6. Or ever the Golden Bowl be broken or the Pitcher be broken at the Fountain or the Wheel broken at the Cistern p. 139. ISAIAH Ch. 59. v. 19. The Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a Standard p. 205. St. MATTHEW Ch. 10. v. 14. Shake off the Dust of your Feet p. 189 Ver. 34. Think not that I am come to send Peace c. p. 363. Ch. 12. v. 40. Jonas was in the Whales Belly Gr. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 281. Ch. 13. v. 32. Which indeed is the least of all Seeds p. 117. Ch. 24. v. 34. This Generation shall not pass away till all these things are fulfilled p. 391. Ch. 26. v. 64. The Son of Man Why our Saviour is called so p. 221. St. LUKE Ch. 22. v. 36. But now he that hath a Purse let him take it and likewise his Scrip he that hath no Sword let him sell his Garment and buy one p. 126. St. JOHN Ch. 20. v. 10. Then the Disciples went away again unto their own home Gr. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 82. ACTS Ch. 7. v. 15. Jacob went down into Egypt and died â—e and our Fathers Ver. 16. And were carried over into Sychem and laid in the Sepulâ—â—re that Abraham bought for a Sum of Money of the Sons of Emmor â—he Father of Sychem p. 361. Ch. 13. v. 20. After that he gave them Iudges about the Space of four hundred and fifty Years until Samuel the Propâ—et p. 402. Ch. 23. v. 5. I wist not that he was the High Priest p. 128. CORINTHIANS 2d Epist. Ch. 2. v. 5. He hath not grieved me but in part p. 99. COLOSSIANS Ch. 1. v. 15. Who is the first-born of every Creature p. 215. Ver. 18. The first-born from the Dead p. 217. THESSALONIANS 2d Epist. Ch. 3. v. 1. That the Word of the Lord may have free Course and be glorified And Other Texts which refer to the Olympick Games p. 180. HEBREWS Ch. 9. v. 4. Wherein was the Golden Pot that had Manna and Aaron's Rod that budded and the Tables of the Covenant p. 365. Ch. 12. v. 24. The Blood of Sprinkling which speaks better things than that of Abel p. 389. TIMOTHY 1st Epist. Ch. 1. v. 8. The Law is not made for a righteous Man Ch. 4. v. 8. Bodily Exercise profiteth little p. 167. TIMOTHY 2d Epist. Ch. 4. v. 13. Especially the Parchments p. 420. St. PETER 2d Epist. Ch. 1. v. 20. No Prophecy of the Scripture is of any private Interpretation The rest of the Texts are interpreted according to the Sense of Other Expositors OF THE STILE OF THE Holy Scriptures CHAP. 1. There is a primary or literal and a secondary or mystical Sense in the Sacred Writings A brief Explication of both Several Instances of them in the Old Testament Episcopius's Opinion concerning the fulfilling of some Passages of the Old Testament by way of Accommodation animadverted upon Instances in the New Testament of the double Sense of Scripture The Nature of Parables especially of those that our Saviour useth fully discussed The several Reasons of this parabolical and mystical way of instructing the People The Parable of the Ten Virgins particularly illustrated A double historical Sense in the 24th Chapter of St. Matthew The like in other Places asserted by Dr. Jackson Whence the peculiar and transcendent Excellency of the inspired Writings is inferred A just Censure of those Writers who vilify the Letter of Scripture and mind nothing in it but the mystical Interpretation Dr. Bufnet's allegorizing and at the same time ridiculing the 3d Chapter of Genesis rebuked The great Mischiefs of excluding the literal Sense of Scripture The other Extream viz. of resting altogether in the literal meaning of the Bible condemned Erasmus Calvin Grotius tax'd for this Rules to be observed for knowing what Places are to be understood in a primary literal Sense and what in a secondary or mystical HAving in a former Discourse treated of the Authority of the Sacred Writings of the Old and New Testament I am now obliged according to what â— then undertook to give a particular Account of their Stile By which taking it in a large and extensive Notion I understand the Sense and Import of the Holy Writ as well as the Composition of the Words The Stile of Scripture comprehends the Divine Meaning no less than the Phraseology of it Accordingly I will reduce all that I intend to say upon this Subject to these ensuing Propositions I. There is a mystical as well as a literal Sense of many Passages of these inspired Writings and we are carefully to attend to both II. The Stile of Holy Scripture hath several things in it which are according to the Phrase and Strain of other applauded Writers which therefore we ought to be acquainted with that we may the more easily understand the sacred Penmen III. As there are many things in the Stile and Composure of the Bible common to it with other Authors so there are some things peculiar and proper to it which we are more especially concern'd to take notice of that the Singularity and Propriety of them may be rightly understood by us IV. The Stile and Expression of Scripture are such that there are many Passages in it which are obscure and difficult And here a particular but full Account must be given of that Obscurity and Difficulty And likewise I shall make it my Task to remove them by a particular Explication and Illustration of those Texts which shall be alledged The first Proposition This is to be laid down in the first Place that there is both a literal and a mystical Sense in Scripture The literal Sense is when the Words are taken as they originally and properly signify The mystical one is when the Words are to be understood in a more sublime Sense than the bare Letter of them imports This mystical
or spiritual Sense of Scripture is according to some threefold 1. Tropological when one thing delivered in Scripture signifies some other thing pertaining to the Conversation of Men. Thus those Texts of the Mosaick Law wherein is forbidden the eating of certain Animals have partly respect unto the Manners of Persons Both Jewish and Christian Expositors have thought that it was designed in those Prohibitions that some moral Instruction should be taught that People from the Consideration of the natural Inclinations and Qualities of those Creatures 2. There is an Allegorical Sense when things spoken of in the Old Testament are Figures of something in the New or when particularly they have a respect to Christ or the Church Militant as the Rock and the Manna mentioned in Moses's History of the Israelites 3. An Anagogical Sense is said to be in some Places of Scripture and this is when the things related are applicable to the Church Triumphant or the Life everlasting Thus the entring into Canaan and the Holy of Holies in the Temple in the highest Sense of them are meant of Heaven and the State of Eternal Happiness But because there is a great quarrelling about the applying of this triple Distinction to the several Passages in Scripture which are said to bear a mystical meaning and because some learned Divines of the Protestant Perswasion disallow of this Distribution of the mystical Sense of Scripture I will avoid all wrangling by assigning only those two general Senses of Scripture viz. the literal and mystical and by leaving it to every one's Liberty either to omit the particular Subdivisions of the latter or to apply them as they see occasion Or rather if I may be permitted to vary from this received Division of the Sense of Scripture I would divide it thus into a primary and a secondary Sense the former is literal the latter is â—ystical and yet not so but that sometimes as you shall see afterwards the secondary Sense is literal too for there are two literal or historical Meanings in some Places but the latter of them may be called mystical also because it is not so plainly understood as the other The literal Sense of Scripture is the main and indeed the only Sense of the greatest part of it for some particular Places only have a mystical Signification This is the most genuine proper and original meaning and therefore I call it the first or primary one But the mystical Sense is derivative improper indirect and not that which was first and chiefly design'd and therefore I call it the secondary Sense The former of these is that plain meaning of Scripture which the bare Letter and Words themselves denote to us The latter is when some other thing is signified in the Words besides what the Letter of them seems to import The one is obvious and lies uppermost in the Text and is the soonest perceived but the other is more remote and lies deep and is not so easily discovered but is of great Use and Moment yea generally of greater than the other more familiar and obvious meaning wherefore it is our Concern to acquaint our selves with it The Bible like that Book in Ezekiel ch 2. 10. is written within and without it hath an inward secret and mystical Signification as well as one that is external open and literal and we can never arrive to a true Understanding of this Holy Book unless we have some Insight into both I will instance first in the Writings of the Old Testament and shew that there is a secondary or mystical Sense lodged in several Passages of them Indeed the holy Language it self in which these were wrote is big with Mysteries I have observed that there are more Words in this Tongue that signify to hide or conceal than in any other Language whatsoever There are a hundred synonymous Words at least for this one thing Whether this Criticism have any Weight in it or no I shall not be much concern'd but this is unquestionable that many great Mysteries are wrapp'd up in this abstruse Tongue in the holy Volume The Jews who were conversant in these Writings acknowledg'd there was not only a literal but a mystical Interpretation of them which latter they called Midrash because there was no attaining to it but by a diligent Inquisition The Hebrew Doctors say in a proverbial manner there is not a single Letter in the whole Law on which there do not depend great Mountains Their meaning is that there are vast Mysteries and profound Sense in every Word almost in the Sacred Writings Which is the meaning of another Adage of theirs viz. that the Law hath seventy Faces It hath many various Aspects different Significations and Senses for there are mystical as well as literal Interpretations of the holy Text. Thus the Entrance of the Bible the Beginning of the Book of Genesis though it be historical and sets down Matter of Fact as the wonderful Creation of the Heavens and Earth and of Man and the rest of the Inhabitants of this lower World yet it was thought by the wisest Jews that there was a farther Reach in it and that both Moral and Divine Mysteries were couch'd in the several Particulars of that Narrative which Moses gives there of the Origine of the World for which Reason this first Entrance into the Pentateuch was forhad to be read by the Jews till they were thirty Years of Age. It is agreed among the best Expositors that in those Words in Gen. 3. 14 15. The Lord said unto the Serpent I will put Enmity between thee and the Woman and between thy Seed and her Seed Besides the primary or literal Sense viz. that there shall be an irreconcilable Enmity between Mankind and the Serpentine Brood and that Man having an Antipathy against that Creature shall labour to destroy it by â—ruising his Head because there his Venom lies whereby he doth harm and the Head is to be first attack'd if we would destroy this mischievous Creature as Iosephus gives the Sense of this Place Besides this I say there is another for Satan is meant by the Serpent as well as the Creature of that Name for Satan appeared in the Shape of a Serpent or rather actuated a living Serpent and Christ is meant by the Seed of the Woman for he is emphatically and exclusively call'd so because he was not the Seed of Man but was after an extraordinary manner born of a Virgin So that this Text is justly stiled 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the first Dawning of the Gospel or the most early Promise concerning the blessed Messias the Christ the Lamb of God that was to take away the Sins of the World So likewise we are certain from the Authority of the Apostle in Heb. 7. 1 c. that what is said in Gen. 14. 18. of Melohisedek King of Salem Priest of the most High God is not only literally spoken but ought to be understood in a higher and
excellent Philosophy in several Places of Holy Scripture yet these Writings were never intended mainly for this End but for one far higher and nobler Hence it is that you hear the Holy Writers speaking sometimes not according to the very Nature of the things but according to their Appearance and the Opinion Men have of them Yea they oftentimes express themselves according to the received Opinions although they be erroneous and false as in the Instance before mentioned Theodoret gives us the Reason of it in his first Interrogatory upon Genesis he bâ—gins his Work with This that the Holy Script 〈◊〉 wont to sute its 〈◊〉 of Teaching to the 〈◊〉 of the Learne◠〈◊〉 d in another Place 〈◊〉 like purpose 〈◊〉 Scripture saith he 〈◊〉 as is most 〈◊〉 and fit for Men. The 〈◊〉 Ghost in it is pleased to condescend to their Capacities and to adapt himself to their shallow Apprehensions Thus frequently in the Scripture corporeal Properties are attributed to God you read of his Face and Back-parts Exod. 33. 23. and that these latter were seen by Moses which is spoken by way of Anthropopathy as Divines commonly speak i. e. after the manner of Men in compliance with their weak Capacities As when a Man's Face and Fore-parts are seen there is a considerable Discovery and Knowledg of his Person but when he is seen behind only it is imperfectly so was it when God appeared to Moses he shew'd himself to him not fully but in part as when a Man turns away his Face from another and lets him see only his Back-parts And so in other Places of Scripture we read of God's Eyes Ears Hands Feet and other bodily Parts and Members but we must not forget here the old Rule of Cyril of Alexandria When Members and Parts are attributed to God it is said after the manner of Men but it is to be understood in a Sense sutable to the Divine Nature And Athanasius hath the like Words on this Occasion But the not attending to this gave Rise to the Sect of the Anthropomorphites who pervesly understanding those Texts which ascribe these Parts to God held him to be Corporeal and of Humane Shape Tâ—ey 〈◊〉 not knowing not rightly interpreting the 〈◊〉 which sometimes speak after the Guise of 〈◊〉 in condescension to 〈◊〉 shallow Understandâ—â—â— Thus Gen. 6. 6. It 〈…〉 Lord that he 〈◊〉 Man and 1 Sam 〈◊〉 The Lord repented 〈◊〉 he made Saul King are 〈◊〉 that is as spoken in a vulgar manner and after the way of Mortals who when they repent abandon their former Doings So when God is said to repent that which we are to understand by it is this that he acts in a contrary manner to what he did before As in the forementioned Places it repented the Lord that he made Man the meaning is that he purposed to destroy Mankind viz. with a Deluge for so you find it explain'd in the next Verse the Lord said I will destroy Man whom I have created And when 't is said The Lord repented that be made Saul King the meaning is that he â—â—â—â—osed to depose him and set up another as you read he gave Order in the Words immediately following in the next Chapter Therefore Theodoret saith well God's Repenting is no other than the changing of his Dispensation And thus we are to interpret this Expression where-ever it occurs in Holy Writ for in many other Places God is said to repent of what he did as knowing that the Phrase of this Sacred Book is oftentimes fitted to the Apprehensions and Language of Men and not the absolute Reality of the thing That of St. Chrysostom is certainly true God accommodates himself sometimes to humane Infirmity when he speaks in Scripture So those Words are to be understood in Gen. 11. 5. The Lord came down to see the City And again ver 7. Let us go down which are spoken in a vulgar manner and with respect to the shallow Conceptions of Mankind And the same Expression is used in Gen. 18. 20 21. Exod. 3. 7 8. Psal. 144. 5. Isa. 64. 1. God is here said to come down which signifies God's taking more than ordinary Notice of the Actions of Men and his designing to do some extraordinary thing The Scripture calls the Angels that appeared to Abraham Men because they feem'd to be such The Man Gabriel you read of in Dan. 9. 21 because he appear'd in the Shape of Man And so in the New Testament the Angles at our Saviour's Sepulchre are stiled young Men because as to outward Appearance they were such Nothwithstanding what some Commentators have said upon 1 Sam. 28. 15. Samuel said to Saul and again ver 16. Then said Samuel I am fully perswaded that those Words are spoken according to the Appearance not the real Truth of the thing The Name of Samuel is given to the Devil or Spectre that appeared but we are not to think that Samuel himself in Body and Soul appear'd for 't is ridiculous as well as impious to imagine that the departed Saints are at the Command and Disposal of a Necromantick Witch a Cursed Sorceress a Hellish Hag as if she could fetch them down from the Celestial Regions when she pleaseth But this she did she raised a Spectre or substituted some Person who resembled Samuel whom she represented to Saul's Sight as if he were the Prophet Samuel indeed Thence we read in this Sacred History that Samuel said to Saul because he who appear'd in Samuel's Likeness was thought to be Samuel and thought to speak to Saul Thus a Learned Father long since expounded this Passage of Scripture and gives us this as the Reason of it We find this saith he to be the Custom of Scripture that oftentimes it relates that which is only in appearance instead of what is true and real And with him agrees another of the learned Antients The Sacred History saith he calls the Apparition Samuel because Saul believed it to be the real Samuel for the Scripture speaks frequently according to other Mens Belief and Notions So it usually calls those Gods that are not really such but because the false and feigned Deities of the Heathens were reputed True Gods by them therefore the Name of Gods is given them often in the Old Testament and sometimes in the New But to confine my self to this latter here we find several things delivered not according to the Reality of the Matter spoken of but according to the Sense and Notion of others So I understand our Saviour's Words Matth. 12. 5. The Priests in the Temple profane the Sabbath i. e. by killing of Beasts and doing other laborious Work they according to you profane that Holy-day according to the Notion which you Pharisees have of keeping and breaking the Sabbath and according to which you condemn me and my Disciples as Profaners of that Day The Phrase used by St. Mark ch 1. 32. is according to a very vulgar Conceit
of God whereas the Prophet who speaks this intimates in the whole Chapter afterwards that the Church shall flourish and that it shall be impossible for its Enemies to do it harm So that in Nah. 3. 14. Draw thee Waters for the Siege fortify thy strong Holds is said in way of Derision to Niniveh whose unavoidable Ruine is foretold in that Chapter And besides many such Sarcasms in the Old Teâ—â—ament there are several in the New as that of our Blessed Lord to his drowzy Disciples Sleep on â—ow and take your Rest Matth. 26. 45. This is a downright Irony because Christ here intends a different thing nay contrary to what he saith His meaning is not that they should sleep when both he and they were in so great Danger but his Intention rather was that they should watch and pray as you read ver 41. By this way of speaking he corrects them for their unseasonable Drowsiness that they could not watch at such a time as that when he had just before foretold them that he was to be betrayed That is another clear Text Full well 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 fairly as Sir Nort. Knatchbull renders it ye reject the Commandment of God saith our Saviour to the Pharisees Mark 7. 9. Ye do very well and laudably in preferring the Traditions and Constitutions of Men before the express Commands of God This is a commendable piece of Religion indeed Is it not Do you think that this will be acceptable to God There is another Passage of our Saviour which seems to me to be perfectly Ironical though Commentators generally carry the Sense another way But now saith Christ he that hath a Purse let him take it and likewise his Scrip and be that hath no Sword let him sell his Garment and buy one Luke 22. 36. Which is thought by Expositors to be a plain and direct Exhortation to the Apostles to furnish themselves with Money Provision and Swords But this cannot be meant here because 1. Christ had declared against Fighting for he tells Pilate Iohn 18. 36. that if his Kingdom were of this World then would his Servants i. e. his Apostles and Disciples fight that he should not be delivered to the Iews Swords then were to no purpose 2. When they brought two Swords to him his Answer is observable It is enough If he had meant real Swords he would not have said that two of them were enough for those could serve but two Men They should all of them be appointed with that sort of Weapons and have stood on their Guard When therefore he saith It is enough he doth as good as say I do not mean Carnal Weapons You mistake me as you have often done and dream of a Temporal Kingdom of the Messias 3. It is evident that Christ meant not Swords in the usual Signification of the Word because afterwards he sharply blamed Peter for making use of this Weapon Matth. 26. 52. It appears that he had no Commission from our Saviour to draw his Sword I cannot therefore subscribe to those who interpret these Words of our Lord in the direct and obvious Sense But if we understand them to be spoken â—ronically they are very intelligible and are consistent with what Christ saith at other times And let no Man wonder that our Blessed Master uses this sort of Stile here for I have shewed you before in two undeniable Instances that he made use of it yea even when he was approaching to Death as when he said to his Apostles Sleep on and take your Rest. And so he speaks after the same manner here upbraiding his Apostles who he knew were afraid of Suffering and had so often been talking of Christ's Kingdom on Earth and of the Prosperous Times that were to accompany it He now in a Sarcastick way chastises their fond and groundless Conceit and bids them go and buy Swords and lay in Provisions If you are for a Temporal Reign saith he then sight for it You are specially well skill'd in your Weapons without doubt you are excellent Sword-men This I take to be the Sense of the Words and truly a Man might gather it from that one Passage before mentioned It is enough said our Saviour to them when they brought him a couple of Swords This it self is an Ironick Quip it is as if he had said This is brave Armour indeed Now you are well appointed surely You are like to defend me and your selves against all that come against us Two Swords amongst you all are a very great Armory This plainly shews what our Saviour's meaning was when he bid them buy Swords he handsomly check'd them for their Cowardice and Fear of Suffering But yet I will not deny that something more may be included and comprized in these Words he bids them make the best Provision they can against the Calamitous Times that were coming he exhorts them to be provided with Spiritual Weapons Faith and Patience and thâ— Sword of the Spirit yea with the Whole Armour of God This higher and spiritual meaning may be contained in what Christ here uttereth But if you take the Words as they sound and in the more direct and literal Tendency of them I do not see that they can be interpreted in a better way than I have offered And as our Blessed Saviour himself so the Apostle St. Paul sometimes uses this Figure which I am now speaking of I am enclined to think that those Words in Acts 23. 5. I wist not that he was the High Priest are to be taken in this Sense He makes use of an Irony and is to be understood as if he had said Is this the High Priest Alas I did not know that this was that Reverend Gentleman I should have shewed my self more civil to him if I had been acquainted that this was that Worshipful Man that Gay Pontiff to whom you pay so great Veneration But who would take this Person to be the High Priest the Great Leading Officer of the Church who is to be an Example of Mildness and Gentleness to all Men His furious way of speaking and acting towards me doth not discover him to be one of that High Character and Order He doth not shew himself to be a Spiritual Man Surely this cannot be He This Behaviour speaks him to be another Person So it is spoken in a jtering way Nor is this Sense of the Words as â—â—me may think too light and jocular for the Apostle though he was before the Sanhedrim the most Grave and Solemn Council of that Nation For in several of the Instances before mentioned we see this way of speaking hath been made use of before very Great and Venerable Persons and in Causes that were exceeding Serious and Weighty And whereas the Apostle immediately adds For it is written Thou shalt not speak Evil of the Ruler of thy People which may make it seem incredible that St. Paul spoke in a Sarcastick way which is speaking one thing and meaning another
our selves with some that commend themselves c. are spoken meerly in Derision of the False Apostles and Teachers who had gain'd upon the Corinthians and other Churches by their confident Boasting and vain Brags I dare not presume â—aith the Apostle to think my self as worthy as they are and so rank my self with thâ—se high-flown Teachers Yet we know he commends himself in the beginning of the 11th Chapter and again in ch 12. 11. which shews that these Words are said in an Ironical way This is that which he seems to say in ch 11. 17 c. That which I speak I speak not after the Lord but as it were foolishly in this Confidence of Boasting Seeing many glory after the Flesh brag of their Parts and Attainments I will glory also For ye suffer Fools gladly seeing ye your selves are wise Which is all of the same biting Strain and is as much as if he had said You that are so great Admirers of the false Apostles and are Men of such wise Heads and of so profound Capacities I know it is below you to censure such a shallow Fool as I am who cannot forbear prating of my Gifts and Abilities of my great Feats and Exploits forsooth which alas are nothing in comparison of what your famous Teachers and new Evangelists may glory in and value themselves upon But then in the following Verses he leaves off and 't was time to do so this looser sort of Stile and in a plain and close manner vindicates his Reputation and Dignity by vying with those bragging Impostors Are they Hebrews so am I c. That is a plain downright Irony in 2 Cor. 11. 4. If he that cometh preacheth another Iesus ye might well 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 fairly and honestly bear with him As if he had said Yes indeed you Men of Corinth are a civil easy sort of People if a new upstart Teacher should bring another Gospel to you you would do very well to receive him and bid him welcome Thus he in an Illusory kind of way rebukes their shameful Inconstancy and Levity In the same Vein is that in 2. Cor. 12. 13. Forgive me this wrong He had told them in the same Verse that they were inferiour to no Churches in any thing i. e. in any Privileges or Excellencies whatsoever except it was in this that he was not burdensom to them that is he put them to no Charges for his Preaching he preach'd the Gospel gratis For which great Wrong and Injury done to them he hopes he saith they will pardon him A very smart and pleasant Irony Thus it appears that this Figurative way of Speech is frequent in the Holy Writings Some perhaps would scarcely believe that there are so many Ironical Passages in this Holy Book they may think it is below the Gravity of the Sacred Stile to use Expressions of this kind But herein they are mistaken for the Holy Spirit in the Scriptures uses several different ways of dealing with Mankind and sutes himself to the various Dispositions Genius's and Inclinations of Men and therefore among other ways of Address and Application he disdains not This in particular because it may be made serviceable to very good Ends and be fitted to the Purposes of Religion Even in the Holy Tongue the same Word signiâ—ies to Deride and to Argue or Ratiocinate Both these may go together when there is a fit occasion for them A Man may use his Rational and Risible Faculty at once Ridentem dicere verum Quid vetat A Man may laugh and speak Truth at the same time This Urbanity may sometimes be very useful Very excellent things may be suggested in a Scommatick way For this Reason it is not unworthy of the Holy Ghost it is not unbecoming the Gravity and Seriousness of the Holy Prophets Apostles and even Christ himself to use this nipping sort of Raillery sometimes A Synecdoche is another common Figure in the Holy Writings whereby the Whole is mentioned instead of a Part and a Part instead of the Whole Of the former which is but rare there are some Instances in Glassius and such other Writers as treat of the Grammatical and Rhetorical Part of the Bible which the Reader may consult if he please Of the latter which is most observable there are various kinds but it will be sufficient to mention these which follow Sometimes the Soul which is but one half of Man is put for the whole Person All the Souls that came with Jacob into Egypt were threescore and ten Gen. 46. 26. i. e. so many Men and Women came with him And there are abundant Examples of this sort both in the Old and New Testament Sometimes the other Moiety the Body is expressive of the Whole Man as Rom. 12. 1. Present your Bodies i. e. your selves a living Sacrifice And Phil. 1. 20. Christ shall be magnified in my Body i. e. by me my whole person There is another Text which I will name Luke 21. 34. wherein there is this kind of Synecdoche though I find not that it is observed by those that comment on it Take heed to your selves lest at any time your Hearts be overcharg'd with Surfâ—iting and Drunkenness and Cares of this Life your Hearts i. e. your selves It must be meant of the Whole Man Body and Soul because not only Surfeiting and Drunkenness which belong to the Body only but Cares of this life which belong to the Soul and Mind are expresly mentioned Again some Parts of the World are mentioned for the whole as in Zâ—ch 8. 7. I will save my People from the East Country and from the West Country i. e. from all Regions and Parts of the World And in other Places two or three of the Cardinal Points stand for them all To the Synecdochical way of speaking belongs the using of an Even Number for an Odd one or a Round Number for one that is lesser or greater So some think the Year of Iubilee is call'd the Fiftieth Year Lev. 25. 10. meerly for the Evenness or Roundness of the Number and not because full Fifty Years go to every Jubilee for they hold that Forty nine Years make a Jubilee or rather that the forty ninth Year is the Year of Jubilee And truly it is adjusted to Reason and the Discovery we have concerning this Matter for the Jubilee is the Great Sabbath of Years and is composed of seven times seven Years which is exactly forty nine the last of which is the Jubilaean Year Odd Numbers are not regarded sometimes The Scripture is not so minute and critical as always to reckon preciâ—ely It is not unusual to omit a small Number of Years in a greater and bigger one In Numb 11. 24. the Elders are said to be seventy though two of the Number be wanting as is plain from ver 26. But others solve this by saying the full Number of them was seventy two It is recorded that the Persian King reigned over a hundred
at those Games as honourable as the Roman Consulship was of old These the Apostle well deciphereth when he tells us that they that strive for the Mastery do it to obtain a Corruptible a fading withering Crown 1 Cor. 9. 25. To which another Apostle opposeth a Crown of Glory that fadeth not away 1 Pet. 5. 4. i. e. such a Crown as is not made of these perishing Materials This is the Crown of Life mentioned by St. Iames ch 1. 12. in contradistinction to the wither'd dead Crown of the Olympick Strivers This is that Crown of Righteousness which the Righteous Judg the Great Arbitrator of the Christian Combates bestows at the great Day of Recompence 2 Tim. 4. 8. This is that Prize which St. Paul pressed towards the Mark for Phil. 3. 14. alluding to the Crown the Garland which hung over the Mark or Goal and was given to the Victor by the Judges and which he there calls the Prize of the High Calling of God in Christ Iesus i. e. the Heavenly Reward to which he was call'd from above by God through Christ his Saviour It is a plain Allusion to the Iudges of those Grecian Sports who were placed on a high Seat to behold the Performance and then 〈◊〉 the Criâ—r or Herald called the Combatants to appear before them and receive their Sentence And as soon as the Prize was adjudged to them they used to snatch at it and take it from the Place where it was hung up with their own Hands as Aelian Pollux and Cassiodorus testify The last of these particularly saith they did rapere praemid which gives Light to â— Tim 6. 12. Fight the good Fight of Faith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and lay hold on eternal Life 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 imitate the Victors at the Olympick Games who presently lay their Hands on the Crown and take it and wear it The gaining of this Prize is call'd in 1 Cor. 9. 24. Obtaining and in Phil. 3. 12. Attaining or receiving as 't is in the Greek and Apprehending which is of the same Import it being a laying hold on or receiving the Reward which all are Gymnastick and Agonick Terms And lastly I might observe that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is another Word used here on this Occasion 1 Cor. 9. 27. is â—o too I keep under my Body saith he I am always prepared for the Christian Combate I run I fight I strive that I may not be a Cast-away a Reprobate one that loseth the Prize for he that ran or wrestled or performed any other Exercise at the Olympick Games and upon trial was rejected he that fell short of the Victory was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 As on the contrary 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is he that strives as he ought and obtains the Victory Accordingly St. Iames speaking of the Blessed Man â—hat indureth Temptations saith when he is tried when he is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 approved of he shall receive the Crown of Life he shall have the Reward of a true Christian Combatant bestowed upon him as the Olympick Strivers were rewarded with a Crown Thus you see how this Sacred Author makes use of the Olympick Sports to set forth the Life of a Christian and the Eternal Rewards of it A Good Man is stiled by the Royal Philosopher an Athletick that is exercised in the greatest Conflicts Maximus Tyrius resembles the Life of Man to these And Epictetus compares the Study of Philosophy to the Hardships of the Olympick Agonies and Seneca makes all Vertuous Men of the Number of the Athletae and that very frequently And even St. Paul as I have shewed resembles Christianity it self to these Encounters and Hardships and calls the Christian Conflicts by the very same Names that are given to them Yea the Rewards laid up in Heaven for faithful Souls after all their Pains and Labours here are compared to the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Garlands of those Grecian Combatants And in the Close of all to add one Place more I am inclined to think that that Passage in 2 Thess. 3. 1. that the Word of the Lord may run and be glorified 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 hath respect to the Applause the Acclamation the Glory which were part of the Reward of those who got the Victory at the Olympick Exercises and particularly the Racing 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as well as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is a Gymnastick Word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is used by Lucian to express that great Honour and Applause which was the Recompence of the Victors in those Combates And Gloria is the word used by Tertullian when he speaks of these things It is peculiarly applied and appropriated as 't were to this purpose by Classick Authors as Tacitus and Seneca It is no wonder then that running and obtaining Glory are here join'd together by the Apostle The Word of the Lord i. e. the Preaching of the Gospel is said to run when it hath its free and undisturb'd Passage and it is glorified when it proves Prevalent and Victorious in the Hearts and Lives of Men. If I had been Curious in citing what those Authors who have writ concerning the Agonisticks have delivered on the several Particulars above mentioned I might have enlarged this part of my Discourse And it might have been beautified and adorned from what occurs in those Fathers who have spoken of the Olympick Exercises and the Manners belonging to them But I was rather desirous to be brief and to suggest something of my own on this Subject than to be beholden altogether to others And in the whole I have endeavour'd to avoid the Fault of that Learned Frenchman Peter Faber and some others who have stretched this Metaphor too far and have perswaded themselves that the Apostles use it when they never thought of it But this is certain that both in the Old and New Testament the Metaphorick manner of speaking is very usual as it is also among all Writers for indeed we may observe that words in their Primitive and Proper Signification are not so much used by the best Writers as they are in their Metaphorical and Improper Sense Our Business only is to discern the way of their Speaking and not to mistake an Improper for a Proper Signification In the Holy Writings especially we ought to take notice of this and to observe when words are to be understood in their Primitive and Genuine sense and when not And with the like Caution we should observe when the other forenamed Figures are used by the Inspired Writers which was the Design of my mentioning them here that we may carefully distinguish between a Proper and a Figurative Speech and that as St. Augustin long since advised we may not take one for the other There are many Other Rhetorical Figures in the Sacred Volume as Metonymies Prosopopoeias Epanorthoses Aposiopeses c. which likewise the Choicest Authors abound with but it shall
many other Hebrew Modes of Speech the Vse of God's Name to augment and inhanse the Sense the Vse of the word Sons or Children not only applied to Persons but Things the Import of the word first-born or first-begotten and of those Expressions the Son of Man a Weight of Glory are chiefly insisted upon There are no Soloecisms in Scripture St. Jerom Erasmus Calvin Beza Castellio Dr. Hammond censured for asserting the contrary Sir Norton Knatchbull salves the Grammatical Part of the New Testament and olears it of Soloecisms The same things which some call Soloecisms and undue Syntax are found in the best Classical Authors There are Chasms Expletives Repetitions and at other times unexpected Brevity seeming Inconsistencies and Incoherencies in the best Greek and Latin Authors The Propriety and Excellency of the Sacred Stile may be justiâ—ied from the Writings of the most celebrated Moral Philosophers Orators Poets c. 4thly I Further offer this to your Observation that there is in the Scriptures a great and delightful Variety of Tongues and Languages There are in the Old Testament besides the Hebrew of which it is composed many Chapters written in Chaldee as in Ezra part of the 4th Chapter all the 5th and 6th with part of the 7th in Daniel the greatest part of the 2d Chapter and all the rest that follow till the 8th in Ieremiah one single Verse viz. the 11th of the 10th Chapter And besides these greater Portions there are many Chaldee Words dispersed up and down in several Places as Chartummim Magicians Astrologers Gen. 41. 24. used also in Dan. 1. 20. ch 2. 2. Nishtevan an Epistle or Letter Ezra 4. 7. Pithgam a Word or Decree Esther 1. 20. Sethav Winter Cant. 2. 11. Saga to magnify Iob 36. 24. Tiphsar a Captain Ier. 51. 27. and some think Macha Numb 34. 11. is a Chaldaick Verb. Other Words are of Persian Extraction as Pardes and Pardesim Eccles. 2. 5. Cant. 4. 13. Orchards or Gardens whence the word Paradise for so the Persians call'd their Orchards Gardens and Parks saith Philostratus and we read the like in Iul. Pollux Partemim Nobles or Princes Esther 1. 3. is a Word borrowed from the Persians and is proper to that Country So is Pur a Lot Esther 3. 7. and Achashdarpanim Lieutenants or Governours of Provinces Esth. 3. 12. ch 9. 3. and Chiun Amos 5. 26. passes for a Persian Name among some Learned Men. From Egypt with which the Hebrews had great Commerce several Words are borrowed as Zaphnath Paaneah Gen. 41. 45. the Title of Honour which King Pharaoh conferr'd on Ioseph which some interpret a Revealer of Secrets as both Ionathan and Onkelos render it and most of the Rabbies but others with St. Ierom translate it the Saviour of the World But whatever the meaning of it is 't is not to be doubted that 't is Egyptian for a Title given by an Egyptian King was certainly such And some think the same of the word Abrech Gen. 41. 43. the Term of Applause and Acclamation which the Egyptian People made use of when Ioseph was advanced to be the Second Man in the Kingdom and rid in Royal State through the Streets Zephardegnim Frogs Exod. 8. 3. and Zephardeang a Frog Psal. 78. 45. are of Egyptian Race and such is Ob an Inchanter Deut. 18. 10. if we may credit the Learned Kircher and Manor a Weaver's Beam 1 Sam. 17. 7. and Sarim an Eunuch 2 Chron. 18. 8. and Sarisim Eunuchs 2 Kings 20. 18. and several other Words were brought with the Israelites out of Egypt or were learn'd by Converse Totaphoth Frontlets Exod. 13. 16. Deut. 6. 8. is a compound Word as Scaliger thinks from Tot and Photh the first an Egyptian Word the second used in some other part of Africa Atad a Thorn Psal. 58. 9. is also reckon'd an African or Punick Word From Arabia others are fetch'd as Raphelingius and Golius and other great Linguists have observ'd especially in the Book of Iob they find several Arabick Words for he was of that Countrey Leviathan is of this fort saith Bochart and signifies a Dragon and any Great Fish Seranim Lords 1 Sam. 6. 18. and Cabul 1 Kings 9. 13. and many others are look'd upon as Phoenician Zamzummim Giants Deut. 2. 20. is purely an Ammonitish Word Gnerabon a Pledg Gen. 38. 17. is Syriac and Sharbit a Scepter Esth. 4. 11. ch 5. 2. used here and no where else is such rather than a pure Hebrew Word The Names of the Months among the Hebrews several of which occur in the Old Testament are generally taken from other Languages And many other foreign Words are brought into the Hebrew Tongue and mix'd with it which was caused by Correspondence with other Nations of whom they were taught these Words and particularly by Traffick and Importing of foreign Goods as Avenarius has observed the Things and the Names being brought at the same time from foreign Parts and accordingly we find them in the Writings of the Old Testament Here that of the Rabbies is true though they applied it as I have shewed before in another Sense The Scripture oftentimes speaks in the Language of the Sons of Men it hath Words which are used in other Tongues and borrowed from other Nations Thus likewise it is in the New Testament there is a Variety of Languages in it For though the main of it be Greek yet there are sundry Words there of a different Original Some Hebrew ones are made use of by the Holy Ghost as Allelujah Rev. 19. 1 3 4 6. Sabaoth Rom. 9. 29. Iam. 5. 4. Amen Rom. 1. 25. Eph. 3. 21. and in several other Places and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Mark 14. 16. and often used in the Gospels and in 1 Cor. 5. 7. Heb. 11. 28. is originally Hebrew These Words were so much in use among the Faithful that the Apostles thought fit not to translate them but to retain them as they are Again some Words in this Part of the Bible are Persian as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Matth. 2. 7 16. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Acts 8. 27. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Mat. 5. 41. Mark 15. 41. and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Paradise Luke 23. 43. 2 Cor. 12. 4. Rev. 2. 7. is of Persick Extract Remphan Acts 7. 43. is thought by some to be Egyptian It is certain that there are a great many Latin Words Grecized as Quadrans Matth. 5. 26. Legio Matth. 5. 9. ch 26. 53. Census Matth. 17. 25. Praetorium Matth. 27. 27. Acts 23. 35. Phil. 1. 13. Custodia Matth. 27. 65. ch 28. 11. Spiculator Mark 6. 27. Centurio Mark 15. 45. Opsonium Luke 3. 14. Rom. 6. 23. Modius Luke 11. 33. Sudarium Luke 19. 20. Colonia Acts 16. 12. Semicinctium Acts 19. 12. Sicarius Acts 21. 38. Macellua 1 Cor. 10. 25. Membrana 2 Tim. 4. 13. And 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the same Verse is a Greek Word made out of the Latin one Penula with
Hunter before the Lord where saith One the Name of the Lord is added to heighten the sense as is frequent in the Hebrew Stile But two things I here urge to enervate this Interpretation First It is not the bare Name of God or Lord that is here added as in other Texts The exact rendring of Lipni Iehovah which are the words here is ad facies ad conspectum Domini and is well translated before the Lord which signifies the bold and impudent Usurpation and Tyranny of this first Monarch This hardned Oppressor had no regard either to God or Man yea he committed his Violences and Ravages in defiance of the Great Lord and Soveraign of the World this is to be a Hunter a Persecutor a Tyrant before the Lord and so you see it is not that Hebraism we are now to treat of Secondly There was no need of that way of Speech here for the Greatning and Heightning of the sense were before express'd by the term Gibbor mighty wherefore there was no occasion to add the Name of God as a mark of Intension If you observe the Instances which I shall afterward produce you will find that God's Name is used when there was no word to express Greatness or Eminency in the preceding words For these Reasons I expunge this first Text out of the Number of the Instances which ought to be mention'd here And after the same rate I must deal with that other Prov. 20. 27. The Spirit of Man is the Candle of the Lord where the last word is asserted by a late Learned Critick to be added in which he follows Drusius in his Hebrew Proverbs as an Auxesis that is only to augment the sense and therefore he saith the Candle of the Lord is no more than a most Excellent Candle or Light But if we consider the words aright we shall not find such an Hebraism in them The Text is easie and plain without any thing of this Nature for the Wise Man here acquaints us that the Spirit of Man his Nobler and Divine part the Intellect especially that Bright and Glorious Faculty was given to him by God on purpose to be a Light and Guide to him to make him capable of enquiring into and attaining a knowledge of the Profoundest Truths the most remote and recondite Mysteries either in Nature or Religion that is meant here by searching all the inward Parts of the Belly Thus the Sagacious Mind of Man is the Candle or Lamp of the Lord the word Lord here signifying to us the Author and Giver of this Noble Faculty And therefore I something wonder at what this Learned Writer adds in the same place viz. That our English Translation the Spirit of Man is the Candle of the Lord is an odd Expression and somewhat difficult surely to make a good sense of whereas the same Expression is used in the Scripture in other places and bears a very good sense as you have heard Some have thought that Musical Instruments of God 1 Chron. 16. 42. and Instruments of Musick of the Lord 2 Chron. 7. 6. denote the Loudness or Excellency of the Temple-Musick but this Fancy arose from their not attending to the true Reason which is given in the latter of these places where after Instruments of Musick of the Lord is immediately added which David the King had made to Praise the Lord therefore they were so call'd Nor can I be perswaded that a Man of God which we often read of imports only an Excellent Man as some have suggested but it speaks his more particular and peculiar Relation to God as a Prophet I come now to offer some Examples where the Hebrew way of Speaking by mentioning God to signify the Greatness or Excellency of a thing is very apparent and unquestionable as Gen. 30. 8. Wrestlings of God according to the Hebrew i. e. great strong and vehement Wrestlings 1 Sam. 14. 15. a Trembling of God which we rightly translate a very great Trembling 1 Sam. 10. 5. the Hill of God Psal. 36. 6. the Mountains of God i. e. the great Hills and Mountains Cedars of God Psal. 80. 10. rendred goodly the Trees of the Lord Psal. 104. 16. i. e. exceeding great or high Trees To which Texts that are generally acknowledg'd to bear this sense I will presume to add another viz. Psal. 65. 9. the River of God i. e. a Vast Great River And what is that The Clouds or Rain which are poured down upon the Earth in great abundance For if you read that part of the Psalm you 'll see it speaks of the great Blessing of Rain Thou visitest the Earth and waterest it thou greatly enrichest it with the River of God c. to the end of the Psalm This Vast Mass of Waters is according to the Hebrews stiled a River of God it is as 't were a Great Excellent River flowing down from Heaven Though I do not exclude the other sense contain'd in it that 't is from God and that 't is a singular Argument and Token of God's Care and Providence Cant. 8. 6. is a place little taken notice of the Flame of the Lord i. e. as we truly translate it a most Vehement Flame So the Voice of God Ezek. 1. 24. 10. 5. that is a very loud and terrible Voice The Breath of God Job 37. 10. i. e. a Vehement sharp Wind. And it is not unlikely that Isa. 59. 19. is to be understood thus Ruach Iehovah not as we translate it the Spirit of the Lord but the Wind of the Lord i. e. a great tempestuous Wind. I gather this to be the meaning from what went before when the Enemy shall come in like a Floud then saith the Prophet the Almighty Power of God like some Great and Vehement Wind shall drive it back shall put it to flight as we see great Waters and Floods are oftentimes beat back as well as violently thrust forward by mighty Winds Another place which hath not been observed is Iob 15. 11. Are the Consolations of God small with thee which are Eliphaz's words wherewith he reproves Iob for undervaluing the Consolatory Arguments which had been offer'd to him by himself and his other Friends and these Topicks of Comfort were not mean and ordinary but of a very peculiar Nature Iob's Fault is aggravated from this that he despised and slighted so Great Comforts when they were tender'd to him and Great they were as you read in the 9th and 10th Verses because they were offer'd by Persons of great Vnderstanding Age and Experience And the Antithesis which is here doth shew this to be the sense of the place Are these Great Consolations saith he Small with thee Dost thou look for Greater and Stronger Arguments to support and cheer thee than these are I am of opinion therefore that Tanchumoth El the Consolations of God are the same with Great Consolations Jon. 3. 3. is a known Text where it is said Nineâ—eh was an Exceeding great City Hebr.
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in this as well as the other Texts beforenamed Which manner of Speech is borrowed from the Hebrews who use this way of expressing themselves and from whom some Heathen Authors have derived it as may be seen in some of their Writings Next we may take notice of that Hebraism in the New Testament which I observ'd before to be in the Old one viz. the using of God's Name to augment and inhanse a thing Of this Nature seems to be that in Acts 7. 20. Moses was fair to God for so 't is according to the Greek but is fitly rendred by our English Translators exceeding fair for the Name of God being here adjoined advanceth the sense and denotes to us that Moses was transcendently and superlatively Fair he was a Child of Extraordinary Beauty he was as the French Version hath it divinement beau divinely beautiful of most Astonishing and Divine Features The like Expression I conceive is that of the Apostle when he saith The Lord shall descend from Heaven with a Shout with the Voiâ—e of the Arâ—hangel and with the Trumpet of God 1 Thess. 4. 16. This Trumpet of God may be that kind of Hebraism whereby the Greatness and Wonderfulness of a thing are expressed by adding the Name of God to it And accordingly in Mat. 24. which gives us an account of the Signs of the Day of Judgment you read that the Son of Man shall send his Angels with a Great sound of a Trumpet ver 31. which is the same that the Apostle calls the Trumpet of God Of this sort is 2 Cor. 10. 4. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Exceeding Powerful as Sir N. Knatchbull rightly translates it and 2 cor 11. 2. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I am zealous toward you with a Zeal of God i. e. I exceedingly affect you in an extraordinary manner I am Zealous for you So the Harps of God Rev. 15. 2. are Excellent Heavenly Musick And I will offer one Place more which I think may be referr'd to this Head Iohn 6. 28 29. the Works of God i. e. Some Great and Eminent Works of Religion which surpass all others Thus you see that God's Name is used in the Sacred Stile as an Intensive Term and to Aggrandize the thing which is spoken of So in Conformity to the Hebrew Phrase in the Old Testament mention'd before we read of the Sons or Children of this or that which signifies according to the Hebrew Propriety of Speech that they are Sharers or Partakers of such a thing or that they are obnoxious and liable to it or that they have great Inclination and Dâ—sire towards it or are Conversant in it or much given and addicted to it or do in a special manner belong and appertain to it In one or other of these Senses the following places are to be understood the Children of the Bride-Chamber Mat. 9. 15 i. e. those that belong'd to it and had the favour to be admitted into it those that were invited to the Marriage and were interested in the Bridegroom and Bride the Children of Hell Mat. 23. 15. i. e. those that are liable to it and shall partake of its Torments or it is as much as the Children of the Devil i. e. those who have given themselves to him by a voluntary addicting themselves to Vice the Children of Wisdom Luk. 7. 35. those that are conversant in it the Sons of Peace Luk. 10. 6. such who addict themselves to Peace or who shall be sharers in the Blessing of Peace the Children of this World Luk. 16. 8. those whose Inclinations and Desires are chiefly after this World to whom are opposed in the same Verse the Children of Light they who despise this dark World here below and breath and long after the Light and Glory of another State of a future Life the Children of the Resurrection Luk. 20. 36. those who have a part a share in the blessed Resurrection to Life everlasting Children of Disobedience Eph. 5. 6. Col. 3. 6. those that give themselves up whollâ— to Disobediencce the same with Sons of Belial before-mentioned the Sons of Perdition John 17. 12. 2 Thess. 2. 3. those that are certainly liable to Perdition and Destruction Children of Promise Rom. 9. 8. Gal. 4. 28. those who shall share in the Promise Children of Wrath Eph. 2. 3. those who are liable to God's Wrath. This is the Hebrew way of speaking he is call'd the Son of this or that who hath some special relation to it That also savours of the Hebrew Idiom Are ye able to drink of the Cup that I shall drink of Mat. 20. 22. Joh. 18. 11. The Cup which my Father hath given me shall I not drink it If it be possible let this Cup pass from me Mat. 26. 39. And you read of the Cup of the Wine of the fierceness of God's Wrath Rev. 16. 19. And again Chap. 14. 10. Ch. 18. 6. The Cup signifies with the Hebrews any thing good or bad that befals a Man because those of the same Family or Table drink of the same Cup or Vessel every one hath his part and share of it better or worse as the Drink is And so the Phrase denotes either the Good or Evil that happens to us but most commonly the latter Or perhaps the occasion of the Phrase was this the Guests had antiently their certain Quantity and Measure of Drink and Meat appointed them at Feasts by the Master or Governour of the Feast from which Custom of distributing a certain Portion God is said to Give or Distribute his Cup and the Cup and Drinking are used for the Calamities and Sufferings which he is pleased to allot them So our Saviour's Words are to be understood the Cup which he was to drink and which his Father gave him was the Sufferings which he was to undergo The Cup of the Wine of the Fierceness of God's Wrath was no other than the Plagues and Judgments which were to be inflicted on Mystical Babylon This manner of Speaking was taken from the Old Testament where you read of the Cup of God's Fury and the Cup of Trembling Isa. 51. 17. and many such other Expressions there are in the Books of the Prophets That of the Apostle in 1 Tim. 1. 17. is a pure Hebraism Now to the King Eternal or as 't is in the Original to the King of Ages which is an Expression to set forth Eternity Accordingly the Psalmist saith Thy Kingdom is a Kingdom of all Ages which we rightly translate an everlasting Kingdom Psal. 145. 13. In the Lord Iehovah is the Rock or Strength of Ages Isa. 26. 4. which is truly rendred Everlasting Strength And that in Isa. 9. 6. the Father of the Age or of Eternity or the everlasting Father as we translate it is something like it Bread is the general word in the New Testament to signify all Food and Provision for the sustaining of Man's Life as in that Prayer which our Lord taught his Disciples Give
us this Day our daily Bread and in Mark 7. 2 27. Luk. 7. 37. Ch. 9. 3. Ch. 14. 1. 2 Thess. 3. 12. and in other places which is according to the Idiom of the Hebrews with whom all Food is call'd lechem Bread because this is the most Common and Universal Food and the most necessary for the Life of Man and this word with them denotes all the Necessaries and Conveniencies of Humane Life According to the Hebrew Stile a Sword hath a Mouth or the Edg of the Sword is call'd a Mouth Luk. 21. 24. They shall fall by the Mouth we rightly render it the Edg of the Sword Heb. 11. 34. escaped the Edg of the Sword in the Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Mouth of the Sword So you read of a Two-mouth'd Sword Heb. 4. 12. for it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Greek Which is the Hebrew Phraseology as you may satisfy your selves from Iudg. 3. 16. Psal. 149. 6. Prov. 5. 4. A Sword is said to have a Mouth because it Devours So lacham is both to Fight and to Eat As I observ'd before that Drinking was applied to Calamity or Suffering so now I will remark that Eating and Drinking are sometimes meant of Holy Instruction of Divine Grace and the most Excellent things of Religion Eat up the Book Rev. 10. 9. i. e. Study it diligently understand the Contents of it Our Saviour expresses his Holy Doctrines his Gifts and Graces the Favour of God and all Spiritual Comforts yea Himself too by Meat and Drink I have Meat to eat which ye know not of saith he Iohn 4. 32. My Meat is to do the Will of him that sent me ver 34. He adviseth to labour for the Meat which endureth to Everlasting Life John 6. 27. And in four Verses together in the same Chapter he uses this Phrase Except ye eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink his Blood ye have no Life in you Whoso eateth my Flesh and drinketh my Blood hath Eternal Life For my Flesh is Meat indeed and my Blood is Drink indeed He that eateth my Flesh and drinketh my Blood dwelleth in me Ver. 53 c. And he promiseth his Apostles that they shall eat and drink with him at his Table in his Kingdom Luk. 22. 30. All which is according to the Language of the Antient Hebrews who by Eating and Drinking express things of a Spiritual and Divine Nature as in Prov. 24. 13 14. Chap. 25. 27. Isa. 55. 2. and other Texts R. Ben. Maimon tells us That this was the Stile of the Jewish Doctors and Rabbies in their Writings saith he Eating is to be understood of Divine Instruction and Wisdom This is observ'd by Philo who lets us know that Eating is a Representation of the Spiritual Nourishment The using of the word First-born or First-begotten in the Writings of the Apostles is conformable to the acception of it among the Hebrews The due attending to which will lead us to a right understanding of some Texts which have been generally mistaken by Expositors I shall consider it here only as it is applied to our Blessed Saviour which is done no less than four times first in Col. 1. 15. where he is call'd the First-born of every Creature Erasmus read it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the first producâ—r of all Creatures and he had it from Isidore of Pelusium who evaded the Arians Assaults by this means But this is an undue Expedient because it alters the received Accent of the Word without any warrant and because in other places where this Word is and is applied to Christ this alteration is not admitted by those that make use of it here Gregory Nazianzen and others interpret the First-born of every Creature thus He whom God the Father begot before he created any thing He that existed before all Creatures But this seems not to be the sense of the words because to be begotten before all Creatures and to be the First-born of them are two different things Others think the First-born here is Synonimous with the Beginner or Author which falls in with the Interpretation of St. Isidore before mention'd and accordingly they quote that as a parallel Text Rev. 3. 14. where Christ is call'd the beginning of the Creation of God i. e. the Cause and Author of all Creatures say they But this though it be very true is not agreeable with the sense of the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is no where found to be taken thus Nor is Grotius's Gloss to be allowed of who expounds it thus Christ is the first in the new Creation for the Context shews that there is relation to no such thing But if we consult the antient acception of the Word among the Hebrew Writers of the Old Testament we shall discover what the genuine meaning of it is in this place The First-Born is as much as Excellent Choice Beloved as in Ier. 31. 9. Ephraim is my First-born The Chiefest and most Eminent of Persons and Things have this Name thus the First-born of Death Iob 18. 13. is the most signal and mortal Disease or the cruellest kind of Death The First-born of the Poor Isa. 14. 30. is the poorest of all I will make him my First-born Psal. 89. 28. i. e. I will make him a Great and Eminent Person higher than the Kings of the Earth as it is explain'd in the next words Answerably to this sort of speaking Christ is said here to be the First-born of every Creature i. e. the Chief the Prince the Lord of all Creatures For we must know that this manner of Expression refers to that Dignity and Pre-eminence which were claim'd by the First-born under the Law Primogeniture carried with it the Right of Superiority and Government In allusion to which our Saviour is call'd the First-born that is the Lord of every Creature or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 may better be rendred the whole Creation He made he created all things and therefore is Lord of the whole Creation Accordingly it immediately follows For by him were all things created This for gives us to understand that this Verse is the reason and account of what went before St. Paul had stiled Christ the First-born of every Creature and now he gives this satisfactory account of it because by Him all things were created because of this he is deservedly stiled the First-born the Lord and Sovereign of the Creation You must either conclude that the Great St. Paul did not speak Logically and Argumentatively or that this is the genuine Interpretation of the place If the Apostle's Words were to the purpose as be sure they were then this sense which I have offer'd is so too which is as much as I can desire And that this is the meaning of the word First-born is evident from that other Text in this Chapter ver 18. where he is call'd the First-born from the Dead not as some think because he is the Author
Excellency Preeminence and Authority And this is yet more clear from our Saviour's words Ioh. 5. 27. where he assigns the Reason why the Judgment of the World is committed to him by the Father He hath saith he given him Authority to execute Iudgment because he is the Son of Man because he is Head and Ruler of the Church because all Government and Authority in this lower World are devolv'd upon him because he hath all Rule and Dominion put into his Hands This is the true account as I conceive of the Expression this Title was attributed to him to signify his Authority and Exaltation and not as is commonly said and believ'd and as the Learned Grotius defends it his Meanness Condescension and Humility though I will not exclude Other Reasons which may be consistent with this as that he is call'd the Son of Man to attest the reality of his Manhood to ascertain us of the Truth of his Suffering in our Humane Nature to assure us of his Sympathy with us and that he is touch'd with the feeling of our Infirmities I will only add this That whereas it is generally said by Writers and even by the Critical 〈◊〉 among the rest that this Epithet is given to our Saviour by Himself only and not by any other in the New Testament this is a Mistake for in Acts 7. 56. he is call'd by St. Stephen the Son of Man and so he is twice by St. Iohn Rev. 1. 13. Chap. 14. 14. The Original of which must be fetch'd as I have shew'd from the Hebrew Stile in the Old Testament And so must that Expression which the Apostle uses 2 Cor. 4. 17. a Weight of Glory 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 here answers to the Hebrew cabod a Weight and yet is rendred Glory Gen. 31. 1. and the Tongue is call'd cabod Glory Psal. 57. 8. So the Verb cabad signifies both to be weighty and to be glorious or honourable Isa. 66. 5. Prov. 13. 18. And the Adjective cabed approaches to this sense as is clear from Gen. 13. 2. Thus it is with the word jakar gravis fuit but it is understood in a treble sense as if there were a threefold Gravity viz. of Weight Price and Honour Accordingly it signifies 1. To be heavy weighty 2. To be precious Isa. 43. 4. 3. To be in Honour and Glory Job 31. 26. as also to glorify and honour and therefore the word is rendred by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Version of the 70. Thus you see that after the manner of the Hebrews Glory or Greatness is express'd by words that denote Weight and thence it is that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is here us'd by the Apostle to denote that Superlative Glory which is the attainment of the other World And 't is not improbable that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1 Thess. 2. 6. is to be understood thus and should not be rendred to be Burdensom but to be Honourable or to be in Authority or Dignity which our English Translators were sensible of when they rendred it in the Margin to use Authority This I take to be of Hebrew extraction and in imitation of the use of the words â—abad and jakar And hence also in the Seventy's Translation of the Old Testament 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 imports Grandeur or Glory and is applied in several places to a Royal Train and to a Mighty Host 1 Kings 10. 2. 2 Kings 6. 14. Chap. 18. 7. 2 Chron. 9. 1. So 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Weight or Burden is equivalent with Honour or Splendor in one of St. Chrysostom's Homilies I could remark that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 gravis and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 gloria differ but in the Accents and among the Latins honos and onus are not unlike Vir gravis is used by the Latin Orator for a Person of Authority and Worth And Graves viri in the old Roman way of Speaking are Men of Authority and Eminency And Baro which comes from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is used by Tully as a Name of Dignity and is as much as Patricius a Nobleman though I know some Criticks interpret the word in another sense Thence our word Baron a Lord a Person of Greatness and Authority And Grave answers to Baron whence Palsgrave Landgrave Margrave Burgrave for Grave among the Germans signifies a Magistrate a Ruler And we in England heretofore used the word Grave or Greve in the same sense thus Portgreve was the Name of the Chief Magistrate of the City of London till King Iohn's time who turn'd it into that of Mayor These things I here mention only to intimate the Affinity that is to be observ'd in Languages not only the Learned ones as they are call'd but others and to shew you the particular cognation betwixt Gravity and Honour or Authority betwixt Weight and Glory which it is probable was derived first of all from the Hebrews The Writers of the New Testament sometimes make use of the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the same sense that the Hebrews use the word gnanah respondere that is not to signify a Person 's Answering or Replying to what another had said but only to denote his going on with his Speech his proceeding in what he had said before Persons are said to Answer though there be no Question put to them though there be no Reply intended as Iesus answer'd and said Mat. 11. 25. Then answer'd Peter and said Mat. 17. 4. The Angel answer'd and said Mat. 28. 5. One of the Elders answer'd saying Rev. 7. 13. which is as appears from the Context no more than this They spake and said for this oftentimes is the acceptation of that word in the Hebrew Writings and particularly in the Book of Iob Chap. 3. ver 2. Job answer'd and said though no body had spoke to him or asked him any Question The words therefore import no more than this Job spake and said and so our Translators render it I might further observe that the Preposition 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the New Testament hath by an Hebraism the force of all the Prepositions it answering to the Hebrew 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Lastly I am inclined to think that what is said of St. Paul in Acts 9. 15. is spoken after the Hebrew manner for the Hebrews call any thing that is Choice and Delectable 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 vas desiderii and the Rabbins accordingly call the Law by this Name viz. a Desirable Vessel or a Desirable Instrument or Utensil for Cheli is of a vast Latitude and signifies whatever is for the use of Man Answerably to which St. Paul is said to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a chosen Vessel or Instrument It is spoken after the Propriety of the Hebrews with whom a Thing or Person that is made use of to some Excellent Purpose is not only stiled a Vessel but to denote yet further the Worth of it is called a Vessel of Desire
Grammar and no Shadow of Soloecising when this Divine Writer saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 One of our own Annotators hath pick'd up this false Notion concerning the Stile of Scripture viz. that it is not reconcileable with Grammatical Syntax in some Places two especially he takes notice of Eph. 4. 2. Col. 3. 16. In the former he observes that it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Greek whereas it should have been 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Nominative being put instead of the Accusative But by this Worthy Annotator's leave 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 may yea and certainly doth refer to 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the former Verse and so it is but inserting 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and then the Grammar is salved 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I beseech you that you forbear one another And if you say it should have been 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 because of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the former Verse it is easily answered that the Apostle might express himself in the way of a Subjunctive as well as an Infinitive seeing it could be done by either of them as this Learned Critick cannot but acknowledg In the latter Place alledged by this Learned Man he takes notice that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is misplaced instead of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Nominative for a Dative Case which is a great Flaw in Grammar But this is soon taken off by referring 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not to 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in that Verse as the Doctor doth but to 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Verse just before for to these it hath reference and not to that and so the Grammatical Concord is very â—ood and sound In several other Places where there have been the like Objections made you will find the Sense rendred intire by the industrious Pen of that Learned Knight Sir Norton Knatchbull Though to speak freely and impartially he sometimes represents the Stile of the New Testament more perplex'd and disturb'd that I can believe it to be and though he fancies Trajections in some Places where there are none yet to the perpetual Honour of this Worthy Gentleman it must be said that he hath discovered several Trajections or Transpositions Parentheses Transitions Ellipses and Changes of Numbers and Persons with other Enallages which were scarcely taken notice of before he hath rectified some Comma's and Stops he hath set the Words and Periods right he hath cleared the Syntax and Grammatical Construction mended the Sense in several Places removed the Difficulties shew'd the Propriety and Emphasis of the Words discovered the Coherence of the Texts In short he hath cleared the New Testament of Soloecisms and particularly the Writings of the Great Apostle St. Paul So that though Tarsus the Apostle's Birth-place was in the same Province with and a Neighbour to Solae the Country of those that corrupted their Language whence came Soloecisms yet it appears that there is no such thing in the Apostle's Stile But suppose these Texts above named could not have been reconciled to the exact Laws of Grammar yet one would think the Transcribers might better have been blamed than the Writers themselves the Greek Copy should have been found fault with rather than the Holy Ghost the Mistake might have been imputed to the Amanuenses and not to the Apostles I must profess to you plainly that it is bordering upon Blasphemy to say that the Holy Spirit from whom was the Gift of Tongues dictate Barbarisms and Soloecisms in these Sacred Writings which were immediately inspired by him Again suppose or rather grant that some Periods of the New Testament are not exactly adjusted to Grammar-Rules yet this will not justify the Language of those Men who charge this Book with Soloecisms and Barbarisms for they will be unwilling to grant that there are such things as these in Homer and Virgil and such approved Authors Or if they will grant that there are such then they have no Reason at all to find fault with the like in Holy Scripture And this is that which I maintain and which no knowing Person can deny that the same things which some call Soloecisms and Undue Syntax in the New Testament are to be found in the most Noted and Celebrated Authors among the Greeks and Latins Criticks have taken notice of several of these in Homer and Pindar especially among the Greek Poets and in Herodotus and Thucydides among the best Historians that have writ in that Language and in Demosthenes among the Noted Orators These do not always observe Grammatick Laws they lay them aside sometimes and speak Irregularly as one of the Greatest Criticks of this last Age hath acknowledged Profane Writers have Soloecistical Phrases Botches Fillings up Repetitions Lucian long since observed that Epithets are not always used by Poets because they are fit and convenient and sutable to the purpose but to help out the Matter to fill up the Gapings to prop up the Ruines of a Verse And both Plutarch and Eustathius who were morâ— serious Men than the other have taken notice of this in Good Authors Sometimes the Poet is at a stand and his Muse is restive thus Virgil hath Broken and Half-verses which the Criticks excuse by saying that he had not time to finish his Book or that he did it on purpose to stop his Readers in the Career that they might stay and consider the thing he is speaking of This Account they give of his Blanks and Chasms But Homer suffers not his Muse to make a halt but then which is as bad he fills up his Verses with such Expletives as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. and besides these lesser Particles he useth entire Words and Phrases in many Places only to supply his Verse We have nothing of this sort in the Sacred Writings nothing that is really superfluous But there are some Words indeed that are look'd upon as Redundant and not absolutely Necessary especially in the Old Testament which is Poâ—tical in many places The Lord rained Brimstone and Fire from the Lord Gen. 19. 24. where the last Words from the Lord seem to be redundant So it is in 2 Tim. 1. 18. The Lord grant unto him that be may find Mercy of the Lord in that Day Thus in Psal. 90. 10. The Days of our Years are threescore Years and ten We may look upon the first Word as an Expletive for the Divine Poet means this only that the ordinary Term of our Life extends to seventy Years So that the word Days might have been left out The same Pleonasm you read in 2 Sam. 19. 34. How many Days are the Years of my Life for so it is according to the Hebrew and it is the Hebrew way of speaking and therefore cannot be blamed Yea to speak strictly there is nothing redundant in the Stile of Scripture All those Words which seem to be Expletives are Significant and
sometimes very Emphatical The Repetitions which some think to be needless Tautologies are very useful as well as elâ—gant What is more frequent in Homer the Father of Poets There you meet with Verses and Half-verses over and over again and the Commentators on those Places tell us that his frequent using the same Words is an Argument that his Stile is Natural and Genuine as in common Discourse we are wont to say the same things again and again and that it sheweth the Intenseness and Earnestness of the Speaker that it argues the Necessity of the Matter as well as the Certainty of it that it is to conciliate Attention and that sometimes it is a great Ornament and Elegancy besides that it was the Mode of speaking then in use and accordingly is to be found in all Good Authors more or less Why then should we not satisfy our selves after the same manner when we find the same things repeated in the Bible especially in the Old Testament and more particularly in the Books of Moses which far exceed Homer in Antiquity That Reiteration of the Words in Gen. 1. 27. God created Man in his own Image in the Image of God created he him should not offend us nor that in Moses's Song in Exod. 15. 16. Till thy People pass over O Lord till thy People pass over nor those many Reduplications in the Song of Deborah and Barak I will sing unto the Lord I will sing unto the Lord God of Israel Judg. 5. 3. The Mountains melted from before the Lord from before the Lord God of Israel ver 5. The Inhabitants of the Villages ceased they ceased in Israel until that I Deborah arose that I arose a Mother in Israel ver 7. Awake awake Deborah awake awake ver 12. The Kings came and fought then fought the Kings ver 19. The River of Kishon swept them away that antient River the River Kishon v. 21. At her Feet he bowed he fell and lay down at her Feet he bowed he fell where he bowed there he fell down dead ver 27. To Sisera a Prey of divers Colours a Prey of divers Colours of Needle-work of divers Colours of Needle-work of both sides ver 30. This Repeating and Reduplicating the Words is so far from being any Blemish to this Antient Song that it is to be accounted a great Elegancy and a singular Grace to it This Anadiplosis is deemed a very becoming Figure and might have been mentioned with those before in the best Classical Writers and there is no Reason why it should not be so here If the repeating the same thing be in them a Sign of the Naturalness of the Stile and of the Seriousness and Fervour of the Speakers of the Weightiness of the Subject and the like we cannot deny it to be the same in these Antient Writings of the Bible It is observable that as in the Sacred History of this Book so in Homer the Messenger whether he be sent from God or Man relates his Errand verbatim in the same Words and Syllables usually that it was delivered to him so that he alters it not in the least In this as in several other things that Antient Poet comes near to the Simplicity of the Stile of Scripture I could remark unto you also that that excellent Emperor Antoninus hath many things in his Book which are conformable to the Stile of the Holy Writ and seem to resemble it His way of Writing is like an Emperor Short but Pithy and Sententious Many things are not express'd which must be supplied and understood He sometimes useth Words and Phrases as he pleaseth not as Other Writers are wont He hath unusual ways of expressing himself and sometimes he coins Words as it was his Royal Prerogative to do so with Money He hath several abrupt and incoherent Periods he is generally neglectful and not studied This is some Resemblance of the Stile of Holy Scripture where there is a Princely Brevity wherein more is contain'd than express'd where are as I shall shew you anon either New Words or those which are usual are applied in a New and unheard of manner The Stile seems in sundry Places to be inconsistent and independant and in most Places it is careless and no ways elaborate But as no Wife Critick ever defamed the Emperor for his particular Strain of Writing so neither can any Man of Judgment disparage the Penmen of Holy Scripture whom he doth as 't were imitate In brief the Bible hath something in it of all manner of Stiles and partakes of the Excellencies of all Authors and where you see any Defect in the strict Rules of Grammar even there it is not unlike to Other Writers This may satisfy us amidst the Cavils of some Censurers of Scripture that it hath in it the same Phrases and Modes of Speaking and manner of using them that are in the best Greek and Latin Writings Let us come then to the Reading of Scripture as we see Men do to Homer and Virgil. This is a fair Request any Man will say and it must needs be granted Now you see that if any thing less Grammatical or Elegant occurs in those Writers the Course which is taken is this Lexicons and Dictionaries are consulted the Masters of Grammar and Rhetorick are advised with Interpreters are search'd into Other Authors are compared with these and their Business is to reconcile them and to make Sense of these Poets and by all means to make them speak well And shall we not do thus with the Sacred Writings Shall we not indeavour by all those Ways to vindicate the Credit of them and to justify the Propriety and Excellency of their Stile when we are able to do it by Great Examples from the Best and most Celebrated Writers among the Moral Philosophers Orators Poets Historians The Worthy Knight beforementined hath done his Part here very laudably he hath salv'd the Grammar of the New Testament in many Places and hath shewed that its Stile where it seems to be strange and uncouth is parallel with very Good and Approved Authors And lastly if any find fault with the Holy Writings because they are immethodical because neither the Mosaick Law nor other Parts of the Old Testament nor the Christian Doctrine in the New are reduced to Method and Artificial Order the like Answer may be given viz. that this was not the way of Other Writers in those Times It is evident that it was not the old way of the Iews their Books of Religion and Morals were not Orderly disposed but generally made up of Historical Passages and Wise Aphorisms and Sentences And as for the Gentiles most of their Learning was not more accurate and reduced You can descry nothing in their Writings of that Method and Order which have since been observed But my Business here chiefly is not to consider whether the Scripture be Methodized but to defend the Propriety of its Language Or rather it is not my Business now because I have
sufficiently dispatch'd it I hope I have let you see that those are no impartial Judges of Scripture-Stile who cry out of its Barbarisms but the Truth is they betray both their Ignorance and Irreligion at once in giving such a Judgment of it their Ignorance in that they shew themselves unacquainted with the Best Authors who are not always wont to bind themselves to the strict Observation of Grammatical Rules To this purpose the Learned Henry Stephens's Animadversions and Appendix at the End of his Thesaurus Gr. L. are worthy of the Perusal of all Curious Persons that would be fully acquainted with the Genius of the Attick Phrase and Idiom and the reading of these will abundantly satisfy them that the New Testament is like other Greek Writers and that the most Classick Greek Authors speak in the same strain that this doth This Accomplish'd Critick shews that there are pure Atticisms sometimes in these Holy Writings and particularly that an Ellipsis which is so frequent in them is a common Atticism in the best Grecians If those who raise Objections against the Stile of the New Testament would converse with These they might see that those Passages which seem not so proper or elegant in Scripture and that whatever looks like Soloecisms and favours of Rudeness or Defect of Language in these Holy Writings may be parallelled with what they meet with in the most Applauded Authors Their Irreligion likewise is discovered in this that nothing pleaseth them in the Holy Book and that what is not thought Improper or Rude in other Writings is accounted such in These yea that what are Soloecisms in a Sacred Writer are look'd upon as Atticisms and Elegancies in a Profane One. Having hitherto been in pursuance of this that the Holy Scripture hath many things in it according to the Strain of Other Writers I am to pass to the next Proposition CHAP. VII The Scripture-Stile hath some things in it that are not in common with Other Writers but are proper and peculiar to it self The LXX's Greek Version and the New Testament have words that are not extant in any other Authors 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Mark 14. 3. was coin'd by the Evangelist It s true Signification enquired into Inward Goodness or Righteousness is express'd by Terms which are unknown to other Writers Instances of several other Peculiar ways of Speaking Some Profane Authors differ from the rest as to the use of some particular Words and Phrases Ecclesiastical Writers have Words proper to themselves The Difficulty of Scripture proceeds partly from the Different Acception of Words which we meet with there Many Instances in the Old and New Testament The various Significations of the Word Spirit enumerated and reduc'd to distinct Heads The Author confines himself to the Hebrew Verbs of the Old Testament and shews how Different the Senses of the same words are and endeavours to remove the Ambiguity of them in the several Texts which he cites and to determine the Sense which is Proper to those particular Places The like he attempts in those Texts where Hebrew Nouns of a different meaning occur THE Third Proposition is That the Scripture-Stile hath some things in it that are not in common with Other Writers but are Proper and Peculiar to it self For though it is true some Other Authors have words proper to themselves which are not found in others thus in Pindar Plato Isocrates Homer Aristophanes Hippocrates c. there are some particular Words and Phrases peculiar to them alone yet the Bible hath Words and Expressions which are not to be met with in any of these nor in any other Writers The Original Hebrew hath greater choice of Words than any Book extant in that Language it is the most Copious Vocabulary that is in the World and all Hebrew Writers of note borrow from this The Septuagint have words peculiar to themselves as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is proper to them and was made on purpose to answer to the Hebrew 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and the Writers of the New Testament took it from them They also made the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Cant. 4. 9. to express the Hebrew word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ex. 2. 5. is of their coining and the Apostle thought fit to use it Tit. 2. 14. And some have thought the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as it signifies Sleep or Slumber Isa. 29. 10. was made by them as if it were from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 This word is also used by the Apostle Rom. 11. 8. The New Testament in Greek hath words never heard of before as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Lord's Prayer a word which was first used by the Evangelists And St. Luke's 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Angels Salutation of the Virgin Mary Luk. 1. 28. is a new Greek word which the Evangelist himself made as some have thought but that is a Mistake because the Apocryphal Writer had used it before Eccles. 18. 17. Yet this is not to be denied that the word is no where to be found in any other Greek Author i. e. any Prophane one but St. Paul useth it viz. the Active 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 though not the Passive 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Eph. 1. 6. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Passive Voice have a peculiar Signification in Mat. 5. 24. Rom. 5. 10. 1 Câ—r 11. 7. 2. Cor. 5. 20. which is in no other Writer saith Grotius upon Mat. 5. 24. That likewise in Mark 14. 3. and Iohn 12. 3. is scarcely used by any Writer whatsoever and therefore the Grammarians and Criticks know not well how to assign the meaning of it some deriving 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is the word there used and joined with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and so it denotes that Ointment to have been faithfully prepared and compounded for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 according to this Etymology is as much as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 true pure not adulterated approved it being rightly and faithfully made This is according to the Syriac Version and 't is approved of by St. Ierom and Theophylact Others think 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is put here for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the vulgar Latin having it Spicata and so it is translated Spikenard by us Beza and Camerarius are of this Opinion and think the Ointment had this Name because it was made 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 spicis nardi that is of the choicest part of Nard A third fort among whom Casaubon is Chief tell us that it is the same with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 potabilis à 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and so signifies such a Liquid Ointment as might be drank And lastly some have thought that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as if it were call'd so from a place viz Opis a City not far from Babylon whence
the best Nard came This is Hartungus's Notion but then the word should have been Opick not Opistick Thus the Etymology of the Word hath been disputed but we are certain of the Thing the Nard it self or rather the Ointment which was made of it which was very Precious and in great Esteem of old It was made of several Ingredients as we learn from Pliny and other Writers viz. the sweet Cane or Rush Costum Amomum Myrrh Balsam and other Simples When this Precious Compound this Excellent Aromatic which was very Costly and used only by Rich and Wealthy Persons was made up as it should be it was then 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 â—ides sincerely and faithfully prepared it had all its Ingredients it was of the best sort This seems to be the most elegible Derivation of the Word but so far as we know it was of the Evangelist's making for there is no such Greek Word in any other Authors And as the New Testament hath its peculiar words so you may observe it hath a peculiar way of using some words which yet are common in other Writers Thus Inward Holiness or Inherent Righteousness are express'd by such terms as These which have no such Signification in any other Writers Circumcision Col. 2. 11. Crucifying Rom. 6. 6. Gal. 6. 14. Mortifying Rom. 8. 13. Col. 3. 5. Dying Rom. 6. 2 8. Col. 3. 3. Resurrection Eph. 2. 6. Eph. 5. 14. Col. 2. 12. Regeneration or being born again John 3. 3. Tit. 3. 5. 1 Pet. 1. 23. Renovation Rom. 12. 2. Eph. 4. 23. the New Man and New Creature 2. Cor. 5. 17. Gal. 6. 15. Eph. 4. 24. Washing John 13. 8. 1 Cor. 6. 11. Rev. 7. 14. The way of using and applying these words is proper to the New Testament There are other peculiar ways of speaking in this part of the Bible which are altogether unknown to other Writers as the Engraffed Word Jam. 1. 21. Children of Light and of the Day Luk. 16. 8. Eph. 5. 8. 1 Thess 5. 5. the Sword of the Spirit Eph. 6. 17. the Savour of Death 2 Cor. 2. 16. the Body of Sin Rom 6. 6. the Body of Death Rom. 7. 24. the Law of Sin and Death Rom. 8. 2. a Law in the Members Rom. 7. 23. Who over met in any other Author with these Expressions Conscience of an Idol 1 Cor. 8. 7. the Earnest of the Spirit 2 Cor. 5. 5. the Vnction of the Spirit 1 Joh. 2. 20 27. Circumâ—ision of the Heart and of the Letter Rom. 2. 29. a Iew outwardly and a Iew inwardly in the same Verse Who ever read of the foolishness of God and the weakness of God 1 Cor. 1. 25 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is a Phrase proper to Scripture and so are these to mortify the Members on Earth Col. 3. 5. to put off the Old Man and put on the New Man Eph. 4. 22. to sow to the Flesh to reap of the Flesh to sow to the Spirit to reap of the Spirit Gal. 5. 8. to walk after the Flesh Rom. 8. 1 4. Who ever spoke after the following rate to eat and drink Damnation to himself 1 Cor. 11. 29. to be justified by Faith Rom. 3. 28. Gal. 2. 16. to be clothed upon with an House from Heaven 2 Cor. 5. 2 And what strange and unheard-of Expressions are those to be baptized or washed with Fire Mat. 3. 2. to be salted with Fire Mark 9. 49 Thus the Sacred Penmen of Scripture differ from all others in their Stile And yet herein also they agree with them for even some of those Writers differ from the rest as to the use of some particular Words and Phrases Some of them take a word or more in a sense that it is not taken in by any Others There are words in Homer that are not in Aristophanes and some in Lycophron that are not in either of these and there are some in these three which are not found in any other Writer whatsoever Plato as 't is observ'd of him useth words in a way different from other Authors as the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for Simplex and in other places for Pulcher and sometimes for Parvus And as the same word is used by him to denote several things so he uses different words in the same sense and meaning as his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and others Nay he brings in the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as the same Author observes to express contrary things sometimes There are some Ecclesiastick words for they may be thus differenc'd from others because they have a peculiar Interpretation as they are used by Ecclesiastical Writers as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and Synaxis which among Christian Writers signify either the Sacred Meetings and Assemblies of the Faithful or the Lord's Supper and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is a Temple among the same Writers and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 hath the same Signification sometimes but they have no such sense in other Authors So 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is a Towel or Napkin is used in some of the Greek Fathers to denote the express Image or likeness of a Person And from other Examples it might be made good that the Profane and Ecclesiastick use of a word are far different There are Thousands of words otherwise taken in the Greek Fathers than in Classick Writers and you in vain look for the meaning of them in Hesychius Phavorinus Suidas in Scapula Constantine or Stephens Yea the words themselves which occur in Ecclesiastick Writers are not to be found in Profane ones many of them are omitted in Lexicons Onomasticks Etymologicks and Glossaries And shall not the Inspired Wriâ—ers have the same liberty viz. to use peculiar Words and Phrases of their own or to use Words in a singular meaning and proper to themselves If a Catachreâ—is the Abuse of Words be reckon'd by the Greek Orators an Embellishment of Speech certainly we must account it no Disparagement but rather an Ornament to the Language when the Holy Ghost in the Scriptures alters the use of some Words He may make use of what Words he pleaseth He that bestow'd the Gift of Tongues knows how to apply them Hence in these Writings you meet with some New words and Singular ways of Expression as I have let you see in some Instances and many more I might have added wherein the peculiar Phraseology of this Sacred Book is observable The very Words in the Holy Stile are precious Antiquaries and Criticks spend much time in mere Phrases but they never employ it so well as when they are searching into These There are several Other things might be noted as to the Peculiar Stile and Idiom of the New Testament but this shall suffice at present As I have â—hew'd before that the Stile of Scripture is like that of Other Writers so you see it is not inconsistent with what I have now asserted that the Holy Stile is not like that of Others
following words The Lord knoweth them that are his And Let every one that nameth the Name of Christ depart from Iniquity See further in Dr. Hammond Next I will mention that of the Apostle Heb. 12. 1. The Sin which doth so easily beset us So we translate it and so the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifieth but it hath three other Significations and according to them may be differently rendred S. Chrysostom gives the senâ—e thus the Sin which may easily â—e avoided for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from whence the word comes hath such a Signification and then the meaning is that not only the great and heavy Sins 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the weight but lighter and lesser Sins must be declined must be carefully avoided There is another Signification of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 viz. That Sin which hath fair Arguments and Pretences for it self 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is applied when there are no 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 no favourable Circumstances no plausible Reasons and Arguments to commend a thing 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 then signifies that which hath Goodly Circumstances and Arguments to recommend it Such have some Sins especially as those that are accompanied with much Profit or Pleasure against these therefore the Apostle exhorts us here to arm our selves he would have us in a more especial manner to beware of those Vices which are so Tempting There is yet another rendring of the words according to Theophylact for he observes that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is Periculum Discrimen and indeed the Stoicks generally use the word in this sense 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is according to Hesychius 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it signifies Affliction Necessity Trouble And the Fathers sometimes use it thus in their Writings So that the Apostle adviseth us here to shun those Sins especially which bring us into great Dangers and Difficulties those that are accompanied even with bodily Calamities and Judgments as some kinds of Sins generally are Those Vices that are thus circumstantiated are to be avoided with singular Caution But I confess I do not think this to be the meaning here for the Adverb 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 join'd with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 rather shews that the Circumstances are good And of the other three Interpretations I look upon the first to be the best because it is according to the clearest and most obvious sense of the Greek word and withal it agrees with the Mind of the Apostle in the whole Verse where taking his Metaphor from the Olympick Races he exhorts the Jewish Converts to run with Patience the Race that was set before them and in order to that to lay aside every Weight or Incumbrance as the Racers were wont to do and the Sin which did so easily beset them compass them about hinder and retard them in their Christian Course as Long or Heavy Garments are an hindrance to those that run for any observing Eye may see that he continues the Metaphor Thus you see words have Different Senses and so may be translated differently and hence the true Meaning is difficultly to be reach'd sometimes I will mention one Instance more which is to be found both in the Old and New Testament There we often read of the Spirit no word is more usual with the Sacred Writers than this and it is as true that no word hath more Various Significations whence sometimes doth arise no small Difficulty in interpreting some of those places where this word occurreth Suffer me then to give a full and ample Account of the Different Significations of it that it may not administer occasion of Obscurity in the Stile of Scripture First The word Spirit is applied to God and particularly to the Third Person in the Undivided Trinity who is Emphatically call'd the Spirit in the Old Testament as in Gen. 1. 2. Gen. 6. 3. and in almost iunumerable other places and the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost by way of Eminency in the New Testament Mat. 3. 16. Iohn 1. 32. Rom. 8. 14 c. Secondly It signifies the Gifts Graces Fruits Effects and Operations of the Holy Spirit as 1. Any Signal Qualities or Endowments whatsoever any Skill or Ability to do things well and laudably Thus Bezaliel was filled with the Spirit of God Exod. 31. 3 5. to work in all manner of Workmanship And Gifts of any sort are call'd the Spirit in other places 2. The Saving Graces of the Holy Spirit as in Iude ver 19. having not the Spirit and in several other places 3. The Power of the Spirit to accomplish some very great and extraordinary thing thus Caleb had another Spirit Num. 14. 24. i. e. he had Power to effect those things which he could not do before Ioshuah was a Man in whom was the Spirit Num. 27. 18. Thus the Spirit of God and the Spirit of the Lord are said in Scripture to come upon to fall upon to be poured out to be put upon Persons that is they had an unusual and extraordinary Power to do this or that To be moved and to be led by the Spirit are in the same Signification viz. to be enabled to enterprize and atchieve some Wonderful Thing 4. Those Extraordinary and Miraculous Gifts which were conferr'd on the Apostles and other Christians in the Infancy of the Gospel as Healing all manner of Diseases Speaking strange Languages These are express'd by this Word in 1 Cor. 14. 12. Ye are zealous of Spirits i. e. Spiritual Gifts the Extraordinary Vouchsafements of the Spirit whereby they were able to do things above Humane Power Hence you read of Speaking in the Spirit Praying with the Spirit and Singing with the Spirit 1 Cor. 14. 14 15. And in the same Chapter there is mention of the Spirits of the Prophets ver 32. i. e. the Gifts of Prophecy which they were indued with and enabled to exert in the Publick Congregation Before Christ's Ascension these Gifts were not bestow'd in a very large and liberal manner and that is the meaning of Iohn 7. 39. the Holy Ghost was not yet given And even after our Saviour's Ascension the Ephesian Christians had not heard whether there was any Holy Ghost Acts 19. 2. that is they knew nothing of these Extraordinary Gifts bestow'd on some in the Church Wherefore we read there that by the Imposition of St. Paul's Hands the Holy Ghost came upon them and they spake with Tongues and prophesied ver 6. This latter Clause explains the former letting us see that by the Holy Ghost is here meant the Miraculous Endowments of the Spirit such as speaking with strange Tongues and Prophesying in an unusual manner Of these chiefly the Apostle is to be understood in 1 Thess. 5. 19. Quench not the Spirit 5. Extraordinary Revelations and Discoveries whether under the Old or New Testament are express'd by this Word Thus 't is said there is a Spirit in Man Job 32. 8. which is explain'd
41. That which is born of the Spirit is Spirit John 3. 6. The Flesh lusteth against the Spirit and the Spirit against the Flesh Gal. 5. 7. This is the frequent Acception of the Word in the New Testament Yea 9. Not only the Holy and Godly Nature the Renewed Disposition and Temper but even that which is Unholy and Ungodly the Old and Unregenerate Principle of Man is also known by this Name The Spirit saith St. Iames that dwelleth in us lusteth to Envy ch 4. 5. where by Spirit is meant the Sensual and Carnal Part of Man And so before we took notice of the Spirit of Slumber of Whoredoms and the like Thus much of the word Spirit as it hath reference to the Soul of Man and its Faculties Only I will add this that this Word applied either to the good or evil Operations of the Mind signifies to us the Reality and Efficacy of them and represents their great Vehemency for they proceed from the Spirit of Man which is vigorous and active Though this Word likewise may refer to the Original and Source of these Actions for there is in Men a Double Spirit a Good and an Evil one the Spirit of the World and the Spirit which is of God 1 Cor. 2. 12. Hence in the Stile of Scripture good and evil Actions are frequently attributed to some Spirit for they are Results either of the Good or Evil one that inhabits in them Eighthly Angels both good and bad are signified by this Word First the Good ones Heb. 1. 7. He maketh his Angels Spirits which is taken from Psal. 104. 4. Are they not all ministring Spirits Heb. 1. 14. Secondly the Evil ones who in the Old Testament are call'd Evil Spirits and Lying Spirits and in the New Testament Vnclean Foul Familiar Spirits Spirits of Divination Rejoice not saith our Saviour that the Spirits i. e. the Devils as appears from ver 17. are subject unto you Luke 10. 20. The Spirit that worketh in the Children of Disobedience Eph. 2. 2. is no other than Satan I question not but that the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Eph. 6. 12. are no other than 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Spirits of Wickedness which are said to be in high or Heavenly Places because these Wicked Spirits are so hardy as to encounter often with the Good Angels they labour to wrest the Souls of the Faithful out of their Hands whilst they are conducting them through the Ethereal Regions to the Mansions of Glory in the highest Heavens And if they have the Confidence to grapple with those Blessed Spirits certainly they will not fail to assault Us weak and sinful Creatures Wherefore as the Apostle adjoins in this Place we must take unto us the whole Armour of God that we may be able to wrestle against these spiritual Wickednesses or rather wicked Spirits So in Rev. 16. 14. Spirits of Devils are as much as Devilish Spirits or Evil Angels Ninthly The same Word is used to express an Apparition or Seeming Shape of a Body without real Corporeity as in Luke 24. 37. They supposed they had seen a Spirit They had a Notion of a Spirit 's appearing though as a Spiâ—it it was impossible to be seen of it self for being void of Matter and Quantity it could not be the Object of the Bodily Senses which true Account of a Real Spirit our Saviour gives them in these Words A Spirit hath not Flesh and Bones ver 39. i. e. it hath nothing Corporeal belonging to its Nature and Essence Which brings me to the next the Tenth Acception of the Word and that is this it signifies a Spiritual Immaterial Substance wholly devoid of all Matter John 4. 24. God is a Spirit i. e. he is a Substance in which there is nothing of Body or Quantity he is an Intelligent and Thinking Being which high Privilege and Excellency no Material thing is capable of Lastly A Breath a Wind a Blast are synonimous with Spirit in the Holy Stile as in Eccles. 11. 5. Thou knowest not what is the way of the Spirit i. e. of the Wind as is evident from the former Verse where the word Ruach is so â—endred And in Ezek. 37. 9. the four Spirits or Winds are the same and so the word is used twice more in that Verse Thus 't is in the New Testament in Iohn 3. 8. The Wind bloweth where it listeth The word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is generally translated Spirit in the New Testament is here translated Wind and that very rightly according to the Interpretation of several of the Antient Fathers Particularly the Air the Wind or Breath which is drawn in and sent forth by the Lungs hath this Denomination Thus in Iob 34. 14. Spirit and Breath are the same And those Words in Iohn 19. 30. He gave up the Ghost or Spirit are expressed thus in another Evangelist 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he expired he yielded up his Breath Luke 23. 46. To this refers 2. Thess. 2. 8. Whom the Lord shall consume with the Spirit i. e. the Breath of his Mouth which is the same with Isa. 11. 4. With the Breath of his Mouth shall he stay the Wicked To conclude the three Words in the three Learned Languages for Spirit signify Wind or Breath and that in the first and original Sense of them This alone is the Proper Signification of the Word but as for all the other Acceptions of it before-mentioned they are secondary and improrper The word Spirit is improperly applied to the Person and to the Gifts or Graces of the Holy Ghost it is improperly attributed to the Souls of Men and their Faculties and Operations it is improperly spoken of Angels or Devils or of any of those other things â—fore-named except the last But these are the Different Acceptions of the Word in the Sacred Writings according to that Observation which I have made of it at several times and perhaps there are some Other Denotations of this Word which I have not taken notice of I instanced in This whereas I might have instanced in many more to let you see how Large and Extensive the Meaning of some Words in Scripture is and thereby to give you some Account of the Difficulty and Perplexity of the Holy Stile in some Places which yet you see we may render very intelligible and plain by a diligent Enquiry into and Comparing those Places where these dubious Words occur But still to give you a farther Account of the Different Acceptions of Terms I could sufficiently prosecute this tho I confin'd my self to the Hebrew Words of the Old Testament It would most fully appear that the same words in this Holy Volume signify Different things I shall only propound the several Particulars and leave them to be distinctly applied upon occasion by those that have leisure to do it It is well known that Vau is a Conjunction Copulative but it is of other Use in several Places which indeed is common to it
Wide Cavity of the Whale which Ionas was taken into in this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in this Capacious Hollowness was the distressed Prophet lodged three Days and three Nights In this Belly of Hell for so likewise he calls it Chap. 2. 2. and by this Phrase we further see that the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is the word here used by the Septuagint is not properly taken but signifies some Dark Invisible Receptacle he was both tormented and preserved and at last as we read in the Sequel of this History when the Lord spake unto this Fish it vomited out Jonah on the dry Land Chap. 2. 10. which let me observe to you further intimates to us the truth of this Notion which I have presented to you for Vomiting is an Emission of something not out of the Belly but out of the Mouth or Stomach If Ionas had been in the Belly or Entrails of the Fish he had been emitted another way not by Vomition Thus I have briefly given my Conceptions of that Text of Scripture and from the whole it is evident that it speaks of a Whale properly so call'd for our Blessed Saviour positively and expresly determines it to be such and of the Vast Cavity of its Mouth and Iaws which in respect of their huge extension may deserve the Name of a Belly rather than of those Parts I know that the Almighty God who made the Creature at first could afterwards have framed and disposed its Throat or any other Passages as he pleas'd With the greatest Reverence I acknowledg this But if we can solve the Works of God and his Providence in a natural way I think we are obliged to do it and at the same time we adore the God of Nature Although it must be confess'd that if we respect the Power and Soveraignty the Providence and Will of God it might be the Belly of this Fish properly so denominated which was the Place where the Fugitive Prophet was lodged yet seeing Naturalists have given us this Account of the Whale that the Passage of its Throat is so strait that a Man's Body cannot be convey'd through it and seeing we are not sure that God alter'd the Frame and Disposition of this Part and seeing likewise that the Word which the Holy Ghost useth is capable of a double Sense we may be invited on these Considerations to think that it was the Vast Mouth of this Fish which is here meant And truly the Wonderfulness of the Occurrence is not at all hereby abated for to preserve Ionas so long in the Whale's Mouth was as great a Miracle if we consider all things as to preserve him in its Lower Belly Then as for Fowls Birds and Insects there is a great Ambiguity in the Old Testament as to some of these Tsippor is a common Name of all Fowls as in Psal. 104. 17. and other Places but sometimes it is more particularly taken for a Sparrow as in Psal. 102. 7. So in Psal. 84. 3. some certain Species of Birds are signified because the Swallow is mentioned in the same Place Kore 1 Sam. 26. 20. which we translate a Partridg is a Night-raven according to the 70 Interpreters It is a Woodcock or Snipe saith One whom I have often quoted Ajah Lev. 11. 14. Iob 28 7. is rendred in the Septuagint and Vulgar Version and in ours a Vulture but according to Arias Montanus it is varia a vis i. e. a Pie according to others it is a Crow and 't is thought by others to be a Kite But we need not be solicitous to know which of these it is for it is likely we can never attain it or if we could it would be of little Advantage to us for the Sense of these Places of Scripture depends not on our knowing what sort of Animal this or that is Deror Psal. 84. 4. is in our English Translation a Swallow but according to the Greek and Latin it is a Turtle and so Bochart indeavours to prove Kippod which we translate a Bittern Isa. 14. 23. ch 34. 11. is according to R. Solomon a kind of Owl but Luther will have it to be an Eagle Yea some rank it among other Species of Animals for according to the Vulgar Latin and Pagnin it is a Hedg-hog according to R. Kimchi and R. Ioseph a Snail according to others a Beaver Avenarius comes nearest the Truth who tells us it is the Name of a Fowl unknown to us in these Parts But this we are certain of and we need not look any further that it is some Fowl or other Animal that frequents desert and desolate Places because of these the Text speaks So when the Psalmist complains that he is like a Pelican in the Wilderness and like an Owl of the Desart Psal. 102. 6. we need not be inquisitive whether the former word Kaath be rightly translated or whether it should be rendred a Bittern as 't is by Ierom and Bochart nor are we to care whether that latter word Kos certainly signifies that flying Creature which we call an Owl or whether it be an Houp 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Vpupa according to Symmachus or a Night-raven according to the Seventy and St. Ierom or a Falcon according to R. Solomon and Pagnin or a Pelican according to some others I. R. Kimchi was in the right who saith 't is the Name of some unclean Bird not known to us But this is enough that it was some Solitary Creature of the feather'd Order that kept in remote Places because it is said to be an Inhabitant of the Desart and so it is used here to set forth the present Solitude and mournful Condition of the Psalmist Chasidah which we translate a Stork Psal. 104. 17. and Ier. 8. 7. is according to St. Ierom a Kite but the same Word in Iob 39. 13 is rendred by us an Ostrich and so 't is in the Vulgar Latin which shews the Ambiguity of the Word Tachmas Lev. 11. 16. is translated by us a Night-hawk by the Targum the Seventy St. Ierom and Arias Montanus an Owl by the Arabick and Avenarius a Swallow by Bochart an Ostrich The like Disagreement is there in rendring the word Tinshemeth Lev. 11. 18. which we english a Swan but according to Arias Montanus it is Porphyrio according to R. Solomon a Bat according to Bochart a Chameleon Some say 't is a Bittern others an Owl others a Daw. And to let you see the Uncertainty of the Word in the very same Chapter it is reckon'd among the Creeping things ver 30. and is rendre◠a Mole To add one more viz. Anaphah which we render a Heron Lev. 11. 19. but according to the Seventy it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 according to the Vulgar Latin Charadrios i. e. a Sea-bird call'd by some Icterus It is a Kite say the Talmudists and Targum It is a Ring-dove a Pie a Lapwing a lesser sort of Owl say others It is a Bird call'd 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉
he had it from a very Understanding Jew that the Hebrew word Tsagnir signifies both little and great and others that have good Skill in that Tongue assert the same It is to be understood in this place in the latter Sense and so the words ought to be rendred thus Thou Bethlehem Ephratah thou art great among the Thousands or among the Princes of Judah for the Principalities were divided into Chiliads or Thousands Iudg. 6. 15. 1 Sam. 10. 19. Thus the Prophet Micah and the Evangelist Matthew agree for great and not the least are here the same And certainly it is a far better way of reconciling them than that which a Late Writer propounds viz. That whereas we read it Tsagnir it should be read 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 progredere go forth for besides that this somewhat marr's the Sense of the place if we go this way to work we may alter a great many places in the Old Testament and in the New too and substitute one word for another when we please and so we shall lose a great part of the Bible in a short time this therefore is not to be allow'd of by any means There are other Nouns of a Contrary Signification as Terugnah which is both a Ioyful Shout Psal. 33. 3. and a Mournful Cry Jer. 20. 16. Chesel is not only Inconstancy or Levity but Constancy or Stedfastness and Confidence And there is a very great Discrepancy if not Contrariety in the rendrings of the word Deshen which is sometimes Ashes and sometimes Fatness But if we be mindful of the Subject Matter spoken of we can't miss of the true Sense But the Verbs which bear a Contrary Sense are most remarkable thus Sakal is lapidare lapidibus obruere commonly also elapidare lapides amovere Isa. 62. 10. Chasar is consecrari Psal. 18. 26. and execrari Prov. 25. 10. Salah is aestimare Job 28. 16 19. and spernere conculcare Psal. 119. 118. Shub is reducere convertere and avertere rebellare both Senses are common in Scripture Iaphang is to be bright and shining yet it may seem to be taken in a contrary Signification in Iob 10. 22. according to Pagnin's Translation tenebrescit sicut caligo and the Vulgar Latin favours it Tamam or tam hath a contrary Sense for it signifies to perfect or finish as in Dan. 9. 24. to finish the Vision and also to consume as in Ezek. 22. 15. I will consume thy Filthiness out of thee Kadash in the usual Import of it is to sanctify but it is used in a quite opposite Sense in Deut. 22. 9. lest the Fruit of thy Vineyard be defiled So for other Verbs it is common to find them in Contrary Meanings as Iarash to possess or inherit commonly in Scripture and to dispossess or disinherit to expel reject and impoverish Gen. 45. 11. and in other Places both which contrary Senses occur together in Iosh. 23. 5. He shall expel them from before you and ye shall possess their Land Expelling and Possessing are the same Hebrew Verb though in different Conjugations So Chata in Kal is to sin but in Piel to expiate or take away Sin There is no other way to know the proper Rendrings of these and other Words before-mentioned but by a diligent attending to the Scope and Design of the Texts where they are And thus we shall perceive which of the Senses is designed though sometimes this is done with some Difficulty I will make choice of a Text to enlarge upon to this purpose The Instances are very usual in Scripture Barak signifies both to bless and to curse and in some Places it may seem not very easy to tell which of these is intended as in those Words of Iob's Wife Iob 2. 9. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which the Vulgar Latin renders benedic Deo bless God Arias Montanus and Munster follow this Version and so doth the Learned and Pious Mr. Perkins and accordingly he renders the Verse thus Dost thou still retain thine Integrity bless God and die and makes this to be the Sense of it Thou being now sorely afflicted by God and brought even to Death's Door begin now at length to cast away thy Conceitedness of thy own Righteousness acknowledg God's Hand upon thee for thy Sins confess those Sins before him pray for the Pardon of them and so end thy Days This was good Counsel saith this Worthy Person although the applying of it was mix'd with Mistake and Folly and therefore Iob told his Wife that she spoke like one of the foolish Women But the Septuagint seem to take the Words in Another and Contrary Sense and render Barek Elohim by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 speak some Word or say something against the Lord for the Praeposition 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 may signify so which approacheth towards Our Translation Curse God As if Iob's Wife had said to her Husband Thou hast no reason to speak well of God thou hast been undeservedly tormented by him thou hast been an upright and righteous Man and yet none hath met with such Calamities and Plagues as thou hast done therefore my Advice to thee is that thou wouldst even curse and blaspheme God himself and then make an end of thy miserable Life by laying violent Hands on thy self In this Sense the word Barak is thought generally to be taken in 1 Kings 21. 13. Naboth did blaspheme God though even there the Greek Interpreters render it he blessed God unless by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is the Word used by them be meant 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which very Good Authors tell us is the Sense of the Word sometimes by an Antiphrasis Thus as the Apostle saith with the same Tongue with the same Mouth so with the same Word we both bless and curse for the same Word both in Hebrew and Greek is used sometimes for both But it is my Opinion that the Word in the former Place need not be rendred either bless or curse but that there is a middle Signification of it there That we may apprehend this the better we must know what the first and original Sense of the Verb Barak is which I perceive few have enquired into It appears from the best Hebrew Grammarians and Lexicographers that I have met with that this Word primitively signifies to salute or greet in which abstract Sense it is used twice in 2 Kings 4. 29. If thou meet any Man salute him not and if any salute thee answer him not again The Hebrew Word which we translate salute is Barak So in Gen. 47. 7. 10. this Word is used to express Iacob's solemn Saluting of Pharaoh at his coming before him and at his going out of his Presence Iacob saluted we render it blessed Pharaoh But because Kneeling was a Posture of Salutation Barak signifies also to kneel or to salute one with bowing the Knee And thence Berek a Knee and thence some have imagin'd the word Abrek comes which we read was proclaim'd before Ioseph
which an Inspired Writer hath given of it telling us that Cain was of that wicked one viz. Satan and therefore slew his Brother because his own Works were Evil and his Brother 's Righteous 1 John 3. 12. The grand Aggravations of his Murder were that he kill'd his Own Brother and that he kill'd him because he was Good and Righteous Now we may reasonably think that this Guilty Wretch when he came to entertain serious Thoughts and to reflect on his Execrable Paricide grew very Black and Melancholick Though God reprieved this Malefactor as to his Life yet he severely animadverted upon him by that Terror and distraction of Mind by that Horror of Conscience which he inflicted on him He had Pashur's Doom of Magor Missabib i. e. Fear round about Jer. 20. 3. but especially as it follows there he was a Terror to himself That this hath been the Fate of Murderers is evident from such Instances as these Herod who commanded Iohn Baptist to be beheaded was afterwards miserably tormented with the thoughts of it and fancied that Holy Man was risen from the Dead and was alive again Mark 6. 16. Tacitus tells us of the Emperour Tiberius who was a Man of Blood and under whom our Blessed Lord was crucified that he was so troubled and haunted that neither his great Fortunes nor the Retirement which he sometimes made trial of could silence those Tortures which he felt in his Breast Nero that Bloody Villain after he had put to Death his Cousin German his Mother his Wife his Tutour knew not what to do with himself he was affrighted with Specters beaten by Furies and burning Torches were flung at him especially he was molested and plagued with the Apparition of his Mother's Ghost whom he had inhumanely and unnaturally murder'd Theodorick the King of Gothes was constantly haunted after the Murder of Symmachus and Boethius and so ended his days in that torment of Mind Charles the Ninth of France as a faithful Historian acquaints us after the Parisian Massacre was a continual Terror to himself though he used all Arts to divert his Thoughts and when he awakned in the Nights labour'd to chase away his Affrightments by Musick which he constantly call'd for These are some of the Transcripts which History affords us of that First Murderer's inward Terrors and Disquietudes Mine Iniquity saith he is greater than can be forgiven ver 13. for so the words may be rendred the Guilt of that Horrid Crime which I have committed is unpardonable I utterly despair of the Divine Mercy And this Despair was not only his Sin but his Punishment wherefore some read it My Punishment is greater than I can bear So that he anticipated the Miseries of the Damned of whom he was the first of Humane Kind and was in Hell while he was here on Earth Now it was that Dreadful Mormo's and Phantoms possess'd his restless Brain and he encreas'd his Terrors by Imagination He was afraid of his own Father and Mother and of his Female-self and his disorder'd Fancy represented many more Persons to him for a Troubled Conscience fears where no Fear is it fears Men where there are none in being Whence such Language as this is very accountable Every one that finds me shall slay me This is a satisfactory Answer upon Supposal for I proceed only on that here that there were no more Men in the World at that time than are expresly mention'd in Genesis A Disturbed Mind hath a Creating Power and can make more Inhabitants on the Earth than God hath made Thirdly Supposing still that the Number of Men was not greater than it is represented in the Sacred Records yet this Speech of Cain is very accountable for we may understand it of People that were not yet born but to come afterwards Observe therefore that 't is spoken in the Future Tense It shall come to pass that every onâ— that findeth me shall slay me Cain being reprieved and suffer'd to wander up and down and consequently to live some Years afterwards it may be rational to think that he refers in these words to what should be in those days When Mankind shall be propagated and the World be peopled thâ—n I shall go in fear of my Life then every one that finds me will slay me And unto this the nexâ— words may have relation Whosoever slayeth Câ—in Vengeance shall be taken of him sevenfold And moreover The Lord set a mark upon Cain lest any finding him should kill him ver 15. Lest in after-times any one hearing of this bloody and cursed Fact of his should be excited to revenge it on his own Head there was a Mark set upon this Vile Wanderer to distinguish him from the rest of Mankind but what it was we know not though the Jews have many idle and foolish Conjectures about it And a Penalty was threatned to be inflicted on the Person who should dare to kill him he was to be punish'd seven-fold ver 15. or in the seventh Generation as Munster and some others interpret it which implies that Cain was to be a Long-liver to continue seven i. e. many Generations So that we may look on these Words as having reference to the Times that were to come and not to the present Season wherein they were spoke It shall come to pass saith he that in future time when the World is increased every one who finds me shall be greedy to take away my Life because I most inhumanely bereaved my Brother of his Thus there is no Contradiction or Inconsistency in the words when 't is said Every one that findeth me c. But in the fourth and last place it might be answer'd if what I have said already be not satisfactory that this word Kol every one hath not reference to Men but to Beasts Every one is every Wild Beast He was afraid saith Iosephus lest while he wandred up and down in the Earth which was part of his Punishment he should fall among some Beasts and be slain by them God bids him not fear any such thing for he would set such a Mark on him that the very Irrational Animals should be capable of knowing and discerning it Every one is not necessarily to be understood of Men or Women but may be meant of the Brutes which were then upon Earth and might be Executioners of the Divine Vengeance on him who was so savage and brutish It will be very hard for any Man to disprove this and therefore it is sufficient to take off and null the Cavil of the Objectors But I confess I rather think it is spoken not of this sort of Creatures but of those Inhabitants of the Earth that were Intelligent Thus you see there is no Absurdity or Inconsistency in those words which Cain utter'd and which are set down by the Sacred Historian whether you understand them of the then instant time or of that which was afterwards Some Men of Profane and Atheistical Spirits and who
against Tarsus or Cilicia which it washed Secondly the word is taken more largely for the Sea in general for the African or Mediterranean Sea being the only Noted Sea to the Hebrews they call'd all other Seas and the Ocean it self Tarsis as the Latins call any Sea Pontus though that word be proper only to one particular Sea Thus Tarshish is used in Psal. 48. 7. thou breakest the Ships of Tarshish i. e. of the Sea with an East Winâ— and in Isa. 2. 12 16. The Day of the Lord of Hosts shall be upon all the Ships of Tarshish 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 according to the Seventy And in several other Places it hath this large Signification but not in Ion. 1. 3. as is said by many Interpreters for Tarshish here is the City call'd Tarsus a noted Place in Cilicia Though Tarshish be a common Word in Scripture to signify the Sea as hath been said yet here we must take it in the most restrained Sense of all we must understand by it the Town of that Name and from whence the Sea but more particularly the Phoenician and Tyrian Sea had the Denomination of Tarshish The Reason which I give of this Interpretation is this because in that Place of Ionah Tarshish and the Sea are expresly distinguish'd and that not once but often as you may satisfy your selves by perusing ver 3. and the rest that follow in that Chapter where you will see that Hajam the Sea is mentioned nine or ten times in distinction from Tarshish whence I gather that this latter Word is not to be translated the Sea but that it denotes that known City Tarsus of Cilicia To this Place the Timerous Prophet had a mind to flee because it was sufficiently remote and also because there was a safe Harbour to put into There need not then be any Dispute about the word Tarshish for where-ever it is used in Scripture except in this Place last mentioned it signifies either the Sea in general or more especially the Phoenician or African Sea which the Tyrian Merchants were most used to but it hath its Name from Tarsus or Tarsis near to which was the most famous Port of all the East Country from whence they took Ship for Africa and India and the most remote Parts of the World To close up all the Geographical Scruples I will only adjoin this concerning the mentioning of East and West in the Old Testament that these are generally to be understood according to the Situation of Iudea more especially Ierusalem and as the Places spoken of had respect to these but in the Prophecy of Ezekiel it is for the most part otherwise because Ezekiel writ in Babylon and thence it is that East and West are contrary here to what they are in other Prophets This I thought fit to add to prevent Cavils against the Sacred Writ I might in the next place take notice of the different Meanings which arise from the Relation which certain Words in some Texts have to the neighbouring Verses Thus it is said the Poor shall never cease out of the Land Deut. 15. 11. yet it is implied if not expressed ver 4. that there shall be no Poor among them But the Answer is that this 4th Verse refers to the releasing and forgiving their Debtors ver 2 3. They must not by their exacting make their Neighbours poor yea they must do what lies in their power that there may be no Poor but as to the Event there will be Poor and always shall be Their Strength is to sit still saith the Prophet Isa. 30. 7. which their if you refer to the Egyptians who are named in that Verse then the Sense is Their Strength their Aid their Assistance is to no purpose they had as good sit still as help the Jews But if you refer their to the Iews then the Interpretation is this The Jews had best to sit still in their own Land and not to require Aid from Egypt for it shall not prosper This is the true Sense of the Words because their Proper Reference is to the Iewish People which we are sure of because these are the subject Matter of this Part of the Chapter The right fixing of the Relation of the Words especially of the Pronoun their leads us to the true meaning of the Place And this is put out of all Controversy by ver 15. In Râ—â—urning and Rest ye shall be saved in Quietness and Confidence shall be your Strength which is a plain Comment on the former Words and shews that we have pitch'd upon the true Reference I interpret those Words in Heb. 12. 24. The Blood of Sprinkling which speaks better things than that of Abel by observing what they particularly refer to viz. ver 4. of the foregoing Chapter By it he being dead yet speaketh I conceive that this Speaking is referr'd to by the Apostle in the other Place and so by searching into the true Meaning of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he speaks we shall be able to arrive to the true Sense of the other This Word hath been variously interpreted for Grotius seems to think it is meant that he i. e. Abel speaks in the Book of Genesis which speaks of him But this is very dilute because the Apostle mentions not here what Book speaks of Abel but by what he himself speaks viz. his Faith Others say his Faith and Righteousness speak i. e. call to us to imitate and practise them but this might have been said of any of the other Worthies mentioned in this Chapter and therefore is not peculiar to Abel alone Others take the word in a Passive Sense and expound it he is yet spoken of his eminent Faith and Innocency are to this Day as in several Generations before spoken of celebrated praised remembred with Honour But this as well as the former is common to all the other Holy Patriarchs and Worthy Saints named in this Chapter and therefore this doth not reach that particular and proper Meaning of the Place Much less doth that odd Exposition of Sir N. Knatchbull who reads it thus For it i. e. his Faith he is yet said to be dead for he will have 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to be inserted after 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and then the meaning is As Abel suffered at first for his Faith so he is still to this Day said to have died for his Faith But besides the needless inserting of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and thereby making very bald Greek he joins in Construction 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 whereas according to the usual way of Trajection which he so often takes notice of in other Places though he overlooks it here it belongs to 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and so the Words are to run thus By it he though he be dead yet speaks that is because of his Faith and Holiness he yet speaks aloud or cries unto God for Vengeance against his Brother Cain who inhumanly murder'd him for he
barbarously and maliciously took away his Life because he was a faithful and righteous Person Thus I interpret the Words because I discern that the Apostle alludes to Gen. 4. 10. The Voice of thy Brother's Blood crieth unto me from the Ground Wherefore when he saith Abel yet speaketh it is as much as if he had said his Blood speaketh or crieth It spake long ago and it yet speaks like the Souls under the Altar Rev. 6. 10. How long O Lord holy and true dost thou not judg and avenge our Blood Now by this Text I expound that other in Heb. 12. 24. The Blood of Sprinkling that speaketh better things than Abel for so it is in the Greek The Apostle having said before Abel yet speaks i. e. the Voice of his Blood speaketh or crieth to Heaven for Vengeance he here with particular reference to that Passage assures us that Christ's Blood speaks better things than Abel or than the Blood of Abel which was shed by his Brother for whereas that spoke and cried for Punishment this pleads for Mercy and Pardon Christ's Oblation of himself on the Cross by the Effusion of his Blood speaks better things doth more atone and appease the Wrath of God than the Blood of Abel who was spitefully murder'd did incense and provoke it Thus this is a good way of interpreting Scripture sometimes by comparing one Text with another and observing their mutual Relation Many obscure and less intelligible Passages are clear'd by this Means I will content my self with mentioning one Place more viz. Mat. 24. 34. This Generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled Which remarkable Words of our Saviour may seem to have been mistaken by those Interpreters that I have met with and merely because they have not minded the Reference of the Words Some have taken this Generation for the Generation then in being in our Saviour's time and so they apprehend him to speak of something that was soon after to be accomplish'd not unlike some of St. Iohn's Visions which were to come to pass in a short time and consequently that those Signs of his Coming which he had foretold in that Chapter were to be every Day expected and if they were meant of his General and Final Coming then that the Overthrow of Ierusalem and of the World should be about the same time And that some of the Signs mentioned by Christ are to be understood properly and peculiarly of the Iewish Nation soems to be clear from that one Passage in ver 20. Pray that your Flight be not on the Sabbath-day which intimates that the Iewish People were particularly concern'd who solemnly observed that Day By this Generation then they understand the present Generation of the Jews which was at that time and to confirm this they observe that this Generation is applied by Christ to the Jews of that Age Mark 8. 12. The Meaning then of this Generation shall not pass c. according to this Acception of the Word is this that whilst the Jews then living were upon the Earth those things which our Saviour had foretold in that Chapter yea all those things should be fulfill'd This were a very good Interpretation of the Words if the thing it self could be proved that is that within so short a time all those Predictions of Christ were accomplish'd But the contrary is very evident for the Chapter speaks of the Day of Judgment as well as of the Devastation of Ierusalem wherefore all the things that our Lord spoke of were not fulfill'd within the Compass of that Generation and consequently that Period of Time could not be meant when it is said This Generation shall c. Secondly therefore others who are sensible of the Invalidity of this Interpretation understand this Generation in a wider and larger Sense and think that by it is meant the Evangelical Dispensation the whole Series of Time from our Saviour's Days to the End of the World the final Upshot of all things And this is a good Exposition of the Text and salves the Sense very well only there is no Proof that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies the last Age of the World This Period of Time is call'd by St. Iohn the last time by St. Peter the End of all things and by St. Paul the Ends of the World but I do not find that it is any where stiled this Generation therefore I do not see any good Ground to apply it here in that manner as some Expositors have done Wherefore I will offer another Interpretation which I hope will not be unacceptable to the Learned though I confess I do not expect it should be presently received because it is wholly new and unheard of But let Impartial Minds judg of it who will not suffer the mere Novelty of an Exposition to hinder their imbracing of it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is as much as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Generation of the Heaven and Earth the Whole Creation of the World this vast Mundane Fabrick So St. Iames uses the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ch 3. 6. making it the same with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Rom. 8. 19 22. And even among Profane Authors 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 hath sometimes the like Acception and is rendred Seculum the World This shall not pass i. e. be destroyed till all these things be fulfilled as if our Saviour had said The World shall continue as it hath hitherto done till all these things which I have foretold but especially these concerning my Last Coming be accomplished but immediately after the fulfilling of them this Generation of the Heavens and Earth this Frame of the World shall be set on Fire shall be consumed And that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 hath this Signification here i. e. that it imports this System of Heaven and Earth I gather from the Reference of this Verse to the immediately ensuing one Heaven and Earth shall pass away but my Words shall not pass away where you see 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is explained by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 This Generation of Heaven and Earth shall pass away but my Words my Predictions concerning future things which you have just now heard from my Mouth shall not pass away Which is as much as if he had said This great Structure of the World shall perish at last Heaven and Earth shall be destroyed by a general Conflagration but new Heavens and a new Earth shall arise in their room which shall be a Building not made with Hands not of perishing Materials but such as shall last eternally And of this Nature is my Word and Promise such are all my Predictions and particularly this of the Signs of my Coming it shall never be null'd and abolish'd The applying of the words shall pass to the Heavens and Earth immediately after shews that Christ means by this Generation the whole World expressed by Heaven and Earth You see then how sitly 't is said here
and to rely wholly on the Charity of the Christian Brethren These were some choice Skins which he had left behind him at Troas when he wrought in this his Trade there And if it be objected that Troas was a great way off the Answer is that they might as easily be brought to him as the Books he writ for if these were of any considerable Number and Bigness And this Notion is yet more probable if you consider that St. Paul was in way of Contempt call'd by the Pagans 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and Coriarius because he cut out Hides and Skins in order to the making of Tents Yea some of the Christian Writers give him the foresaid Titles thereby to magnify the Grace of God towards him He is often stiled 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by Theodoret and so he is by Chrysostom Coriarius Cilix is the Epithet given by Ierom. This makes it not improbable that the fore-mention'd Text hath reference to the Practice of those times the making of Tents or the covering of Booths and Pavilions with Skins These it is likely are the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 St. Paul speaks of As he sends for his Cloak to defend himself from the Cold so he sends for the Skins which he left behind him to make Tents to shelter and keep others warm For though it is granted that one Signification of Membrana is Parchment of which I had occasion to speak before yet it also signifies the Vppermost Skin or Hide of any Creature as appears from that of Lucretius Membranas mittunt vituli de corpore summo And it hath its Denomination from Membrum saith Priscian because it covers the Limbs and other external Parts Nay you must note that this is the first and most proper Signification of the word Membrana in Tully Pliny and other Authors whereas afterwards in a secondary Sense it came to signify Parchment These things may render my Interpretation of this Place not improbable However I presumed to offer the Criticism on the Word and let the Learned entertain it as they please But this is not to be question'd that the not attending to the Usages and Practices of old in the Countries to which some things spoken of in Scripture belong is one Reason why we miss of the right Sense of some Places 3. The Hebrew Text which is the greater part of the Bible hath some things proper to it self which render it perplex'd and obscure in some Places for in Hebrew there are no Moods in the Verbs but the Indicative and Insinitive no Tenses but the Past and Future Participles being made use of to express the Present Time which oftentimes renders the Meaning obscure and intricate Instead of an Interrogative Point the Hebrews make use of their Interrogative He otherwise there are no Notes or Marks of Interrogation which is another Cause as might be shew'd of misunderstanding the Text sometimes There are frequent Parentheses in the Hebrew Bible and if they be not diligently observed they mar the Sense as to instance but in one Place at present Isa. 9. 3 c. The 3d 4th and 5th Verses are a Parenthesis you must join the 6th Verse to the 2d and then you will see how the word for in the 6th Verse comes in not otherwise But there are no Marks or Characters whereby we may know when there is such a Parenthesis which cannot but trouble the Sense very much and confound the Meaning of the Place unless it be with extraordinary Care taken notice of And I might add that the Pauses and Periods in the Hebrew Copies are not so distinct as might be wished The greater ought our Care and Diligence to be in perusing and studying this Holy Book 4. It is the way of the Hebrews and indeed of all the Eastern Writers to express things in a brief and concise manner which renders the Place sometimes dark and confused In the second Psalm several Persons are introduced speaking but it is not in the least intimated that there is this Change of Persons but all is express'd in a short and promiscuous way The whole Psalm is a Dialogue wherein the Church speaks ver 1 2. then the Enemies of the Church v. 3. the Church again V. 4 5. then God ver 6. then Christ the Son of God ver 7 8 9. And lastly the Psalmist ends with his own Exhortation All which Parts if we do not take notice of though they are not distinguish'd for Brevity sake the true Import and Scope of the Psalm are lost It is common to recite Words which are said by Persons and yet to bring them in abruptly and not to signify that they are said or spoken by them As in Psal. 22. 8. He trusted in the Lord i. e. they said so but this is not here express'd Thus in Isa. 33. 14. Who among us c. i. e. the Sinners in Zion mentioned in that Verse said those Words In v. 18. where is the Scribe c. to make the Sense perfect you must insert thou shalt say So in Isa. 49. 24. these Words say the Enemies must be inserted In Ier. 6. 4. these or such like Words are left out the Enemy shall say The like is observable in Ier. 22. 28. ch 31. 20. In Hos. 5. 15. the word saying is necessarily implied for the first Verse of the next Chapter contains the Words which were to be said Sometimes this is supplied by the Translation though it be not in the Hebrew as in 2 Sam. 2. Isa. 64. 11. But in Obadiah ver 1. before Arise ye the word saying is to be supposed In 1 Cor 15. 45. but is left out otherwise you can't understand the Apostle And many other Words are omitted in the Old and New Testament and ought to be supplied by the diligent Reader who on that account is obliged to be very Attentive when he reads these Sacred Writigs for their short and contracted way of speaking makes them the less intelligible whereas when Matters are amplified by Words they become more clear and plain 5. There is in the Hebrew Language a certain Peculiar Idiom or Force of Signification which when it comes to be translated into another Tongue is wholly lost at least a great part of its Vigour and Elegancy is taken away and at the same time it is not so well understood because it is a Strange Idiom and no ways agreeable to our manner of expressing our selves 6. Order and Time are not always observ'd in these Holy Writings which too often begets Mistakes Upon these several Accounts and others there must needs be some Obscurity and Difficulty in the Stile of Holy Writ But you may observe that this happens through the All-wise Providence of God in those Places where the Great and Momentous things of Religion are not concern'd where the Grand Truths of the Law and the Gospel are not in the least endanger'd And when in other Parts of the Bible we meet
the Watch-Tower eat drink arise ye Princes anoint the Shield express the Speediness of the Preparations made for Babylon's Fall They are so order'd that the Quickness of the Dispatch is signified by them There are six Parts or Divisions in this Verse without a Copulative meerly to signify the Celerity of the Vndertaking And the Vision wherein this Speedy Ruine of that Nation is foretold is thus represented v. 7. He saw a Chariot a couple of Horsemen a Chariot of Asses a Chariot of Camels There is Expedition in the very Words there is no Conjunctive Particle to retard them You may in the very Frame of the Words perceive the Chariots running speedily But if we look into those Parts of the Bible which are strictly and properly Poetical that is which consist of certain Measures and Numbers we shall find Examples of this sort very frequently The Egyptians furious Pursuit after the Israelites is thus express'd in Moses's Song Exod. 15. 9. I will pursue I will overtake c. Where there are â—ix Verbs denoting Action and Expedition and not one Conjunction between them In the Conciseness and Roundness of the Words especially if we consult the Original which is more Emphatick we may discern the Speediness of the thing it self spoken of The like might be taken notice of in the Song of Deborah Iudg. 5. and in several Places of the Psalms and the Lamentations Thus if we would be very Curious we might parallel the Inspired Poetry with that of the best Masters in that Art among the Gentiles But because these things are but mean in respect of those Weightier ones wherein the Bible's Excellency doth appear I have not inserted them or any other Observations of the like Nature into the ensuing Discourse and the rather because it was my Design to mention only those Particulars which are of Vniversal Vse and which may without Exception be acceptable to all Persons who have a due Esteem either of True Learning or Piety Those who value the former and are well acquainted with it will most readily give their Suffrage here and proclaim to the World that Scripture-Learning outvies all others that the Original of most Arts and Sciences is to be fetch'd hence that a Library without the Bible is an imperfect thing Those who have a Sense of the latter will be as forward to assert the Preheminence of this Sacred Volume for here is the Source of all Religion and no Man can be Devout and Pious who is a Stranger to this Wherefore when with a becoming Regret I saw that the Sense of Religion and Piety is generally lost among us at this Day I apprehended that the best way to retrieve it is to read and peruse the Scriptures And that this may be done with Success I thought it requisite to set forth the Excellency and Perfection of this Holy Book that thence Persons might be effectually invited to acquaint themselves with it And I hope how meanly soever I have performed this Task some who light upon these Papers will from them be inspired with a hearty Regard and Reverence an entire Love and Veneration of the Holy Writ and be reminded from what is here suggested to converse more intimately with it themselves and to encourage others to follow their Example This would in a short time make a great Change in the World and the Bible it self would be read in the Lives and Behaviour of Mankind Wherefore with great Seriousness and Importunity I request the Reader that he would entertain such Thoughts and Perswasions as these that Bible-Learning is the Highest Accomplishment that this Book is the most Valuable of any upon Earth that here is a Library in on single Volume that this alone is sufficient for us tho all the Libraries and Books in the World were destroyed And this is the Grand Truth which I have laboured to demonstrate in the following Papers A CATALOGUE of most of the Texts of Scripture which are interpreted in the following Discourse according to the Author 's Particular Iudgment GENESIS THE whole first Chapter Page 3 â— Chap. 3. v. 7. They made themselves Aprons What the word Câ—agoroth signifies p. 235 Ver. 21. Vnto them the Lord God made Coats of Skins Why so called p. 237 Ch. 4. v. 20. Jabal was the Father of such as dwell in Tents p. 112 Ch. 18. v. 7. He took the Calf which he had dressed and set it before them p. 117 Ch. 24. v. 22. The Man took a Golden Ear-ring What is meant by Nezem zahab p. 242 Ch. 50. v. 2. Joseph commanded the Physicians Rophim to embalm his Father The large Extent of that Word is fully shew'd p. 187 EXODUS Ch. 21. v. 7. His Master shall bore his Ear through with an Awl and he shall serve him for ever p. 247 NUMBERS Ch. 21. v. 14. The Book of the Wars of the Lord. Besides several other Texts from which some indeavour to infer that some part of the Writings belonging to the Bible is lost p. 453 JOSHUA Ch. 2. v. 4. The Woman took the two Men and hid them p. 153 Ch. 7. v. 26. They raised over him a great Heap of Stones p. 280 Ch. 23. v. 2. Joshua called for their Elders and for their Heads and for their Iudges and their Officers p. 85 JUDGES Ch. 20. v. 16. There were seven hundred chosen Men left-handed or shut of their right Hands p. 212 SAMUEL Book I. Ch. 17. v. 6. He had a Target Cidon of Brass between his Shoulders p. 204 SAMUEL Book II. Ch. 1. v. 21. There the Shield of the Mighty is vilely cast away the Shield of Saul as though he rather it had not been anointed with Oil. p. 206 207 Ch. 3. v. 35. All the People came to cause David to eat Bread KINGS Book I. Ch. 9. v. 28. And they came to Ophir In what Part of the World this is p. 194 CHRONICLES Book II. Ch. 21. v. 19. His People made no Burning for him like the Burning of his Fathers p. 273 JOB Ch. 1. v. 21. Naked came I out of my Mother's Womb and naked shall I return thither p. 264 PROVERBS Ch. 1. v. 17. Surely in vain is the Net spread in the Sight of any Bird. p. 385 JEREMIAH Ch. 34. v. 5. He died with the Burnings of his Fathers p. 272 EZEKIEL Ch. 24. v. 17. Bind the Tire of thy Head upon thee p. 275 AMOS Ch. 2. v. 8. They lay themselves down upon Clothes p. 134 St. LUKE Ch. 10. v. 42. Mary hath chosen the good Part. p. 141 ACTS Ch. 7. v. 22. He was mighty in Words and in Deeds p. 312 c. CORINTHIANS 1 Epist. Ch. 5. v. 9. I wrote unto you in an Epistle p. 467 Ch. 7. v. 6. I speak this of Permission and not of Command p. 472 Ver. 12. To the rest speak I not the Lord. ibid. CORINTHIANS 2 Epist. Ch. 3. v. 17. Now the Lord is that Spirit p. 434 Ch. 8. v. 8. I speak not by Commandment p. 472
of the Scripture said Tertullian and to him have ecchoed the rest of the Antient Fathers especially St. Cyprian Ierom Augustine Chrysostom who have highly magnified the Writings of the Prophets and Apostles and have been very Rhetorical in their Panegyricks upon them These and some other Brave Men in the first Ages of the Church signalized themselves by their Reverence and Esteem of the Scriptures and some of them consecrated their Wit and Poetry to this Noble Cause Nor have thse latter Ages been destitute of Persons of the most Celebrated Parts and Learning that have adored the Fulness and Perfection of the Scripture and have used their Wit and Eloquence in setting forth its Praiâ—â—s 〈◊〉 â—icinus that Great Philosophick Soul and the Noble Piâ—us Mirandula who was the best Linguist and Scholar of his age two as Learned Italians as that Nation ever bred and who may more than compound for those two other Italians mentioned in my former Discourse who so impiously vilified the Sacred Writings after they had read all good Authors rested in the Bible as the only Book and particularly it was pronounced by the latter of them that now he had found the 〈◊〉 Eloqueâ—â—e and Wisdom Yea these last Times have produced Men of the Choicest Brains of the Briskest Parts of the Greateâ—t Humane Learning who have employâ—d these excellent Talents in embelishing the Sacrâ—d Scriptures witness Caâ—â—â—llio who hath turned the Whole Bible into Purâ— Terse Elegant Latin able to tempt us to read this Book And â—rotius hath incompaâ—ably asserted the Propriety and Elegancy of the Sacred Stile and many Other excâ—llâ—â—t Persons who have defended this Holy Book against the Insults and Cavils of profane Men. We could name Others of the most Sparkling Wit and Fancy who have exercised their Poetick Genius in descanting either on the Sacred Hiâ—tory of the Bible or on those Divine Matters which are contained in it and have thought their Pens yea Poetry it self â—nobled by such a Subject We could mention others of the most Serious Thoughts and of the most Impartial Judgment not only among those that are Prâ—â—essed Divines and that have adorned the Sacred Scripture by their Learned Expositions Comments Annotations Paraphrases Lectures Sermons Discourses but also among Persons of another Rank and Capacity who have given the Bible the Pre-eminence of all Writings I will at present mention only Mr. Selden and Judg Haâ—e the former was one of the greatest Scholars and Antiquaries of this Age and made a vast Amassment of Books and Manuscripts from all Parts of the World a Library perhaps not to be equall'd oâ— all Accounts in the Universe This Man of Books and Learning holding some serious Conference with Archbishop Vsher a little before he died professed to him that notwithstanding he had poâ—â—essed himself of that vast Treasure of Books and Manuscripts in all antient Subjects yet he could rest his Soul on none but the Scriptures And hear what the other Gentleman of the same Studies and Profession declares I have been acquainted somewhat with Men and Books and have had long Experience in Learning and in the World There is no Book like the Bible for excellent Learning Wisdom and Vse and it is want of Vnderstanding in them that think or speak otherwise This is sufficient to shew that the most Noble and Refined Wits the most Knowing and the most Judicious Heads bear the greatest Regard and Esteem for the Holy Scriptures and prefer them before all other Writings in the World It may pass for a Certain Maxim that the more learned any Man is the more he prizeth the Bible the greater Regard he hath for these Sacred Records It was said of old that it was a Sign of a great Proficiency in Good Letters to love Tully's Writings It is much more a Sign of our Improvement in true Learning that we delight in the Holy Scriptures and love them above all Writings whatsoever We shew our Proficiency by reverently esteeming the Bible and preferring it before all other Authors We discover that we have a Sense of True and Useful Knowledg when we value this Book wherein it is contain'd when we admire this Volume where all Excellencies meet together To evince this I will undertake these following things I. To shew the matchless Usefulness of the Bible in respect of Spiritual Divine and Supernatural Matters II. To demonstrate its Transcendent Excellency in regard of things Temporal and Secular such as are for the Improvement of all kinds of Humane Learning and for the Use of Life III. To give a Proof of this Excellency and Perfection by a particular displaying of the several Books contain'd in this Holy Volume IV. To let you see that this Perfection is not impaired by what is objected and alledged 1. Concerning the Loss of some Books which had formerly been a part of the Old and New Testament 2. Concerning the great Difference between the Hebrew of the Old Testament and the Greek Translation of the Seventy Where I will endeavour to discover the true Grounds and Foundations of those Mistakes that are in the LXX's Version and shew whence it arises that there is such a Discrepancy between that and the Original Verity V. I will attempt an Emendation of the present English Version which in several Places seems to me to be defective that I may hereby restore the New Testament for of that I shall chiefly speak to its native Perfection and Lustre Lastly I will invite and solicit the Reader to the Study of the Bible and direct him in so laudable and worthy an Employment First I will demonstratively prove the Transcendent Excellency of these Writings in respect of the things which are Divine and have an immediate relation to Religion Thus they are the only Canon of our Faith the exact Standard of our Lives and they mark us out the Way to solid Comfort peace and Happiness These are the three things I will insist upon 1. This Holy Book is the Absolute and Perfect Rule of our Faith This comprises in it every thing that is the Object of our Belief the Maâ—â—â—r of our Assent Here we are taught to believeâ— a God an Immortal Independent All-sufficient Self-subsisting Spirit who is infinitely Wife powerful Just and Merciful who though he was ineffably happy in the fruition of his own immense and transcendent Perfections yet that he might communicate his Goodness to others was pleased to frame the World with all the excellent Furniture which we behold in it By the Word of the Lord the Heavens were made and all the Host of them by the Breath of his Mouth Psal. 33. 6. He laid the Foundations of the Earth and gave to the Sea his Decree and set a Compass on the Face of the Deep Psal. 104. 5. Prov. 8. 27 29. We are assured from these Writings that God's Providence governs the World and all things in it whether great or small Psal. 147. 8 c. Matth. 10. 29
Strengthens and supports us under our heaviest Crosses and makes our Life Happy whatever befals us All which are undeniable Arguments of the Perfection of Scripture whence we are enabled to Believe aright to Live well and to Rejoice Thus these Holy Writings were endited that we might be Perfect throughly furnished unto all good Works And thus Scripture must needs be Perfect because its Design is to make us so But I am sensible that several Devout and Practical Writers have enlarged on this Subject and therefore I will say no more of it because my present Discourse is designed to be chiefly Critical Let it suffice that I have briefly asserted the Perfection of the Holy Scriptures as to the three foremention'd Particulars and that I have shew'd that this Perfection is not communicable to any Other Writings under Heaven Such is the Peculiar Excellency of the Bible Wherefore it behoveth us to take notice and beware of those Men who oppose or rather deny this Excellency and Perfection First the Circumcised Doctors shew themselves great Oppugners of it whilst they excessively magnify their Traditions and even prefer them before the Sacred Text. We must know then that the Jews talk much of their Cabala or as that Word signifies the Received Doctrine among them which was propagated by Oral Tradition and Continual Succession This their Cabala is twofold First that which deals in Mysterious Criticisms and Curiosities about Words and Letters to which belongs the Masoreth which as I have shew'd in another Discourse is serviceable for the Preservation of the Bible Secondly that which by them is call'd the Oral Law or the Law delivered from one to another as an Exposition on the Written Law It may not be impertinent to give the Reader a short Account of this Oral Law which they so much boast of This was either before Moses and was the Doctrine of the Patriarchs propagated by Word of Mouth before the Law was committed to Writing it consisted of the Seven Precepts of the Sons of Noah of the Apothegms Sentences and Paradoxes of the Wise Men in the first Ages or it was in and after Moses's time who is reckon'd the Great Author of the Cabala because he deliver'd it viva voce to the Jews say the Rabbins at the same time that he gave them the Decalogue and the Other Written Laws This Torah gnal peh as they stile it this Oral Law is the Exposition of those Written Laws and is meant they say in Deut. 4. 14. The Lord commanded me at that time to teach you Statutes and Iudgments And for this they alledg Deut. 12. 21. which they tell us refers to some Special Command of God about Killing and seeing we read no such Special Command about it in the Written Law it is reasonable to conclude that it is to be understood of the Oral one that must be the Sense of those Words there As I have commanded thee That Moses received this Law on Mount Sinai Rabbi Bechai proves by the same Token that he knew by this Law how long time he was upon that Mount for when God taught him the Written Law then he knew it was Day because he could not write in the Dark but when God gave him the Oral Law he knew then that it was Night A most profound Answer to the Difficulty how Moses could tell that he was 40 Days and Nights on the Mount Well God they say delivered this Law to Moses Moses delivered it to Ioshua Ioshua to the Seventy Elders they to Ezra who some say committed it to writing for he was the Chiefest Cabalist next to Moses but the Books which he composed of this Matter were lost and so it went on after the old way again viz. by Tradition and came to the Prophets of whom Zechary and Malachi were the last and from them the Great Sanhedrim had it and at last it was made into a Book that it might not be lost by reason of the Dispersion of the Jews He that compiled this Volume or Book was Rabbi Iudah who for the singular Holiness of his Life was call'd Hakkadosh the Saint He flourish'd in the Days of the Emperor Antoninus Pius about a hundred and twenty Years after our Saviour's Passion The Title which he gave to it was Mishnah i. e. the Repetition of the Divine Law or a Larger Explication of it given immediately to Moses by God and by Tradition derived to the Jews This 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 this Iterated or Second Law is divided by him into six general Sedarim i. e. so many Heads or Subjects of which it treats and every Sedar is divided into Books every Book into Chapters or Pirka's About a hundred Years after this famous Rabbi had reduced the Traditions of the Jews into one Volume the Learned Doctors began to comment upon it and first the Ierusalem Talmud call'd so because 't was made for the Jews that lived in Iudea especially in Ierusalem was finish'd by R. Iochanan about A. D. 240. The Comment which he and the other Rabbies made on the Mishnah is call'd the Gemara the Supplemental Exposition of that Volume of Jewish Traditions Next the Babylonick Talmud was put forth by the Learned Jews at Babylon who gathered their Traditions into a more Compleat and Exact Body as they thought for the Benefit of their Country-men in those Parts of the World It was compiled by Rabbi Ase and his Companions about A. D. 500. and consisteth as the former Talmud of the Mishnaioth and the Gemara the one is the Text the other is the Comment or the Decisions of the Doctors on the Book of the Mishnah So then the Oral Law which the Jews so much boast of and set so high a Value upon is contain'd in the Two Talmuds which are made up of the Mishnah and the Gemara The Mishnah is that which R. Iudah compiled the Gemara's are the Work of R. Iochanan and Ase and other Rabbies and both are a Compleat Body of the Civil and Canon Law of the Jews Whoso nameth the Talmuds nameth all Iudaism saith Lightfoot These as he adds are the Jews Council of Trent they are the last and fullest Determinations which they have about all their Religious Opinions Rites and Usages Thus I have exhibited a brief Account of the whole Talmudick System wherein the Oral Law is comprized explained and descanted upon And it is not to be denied that there may be a very excellent Use made of this Collection of Jewish Traditions it may be serviceable in sundry Instances to expound the Mosaick Law to acquaint us with the Jewish Antiquities to illustrate several Places in the Old Testament yea to interpret many Passages in the New which have reference to the received Practices and Usages of the Jews But the Iews who are the Persons whom I am now blaming make very ill Use of it because they immoderately extol these Traditions calling them Torah shebegnal Peh their Infallible Oracle and esteeming the
a Harp to allay the evil Spirit with which King Saul was troubled 1 Sam. 16. 16. And we read how effectual this proved ver 23. It came to pass when the evil Spirit from God was upon Saul that David took a Harp and plaid with his Hand so Saul was refreshed and was well and the evil Spirit departed from him So powerful and charming are the Chearful Airs of Musick Conformably to which we find in Pagan Story that Discases and Madness have been cured by these so that Apollo was deservedly made by the Antient Sages the God of Medicks as well as Musick By which Fiction they acquaint us that this Art is Medicinal and Healing This reminds me of what our Chronicles attest that St. Bartholomew's Hospital was founded by a Minstrel How congruously do the Musiâ—al and Sanative Art meet together Who hath not heard of the strange and wonderful Virtue of Harmony Timotheus did what he would with Alexander the Great by playing on his Harp he had such a Command over him by those powerful Strokes that he could make him Fight or Drink hasten to War or Banquets as he pleas'd And not only Men but Brutes have been capable of this Charm several wild Beasts are catch'd and Birds are enticed to the Net with Musick Nay we are told by the Poetick Tribe that Senseless and Inanimate Creatures have felt the Force of it which indeed is Romantick if you take it literally but the intended Design of this Flourish was to express to us the Wonderful and Astonishing Virtue of this Delightful Art Hence it is that the Noblest Minds have not disdained to be acquainted with it the most serious Brains have been entertain'd and ravish'd with its agreeable Pleasures so Plutarch reports of Plato and concerning Socrates we are inform'd by another that even in his declining Years he was a Student and Practitioner in this Art Lastly Musick was made use of of old at Funerals of which afterwards Again The Rise of Philosophy Which is so useful to Mankind and the best Grounds of it are learnt from this Divine Volume Here we are told that Natural Philosophy was founded by Adam for no less is comprehended in those words Gen. 2. 19 20. The Lord God brought every Beast of the Field and every Foâ—l of the Air unto Adam to see what he â—ould call them and whatsoever Adam call'd every living Creature that was the Name thereof And Adam gave Names to all Cattel and to the Fowl of the Air and to every Beast of the Field And 't is reasonable to believe that he also gave Names to Plants Trees Herbs and all Celestial and Terrestrial Creatures Now it is not to be question'd that their Names were bestow'd upon them according to their particular Nature for this Great Nomenclator was created perfect by God and endued with the Knowledg of all natural and divine Things and therefore in fixing certain Names on them he thereby signified their peculiar natural Qualities And that he really did so is manifest from his giving a Name to his Female Companion as soon as God brought her to him he presently knew her by virtue of that excellent Instinct and Knowledg wherewith he was created and said This is now Bone of my Bones and Flesh of my Flesh she shall be called Woman because she was taken out of Man Gen. 2. 23. We see here that the Name Ishah or Woman was impos'd according to the nature and condition of the Person and can any Man of deliberate Thoughts imagine that the same was not done in the naming of the Inferior Creatures No certainly especially if we take notice of the like manner of expressing this and the other Imposition of Names for as 't is said here God brought the Woman to the Man v. 22. whereupon he gave her her Denomination so in the foregoing place it is said God brought the Creatures unto Adam viz. in order to their receiving their Names from him Nay this very thing is particularly express'd in that forecited Text which speaks of this Action of Adam tho Expositors are not pleas'd to take notice of it God brought them to Adam to see what he would call them Where to see refers not to God as generally Interpreters think but to Adam The Creatures were brought on purpose that he might see i. e. that he might know by looking on them what their Nature was and that accordingly he might know how to give Names to them For it is not reasonable to think that this is spoken of God as if he himself would see or know c. for this would argue imperfection in him and would imply that he knew not at that time what they were to be called or at least what Adam would call them Therefore this Interpretation which I give of the Words is rather to be embraced than the other We are acquainted here with the End and Purpose for which all Living Things were summon'd to appear before Adam viz. that he might give them Names which denoted their Nature Accordingly some of them that we meet with in Scripture give an Account of the Qualities they are endued with And though it is true that some of them signify only their Outward and Visible Qualities yet we are to remember that it was not easy to discover even These at the first View of the Creatures and therefore Man's Sagacity was tried by it And besides the Primitive Significations of many Names as all the Learned acknowledg are lost and by length of time are forgot so that though some of these Words whereby Animals are express'd seem not to set forth their Internal Nature and Disposition yet we cannot thence peremptorily infer that they did not so at first yea that they do not so now though we do not comprehend it by reason of our being unacquainted with the Original Derivations of Words I conclude then that the Creatures were brought to Adam to give him an early Opportunity of exerting his Knowledg and Wisdom in fitly distinguishing the several sorts of Creatures by their particular Names and accordingly whatever he â—all'd them that was their Name Thus it is clear that this Nomenclatorship of Adam is a certain Argument of the Insight which he had into the Natures of these Animals and all the Iewish Rabbins and Commentators on the Place acknowledg as much And thence is that Observation of Plato that there is something extraordinary and Divine in the Antient Names of things they arose from a more than humane Power he saith It is not to be doubted then that Adam was the First Philosopher and laid the Foundation of all Philosophick Notions Next to him I will mention Moses who as I have partly shew'd already and shall more fully afterwards when I present the Reader with a Particular Comment on the first Chapter of Genesis was well skill'd in the true Principles of Nature and perfectly understood the Right System of the World It is said of this
Cure of Diseases By the Egyptian Kings using it is meant undoubtedly their appointing and encouraging their Physicians to do it These then knew how to handle the Anatomick Knife And moreover these Persons were skilful in Drugs Balsams Ointments Aromaticks and the Materials that were sittest for that Business of Embalming wherefore this was their proper Work As living Bodies were their Care so were the dead ones and what they could not cure they dress'd up for the Tomb those whom they could not keep alive they artificially preserv'd when dead Thus it was heretofore and thus particularly it was with the Physicians of Egypt of whom this Text speaks and who are the first of the Faculty that are mention'd in Sacred History And with this agree the Records of the Antientest Historians among the Pagans Diodorus of Sicily relates that the first Invention of Medicines was from the Egyptians and particularly that some of them said that Mercurius others that Apis a King of Egypt was the first Inventer of Physick Herodotus observes that the Egyptians had more Experiments in Natural Philosophy and chiefly in Medicks than any other Nation whatsoever Strabo testifies that they were hugely addicted to this Art and reckon'd it among their Sacred Mysteries Which is confirmed by what Pliny faith that they used to deposite and keep their choice Experiments of Physick in their Temples To be brief Anatomy Chirurgery and Embalming met together in these Antient Artists This was the triple Office and Work of the Rophim the Physicians besides the more general Work of Curing the Diseased From what Iob faith concerning those that pretended to comfort him we may collect that there were some of this Prosession among the Old Arabians for otherwise he would not have compared them to Persons of this Character Ye are all Physicians faith he of no Value Iob 13. 4. Ye deal with me just as unskilful Men in that Faculty do with their Patients just as sorry Quacks and Empiricks do with the Diseased they understand not their Malady and so make false Applications their Medicines are good perhaps as your Counsel and Advice to me are in themselves but they administer them in a wrong manner and without any regard to the Constitution present Temper and Circumstances of those they have to do with Thus you deal with me and therefore are so far from curing my Distemper that you enrage it and make it much worse Thiâ— Language is founded upon a Supposal of the Profession of Medicks in that Country That there were such among the Iews may be gathered from Exod. 12. 19. He that smites and wounds a Man shall cause him to be throughly healed viz. by one who professedly took care of the Wounded for so the Chaldee Paraphrast renders that Place He shall pay the Physician But that there was such an Order of Men among the Iews we are in more express and positive Words assured from 2 Chron. 16. 12. King Asa in his Disease sough not to the Lord but to the Physicians And it may be some of his Ancestors had been Medically disposeâ— and were Students in this Art whence they had their Name for Asa is the Chaldee Word for Medicus and perhaps for this Reason this King had the greater Esteem of those who were skill'd in Medicinal Arts and therefore put Confidence in them so as to neglect to apply himself to God the Sovereign Author and Giver of Health And from those Words in Ier. 8. 22. Is there no Balm in Gilead is there no Physician there it is manifest that there were Medicaments and Proper Persons to apply them for else the Prophet could not by this Language set forth the incurable and deplorable State of the Jews at that time This way of speaking implies that they had in that Country in Gilead especially such healing Balsams as they were wont to close up Wounds with and that there were Physicians or Chirurgions for the Word signifies both and in this Place is to be taken in the latter Meaning Artists that knew how to apply the Balsam with Skill This also is implied and supposed in Lam. 2. 13. Who can heal thee or according to the Chaldee Who is the Physician Asa that can cure thee And when we read of the Art of the Apothecary and his Confections and Ointments Exod. 30. 25 35. we are to conceive of these as having some Reference to Medicks The Holy Anointing Oil for the Use of the Tabernacle is appointed to be made according to Magnasheh rocheach 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 so the LXX and the Vulgar Latin renders it opus unguentarii the professed Art and Skill of the Maker of Odoriferous Ointments Now this is the Man we are speaking of viz. the Physician or Apothecary which is the same for they made up all their Medicaments themselves heretofore whose Business it was to make Artiâ—icial Unguents Sweet Oils and Perfumes for Health no less than Delight This is Rocheach 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Vnguentarius Aromatarius and by our English Translators not unfitly rendred Apoâ—â—ecary not only here but in Eccles. 10. 1. where from the mentioning of Shemen Rocheach Vnguenâ—um Pharmacopolae as the Tigurine Version hath it â—ightly we are certified concerning the antient Use of Aromatick Compositions and Confections which were made use of for the promoting of the bodily Welfare They were thought by Persons of those early times to be both Sanative and Cosmetick On both which Considerations they belong to the Physicians whose Task it is to take care â—ot only of the Health but the Beauty Cleanliness and Comely Plight of the Body in order 〈◊〉 the latter of which Smegmaticks Mundifiers Cleansers Adorners are useful Thus you see hoâ— large the Physician 's Province was in those firâ—â— times he was not only all that was said before but he was moreover an Anointer a Perfumer â— Beautifier the Knowledg of all which we derivâ— from the Sacred Fountains Something though not much we have derivâ—â— to us from the Scriptures concerning the early Beginnings of Navigation and Shipping God himâ—â—â—â— instructed Noah to make the Ark the first Veâ—â—â—â— we read of that swam on the Waters Gen. 7. 〈◊〉 and it is not to be doubted but that God directâ—â— him to steer it aright and that He from that Knowledg and Practice which he had in managing it 〈◊〉 long a time whilst the whole World was Seâ— was able to instruct others in the Mariâ—â—â—â— Art It is true we read that Noah was shut up in the Ark as in a Prison but it is probable that this was not all the time the Ark was riding on the Waters When these began to decrease the happâ— Prisoner look'd abroad and was taught how to direct his Course and to bring his Vessel to Land even to the particular Place where it rested and no Man is able to prove that he was not furnish'd with Sails or Oars or Rudder to that purpose and that he did not make use of them
Circumstances of it are feigned There is no Fiction in it because it is as to the whole Matter of it Real and relates what actually happen'd only as to the Words and Stile it is Poetically composed I might observe that this Historical Poem is in way of Dialogue or rather is made up of feveral Dialogues and Colloquies It is a Dramatick Piece wherein Six Persons have their Parts Iob Eliphaz Bildad Zophar Elihu and GOD who speaks in the Close of all Nor is this unusual in some other Books of the Holy Scripture where we find that some of David's Psalms are Dialogue-wise and nothing is more evident than that Solomon's Song is after that manner besides that as a worthy Person hath observ'd in some of the Other Writings of this Wise Man and in many Places of St. Paul's Epistles a Tacit Dialogue is contain'd whence it happens that that sometimes is taken by unskilful Readers for an Assertion or an Argument which is indeed a Question or an Objection Indeed this Dialogizing way is of great Advantage and carries a peculiar Excellency with it and therefore was as we may take notice made use of by the Antients Drawing forth and pressing out the Truth by way of Dialogue was the Socratick Mode which Plato also used laying down his own Opinion in the Person of Socrates Timaeus c. and other Mens Opinions and Sentiments in the Person of Gorgias c. And Cicero dealt in this way in some of his Writings The same likewise we find practised of old by some of the most Eminent Writers of the Christian Church as Iustin Martyr who sets forth the manner of his becoming a Christian in the Platonick way i. e. of a Colloquy and the whole Discourse with Trypho is no more perhaps than the Personating of a Christian and a Jew by way of Dialogue Minutius Felix's Debate between Octavius and Caecilius a Christian and a Gentile is of the same Nature It is probable that this Antient Practâ—ce of delivering Truth in this manner was derived from the Book of Iob the Oldest Dialogue in the World and which moreover is in way of a Disputation where Iob is Respondent his three Friends the Opponents and Eliâ—u yea and at last God himself the Moderator And one thing by the by I would here observe that it is said ch 31. v. 40. The Words of Job are ended which we must understand with reference to this Contrast between him and his Friends for otherwise Iob had not made an end of Speaking as we find in some of the following Chapters Therefore the Meaning is that his Words in way of Contention and Controversy with those Men were ended and thus the first Verse in the ensuing Chapter explains it So these three Men ceased to answer Job The whole affords us many Excellent Observations viz. that the greatest Wealth and Riches are uncertain that suddenly and unexpectedly they make themselves Wings and fly away from the Possessors and leave them in Want Distress and Misery that Integrity and Holiness of Life exempt no Man from this Changeableness of his Condition are no Protection against the worst of outward Evils whatsoever whether procured by Satan or by Evil Men. This is taught us in the Example of this Great Man yea the Greatest of all the Men in the East i. e. in Arabia and who was as Good as he was Great for he was a Perfect and Vpright Man nay there was none like him in the Earth This was the true Arabian Phoenix there was none but he at that time But this Person who was so famed for his Greatness and Goodness came at last to be as noted for his Low and Mean Condition his Troubles and Distresses of all kinds and those too of the highest Degree for he was bereft of all his Dear Children by the Fall of the House where they were he was despoiled of all his Goods and Estate by the Chaldean and Sabean Free-booters he was deprived of his Bodily Health and smitten with Painful and Loathsom Diseases by the immediate Hand of the Malicious Demons he was despised scorn'd derided by the vilest Race of People Hence we are instructed that the worst of Temporal Evils do sometimes befal the most Upright Persons And we are taught from Iob's Example also that the Holiest Men have their Fits of Impatience they are heard sometimes to complain and cry out under their Burden they expostulate with God and question the Reasonableness and Justice of his Dealings with them they magnify their own Innocence at too high a rate they are weary of their Lives and passionately wish for a Period of them This was Iob's Case and may be of other Righteous Men they may through humane Frailty be for a time subject to the same Disorder and shew themselves as uneasy under their Afflictions especially when with this Holy Man they are wounded in Spirit and buffeted by Satan and lie under the Sense of God's Wrath and have no Apprehension of his Grace and Favour But as the Hebrew Doctors say a Man is not to be taken in the Hour of his Grief and Perplexity It is not imputed to him if he utters things that are unfitting when he is in the Extremity of Pain and Anguish But yet we are to observe likewise that this Good Man even in the midst of his most pressing Calamities was never quite run down by them but at one time or other shew'd by his Words and Behaviour that he had got the Conquest of them You have heard of the Patience of Job saith St. Iames and this Patience was as eminent as his Disasters for we hear him blessing the Name of the Lord not only for what he gave but for what he took away from him we hear him protecting that though God should stay him yet he would trust in him we hear him expressing his Foresight Perswasion and Assurance that his Redeemer liveth and that he shall stand at the latter Day upon the Earth and tho after his Skin Worms destroy his Body yet in his Flesh he shall see God All which are most evident Arguments of his Patience under his Crosses of his Thankfulness to God for them of his Strong Faith and Confidence in him that he should be delivered from them and of his hearty Perswasion that nothing doth or can happen to Mankind without God's Good Pleasure nothing can betide us without his Leave and Consent which is the greatest Comfort and Refreshment the highest Repose and Satisfaction to our Minds imaginable This indeed is one grand Design of this Book to bring the Spirits of good Men to an even and placid Frame on this Consideration that God hath the Government of the World and doth what he thinks fit with his Creatures as to the outward Condition they are liable to in this Life that the Providence of God orders all the Actions and Enterprizes either of Men or Devils so that nothing can
constant Profession of it without wavering and to a Holy Life and Conversation sutable to so excellent â— Doctrine he with great Industry endeavours to convince them of the Danger of Apostacy he confirms them in the Christian Doctrine amidst all the Persecutions and Difficulties they labour'd under And lastly he is solicitous to prevent their revolting by setting before them the most Eminent Examples of Faith and Patience These are the Momentous Themes which are observable in this Epistle I know some have doubted whether this Incomparable Epistle be St. Paul's and others have absolutely denied that it is his yet still allowing that it was written by some Inspired Person and belongs to the Canon of Holy Scripture The Learned Grotius endeavours to prove that St. Luke wrote it But for my Part I have no Inclination to believe that any other Person than St. Paul penn'd this Epistle for this is most clear from that one Place 2 Pet. 3. 16. Even as our beloved Brother Paul also according to the Wisdom given unto him hath written unto you St. Peter here speaks to the Iews for to them this Epistle as well as the former was written as appears from the Title of it To the Strangers scatter'd throughout Pontus Galatia Cappadocia Asia and Bithynia i. e. the Iews dispersed up and down the World who by St. iames are call'd the twelve Tribes which are scatter'd abroad These tho they neither lived in Palestine nor used the Hebrew Tongue but lived among the Greeks and spoke that Language generally and used the Greek Bible viz. the Translation of the Septuagint in their Synagogues and were commonly known by the Name of Hellenists and consequently were not Hebrews or Iews in the strictest and properest Sense yet because they were of Iewish Parentage and professed or had once professed the Iewish Religion they were still call'd Iews or Hebrews and accordingly have that Denomination here So that St. Paul here and St. Peter and St. Iames write their Epistles to the same Persons that is to the Converted Iews that were dispersed abroad especially in Greece and which is the Argument I make use of at present St. Peter particularly takes notice of St. Paul's Writing to these Dispersed Jews But how doth it appear that he writ to them Thus all the Epistles of this Apostle which we have mentioned before excepting this which we are now speaking of were written either to the Churches of believing Gentiles or to some Particular Persons as hath been noted already whence it follows that seeing he wrote to the Iews or Hebrews as St. Peter testifies he was the Author of this remaining Epistle which is inscribed to them We are certain that St. Paul writ to the Iews because St. Peter tells us so that is he tellâ— us that St. Paul wrote to those to whom he wrote but St. Peter wrote to the Iews or Hebrews both his Epistles therefore St. Paul wrote to them likewise and this Epistle to the Hebrews which we now have must be that very Epistle because thâ—râ— is no other of his to them besides it Wherefore it is an undeniable Consequence that the Epistle to the Hebrews was writ by St. Paul and by none else which was the thing to be proved Again I might further add that what the Apostle Peter saith concerning St. Paul's Epistles or concerning the Matters contain'd in them for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 may refer rather to 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 than to 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 viz. that there are in them some things hard to be understood doth agree well to the Sublime Matter of the Epistle to the Hebrews wherein so many Prophecies Types Allegories and Mysteries are treated of and applied so that it may probably be inferr'd hence that this Epistle is referr'd to in particular and consequently that St. Paul was the Author of it To corrobate this we may subjoin the unanimous Testimony of the Greek Fathers who generally attribute this Epistle to St. Paul With whom agree the Schoolmen and all the Writers of the Church of Rome but Erasmus and Cajetan and Ludovicus Vives assert the same Most of the Lutherans are of this Opinion though herein they dissent from their Master Luther and the Reformed Churches as distinct from the Lutherans are of the same Perswasion though Calvin be of another Mind which shews that there are very Cogent Reasons for this Opinion otherwise these Parties would not dissent from their Masters It may be added that Our English Church in the Title calls it the Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Hebrews As for the Reason of the Omission of his Name in the Beginning of this Epistle which is not to be observ'd in his Others perhaps it was as Clement of Alexandria Athanasius Chrysostom Theophilact conjecture because his Name was odious to most of the Iews he having been once a Iews but afterwards abandon'd that Religion wherefore he advisedly left out his Name that it might not prejudice what he writ and that the Epistle might not be thrown away for the Author's sake But whether this was the Reason why his Name is not inserted as in the rest of his Epistles I am not able to determine only I am sufficiently convinced from what St. Peter saith that this Epistle was writ by St. Paul that single Testimony is Proof enough Here I might take occasion having hitherto given you a brief Account of the Excellent Matter of this Apostle's Writings which are so great a Part of the New Testament to speak something concerning his Stile or rather to add to what I have already said of it in another Place under this Proposition There are no Solaecisms in the Holy Writings This I am the more willing to do because some have look'd upon this Apostle as a Man of no Eloquence yea scarcely of any Grammar and Consistency of Sense which Imputation would argue a great Defect and Imperfection in Scripture and therefore I am obliged to take notice of it It is true there are several things which render his Stile somewhat dark and perplexed in sundry Places He brings in Objections sometimes but doth not intimate that the Words are spoken in that way as in Rom. 3. 5 6 7. and other Places which makes the Sense difficult to those that do not carefully examine the Context In the 4th Chapter of that Epistle ver 1. a Negative is left out viz. the Answer to the preceding Question which should have been thus No he hath not found And in ver 8. the Note of Parenthesis is omitted as 't is in several other Places Further 't is observable that the Apostle hath sometimes references to Words and Things which he had mention'd before but which he seem'd to have quite laid aside in his Discourse Thus he turns back again in 2 Cor. 3. 17. and refers to what was said before in ver 6. for those Words in the latter Place The Lord is that Spirit refer to the former
one where he speaks of the Spirit i. e. the Gospel and Spiritual Dispensation in contradistinction to the Letter i. e. the Dispensation of the Law The Words then I interpret thus The Lord Christ is that Spirit he is the Blessed Author and Instituter of that Evangelical and Spiritual Oeconomy which we are now under and which brings true Liberty with it as he adds Many Expositors labour to tack this Text to the immediately foregoing one but to little purpose for they thereby make the Sense harsh and distorted there being nothing there to which this Passage refers But by reducing these Words to the 6th Verse as 't is not unusual with this Writer to allude to some certain Expression aâ— a considerable Distance the Sense of the Place becomes very easy and intelligible viz. that Christ Jesus our Blessed Lord is clearly exhibited in the Gospel and gives Life and Spirit with this Evangelical Administration Again it is true St. Paul's Stile is very full and running over sometimes his Pen is frequently in a Career and is not easily stopped All that he saith from the first Verse of the first Chapter of the Epistle to the Ephesians till you come to the fifteenth Verse is but one single Period And in some other Places he spins out his Subject into a Thread of almost the same Length From this Fulness of Matter it proceeds that he makes so many Excursions in his Writings which seem sometimes to Persons who take no notice of his sudden Transitions to be very Incoherent Thus when he was proving the Dignity of Christ's Priesthood he undertakes to shew that he was a Priest after the Order of Melchisedec of whom saith he we have many things to say Heb. 5. 11. but yet he saith nothing of him till the seventh Chapter the Remainder of the fifth Chapter and the whole sixth being spent in a long Digression But you may observe a far longer in his Epistle to the Romans chap. 3. v. 1 2. What Advantage hath the Iew oâ— what Profit is there in Circumcision Much every way chiefly because that unto them were committed the Oracles of God Where you see he begins to reckon up the Advantages and Privileges of the Iews and therefore 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as I conceive should not be translated chiefly but first and yet here he names but One of them for an Objection which he undertakes to answer and enlarge upon takes him off for many Chapters together and he returns not again till ch 9. v. 4. where he enumerates the rest of the Privileges And several other Instances might be assigned of his launching out into Discourses which seem to be foreign to his purpose which render his Stile somewhat abrupt and his Sense intricate He had begun a Comparison Rom. 5. 12. As by one Man Sin entred c. but then he strikes in with a Parenthesis in the next Verse which hinders him from finishing what he began till the 18th Verse Even so by the Righteousness of one c. Nay rather he forsakes the Comparison and riseth above it finding the Grace in Christ Iesus rise higher than the Condemnation that came by Adam Whereas he began with an as and should have followed it with a so he turns this into a much more v. 15 17. and then at last comes about to compleat the Comparison as he had first begun it v. 18. There is a plain Parenthesis from the 1st Verse to the 7th in the first Chapter to the Romans There is another somewhat longer in 1 Cor. 11. which begins at v. 23. and lasts to the 33d So in the Epistle to the Ephesians ch 3. when he had said For this Cause I Paul the Prisoner of Iesus Christ for you Gentiles V. 1. he presently runs into a Parenthesis which continues till the 14th Verse where he leaves off his Digression and proceeds For this Cause c. Thus the Redundancy of his Matter and Sense makes him interrupt himself and lard his Discourse with frequent Digressions and divert his Reader oftentimes from the present Subject he is upon But notwithstanding this no Man that is Master of any Eloquence himself or understands the Laws of it in others can â—asten any such thing as Illiterate Blunt Vnfashion'd Language upon the Apostle It is true he terms himself rude in Speech 2 Cor. 11. 6. whence One gathers that he was but a Bad Speaker for we cannot think saith he that he told a Lie out of Humility But I reply we cannot only think but we must know that the Apostle debaseth himself here out of Christian Modesty as when he stiles himself the least of the Apostles 1 Cor. 15. 9. yea less thâ—n the least of all Saints Eph. 3. 8. Will any one say that he tells a Lie here though he was the Greatest Apostle and one of the Greatest of Saints Besides he might not unjustly stile himself rude in Speech in this respect that he so frequently treats of Difficult and Abstruse Points which are not easily express'd but are and must be clothed in such Language as is harsh uncouth and unusual When he discourses of Predestination of Faith of Iustification of the Last Times of the Son of Perdition of the Day of Vengeance on the Enemies of Christianity of the Time of the Coming of our Lord yea St. Peter tells us in that in all his Epistles there are some things hard to be understood it is no wonder that his Speech is obscure and that he seems to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Mysterious and Profound Subjects which he insists upon and which cannot be spoken out plainly cause him to be thought such His Rudeness of Speech may be understood as the Foolishness of Preaching i. e. that it seemed such to some Persons though it was not reallyâ— so in it self But though the Great Apostle was pleas'd to diminish himself and to speak meanly of his way of Writing and Discourse and tho his Adversaries or Pretended Friends were wont to viliâ—y his manner of Speaking yet let not us conceal or disguise his Excellent Gift of expressing himself in his Writings He was certainly a Great Master of Language and Discourse and indeed we could reasonably expect no other from his Education which furnish'd him with all sorts of Learning for as he was born at Tarsus so it is likely he was brought up in the same Place which was then an Academy and thence sent to Ierusalem where he sat at the Feet of Gamaliel so that he was Master both of Heathen and Iewish Learning It is a Mistake of some Learned Writers of very great Note that St. Paul's Writings are full of Solaecisms he being an Hebrew and understanding little Greek This I say is a Mistake for he was a Grâ—cian by Birth for Cilicia was in Greece and we read that the Inhabitants of Tarsus his Birth-place did strive to equal the Athenians in the Study of Good Letters and Humane Learning We may then
Acts 20. 35. It 〈◊〉 more blessed to give than to receive is recited as the Words of the Lord Iesus yet we find them not recorded in the Gospel But our Blessed Master freqâ—ently utter'd Words that were of the like Import as is easy to prove or rather I conceive we may truly say that he spoke this very Sentence for it may be observ'd that what is here quoted is not only call'd the Words of the Lord Iesus but this is added how he said to let us know that he said these very Words when he was upon Earth And many the like Excellent Sayings and Aphorisms he prenounced which as well as innumerable Actions that he did were kept in remembrance by the Apostles but were not written down of which St. Iohn speaks ch 20. v. 30. 21. 25. So that it is impossible to prove hence that any Book belonging to the Sacred Canon is lost As for the Objection grounded on St. Iude v. 14. viz. that Eâ—och's Book which is quoted by this Apostle and if it had not been Canonical it would not have been quoted by him is lost some as Origen Ierom Augustine grant it to be so but deny it to be Canonical it being their Judgment that St. Iude might if he thought â—it alledg an Apocryphal Writer But according to my Apprehension the brief and satisfactory Answer is that there is no mention there of any Book or Writing of â—â—och and therefore none can infer thence that â—ny Book or Writing of his is lost It is only said He prophesied saying c. which he might do and questionless did without penning down any of hiâ— Prophetical Sayings but they were transmitted from Generation to Generation and thence it was 〈◊〉 the Apostle Iude inserted this into his Epistle Nor are we to be concern'd that a Book of Enooh is mention'd by some of the Antient Writers of the Church for 't is well known that they had several Spâ—rious Authors among them and as a Learned Doctor of the sorbon observes all the Fathers exâ—â—pt Terâ—ullian reckon this that went under the Name of Enoch as such But are not some of the Writings of the New Teâ—â—ament wanting seeing there was a Third Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians in order the first I â—rote unto you in an Epistle not to keep Company with â—ornicators 1 Cor. 5. 9. Therefore it appears hence that there was another before this which passes commonly for the first But this is not extant for we have now but two that bear the Name of that â—lessed Apostle Answ. Nor were there ever any more for when he saith he wrote to them in an Epistle he means this very First Epistle he was now writing He refers to what he had said bâ—fore in the former Part of that Chapter and the meaning is When I even now wrote unto you in this Epistle ver 2. not to keep Company with Fornicators I do not mean the Fornicators of this World Thus St. Chrysostom and Theophylact interpret the Place But if I may be permitted to vary from those Excellent Fathers I would propound one of these two ways of understanding the Apostle's Words First it may be he hath reference here to what he saith afterwards in this Epistle ch 6 v. 13. and again v. 18. ch 7. v. 2. where he writes to them to avoid Fornication Wherefore upon reading over this Epistle after he had finish'd it he thought good to insert this and to take notice here of what he saith afterwards 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I have saith he written to yâ—â— in this Epistle viz. in some of the following Chapters against Fornication and joining your selves to Persons that are noted for that Vice Or else I conceive the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is put for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Preterit for the present Tense of which there are very near an hundred Instances in the New Testament and all Men vers'd in Criticism know that there is nothing more common Thus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is used in this very Epistle ch 9. v. 15. Neither have I written these things i. e. at this time in this Epistle that I am now writing This any Man that consults the Context will be forc'd to acknowledg to be the true Sense of the Place whence it appears that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is equivalent with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 So you will find the Word must be taken in the 1st Epistle of St. Iohn 2d Chapter you will see and be throughly convinced that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 v. 12 13. is expressed by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 v. 14 21. And thus in the Text that is before us 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is no other than 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. I write unto you in this Epistle not to c. Which that it ought to be rendred so is evident from ver 11. which is but a Repetition or Reassumption of this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 now I write unto you the Adverb 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 shews that it is spoken of the Present Instant Time though the Greek Verb be in the Praeterit This then I offer as the plain Sense of the Text and Context I write unto you O Corinthians in this my Letter not to be mingled so the Word properly denotes with Fornicators or with the Covetous or Extortioners or Idolaters for then you must needs go out of the World there being so great a Multitude of them but this is that which I mean that you should avoid the Company of a Brother i. e. a Professed Christian if he be given to Fornication Covetousness Extortion or Idolatry This is the Thing which I at this time write and signify to you So that you see 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is instead of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the simple and plain Tenour of the Words may convince any Man of it And therefore the true and genuine Translation both of the former and latter 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is I write which makes the Apostle's Sense clear and perspicuous I appeal to any Man of Judgment and Sagacity whether this Account of the Words be not exactly adjusted to Grammar and Criticism to the Scope of the Apostle and the Design of the Context besides that it is serviceable to the Business in hand viz. utterly to overthrow the Surmise of an Epistle written to the Corinthians before this which the Apostle is here writing If the Learned Drusius or the Excellent Grotius had weighed these things which I have suggested I doubt not but they would have chang'd their Minds they would not have cried out that this Epistle here spoken of is lost But it is further said that the Apostle writ 〈◊〉 Epiâ—â—le to the Lâ—odiceaâ—s as may be collected from Câ—l 4. 16. which is wanting at this Day that is although iâ— be extant and allowed of by somâ— Authors yet it is not put into the Canon of the New Testament wherefore the Canon is
Imperfect I answer 1. It is true there is an Epistle to the Laodicâ—ans which goes under St. Paul's Name but it is generally voted to be Spâ—rioâ—s and Counterfeit 2. The Apostle in that Place to the Colossians speaks not of an Epistle to the Laodiceans buâ— from Laodicea for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 cannot conveniently be â—ranâ—â—â—ted otherwise Yet I know 〈◊〉 how it comes to pass that so sharp a Critick as Sir N. Kâ—aâ—chbull holds it was an Epistle written by the Apostle to the Laodicâ—ans and saith it is lost Hiâ— Critical Genius fail'd him here for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 carries no such Sense with it As he himself illustrates the Phrase it should be an Epistle not 〈◊〉 but of th◠〈◊〉 for he saith this way of speaking is frequent as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 some of the Synagogue 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 some of the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Stoicks or those that â—elong'd in the Stoa According to this Idiom whicâ—â—his Learned Gentleman alledgeth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 should be an â—pistle of the Laodiceans and then 't is nothing to his purpose unless he could have proved that of the Laodiceans or of Laodicea is the same with to Laodioea 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is â—endred by the Old Latin ea qua est Laodicensiurn which Version this Learned Man produces and applauds as if it were on his side but I conceive the â—mport of the Latin is not what he represents it to be viz. the Epistle which was written to the Laodiceans by the apostle At least there is no necessity of making this Construction for it may as well signify an Epistle written from Laodicea by the Apostle If it be demanded what Epistle this was and conâ—â—quently what Epistle is here meant The Answer is that it is probable it is the first Epistle to Timothy that being written from Laodiâ—ea as you will find in the Close of it Or 3. if he speaks of an Epistle brought to the Colossians from Laodicea it being wrote to the Christians of that Place by St. Paul it may be the Epistle to the Ephesians because Laodicea was a Church within the Circuit of the Ephesian Church which was the Metropolitan of all Asia And Ephesus being the chief City of this Proconsular Asia this Epistle may refer to all the Province As to the Ground and Occasion of producing an Epistle to the Laodiceans perhaps it was this St. Paul order'd that his Epistle to the Colossians should be read in the Church of the Laodiceans which was near to Colosse Col. 4. 16. And we must remember this that though Colosse was a considerable City yet Laodicea was more considerable in that Province But it is likely there were more Christians in the former than in the latter and that moved the Apostle to direct his Epistle to the Colossians but withal he enjoins it to be read in the Church of Laodicea the chief City Now it being read there it was said to be an Epistle to the Laodiceans whence in time some feigned this Epistle which is now extant This I conceive may be the Cause of the Mistake and Forgery Lastly if after all we should suppose though I see no Reason for it that the Epistle which St. Paul here speaks of is lost yet if the Substance of it be contain'd in the Other Epistles or in the rest of the Books of the New Testament which we have the Scripture is not maimed and therefore the Objectors have no Reason to cavil against it as Imperfect and Defective But an Objection of another Nature is shaped oâ—t of 1 Cor. 7. 6. I speak this of permission and not of Commandment And v. 12. To the rest speak I nâ—â— the Lord And v. 25. I have no Commandment of the Lord yet I give my Iudgment And 2 Cor. 8. 8. I speak not by Commandment And again Chap. 11. v. 17. I speak not after the Lord. From all which Texts they gather that there is something in St. Paul's Epistles that is not divinely dictated He acknowledgeth as much himself say they and we ought to give credit to him And if it be thus wherein doth this Part of Scripture excel any other Writings I will return a distinct Answer to the several Quotations The first speaks of the mutual rendering that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 v. 3. required in the Conjugal State and the Apostle shews the Extent of the Obligation of this Advice which he gives about it I speak this saith he 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in way of Permission that is I herein permit you to do as you shall see Occasion as you shall find your selves disposed If you can refrain in those Circumstances I mention then do so but if not I allow you to act otherwise I speak to you 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not of Commandment i. e. in a peremptory way I am not positive I do not command you I have no Absolute Injunction to lay upon you in this Matter If you can forbear you had best to do so but I have no Authority to force it upon you Thus the Apostle lets them see how far his Doctrine obliges and what Authority it hath And this he speaks as an Inspired Person So that it is ridiculous to collect hence that he was not Inspired when he wrote this Passage in his Epistle The Second Place speaks of Divorce or the Separation of married Persons in case of unequal Marriages viz. between Christians and Infidels These are the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Rest which he now distinctly applies his Discourse to To these saith he speak I i. e. I as an Apostle I as a Person divinely enlightn'd declare this that their best course is to live together and not to think of parting This is that which I say to those who are married to Unbelievers and I say it by immediate Revelation â—rom God That is the true Meaning of Speak I And any considerate Man that well weighs the Words cannot but discern it It follows and not the Lord i. e. God hath given us no express Command about this We find nothing of it in Moses's Law which was from the Lord himself The Apostle refers here to what he had said before in this Chapter about Married Persons v. 2 3. which was according to the Mosaick Law Exod. 21. 10. and a Law before that viz. in Genesis ch 2. v. 24. which obligeth the Married Couple to be faithful to one another But here saith he in our present Case the Lord hath left no positive and Absolute Precept or Prohibition Or it may have respect also to Christ our Lord and then the meaning of I speak and not the Lord is this what I now deliver to you is not from our B. Saviour directly It is not expresly set down in the Gospel as spoken by Him when he was here on Earth but I gather it from the general Doctrine of the Gospel and I make this Collection and Inference by the
Guidance of the Holy Spirit and not of my own Head Thus what I advise and direct you to is from the Lord i. e. from the Holy Ghost though not from the Lord in that other Sense as if he had given any particular and express Command concerning it So the Force of the Objection is quite taken of And at the same time also the Distinction of Evangelical Counsels and Precepts which is so much talk'd of and madâ— use of by the Romanists appears to be frivolus anâ— impertinent The third Quotation is to be interpreted in thâ— same Manner He here speaks concerning Singlâ— Persons such as were never married and he acquaints them as before what Authority his Doctrine concerning these hath 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I have not a Commandment of the Lord i. e. I have no express Word of our Saviour concerning Virgins as there was concerning the Divorce of Married Persons of whom I spake v. 10. for our Lord had positively determin'd what was to be done in that Case Mat. 5. 32. 19. 9. Luk. 16 18. Therefore there not I but the Lord himself was properly said to command But here no Absolutâ— Precept of our Lord can be alledg'd he hath no where peremptorily commanded to marry or not to marry And the more particular things relating to a Single Life spoken of here by the Apostle are not so much as mention'd by him Yet saith he I give my Iudgment as one that hath obtained Mercy of the Lord to be faithful i. e. in an immediate and extraordinary Manner I have obtained this Favour to deliver faithfully what is dictated to me in this Affair though there be no express Word of our Lord about it I am Divinely taught what to say the Holy Spirit suggests to me what Counsel to give And therefore with respect to this and whatever he said before he concludes in the last Verse of this Chapter that he hath the Spirit of God And when he saith he thinks so it doth not denote in the least the Uncertainty of the thing but the Humility of the Apostle We are not then to imagine as several Commentators and of good Note too do that by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which we render Iudgment is meant the Apostle's â—â—â—vate Opinion and Sentiment in contradistinction to 〈◊〉 Dictateâ— of the Holy Ghost but according to 〈◊〉 plain Interpretation which I have given we â—ave reason to believe that both in this and his other Epistles he writes all by Divine Inspiration Then as to the next Place where the Apostle â—â—ith he speaks not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by command this way of Expression is somewhat of the same Nature with the first which is evident from the Subjectâ—matter he treats of and the particular Application of this Expression For in this Chapter his Business is to excite the Corinthians effectually to a Charitable Contribution for the distressed Christiâ—â—s at Ierusalem and he requests that they would be very Liberal and abound in this Excellent and Noble Work which yet he saith he doth not speak to them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in a commanding Way but â—e leaves them to their Liberty He would have their Charity to be free and therefore doth not command them It is of the same Strain with Philem. 8 9. Though I might be much bold in Christ to enjoin that which is convenient yet for Love's Sake I â—â—â—ber beseech But this beseeching them and this professing that he leaves them to their Freedom is from the Lord and from Divine Inspiration Which ought necessarily to be added to clear this and the other Texts for I do not find that Commentators have fully interpreted and explain'd these Places Only they tell us that the Apostle doth not command the things to be done but leaves them at Liberty whereby they intimate that what he saith is from himself it is his Private Opinion But we must not harbour any such Thoughts because if all Scripture be endited by the Holy Ghost as certainly it is then we san't admit of any such thing here as meer Private Opinion The last Place alledged is I speak not after the Lord. Which some would interpret according to the foregoing Sâ—nse of the Apostle in those Places I have spoken of but they hugely mistake the Text and miserably distort the Apostle's Meaning Therefore my Apprehension of the Words is this that as in several other Places so here he speakâ— Ironically The false Apostles the deceitful Workers saith he whom some of you have such a Kindness for exceedingly boast of their great Performances among you I think I had best to do so too for that it is the way to gain your good Opinion of me I can brag and glory of my Atchievements as much as any of them yea much more Therefore as a Fool receive me that I may boast my self a little Seeing that many glory after the Flesh I will glory also For ye suffer Fools gladly seeing ye your selves are Wise. You and your new Teachers are Masters of great Wisdom without doubt and it cannot but be a very laudable Thing to imitate you especially in your Boasting and Vaunting And yet when I am forced to commend my self and vindicate my Actions that which I speak thus I speak it not after the Lord no by no means I can neither say nor do any thing that is wise or good I am in the Esteem of some of you a Fool and a confident Talker as he immediately adds This seems to be the clear Import of the Words and it is not the only time that St. Paul hath addressed himself to the Corinthians in an Ironick Stile as I have shew'd in another Place Thus I hope it is manifest that the Objectors have no Advantage from this Place of Scripture And from all that hath been said it is clear that the Sacred Writings are of Divine Inspiration and therein excel all other Writings whatsoever CHAP. XII A short View of the Eastern Translations of the Old Testament especially of the Targums The several Greek Translations more especially that of the LXX Jewish Elders The impartial History of them and their Version Some â—mmoderately extol it others as excessively inveigh against it The true Grounds of the Difference between the Hebrew Text and the Greek Translation of the Septuagint assigned viz. One Hebrew Vowel is put for another One Consonant for another sometimes both Vowels and Consonants are mistaken The Difference of the Signification of some Hebrew Words is another Cause Sometimes the Sense rather than the Word it self is attended to Some Faults are to be attributed to the Transcribers Some because the LXX are Paraphrasts rather than Translators they take the Liberty to insert Words and Passages of their own The Greek Version hath been designedly corrupted in several Places Why the Apostles in their Sermons and Writings made use of this Version though it was faulty Sometimes the Sacred Writers keep close to the Hebrew Text and take no
was Lechem Segnorim barly Bread as it is in some Copies In Judg. 7. 11. they mistook the Word Chamushim armed Men and read it Chamishim and accordingly rendred it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 fifty Men. The Hebrew Word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ad oculum meum in 2 Sam. 16. 12. but the 70 read it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and thence rendred it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 In 2 Kings 2. 24. they mistook hu for ho and thereupon inserted a strange unintelligible Word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 into their Translation in that Place They likewise read some Places in the Psalms with false Vowels and by reason of that Mistake interpreted Ve el Deus as if it had been Ve al non Psal. 7. 17. and Sam possuit as if it had been Shâ—â— nomen Psal. 40. 5. and Middeber à peste as if it had been Middabar à verbo Psal. 91. 3. So in Psal. 22. 29. it is plain that they read it Napshi instead of Naphsho and consequently render it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 They overlook'd a Vowel in Psal. 2. 9. for the Word is Terognem thou shalt break them but they thought it was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 thou shalt feed them and so translated it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Their mistaking of Vowels may be seen in their translating of Isa. 6. 10. which they do thus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Heart of this People was made fat for they read it Hoshman in the Conjugation Hophal whereas it should have been Hashmen in the Imperative of Hiphil According to the Original we render Isa. 7. 20. a Razour that is hired but the LXX render it that is made drunk whence it is plain that they thought the Hebrew Word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is here used came from the Verb Shakar inâ—briâ—vit whereas it is derived from Sakar mercede conduxit They read the Letter Shin with a dexter Point whereas it should have been read with a sinister In Isa. 9. 8. it is evident that they mistook the Points in the Word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 verbum and read it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 pestis mors and so instead of the Lord sent a Wâ—rd into Jacob the reading according to them is the Lord sent Death into Jacob 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 They translate Isa. 24. 23. thus the Brick shall be melted and the Wall shall fall whereas according to the Hebrew 'tis thus the Moon shall be confounded and the Sun ashamed and the Reason of this strange and palpable varying from the Original is this as St. Ierom hath observ'd because the Septuagint read 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Brick instead of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Moon and they mistook 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Wall for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Sun Again in Isa. 56. 11. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is translated 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 because they read it ragnim mali instead of rognim Pastores The Seventy Interpreters render a Clause in Ier. 3. 2. thus as a Crow in the Wilderness c. which proceeds hence that the Hebrew Word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Crow hath the same radical Letters that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Gnarabi hath which signifies an Arabian but the Mistake was in the Vowels In Ier. 46. 17. for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ibi they read 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 nomen and accordingly render it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 They read it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in igne for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 faetor and so render it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Amos 4. 10. They translate Zech. 11. 17. thus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 supposing the Hebrew Word to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Pastores not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Pastor In Mal. 2. 3. Zerang Seed is rendred 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Shoulder for no other Reason than this that Zeroang was mistaken for Zerang And in many other Places the Seventy Interpreters mistook the Hebrew Words by not observing the Particular Punctations of them which is one Cause of the Difference between the Greek Version and the Hebrew Text. The not attending to this hath made some and those of no mean Note imagine that the Hebrew Copies which we now have vary in many things from the Antient ones which the Seventy used when they translated the Bible A very groundless Imagination certainly for it is most evident that this Difference between the Seventy and the Hebrew proceeds not from the Corruption of this latter but from the Mistake and Oversight of the former Any Man that is willing to see what is before his Eyes may plainly discern that in all these Instances before-mention'd one Word is taken for another because the Pointing was wrong This must needs be otherwise those Greek Words which the LXX use would not so exactly answer to the Hebrew Words which we say they mistook for the true Original ones 2. The Difference sometimes proceeds from mistaking one Consonant for another as in Gen. 6. 3. although jadon be from dun contendere and therefore we rightly render that Place my Spirit shall not always strive or contend yet the Septuagint derive it from dur habitare permanere and so translate it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Affinity of the Letter â— and â— occasion'd this Mistake the Transcribers of the Copies which the Septuagint used having it is likely put one Letter for another they being so like in Shape Thus in many of our English Bibles instead of the word Bands Isa. 28. 22. we find it printed Hands h and b being like one another Ierom observes that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is the Seventy's Translation of bene Dedan Ezek. 27. 15. for they read it Redan not Dedan mistaking Resh for Daleth because those Letters are of a resembling Figure So in other Places the Likeness of these two Letters is the Occasion of the LXX's wrong interpreting of Words thus in Iob 32. 19. they thought the Word was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and accordingly render it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 faber aerarius the singular for the plural whereas the Word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 noviâ— In Isa. 16. 4. the Hebrew Word Sad a Destroyer is rendred 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 because the Word was Sar in the Seventy's Copy And as Resh is taken for Daâ—th so this is sometimes taken for that as in Gen. 22. 13. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 behind is rendred 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 because they thought the Word was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 one In Gen. 49. 14. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 asinus is translated 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which could proceed from no other Cause but this that they supposed the Word to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 desiderabile How could they render Charash fabri in Exod. 35. 35. by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 if they had not believ'd the Original to be Chadash which is of Affinity with
renders 〈◊〉 propter legem tuam and thence we may see how the Mistake arose viz. from their reading 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 fo◠〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or they derived the Word from Iarah which in Hiphâ—l signifies to teach whence Torah wherâ—â— the rigth Root or Theme is jara timuit The Sventy render Ier. 16. 7. thus they shall not break Bread for them but according to the Hebrew 't is they shall not tear themselves for them whence it may be gather'd that instead of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they read it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 So in Ezek. 34. 16. a Letter as well as a Voâ—el is mistaken viz. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and Vau for Iod instead of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I will destroy they read 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I will keep The Hebrew in Hos. 14. â— is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Calves but the Greek is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 where it is evident that the Seventy read 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 fructus for pâ—rim vituli This certainly is a plainer and fairer Account of this Difference between the Hebreâ— and the LXX in this Place than what Dr. Pocock fancifully suggests who tells us that the Seventy's 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is the same with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is the Word they use for an Holocaust which being of young Bullocks but we know that sort of Sacrifices was of other Animals as well as these 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is made use of for â—alves for these Sacrifices were like Fruit or Banquet after a Meal But a Man would rather think they were the Meal it self for these whole Burnt-Offerings were the substantial Service of the Jews even when there were no other Sacrifices besides at the same time But we must give these Arabian Criicks leave to propound their Conjectures as well as other Men. In Hab. 1. 5. they erroneously read 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and so translated it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 instead of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 4. It happens that the Translation of the Sevenâ—y differs from the Hebrew Original because the same Words in Hebrew signify different things and consequently the Rendring of them may be vaâ—ious and sometimes seem to disagree with the Original Text. As in Isa. 58. 9. because the Word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies both a Pot and a Thorn the Seventy render the Plural Word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Thorns before the Thorns feel the Briars i. e. are entangled in one another which is presently done This seems to be the Sense they intended What we according to the Hebrew render the Vally of Baca or in the Margent Mulberry-trees Psal. 8â— 6. is translated by the Septuagint the Valley of the Mourner or Weeper because the Hebrew Word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which may be derived either from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Morus or from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 flere plorarc is equivocal and so may be differently rendred And in the same Verse from the Ambiguity of the Word Moreh which is Doctor Legislator as well as Pluvia the Seventy render it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Isa. 28. 16. is truly translated by us He that believeth shall not make haste but according to the Seventy Seniours it is thus He shall not be ashamed which is a true Translation also for the Hebrew Word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies both as is evident in the Writings of the Hebrews The like is observable in Ier. 31. 32. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which we translate I was a Husband but the Seventy render it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which by the way we may take notice is a Fault of the Transcribers for it should be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as we learn from Heb. 8. 9. where this Place is alledged I regarded not The Ground of the different Version is this the Verb 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 hath both these Significations viz. to be a Husband and to despise or not have regard to I have already on another Occasion set down the Different Significations of Hebrew Verbs which the Reader may consult and thence enlarge upon this Head Indeed the Places are almost innumerable wherein you may see this Particular exemplified This therefore will in a great Measure solve the Difference between the Hebrew and the LXX's Version viz. that one Word signifies two or more things and thence may be differently rendred Where there is a Variety of Significations in the Words there may well be expected some Diversity in the translating of them 5. It is no wonder that the Translation of the 70 varies in many Places from the Hebrew because these Interpreters do sometimes rather express the Sense of the Hebrew Words than exactly render them Thus in Gen. 23. 11. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is the Word to express 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Sons of the People By the Life of Pharaoh Gen. 42. 15 16. is in the LXX's Version 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. by the Health of Pharaoh because this bears the same Sense with the other So Shebet a Scepter Gen. 49. 10. is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Prince or Ruler according to the Greek Translation To be deliver'd from the Sword of Pharaoh according to the Hebrew or from the Hand of Pharaoh Exod. 18. 4. according to the Seventy is the same 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Son of a Bull or Cow Lev. 1. 5. is rightly according to the Sense rendred 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Calf 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Deut. 25. 2. a Son of Stripes is according to the true meaning translated 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 worthy of Stripes Chereb the Sword is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 War Lev. 26. 6 36 37. Iob 5. 15. and to fall by War Numb 14. 3. as the Greek Interpreters render it is the same as to fall by the Sword as the Hebrew hath it Bene Elohim Deut. 32. 8. Iob 1. 6. 38. 7. are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with the LXX for by the Sons of God are meant Angels Iad is rendred 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Iosh. 4. 24. because the Hand of the Lord and the Power of the Lord are equivalent The Seventy make bold to turn Majim Water into 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Wine 1 Sam. 25. 11. for as by Bread in this Place is meant all Manner of Food so by Water we are to understand all Sorts of Drink and consequently Wine it self for the Text speaks of a Feast yea such a one as was like the Feast of a King v. 36. They do not fully render 1 King 22. 5. 2 Chron. 18. 4. when they translate it enquire of the Lord to Day for according to the Hebrew it should be enquire at the Word of the Lord to Day but the meaning is the same In Neâ— 4. 2. you read according to the Hebrew of reviving the Stones for the Root is Chajah but these Interpreters
express it by the Verb 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sanare because reviving or healing the Stones in this Place are synonymous In 2 King 20. 7. Hos. 6. 2. the same Hebrew Verb is express'd by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and in Gen. 47. 25. Prov. 15. 27. Ezek. 33. 12. and other Places by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they being Words of the like import with Chajah Dibre hajamim Esth. 2. 23. is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and not amiss but the Sense not the Words is attended to In Prov. 11. 8. Mitsadah angustia is according to the LXX 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Venatio Persecutio which is a Word of the like tho not the very same Import In the Close of Esth. 10. 3. the Hebrew Noun is Zarang semen but the Greek Word here used is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 because it is of the same Signification in this Place for to speak Peace to all his Seed or to all his Nation which were of the same Seed and Race are the same 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is the Word that the Seventy make use of in Iob 6. 4. but Ruach is the Original yet any observing Man cannot but discern the Congruity of the Greek Word for the Blood is the Vehicle of the Spirits and besides to drink up the Blood is an Elegant way of Expression The Hebrew Word Keren a Horn Job 16. 15. is not unâ—itly translated 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Strength the Sense being minded and not the Word The Drops of Water Job 36. 27. are explain'd by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Drops of Rain Keren happuk Job 42. 14. is rendred 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 referring to the Greek Fable of Amalthea's Horn which signifies all manner of Good things and so comprehends in it the meaning of that Name given to one of Iob's Daughters And in several other Places in this Book the Hebrew Terms are explain'd rather than translated Bagnal Canaph Prov. 1. 7. is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Bagnal Aph ch 22. v. 24. is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Bagnal Nephesh ch 23. v. 2. is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 all which Versions are Exegetical So is that in Eccl. 10. 20. Bagnal Hakephanim Gr. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Iathad a Nail Isa. 22. 23. is rendred 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Ruler but the Sense is preserved for that Promise that Eliakim should be a Nail fastned in a sure Place imports his being advanced to Shebna's Office or Place of Rule as the foregoing Verses as well as those that follow plainly shew The Daughter of Tarshish Isa. 23. 10. is Carthage according to the Seventy because they thought this Place was meant by those Words They render Dibre Haberith Jer. 34. 18. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 whereas it should be the Words of the Coveâ—ant according to the Original but who sees not that it amounts to the same What according to the Hebrew is the Mountain of the Lord Mic. 4. 2. is the House of the Lord according to the Septuagint but these two differ not in the Sense because the Temple the House of God was built on Mount Sion The Word Derek a Way Jer. 23. 22. is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in 1 Kings 22. 52. it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Ezek. 20. 30. it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in 2 Chron. 13. 22. 27. 7. it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Iob 34. 21. 36. 23. it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Prov. 31. 3. it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but in all these Places the true meaning of the Hebrew Word is maintain'd 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in 1 Chron. 2. 20. Ieâ— 16. 14. Ezek. 2. 3. 35. 5. 37. 21. 43. 7. is rendred by the Greek Translators 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but in all these Texts you 'l find the Sense of the Hebrew Word kept up So Iehovah Tsebaoth is rendred in above fifty Places 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 should be translated 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but instead of it we read 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1 Sam. 15. 24. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Exod. 17. 1. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Numb 3. 16. So Lashon which exactly speaking is the Tongue is rendred 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Iob 15. 5. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Isa. 54. 17. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Esth. 8. 9. In accuracy and propriety of Translation Shaphah is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but the general Signification of the Word is preserv'd when the Word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ezek. 24. 22. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Gen. 11. 7. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Prov. 16. 21. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ezek. 36. 3. are used I could add several hundreds more of the like Nature but I will at present mention only a few Instances out of the Book of Psalms That is a very remarkable one Psal. 2. 12. where 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 apprehendite disciplinam is the rendring of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 osculamini filium the LXX not intending here barely to Translate but taking the Liberty to render the Sense not the Exact Words of the Original When Heathen Kings and Governours are admonished to kiss the Son i. e. to submit to the Government of Christ the Meaning is that they should accept of his Doctrine and Discipline and live and act according to these But others solve this Translation by telling us that the word Bar had heretofore different Significations and denoted both a Son and Discipline If this could be made good it belongs to the Fourth Particular where we spoke of the Diversity of Significations which some Hebrew Words have Again in Psal. 18. 2. 31. 3. they intended not an exact Version but rather chose to give the Sense of the word Selang a Rock when they express'd it by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the former Place and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the latter In Psal. 19. 4. their Line Cavvam is rendred 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 their Sound or Voice because it amounts to the same Sense and Intention of the Psalmist unless you will say they read it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 instead of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and then it is to be reduced to one of the former Particulars The word Machol Dancing is not improperly rendred 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Psal. 30. 11. because it is of the very same Import In Psal. 40. 6. the Sense of the Seventy is the same with that of the Hebrew Text although the Translation be not Word for Word Mine Ears hast thou â—pened saith the Hebrew a Body hast thou prepared me say the LXX Here is one meaning though the Words differ Christ is here introduced speaking of his Incarnation when God the Father gave him a Body and prepared and fitted it for the Cross where it was to be nailed as the Ear of that Servant who loved his Master and would not depart from his Family was fastned for a time to the Door-post Exod. 21. 6. Deut. 15.
was not the Design of the Evangelists to quote the very Words but they thought fit to use a Latitude and to express the Text of the Old Testament not in exact Terms but as to the Meaning and Import of it So in the quoting that Text Mic. 5. 2. Thou Bethlehem Ephratah though thou be little among the thousands of Judah yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be Ruler in Israel the Evangelist doth it not verbatim but sets it down thus Mat. 2. 6. Thon Bethlehem in the Land of Judah art not the least among the Princes of Judah for out of thee shall come a Governour that shall rule my People Israel Here are six or seven Words that are not in the Hebrew neither are they in the Seventy's Version Yea there is a Negative put in the Place of an Aâ—â—irmative for whereas the Prophet saith though thou be little the Evangelist saith thou art not little or not least which shews that he minds the Sense and Scope of the Place not the very Words for though Bethlehem was little consider'd in it self as being a small Town yet it was not little on another Account mention'd by the Prophet viz. it s having the Honour of being the Birth-place of our Lord. Or if this inserting of a Negative may be solved another way as some have thought and as I have shew'd in another Place yet still it is evident that the Evangelist doth not recite the very Words of Micah but changeth Ephratah for the Land of Judah and thousands for Princes and iâ— other Words and Particles varies both from the LXX and the Original And in many other Texts I might shew you that the Writers of the New Testament do not tie themselves up to the very Words of the Old Testament but choose rather to paraphrase or give the Meaning in other Expressions Thus we see the Translation of the LXX though it be often yet is not always followed in the New Testament Likewise although the Apostles in these Writings were immediately directed by the Holy Ghost yet they confined not themselves to the express Words of the Spirit in the Original Hebrew and we see that though not â—lways yet often they followed the Septuagint because it was generally received and they thought it not fit to vary from the Translation which was used in the Church and we see likewise that when they vary from this Translation it is no certain Argument that they did not allow and approve of it for they intended not an Exact Translation themselves but a Paraphrase and a rendring the Sense rather than the Words The Result then of all is this that we ought to have that Respect and Esteem for the LXX's Version which it deserveth to which purpose the Judicious Examiner of it before mention'd is to be consulted who shews how necessary it is for all Divines to be acquainted with it we ought not to extol it as some extravagantly have done above the Hebrew nor to depress and vilify it as others have done as if it were of no Worth or Authority We ought thus to behave our selves we must not wholly reject it because most of its Faults and Mistakes proceed from the mere mistaking of Vowâ—ls or Consonants from the Ambiguity of Words from the Liberty which they take of Paraphrasing and from the Neglect of Transcribers But on the other hand we ought not wholly to embrace this Translation because it hath fallen into ill Hands and hath met with some designing Men it is probable who have endeavour'd to deprave and corrupt it yea and have actually done it in some Places We are concerned therefore to read it with Candour and Caution with the former yea the Oldest Greek Translation of the Bible that is because it hath been used by the Sacred Penmen of the New Testameâ—t because it may be made use of by us for the better understanding and clearing the Sense of the Hebrew and to other very good Purposes and because the disagreement between it and the Hebrew may as to the Main admit of a Reconciliation as I have partly shew'd and you may further see in the Learned Critical Historian With the latter also i. e. with Caution we must consult this Version because we know it hath justly merited the Censure of the Learned not only of St. Ierom the best Hebrician of all the Fathers but of a great Number of other Observing and Inquisitive Writers who find that this Translation doth frequently and sometimes very grosly dissent from the Hebrew and for that Cause reprehend it with great Seriousness For this they all agree upon that where the Greek Version of the 70 is not conformable to the Hebrew either in Words or Sense as in diverse Places it is not it is perverted and corrupted and where it is so we must impeach This and not the Hebrew of Error and Imperfection That Assertion of the Younger Vossius viz. that the 70 Interpreters had the Authentick Copy of the Hebrew Bible and translated exactly by that but that the Hebrew Bible which we now have is corrupted is justly to be exploded as not only Bold but Pernicious wherein he extreamly gratiâ—ies the Romanists who contend that the Hebrew Text is depraved that they may defend the Authority of the Vulgar Latin But those that are not led by Prejudice discern that this is meer Design and that the Business of those Men is to defend the Authority of their Church by what Artifices they can Wherefore they give no heed to them and particularly in this present Matter they despise their fond applauding of the Septuagint and their groundless Cavils against the Hebrew Text and notwithstanding their impertinent Suggestions find reason to adhere to this unshaken Truth that the Hebrew Text only is void of all Faults Errors Mistakes Blemishes Defects Depravations and that it is this we must ultimately rely upon Wherefore where there is a Difference between the Version of the 70 Seniours and the Hebrew That is to give place to This and not This to That And lastly which is the rational Conclusion from all that hath been said there is no Proof of the Scripture's Imperfection from this Disagreement between the Hebrew and the Greek Next I will speak of the Latin Versions of the Bible which even in St. Augustin's Time were so many that they could not be numbred as he saith himself All the Latin Translations of the Old Testament before Ierom were made out of the LXX's Version and not out of the Hebrew Original for generally the Fathers before Ierom used and adhered to the Greek Version But he attaining to great Skill in the Hebrew contented not himself with these Second-hand Versions but undertook and finish'd a Translation of his own wherein he followed the Hebrew Original The Chiefest Latin Versions were these three 1. that which was call'd Itala by St. Augustin by St. Ierom Vulgata and by Gregory Vetus This
that so this Sacred Volume may be presented to the Readers in its Vtmost Perfection There is a great Number of Places both in the Old and New Testament which ought to be otherwise rendred but I will chiefly confine my self to the New Testament at present It is true the Margin of our Bibles doth give us another Sense or Version of the Words in many Places but those I shall pass by because they are already before the Reader 's Eye I shall take notice of those Words only which are not otherwise translated in the Margin Many Corrections of the English Translation are attempted by that Excellent Knight Sir Norton Knatchbull in his Annotations on the New Testament but I have not inserted any of them here because I design to mention those only which are of my own Observation and which at several Readings of the Bible have occurred to me I will instance in those Mistakes and Faults alone which are â—ot that I know of found out and observed â—y any other Persons Nor am I in this Attempt endeavouring so much to discover a False Version as â—o render the present one which is Good and Excellent bâ—tter by laying aside some unfit Words and Modes of Speech and by substiâ—â—â—â—ng others in their room and by changing the â—rame and Disposition of some particular Periods Those few Places of the Old Testamant which I offer to be amended are these Gen. 27. 38. Hast â—â—ou but one Blessing where there is a Word left out viz. that distinctive Particle 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 so that according to the Hebrew it should be rendred thus hast thou but that one Blessing The Omission of that is a Fault in Our Translation as well as in some others In 2 Kings 5. 18. the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is thrâ—â—e used which signifies to bow but we translate it to worship in one of the Places which I reckon as faulty because the same Words ought to be translated alike Iâ— Psal. 14. 2. the true Version is the Sons of Adam In Psal. 104. 25. the Hebrew Word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 should be rendred Swimming for that is the Denotation of the Word when 't is applied to Fishes In the Old English Translation of the Book of Psalms which is used in our Divine Service there are many things that require Correction but because it may be our Church retains it for the same Reason that when St. Ierom translated the Bible into Latin he did not alter the former Version of the Psalms but left it entire as it was because these were sung in the Publick Assemblies and People generally had them by Heart wherefore he was loth to discompose so settled a piece of Devotion for this Reason I will say nothing here towards the Amendment of this Translation In Isa. 1. 13. we read of vain Oblations the new Moons and Sabbaths but in the Hebrew these are in the singular Number and therefore should be so translated Particularly as to the wordâ— Chodesh the new Moon it will not be distinguish'd from Chodashim new Moons which you find in the next Verse unless you observe the Distinction between the singular and plural Isa. 2. 10. is translated thus Hide thee in the Dust for fear of the Lord but not rightly for the Hebrew 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 must be rendred either in these Words from the Face of the terrible Lord or these from or because of the Presence of the Lord of Terror or thus from the Presence of the Terror of the Lord and so it must be translated in ver 19. where the Words recur again It may be some may look upon 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as an Expletive here because it is so in many Places but we know that in many other Places it is not and seeing that Word here may bear a Positive Signification there is Reason we should take it so It is my Perswasion that the applying of the word Fury to God in Lev. 26. 28. Iob 20. 23. Dan. 9. 16. Mic. 5. 15. Zech. 8. 2. and above forty times in Isaiah Ieremiah and Ezekiel is very blameable for the Hebrew Words Aph Charon Chemah Chamath have no such ill Import they only signify the Heat or Height of Anger and are rendred 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by the Seventy But Fury is something of another Nature and denotes Excess and Exorbitancy of Wrath and even Madness it self Therefore I apprehend our Translators have done ill though I question not their innocent Meaning in attributing such a Passion to God Wherefore instead of Fury let great Anger or great Wrath be used in the Translation Again iâ— I would be Curious I could blame our Translators for using the word Benjamite or Benjamites Iudg. 3. 15. and in half a score Places more instead of Benjaminite or Benjaminites for as I have hinted before the Word being used to signify the Children of Benjamin or the Sons of Iemini as 't is in the Hebrew in some Places it must needs have those two Letters more inserted into it otherwise you cannot derive it from those Words wherefore it must needs be Benjaminites not Benjamites as our English Translators have curtail'd it As to the Words Tyre and Tyrus the former of which is to be found in Isaiah and Ioel and the latter in Ieremiah Ezekiel and other Prophets I conceive it were better to use one of these only for why should not the Name of the same Place be express'd and written the same Let it then be Tyre or Tyrus but not both Here also I might take notice of some Unfit and Obsolete Words the changing of which for others that are more in use would render the English Version much better Thus fet 1 Kings 9. 28. or ever Eccles. 12. 6. Dan. 6. 24. chaws Ezek. 29. 4. 38. 4. grins Psal. 140. 5. 141. 9. taches Exod. 26. 6. aliant Job 19. 15. Psal. 69. 8. might be chang'd into fetch'd before Iaws Gins or Traps or Snares Tacks or Clasps alien especially this last being the Word which is used in other Places both in the Old and New Testament Instead of the word after in several Places it were better to use according to Who should be put in the Place of which when there is reference to a Person not a Thing otherwise there is a Confusion and Misunderstanding in many Texts unless we have Recourse to the Original But they are the Defects in our English Translation of the New Testament which I principally designeâ— to insist upon therefore those I hâ—sten to which are as follow In Mat. 3. 7. and so in ch 23. v. 33. our Translators render 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Generation but it should be in the Plural This Fault is amended in Luke 3. 7. in the marginal Reading where there is added Broods and in Mat. 12. 34. in some English Bibles it is translated Generations it should be so in this Place and where-ever else the Word is mentioned for if we will
eternal Life In ch 19. v. 8. that should be this according to the Greek which is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Query whether 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ch 20. v. 4. may not be better exprest than by that single Word outrun In the 8th v. of this Chapter 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 therefore is forgot in our Translation and ought to be supplied Those Words in the 10th v. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 may be rendred thus Therefore the Disciples came again or returned to themselves of which Translation I have given a particular account in another Place And here before I quit the Evangelists I might take notice of an undue rendring of the Words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which occur in all of them as Mat. 9. 10. 26. 7 20. Mark 6. 22 40. 8. 6 11. 14. 18. 16. 14. Luke 5. 29. 22. 27. Iohn 6. 10. 12. 2. 13. 12. and several other Places where they are express'd in our English Translation by sitting or sitting down but they properly signify lying down leaning lying along or lying on one side and so should be rendred In the Acts of the Apostles ch 1. v. 12. the English Version is very deficient for whereas it runs thus which is from Jerusalem a Sabbath-day's Iourney in the Greek 't is after this manner which is near to Jerusalem containing a Sabbath-day's Iourney Those two Words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 are omitted In ch 2. v. 13. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 may be rendred sweet Wine i. e. the best and most generous Wine which would soon intoxicate those who took a great Portion of it as well as new Wine which is generally sweet and luscious at least the former rendring of the Word may be set in the Margin In v. 40. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is be ye saved not as we render it save your selves though 't is true some Copies read it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 In v. 47. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 refers to this Place and is to be rendred the saved ones not as 't is in our English Bibles such as should be saved In ch 4. 14. we read they could say nothing against it but according to the Greek it is they had nothing to say against it The 32d v. is rendred thus the Multitude of them that believed were of one Heart and of one Soul but the Greek runs thus the Heart and Soul of the Multitude of them that believed was one The 9th v. of the 9th ch cannot but be thought to require some Correction for there is no Word in our Translation that answers to 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 therefore thus the Verse should be rendred And he preaching boldly for so 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ought to be rendred and there is an Example of it v. 27. in the Name of the Lord Iesus spake and disputed against the Grecians But in our English Version the Word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is left out untranslated In ch 10. v. 10. eaten is instead of tasted for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is of the latter import In ch 11. v. 17. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 should be who not what was I In ch 12. v. 12. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 should be rendred and Praying but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is forgot In ch 13. v. 20. the direct rendring of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is after these things not after that In v. 22. there is something redundant and something wanting for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 should be rendred after my Hâ—art not after my own Heart and in the next Clause 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 should have been translated Wills in the Plural I might add also that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 might here be more plainly and simply rendred he shall do than he shall fulfil Besides not only in this Place but in all others in the Old and New Testament after when it bears this Signification should be exchanged for according to In v. 27. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is rendred because they knew him not whereas the plain Translation is knowing him not or having not known him In v. 42. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is rendred to be preached but that is not the usual Translation of the Word in other Places for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is to be spoken and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is to be preached In ch 15. v. 20 29. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ought to be englished thus from what is strangled and not as 't is now in the Plural Number from things strangled In ch 16. v. 1 and in many other Places Timotheus is in the English Translation whereas this Word is express'd with some Variation elsewhere and he is call'd Timothy This is to be blamed because as hath been hinted more than once the same Greek Word especially a Proper Name ought to be rendred the same in all Places In ch 17. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is translated Areopagus v. 19. and Mars-hill v. 22. as if â—t were not the same Word This I here blame again and shall afterwards animadvert upon viz. the Unâ—itness of translating the same Word differently in the same Chapter or Book Either one or the other Version is to be stuck to In v. 21. there is no notice taken of the Word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which should be rendred sojourning or who sojourned there In ch 19. v. 19. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is englished fifty thousand Pieces of Silver but not rightly for there is not the Word fifty in the Verse but the true rendring of the Greek is five Myriads or five times ten thousand Pieces of Silver It is granted that this is the same with fifty thousand but the Translation should be according to the Words in the Original which are five Myriads I dislike the rendring of v. 24 25. for the reason before-mention'd viz. because the very same Word is differently translated 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the former Verse is rendred Gain in the latter Crafâ— but without doubt it ought to be rendred alike in both which will suggest unto us the True Translation of that Word Demetrius the Silver-smith brought 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 no small Trade so I render it to the Craftsmen whom he called together and said Sirs ye know that by this Trade so 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 must be translated again we have our Wealth This I take to be the true rendring of the Words for it is not probable in the least that the Word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 should signify two Different things in so short a Space Besides it is plain that it is meant here as I have represented it for Demetrius here spoken of was a Man of a very Great Trade and had several 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Artificers and Workmen as they are here call'd under him and so is said to have brought them no small Work or Trade wherefore he warmly stirr'd up these and their Fellows
the Greek Word viz. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is the same In ch 11. v. 3. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 should be translated I will not I would however let this latter be set in the Margin In v. 14. a Shame should have been translated Dishonour for it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Greek and is opposed to 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the next Verse which intimates this rendring of the Word to be most proper In v. 28. that and that should be changed into the and the or there should be an Asterisk pointing to the Margin where must be set down what the Greek signifies In v. 29. Iudgment should not stand in the Margin but be taken into the Text because besides the proper Denotation of the Greek Word the Context absolutely proves it must be rendred Iudgment and not Damnation for the Apostle speaks of that Temporal Punishment which the Corinthians pull'd down upon their Heads by their unworthy and profane celebrating of the Lord's Supper for this Cause many are weak and sickly among you and many sleep v. 30. This is the Iudgment which they did eat and drink to themselves and it is opposed to Condemnation with the World v. 32. therefore it can't in this Place be translated Damnation In ch 12. v. 28. Miracles is mighty Works in the Margin but falsly for in the Greek it is Powers and so you will find it rendred in the Margin which refers to the next Verse where the same word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 occurs 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ought to be rendred in ch 14. v. 40. according to order not in order for this latter denotes only a Methodical Acting In ch 15. v. 58. the simple plain Version is best knowing according to the Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 In the second Epistle to the Corinthians ch 2. v. 5. the Translation seems not to be sufficient unless there be added a Parenthesis to shut in those Words that I may not overcharge you But of this I have spoken in another Place only I will add that both in this Epistle and in that to the Romans and indeed in most of this Apostle's Writings where there are frequent Parentheses it would be convenient to give notice of this to the Reader by inserting the usual Notes or Marks whereby they are express'd In ch 5. v. 9. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is not sufficiently express'd by we labour I think it might be more fully translated we ambitiously strive or we studiously endeavour In v. 10. of this Chapter 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 should be translated we must all be manifested or made manifest And so indeed the Word is rendred twice in v. 11. and I have often caution'd against the different translating of the same Word where it will admit as here of the same Version Indeed here is in this 11th Verse a plain reference to the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the foregoing one so that unless we translate it alike in both Places we shew that we do not take notice of the Apostle's reference Besides to appear before the Iudgment c. is thought by the mere English Reader to be only making our Appearance i. e. to be present there We do you to wit ch 8. v. 1. calls for an Emendation it being an Obsolete Expression The plain English of the Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is we make known unto you In v. 21. of this Chapter our Translators render 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 providing for whereas in Rom. 12. 17. they render it providing but I have often suggested that the same Words ought to be translated alike In ch 11. v. 6. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 rude in Speech had better be rendred plain or unskilful in Speech for in our English Idiom the word rude is as much as unmannerly and therefore it is not well adapted to English Ears which we are partly to consult in our Translation which we design for their Use. In v. 9. the Translation wouldâ— be more exact if instead of in all things we read in every thing it being in the singular Number in the Greek to which all Translations of the New Testament are to conform as far as they can In the Epistle to the Galatians there is something that may be amended in the English Translation as in ch 1. v. 16. that I might preach him but in the Greek it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that I may preach the glad-tidings of him In ch 3. v. 7. the same should be these for the Greek is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 In ch 5. v. 20 21. instead of Hatred Variance Wrath Strife Drunkenness you must read them in the plural Number because they are so in the Original The true rendring of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 v. 23. is not there is no Law but the Law is not i. e. it was not made neither is it design'd to condemn such things or such Persons as are there spoken of In the Epistle to the Ephesians ch 1. v. 16. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies Remembrance as well as mention wherefore the former should be put into the Margin See Phil. 1. 3. 2 Tim. 1. 3. In ch 2. v. 10. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 should not be rendred which but by which the Sense of the Apostle being this God out of his infinite and inexhaustible Love hath from eternal Ages ordain'd and decreed to prepare all his Elect by good Works to fit them by these for his Service to enable them by thâ— performing of these to walk as becomes the Chosen of the Lord. Or it is likely the Apostle by the full Extent of these Words lets us know that Good Works are our Preparative â—ven for Heaven and Happiness we are fitted by these for the Glory above In ch 5. v. 3. once is not in the Original and therefore must be expunged the Translation In ch 6. v. 18. there can be no Reason assigned why 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is not rendred at all times or in every Season seeing this is nearer to the Original than always In the same Verse thereunto is not the full English of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which must be rendred thus to this very thing I could also take notice of the false spelling v. 16. fiery for fury which is to be found not only here but in other Places both in the Old and New Testament and generally among all Writers whomsoever as if it came from fier not from fire In Philip. 1. 7. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 should not be translated meet but just In v. 23. which is fâ—r better comes short of the Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which the Vulgar Latin renders multâ— magis melius and we accordingly should english it which is â—uch rather or far better or far the best the Comparative perhaps being put for the Superlative Besides the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is left out which shews that this Clause is the Reason of what went before for the Apostle
translated purging our Sins 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 v. 14. is to inherit Salvation not to be Heirs of Salvation 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ch 4. v. 12. had better be rendred living or lively than quick because this is an ambiguous Word and signifies not only Life but sometimes Swiftness Why should not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 v. 15. be plainly and simply rendred to sympathize with or have Compassion on rather than to be touched with a feeling 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ch 10. v. 8. is according to the Law not by the Law In ch 10. v. 1◠〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 should for the expressing the Sense more clearly be rendred the Lord saith that it may not be thought that saith the Lord belongs to the foregoing Clause but that it may appear it refers to the following one For the Words run thus After that the Holy Ghost in the Scripture had said before This c. the Lord said viz. in the next Words I will put my Laws c. In v. 23. of this Chapter 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is the Confession or Profession of Hope not of Faith as our Bibles read it Again in v. 34. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 seems to be misplaced in our Translation and the Words should not be rendred knowing in your selves that ye have but knowing that ye have for your selves viz. laid up for your selves in Heaven c. for the Greek Preposition 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 will well bear this Signification here it being in the New Testament of a very large Extent However this rendring of it and the referring of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and not to 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 may be taken notice of in the Margin In ch 11. v. 12. as good as dead is but a vulgar way of speaking and seeing the plain English of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is as to these things dead I see no Reason for using this manner of Speech in this Place In v. 23. our English Word proper especially as 't is now used doth not express the Sense of the Greek Word and cannot well be applied to Moses when he was an Infant Therefore 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 should rather be rendred fair as the Word is translated in Acts 7. 20. or goodly as we render it in Exod. 2. 2. where the LXX use this Greek Word to express the Hebrew Tob. In v. 37. the English Version of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is this they were slain with the Sword but it is very deficient the true rendring of the Greek being this they died by Slaughter of the Sword No Man can translate it otherwise therefore here is need of correcting our English Bibles In ch 12. v. 1. there is a palpable misplacing of the Words which ought to be amended seeing we also are compassed about with so great a Cloud of Witnesses must be altered thus according to the Greek we having such a Cloud of Witnesses encompassing us and instead of let us lay aside read let us laying aside c. In v. 16. one Morsel of Meat doth not answer to 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which should be rendred for one eating or rather for one feeding which comprehends both eating and drinking for this Place refers to Gen. 25. 34. Jacob gave Esau Bread and Pottage and he did eat and drink Which shews that one Morsel doth not fully contain the Sense of the Words In ch 13. v. 2. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is not so properly translated be not forgetful to entertain Strangers as thus forget not the entertaining of Strangers or the loving of Strangers or Hospitality as 't is rendred in Rom. 12. 13. for this Translation shews which is the Verb and which is the Noun In v. 8. is is left out without Cause for though 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 among the Greeks be sometimes omitted in such Propositions yet 't is always understood to make the Sentence entire But in the English it ought to be express'd and particularly here Iesus Christ is the same or else nothing is affirmed and so the Sense is left imperfect Our Translators render v. 16. thus to do Good and to communicatâ— forget not but it is most exactly rendred in this manner forget not doing of Good and communicating for these latter are Substantives not Verbs and there should be a Distinction made between them in our Translation In 1 Pet. 1. 7. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is rendred at the appearing but in v. 13. at the Revelation This latter is the true Word and therefore let it be used in both Places In ch 3. v. 20. leave out a. In ch 4. v. 7. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 should have been translated Prayers not Prayer Concerning 2 Pet. 1. 10. No Prophecy of Scripture is of any private Interpretation I animadvert 1. That any is not in the Greek nor need it be in the English 2. It is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and consequently should be rendred every Prophecy is c. 3. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is not private but proper and so these Words every Prophecy of Scripture is not of proper Interpretation may be understood thus Some Prophecies in Scripture have besides the Proper and Primary Interpretation a Secondary one Or the first and literal Signification of them is not the only Sense to be look'd after in them but there is a higher and greater which is the second and as 't were the improper Sense couched in them In câ— 2. v. 16. he was rebuked is not according to the Greek but it should be he had a Rebuke or Check In v. 18. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 great swelling may better be rendred over-swelling and so in Iude v. 16. In 1 Iohn 2. 20. you read an Vnction and v. 27. the anointing but there is the same Greek Word viz. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 wherefore the rendring of it should be alike in both Places In St. Iude's Epistle v. 8. filthy should be left out for there is no such Word in the Original Our Margin indeed takes notice of it but then the word filthy should have been in different Letters as those Words that are not in the Greek usually are distinguish'd in the New Testament 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 v. 13. is rendred the Blackness of Darkness but the same Words are english'd tâ—e midst of Darkness 2 Pet. 2. 17. which seems to be the most proper Translation however as I have suggested on the like occasion let one of them only be retain'd In v. 14. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 may be rendred and most properly prophesied unto these viz. denouncing Judgment against them as you read in the next Verse Lastly in the Revelation I might observe that in ch 3. v. 20. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 may most properly be translated I have stood therefore let it be so englished in the Margin if not in the Text. In ch 4. v. 4. instead of Seats let Thrones be read with the word other in different Characters
understand them aright I propound these ensuing Rules and Directions First It is requisite that we furnish our selves with other Learning to make our selves capable of understanding the Bible All Arts require a Master and Teacher even the lowest and mechanical All Trades and Sciences are to be learn'd none presumes to meddle with them till they have been instructed in them And yet we may observe that all degrees of Persons pretend to interpret the Scriptures though they were never instructed never prepared as St. Ierom complain'd of old A great many imagine that the Weakest Brains can comprehend the Contents of this Book and without all other knowledg attain to the meaning of them But this is a gross Mistake and is one cause of Mens wresting and corrupting the Scriptures They are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 2 Pet. 3. 16. unlearned and unwilling to be taught for so the Word imports they neglect the means of Knowledg they use not the proper Helps conducing to it Or whatever they were in St. Peter's Time we are sure that now a competent Measure of Humane Learning is required to understand these Writings For though they surpass all Humane Wisdom yet it is as true that they have strictures of all Arts and Sciences in them and are written in the Learned Languages and as I have shew'd formerly contain in them all sorts of Words Phrases and Idioms Wherefore there is a Necessity of the Arts and Tongues for understanding this Book In the Writings of Moses and the Prophets of the Apostles and Evangelists there are the Rites Customs Manners Opinions Sayings Proverbs of almost all Nations in the World especially of the Antient Hebrews Wherefore a Knowledg of their Writings and Antient Monuments a Converse with History and Antiquities are absolutely requisite especially for explaining the difficult Places And to have a true Notion of several Passages in the Epistles of the Apostles Ecclesiastical History in needful which gives us nitice of the Hereticks of that time or of those concerning whom the Apostles prophetically speak The Writings of the Fathers are to be consulted and that with great application of Mind that we may not mistake the Interpretations which those Learned and Pious Men give of the respective Places of Scripture that we may be ediâ—ied by their Religious Comments but not imbibe any of their Errors This which I now say principally concerns the Guides and Ministers of the Church who are supposed to be Men of Learning and Scholarship and truly a great Part of the Bible is more especially fitted for such It is their province to expound and teach this Holy Book which is it self a Library and is of that Nature that it cannot be rightly understood and explain'd without acquaintance with the Antient Writers of the Church without skill in the Tongues Rhetdrick Logick Philosophy History Criticism for as it is furnish'd with all Literature so it requires all to unfold it aright As for the Apostles tho some of them had no knowledg in Arts and Sciences yet that Defect was abundantly recompensed by the extraordinary Gifts and Endowments of the Holy Ghost So most of the Primitive Christians in the Apostles Days who were not Hebrews understood the Language in which the Old Testament was written by their Gift of Tongues And as for the Greek of the New Testament it was universally known and so was in a manner the native Tongue both to the Jews and others of that time But Men are not now instructed in Strange Languages by the Spirit nor are they born with Hebrew or Greek neither are they Inspired with Arts and Humane Knowledg and consequently Study and Reading and Long Exercise are indispensably requisite Clement of Alexandria would have his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. his Perfect and Compleat Theologuâ— be skill'd in Humane Literature and Philosophy Inshort to be a Consummate Divine and thorowly knowing in the Bible it is necessary that he be a Man of Universal Learning Secondly that we may read and understand the Scriptures it is requisite that we be exceeding Attentive Observing Considerate that we be very Inquisitive Thoughtful and Diligent This Rule may be explain'd in several Particulars 1. We must use great Thoughtfulness Diligence and Care in penetrating into the Design and Sense of those Inspired Writings St. Chrysostom delivers the Rule thus we must not only examine the meer naked Words and insist upon them simply and absolutely consider'd but we must chiefly attend to the Mind and Intent of the Writer Sometimes instead of an Absolute meaning of the Words in Scripture they are to be taken Comparatively or with Limitation they must be restrain'd to the Matter in Hand As to Instance No Man can say that Iesus is the Lord but by the Holy Ghost 1. Cor. 12. 3. i. e. no Man can say so from his Heart There is that Reserve implied Where I am ye eannot come John 7. 34. i. e. ye can't come yet but afterwards you shall All that came before me are Thieves and Robbers John 1 o. 8. i. e. all False Prophets for he means them are such It is reported that there is such Fornication among you as is not so much as named among the Gentiles that one should have his Father's Wife 1 Cor. 5. 1. This sort of Fornication was not only named but practis'd among the Gentiles for there are several Examples in Pagan Story of marrying the Father's Wife therefore here must be meant the more Sober Sort of Gentiles And so in many other Places things which seem to be absolutely spoken are to be understood in a restrained Sense 2. It is necessary that we be very thoughtful and inquisitive about the Context the Dependance the Connection of those Places which we search into We are to be exceeding mindful what the Words refer to what Coherence they have with what went before and what follows To Know the true Sense of them we must carefully observe the Subject-matter for this is certain that Propositions are true or not true according to this You will meet with several Instances of this in my former Discourses on the Holy Scriptures and therefore I will forbear to mention any here Only I offer this at present as a General Rule for guiding us to the true and genuine meaning of Scripture 3. This Attentiveness and Care must be exercis'd in Comparing one Place with another or with divers others if there be occasion For as an Intelligent Person rightly suggests all Truth being consonant to it self and all being penn'd by one and the self-same Spirit it cannot be but that an industrious and judicious Comparing of Place with Place must be a singular help for the right understanding of the Scriptures This One Rule if well and duly observ'd will carry us through most of the Difficulties of the Bible For this we may depend upon that the Scripture is its own Interpreter that the best Comment on this Book is it self Wherefore let
Ghost saw to be most profitable and necessary for the Church That one would think should content us So as to his Songs which were a thousand and five as we read in the fore-mentioned Place there is but One of them that hath arrived at our Hands and was thought worthy to be inserted into the Sacred Writings unless we reckon the Forty fifth Psalm to be a Song of his This then adds to the Excellency of these Writings of Solomon which we have that they are Choice Pieces selected even by the Holy Ghost who was the Prime Author of them This surely may satisfy us that the Books or Writings of this Wise Prince which were most Excellent and which were dictated by the Spirit are transmitted to us and are Part of the Bible Thus there is nothing lost that belongs to the Canonical Scripture of the Old Testament And whereas it is Objected that some Places are quoted in the New Testament as taken out of the Old and yet are not to be found there as Mat. 2. 23. Iames 4. 5. Iude v. 14. I answer as to the first that from those Words That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Prophets He shall be called a Nazarene no Man can gather that some of the Canonical Books of Scripture are missing because if you take the Prophets here for Prophetick Men who spoke only and did not write then there were no Books of theirs to be lost Or if by Prophets you understand the Penmen of the Bible it may be shew'd that what they foretold is still extant in their Writings For though those individual Words He shall be call'd a Nazarene are not found among the Prophecies of the Old Testament yet the Purport and Sense of them are there and the Places to which they have reference are very obvious as I have shewed in that particular Interpretation of the Words which I have offered to the Publick in my Enquiry into some Remarkable Texts of the New Testament Thence I hope it will appear that the Objectors have no ground for what they alledg and also that the Iews Cavil against this Place of St. Matthew where they say he quotes a Text out of the Prophets which is not to be found in any of them is void of all Reason Another Place which is wont to be mention'd on this Occasion is Iam. 4. 5. Do you think that the Sâ—ripture saith in vain The Spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to Envy Which Words are no where to be found in Scripture therefore say they some Part of the Holy Writings is lost And Sir N. Knatchbull seems to say that this is Passage taken out of the Writings of the Prophets which â—re missing at this Day In answer to this some say that Gen. 6. 3. is the Place of Scripture here referr'd to but after they have taken a great dealâ—of Pains to make this out their labour is in vain for surely no Man of free and unprejudiced Thoughts will be perswaded that those Wordâ— My Spirit shall not always strive with Man are of the same Import with these The Spirit that dwelleâ—â— in us lusteth to Envy This Exposition is built upon a mistaken Notion of the Hebrew word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 contendet which our Translators truly rendâ—â— shall strive some fancying that it is to be derivâ—â— from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Sheath and then forsooth the Soul or Spirit is a Sword Lowis Chappel and some Others as groundlesly make these Words an Interrogation Doth the Spirit that dwelleth in us lust to Envy and think they refer to Numb 11. 29. Enviest thou for my sake The Question say they is a Negâ—tion and is as much as if it had been said Doth the Scripture and the Holy Spirit teach you to contend to be envious and quarrelsom No. But this likewise is forced and strained and an impartial Eye cannot possibly see any Affinity between the two Places of Scripture besides that there is one Interrogation to introduce another which confounds the Stile The plain and unforced Answer is this that St. Iames doth not here quote any Particular Place of Scripture as if there were such express Words in the Old Testament as are here set down by him He only tells us what is generally deliver'd in Scripture viz. that Man's Nature is depraved and corrupted that it is enclined to Envy as well as to other Lusts and Unlawful Affections Or If any â—ne Particular Place be referr'd to more than another it is probable it is that of Gen. 6. 5. or ch 8. v. 21. where we are told that the Imaginations or the Purposes and Desires of Mens Hearts are evil from their Youth yea they are only evil and that contiâ—ually The Words then are not to be understood of the Divine Spirit but of that Corrupt Spirit which is in Men not the Spirit which is of God â—â—t the Spirit of the World as the Apostle Paul distinguisheth 1 Cor. 2. 12. This Spirit lusteth to Envy and prompts Men to all other Vices And 〈◊〉 for the next Words He giveth more Grace they refer not to the Spirit here spoken of but to God who though he be not named in this Verse is twice in the immediately foregoing one He giveth 〈◊〉 Grace he according to his good Pleasure restrains Mens Lusts and envious Desires and teâ—cheth them Humility Submission and all other Divine Vertues Or according to a late Worthy Critick it i. e. the Scripture giveth more Grace for that it saith c. In this Holy Book there are Examples of some Persons in whom this Spirit of Envy was restrained When the Apostle then here saith Do you think that the Scripture saith in vain c. we must not wonder that those very Words are not found in any Part of the Old Testament for the Apostle only speaks here of what may be deduced from these Sacred Writings or what is said in them to the same purpose though in other Words There are many Places of Scripture which speak of the Lusts of that corrupt Spirit which is in us whereby we are stirr'd up to Envy and Strife From several Texts we may gather that Man's Nature is prone to these and the like Passions This I take to be the true Account of the Words In the same manner we are to understand Luâ—â— 11. 49. Therefore said the Wisdom of God I will send them Prophets and Apostles c. There is no partâ—cular Text that hath these Words but there are several Prophecies to this Purpose So Ephes. 5. 14. He saith Awake thou that sleepest and arise from the dead and Christ shall give the Light is not meanâ—â— of any such particular and individual Words 〈◊〉 of the Spirit 's speaking in the Gospel to that Effect though I know Dr. Hammond and others refer i◠〈◊〉 Isa. 60. 1. and some Interpreters to Isa. 51. 9. 〈◊〉 you will not find these or such Words in either of those Places That Passage in