he had served his own Generation by the will of God fell asleep and was gathered to his Fathers and saw corruption But he whom God raised again saw no corruption In like manner we find St. Paul alluding to that of Hosea XIII vers 14. in I Cor. XV. vers 55. O Death where is thy sting O Grave where is thy victory CHAP. XXII That the Messiah was to ascend into Heaven and send down from thence the miraculous Gifts of Prophecy Languages c. THis was a thing which might rationally enough be expected Deut. XVIII 18. for the Messiah being to resemble Moses who had not only the Gifts of the Holy Spirit himself but also in a manner communicated the same to the Heads of the Congregation of Israel it was reasonable to infer That the Messiah was to receive much more eminent Gifts and to communicate them to far greater numbers But besides this God had expresly promised it by David Psalm CX vers 1 2. where he represents the Messiah sitting at the right hand of God. The Lord said unto my Lord sit thou at my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool The Lord shall send the Rod of thy strength out of Zion Rule thou in the midst of thine Enemies It is worth our noting that Daniel represents to us the same Notion where he speaks of the Kingdom of the Messiah Chap. VII vers 13 14. I saw in the night visions and behold one like the Son of Man came with the Clouds of Heaven and came to the Ancient of Days and they brought him near before him And there was given him Dominion and Glory and a Kingdom that all People Nations and Languages should serve him his Dominion is an everlasting Dominion which shall not pass away and his Kingdom that which shall not be destroyed Where doth God dwell unless in Heaven David expresses himself in term which import something too great to be applyed to the Symbolical Ark of the Covenant Psalm XXIV vers 7 8 9. Lift up your heads O ye Gates and be ye lift up ye everlasting Doors and the King of Glory shall come in Who is this King of Glory the Lord strong and mighty the Lord mighty in Battel c. He speaks further of the glorious Kingdom of the Messiah Psalm XLV vers 5 6 7. Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the Kings enemies whereby the people fall under thee Thy Throne O God is for ever and ever the Scepter of thy Kingdom is a right Scepter Thou lovest righteousness and hatest wickedness therefore God thy God hath anointed thee with the oyl of Gladness above thy fellows 'T is evident that David addresses himself there to the Messiah because he stiles him a God anointed above his Fellows And he pursues the same Idea Psalm LXVIII vers 18. Thou hast ascended on high thou hast led captivity captive thou hast received gifts for men yea for the rebellious also that the Lord God might dwell amongst them Nothing can be imagined more express than these words which lively represent to us the Ascension of the Messiah and the pouring forth of Prophetical Gifts to bring the Heathens to the Service of God. Isaiah speaks the same Chap. XLIV vers 3. For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty and floods upon the dry ground I will pour my Spirit upon thy Seed and my Blessing upon thine Off-spring The waters here spoken of according to the ordinary stile of the Prophets are nothing else but the Graces of God's Spirit Joel expresses himself very plainly in this matter Chap. II. vers 28 29 30 31 32. And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh and your sons and your daughters shall prophesie your old men shall dream dreams your young men shall see visions And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my Spirit And I will shew wonders in the Heavens and in the Earth blood and fire and pillars of smoke The Sun shall be turned into darkness and the Moon into blood before the great and terrible Day of the Lord come And it shall come to pass that whosoever shall call on the Name of the Lord shall be delivered for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance as the Lord hath said and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call Nothing can be conceived more particular than this Oracle concerning the effusion of the Prophetical Gifts upon the Servants of the Messiah after his Ascension For 1. he clearly hints at the several ways of Prophecy which shall be bestowed upon the Subjects of the Messiah 2. That this great Event was to be before the Destruction of Jerusalem which St. Peter foretels as a thing at the Door Acts II. vers 30 31 32. after he had shewed that the wonderful effusion of the Spirit at Pentecost was a litteral accomplishing of the Prophecy of Joel he adds Therefore being a Prophet and knowing that God had sworn with an Oath to him that of the fruit of his loins according to the flesh he would raise up Christ to sit on his Throne he seeing this before spake of the Resurrection of Christ that his Soul was not left in Hell neither his Flesh did see Corruption This Jesus has God raised up whereof we all are witnesses Ezechiel goes on with the same views with Joel Chap. XXXVI vers 26 and 27. A new heart also will I give you and a new spirit will I put within you and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh and I will give you an heart of flesh And I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my Statutes and ye shall keep my Judgments and do them And Chap. XXXIX verse 29. Neither will I hide my face any more from them for I have poured out my Spirit upon the House of Israel saith the Lord God. And Zachariah agrees with both the foregoing Prophets Chap. XII verse 10. And I will pour upon the House of David and upon the Inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of Grace and of Supplications and they shall look upon him whom they have pierced and they shall mourn for him as one mourneth for his only Son and shall be in bitterness for him as one that is in bitterness for his First-born 'T is obvious to make these following Observations upon these Oracles 1. That the Messiah was to be raised above the reach of any of his Enemies 2. That he was to ascend to Heaven and to be instated there in Glory in order to his being dignified and glorified above all Nations 3. That he was from thence to send down Prophetical Graces plentifully which made his entrance into Heaven a kind of Triumph 4. That this great Event was to precede the destruction of Jerusalem to which the Prophet Joel in the fore-cited place seems to allude The Messiah was to form
Countrey his People and the Temple in the manner which is recorded in the Book of Kings How could a sufficient number of Copies of it be dispersed over all his Kingdom in an instant to inform the People about the Ceremonials of the Passover which soon after was so Solemnly celebrated by them Or how is it possible that the Levites the Priests and People could have been all of the suddain instructed in all the points to be observed in the performing of that Holy Solemnity It is apparent that the Sacred Historian did for no other reason take notice of this Circumstance that the Book found was of Moses own hand Writing but to make it appear that their devout respect for this Book was not wholly stifled as having been by them carefully hid from the fury of their Idolatrous Kings and laid up in some secret place of the Temple where now they had so happily found it again Over and above what hath been said already we are to observe that how great soever the wickedness of the Kings of Juda and Israel was as well as that of their Subjects yet the same generally consisted in nothing else but the imitation of the Worship of their Neighbour Natitions as to some particulars which tho they were forbid by the Law yet they left the far greater part of their Religion in full force This we have an instance of in the time of Ahab where we find Elijah reproaching the Israelites with the Monstrous Alliance they had made betwixt the Worship of God and that of Baal which Queen Jesabel had introduc'd All this clearly proves that the Book of Genesis which is the first of the Books of Moses was never forged under his Name since it was always owned as the Writing of that Famous Author and is still so acknowledged by the Jews at this day CHAP. VII That it appears from Genesis that the Sabbath was constantly observed from the beginning of the World until Moses THe other Objection of the Atheists supposing that Moses was the Author of Genesis as we have now proved is this that it seems absurd to give credit to the Relations of a Person who lived so many Ages distant from the things he recites To answer this Objection we must first of all declare to them by what means the Memory of the Fact which Moses relates was preserv'd so lively and entire as to give Moses so distinct a knowledge of them and that it was not in his power to forge or add any thing of his own it being a thing known to the whole World as well as himself There is no way whereby we can more solidly evince that it is impossible the Creation of the World should be forged by Moses than by making it appear that the Law of the Sabbath hath a natural Relation to the Creation of the World and that it hath been always constantly observed from that time until Moses The same also will help us clearly to conceive after what manner the Memory of the Promise of the Messiah hath been preserv'd so distinct amongst those that lived since the Creation until Moses We are no sooner inform'd that the Sabbath is a solemn day ordain'd at first to celebrate and perpetuate the Memory of the Creation but we judge it impossible that so important an event commemorated every seventh day by vertue of a Divine Law should be an imposture But forasmuch as this impossibility is grounded on these two Propositions the one that God gave this Law of the Sabbath to the first Man the other that the same was observed by his Posterity ever since till the time of Moses and that God only renew'd it in the Law given from Mount Sinai these are the Truths I am now to clear and it is of more importance to be proved because tho the generality of Authors Ancient and Modern Jews as well as Christians are of this Opinion yet there are some of the Christian Fathers who seem to deny that the Sabbath was ever observ'd by the Patriarchs But it will be an easie matter to prove from Moses that the Antiquity of the Sabbath is such as I assert and at the same time to demonstrate the truth of the Creation as well as of the Promise of the Messiah which in a manner immediately follow'd it Moses in the second Chapter of Genesis Gen. II. 3. expresses himself thus And God blessed the seventh day and Sanctified it because that in it he had rested from all his work which he had Created Which words clearly evince a Solemn Consecration of the seventh day to God's Service by its being made a Commemoration of his finishing the Creation of the Heavens and the Earth But because it may be said that the intent of Moses in this place was only to set down the reason why God set apart this day of all others to his Service by the Law at Mount Sinai we are to take notice that this appointment was made for Man's sake already placed in the Garden of Eden This we may gather from the order Moses observes For he sets down first the Formation of Man on the sixth day and his being plac'd in Paradise which he gives a more particular account of in the second Chapter and after these he relates God's resting from his Works and the Consecration of the Sabbath with the reason of that Law which he impos'd on Man and then adds These are the Generations of the Heavens and of the Earth when they were Created in the day that the Lord God made the Heaven and the Earth All that precedes these words is only a Relation of what pass'd in the seven first days and that which Moses sets down concerning Gods blessing of the seventh day and his Consecrating it ought as well to be accounted a Law appointing the seventh day for his Service as those other Blessings given to the Creatures according to their kinds are acknowledged as inviolable Laws of God by virtue whereof they subsist and are perpetuated each according to their kind by the way of Generation In the second place it is very remarkable that the Patriarchs maintain'd a Publick Worship at least since the time of Seth which it was necessary should be determined to some certain day and since we find that even at this time they distinguish'd between Beasts clean and unclean with respect to their Sacrifices which they could not do but from Revelation we have much more reason to conclude that God had set apart a time for own Worship and Service And indeed there are many evident signs that even then the 7 day was observed Kimchi Praefat in Psalmos I will not here peremptorily assert that antient Tradition of the Jews which tells us that the ninety second Psalm whose Title is a Psalm for the Sabbath was made by Adam himself who was made on the Evening of the Sabbath But this I dare assert that it is apparent Gen. VIII 10.12 that what
we read in the eighth Chapter of Genesis about the Deluge doth refer to this custom where we find Noah sending forth the Dove and the Raven on the seventh day which plainly hints to us his observing of that day for it seems that Noah having in an especial manner on that solemn day implored the assistance of God in the Assembly of his Family he expected a particular Blessing from it And we cannot but make some Reflexion on that which we read in the XXIX of Genesis concerning the term of a Week set apart to the Nuptials of Leah Gen. XXIX 27. where at the twenty seventh Verse Laban thus expresses himself Fulfil her Week and we will give thee this also for the Service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other Years This Week here doth so plainly signifie a Week of days that it cannot be more naturally express'd and indeed all generally understand by this Week of the Marriage Feast of Leah that term of time which in succeeding Ages hath been customary to allot to Nuptial Festivals as appears from the Book of Esther where the Wedding Feast of Vasthi lasted seven days this term of seven days having so long since been Consecrated to Nuptial Rejoycings The same we may also gather from the time which was ordinarily allotted to mourning for the Dead to which we find the Patriarchs allotted a term proportion'd to that of their rejoicing For as we see that the Egyptians mourned ten Weeks for Jacob because of his Quality as being the Father of Joseph so we find that Joseph and those that accompanied him mourned seven days at his Enterment in the Land of Canaan And as we find that this Custom was perpetually afterwards observ'd by the Jews as appears from Ecclesiasticus XXII 12. so likewise we find the same observed by the Asiaticks as may be seen in the History of Ammianus Marcellinus at the beginning of his nineteenth Book De fide Resur in obitu Sat. p. 321. Seven days were fulfilled after that the Lord had smote the River Jalkut in h. l. and from them it passed to the Christians as we find in St. Ambrose Thirdly It appears from Exod. VII 25. that God observed seven days after he had smote the River to change the Waters thereof into Blood from whence the Jews conclude that the three Plagues Viz. that of Blood of Frogs and of Lice abode on the Land of Egypt six days and were withdrawn on the seventh which is the Sabbath We may also gather if we calculate the time exactly that the Jews in Egypt observed the Sabbath We find from the History of their departure out of Egypt that the same happened on a Thursday being the fifteenth of the Month Nisan and the day in which they sung those Hymns of Deliverance was the Sabbath which God had particularly set apart for this Week It is also evident from Exod. XVI that the keeping of the Sabbath was observ'd by the Israelites before the Law was given on Mount Sinai For we find God speaking there concerning the Sabbath not as of a thing newly instituted but as of an antient Law which they wer e not to transgress by gathering the Manna on that day for he orders them to gather a double portion the sixth day and not to gather any on the seventh We see that the Israelites resting on the seventh day is here supposed a known and customary thing prescribed to them by a Law of old They who went forth to gather Manna on the seventh day are represented as Transgressors of a known Law as appears from the words of the Lord to Moses How long refuse ye to keep my Commandments and my Laws Moses also speaks of the Sabbath which was to be the next day as of a thing customary and received amongst them To morrow saith he at v. 23. is the rest of the Sabbath of holiness unto the Lord words which would have been unintelligible to the Israelites and express'd a Law altogether impracticable in case they had been destitute of any further knowledge concerning it and had not been acquainted that it was the very day in which the great work of Creation had been finished My fourth Observation I take from the very words of the Decalogue where first of all we find God speaking in this manner Remember the Sabbath day which words clearly import Exod. XX. 8. that the Law he gave was not a new Law but indeed as old as the World and which had been observed by their Forefathers It seems probable also that God expresses himself in these terms because the Tyranny of Pharaoh had forc'd them to break this Law by obliging them to deliver their Tale of Bricks every day without excepting the Sabbath which before he had allowed them to keep This is explained very distinctly in the fifth of Exodus and seems to have been the occasion of Moses's demanding Straw of Pharaoh for the Israelites to go and Sacrifice in answer to which demand Exod. V. 5. Pharaoh expresses himself in terms which shew that formerly they had observed a rest on that day However it be yet thus much is apparent that God commands them to make their Bond Servants to observe the Sabbath because the Egyptians by their example inclin'd them not to be very careful in exempting them from all labour on that day Moreover in the second place we are to take notice that in the last words of the fourth Commandment God speaks of it as of a thing formerly appointed and determin'd by him saying For in six days the Lord made Heaven and Earth and rested the seventh day wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it which words have a manifest and undeniable reference to that which happen'd the seventh day after the Creation and to the Law then given to Man concerning it We may gather from the fourth Chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews that the sense which we have put upon the third Verse of the second of Genesis is the same which the Jews have always had of it The Apostle discoursing from those words of David Psal XCV To whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest doth suppose a threefold rest the first of which is the rest of the Sabbath of which mention is made in the second of Genesis where we have the first institution of it the second was the rest in the Land of Canaan promised to the Jews upon their enduring all those Tryals in the Wilderness the third the rest in Heaven of which the two foregoing were but the Figures He argues therefore that these words of David could not be understood concerning the Sabbath day forasmuch as from the beginning of the World Men entred into that rest of the Sabbath and he proves this by that passage in Genesis of which he only cites the first words viz. That God rested the seventh day from all his works as supposing that the Jews
Oyl of Gladness above his Fellows This exactly sets forth the august Character of the Messiah and his Anointing to be the King of all Nations their Prophet and their Priest Psalm XLV 1. My heart is inditing a good matter I speak of the things which I have made touching the King my tongue is the pen of a ready writer Verse 7 8. Thy Throne O God is for ever and ever the Scepter of thy Kingdom is a right Scepter Thou lovest righteousness and hatest wickedness therefore God thy God hath anointed thee with Oyl of Gladness above thy Fellows Verse 16. Instead of thy Fathers shall be thy Children whom thou maist make Princes in all the Earth One see 's the same Prophets inviting all Nations in the XLVII Psalm to acknowledge the Kingdom of God which Daniel afterwards describes as that which the Jews already knew was to be governed by the Messiah One see 's Asaph describing in the L Psalm the manner of the Messiah's assembling all People and of his rejecting the ancient and Legal Service and prescribing a Spiritual one even Sacrifices of Vows and of Praise Verse 6 7 8 9 10. And the Heavens shall declare his Righteousness for God is Judge himself Hear O my people and I will speak O Israel and I will testifie against thee I am God even thy God. I will not reprove thee for thy Sacrifices or thy Burnt-offerings to have been continually before me I will take no Bullock out of thy House nor He-goat out of thy Folds For every Beast of the Forest is mine and the Cattle upon a thousand Hills One sees the Author of the LXXII Psalm describing the glory and happiness of Solomon's Kingdom in such a manner that he carries his views as high as the Messiah at the same time He foretels the continuance of his Kingdom as long as the Sun and Moon endures that all the Kings of the World should bring Presents to him and that all the Nations of the Earth should worship before him Verse 5. They shall fear thee as long as the Sun and Moon endure throughout all Generations Verse 8. He shall have Dominion also from Sea to Sea and from the River unto the ends of the Earth Verse 11. All Kings shall fall down before him all Nations shall serve him Verse 17 18 19. His Name shall endure for ever his Name shall be continued as long as the Sun and Men shall be blessed in him all Nations shall call him blessed Blessed be the Lord God of Israel who only doth wondrous things And blessed be his glorious Name for ever and let the whole Earth be filled with all his Glory Amen and Amen One sees that Ethan the Ezrahite who is represented to us as the wisest Man in that Age after Solomon explains the promise made to David of a Son who should reign for ever and whose Throne should be immoveable in the LXXXIX Psalm This agrees to none but the Messiah whom he describes as the First-born of the Princes of the Earth and as the Son of God in a manner which is not applicable to any of David's Posterity except only to the Messiah Verse 19 20. Then thou spakest in Visions to the holy one and say'st I have laid help upon one that is mighty I have exalted one chosen out of the people I have found David my servant with my holy Oyl have I anointed him Verse 24 25 26 27 28 29. My Faithfulness and my Mercy shall be with him and in my Name shall his Horn be exalted I will set his Hand also in the Sea and his right hand in the Rivers He shall cry unto me Thou art my Father my God and the Rock of my Salvation Also I will make him my First-born higher than the Kings of the Earth My Mercy will I keep for him for evermore and my Covenant shall stand fast with him His Seed also will I make to endure for ever and his Throne as the days of Heaven Verse 33.34 35 36 37. Nevertheless my loving kindness will I not utterly take from him nor suffer my faithfulness to fail My Covenant will I not break nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips Once have I sworn by my Holiness that I will not lye unto David His Seed shall endure for ever and his Throne as the Sun before me It shall be established for ever as the Moon and as a faithful Witness in Heaven One needs only read over the Psalms which I have now taken notice of and which are almost all applyed by the Jews to the Messiah to see the great Number of Oracles which God gave in David's time concerning this matter not to speak of those which describe the Calling of the Gentiles which fill up the Book of the Psalms almost entirely I come now to the proof of the second Article which is to shew That the Oracles which David uttered are much clearer and much more particular than those which were given before This I hope to prove beyond all contradiction by considering two Psalms the one whereof describes the prodigious Humiliation of the Messiah and the other describes his Advancement at the right hand of God two of the greatest Truths declared by the Prophets and two the most singular of all the Characters which belong to the promised Messiah CHAP. XI Considerations upon the Sufferings of the Messiah and upon his glorious Ascension into Heaven foretold by David in the XXII and CX Psalms IT cannot be deny'd when one reads the XXII Psalm but that the person there spoken of is described figuratively as one exposed to the severest Sufferings from which he is afterwards delivered by the Divine assistance and advanced to rule an Empire which extends it self over all the Nations of the World and afterwards universally adored I. He that speaks cries out as if God had forsaken him and had stopped his Ears unto his Cry. II. He describes himself as a Worm and no Man as the reproach of Men and one despised by the people III. He takes notice that those who were witnesses of his Sufferings made a mock at them bidding him trust in God that he might deliver him IV. He ranks his Enemies amongst the Bulls of Bashan and raging Lions who according to the Prophetical way of speaking are the chief Men in the Nation Amos IV. 1. Ezech. XXII 25. V. He joyns the Dogs with them that is prophane persons or the Gentiles VI. He represents his Hands and his Feet as pierced with Nails VII He shews that he was stretched out before in such a manner that they might count all his Bones this expresses the Idea of a Man fastned to a Cross and exposed to the view of all the World as he afterwards describes himself to be quite dry'd up from the loss of Blood when he was crucify'd VIII He takes notice of their parting his Garments and IX Of their casting Lots upon his Vesture In short one see 's throughout all the
can no way agree with the Prophet that uttered them Thus we find that in the XXII Psalm there are many Expressions which cannot be applyed to David 3. That most of these Prophecies are avowedly attributed to the Messiah by the most ancient Authors of the Synagogue And the modern Jews themselves refer them to some that suffer'd a violent Death as to Rabbi Akiba who died in the second Century 4. That the Apostles unanimously applyed them to Jesus Christ the true Messiah following therein the general consent of their Nation CHAP. XXI That the Messiah was soon after to rise again FOrasmuch as Death entred into the World by Sin and that the Messiah was to take it away we may easily conceive That if the Messiah were according to the Divine disposal to submit to Death that he could not long continue subject to it He who was to restore life to those who were dead could never be confin'd and imprison'd in a Grave and he who was superiour to Enoch and Elias who ascended into Heaven because he alone was exalted to the right hand of God to reign there for ever as the Prophecies concerning him assure us ought certainly to leave his Sepulchre by a glorious Resurrection And this we are positively assured of by the ancient Oracles Psalm XVI vers 10 11. Thou wilt not leave my soul in Hell neither wilt thou suffer thine holy One to see corruption Thou wilt shew me the path of life in thy presence is fulness of joy at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore And to assure us that these and the like passages are applicable to none but the Messiah we find in the same Psalms expressions too high to be applyed to the Authors themselves As for example Psalm XXX vers 1 2 3. I will extol thee O Lord for thou hast lifted me up and hast not made my foes to rejoyce over me O Lord my God I cried unto thee and thou hast healed me O Lord thou hast brought up my soul from the Grave thou hast kept me alive that I should not go down to the pit And Psalm XLI vers 8 9 10. An evil disease say they cleaveth fast unto him and now that he lieth he shall rise up no more Yea mine own familiar Friend in whom I trusted which did eat of my bread hath lift up his heel against me But thou O Lord be merciful unto me and raise me up that I may requite them And Psalm XLIX verse 15. But God will redeem my soul from the power of the Grave for he shall receive me Psalm LVI vers 11 12 13. In God have I put my trust I will not be afraid what man can do unto me Thy Vows are upon me O God I will render praise unto thee For thou hast delivered my soul from death c. Psalm LXXII verse 20. Thou who hast shewed me great and sore troubles shalt quicken me again and shall bring me up again from the depths of the Earth Psalm CXLIII vers 11 12. Quicken me O Lord for thy names sake for thy righteousness sake bring my soul out of trouble and of thy mercy cut off mine Enemies and destroy all them that afflict my soul for I am thy Servant Hosea speaks to the same purpose Chap. XIII vers 14. I will ransom them from the power of the Grave I will redeem them from death O Death I will be thy plagues O Grave I will be thy destruction Repentance shall be hid from mine eyes Isaiah expresses the very same thing Chap. XXV vers 8. He will swallow up death in victory and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces and the rebuke of his people shall he take from off all the Earth for the Lord hath spoken it And yet more expresly Chap. LIII vers 10 and 11. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him he hath put him to grief when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin he shall see his Seed he shall prolong his days and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand He shall see of the travel of his soul and shall be satisfied by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justifie many for he shall bear their iniquities For the better understanding of which passages we are to observe 1. That the Messiah in many or most of them compriseth all Believers with himself according to that Maxim of the Jews who attribute to the Messiah the greatest of all the Prophets whatsoever God vouchsafed to any one of the Prophets and according to this Principle Jesus Christ speaks Matth. XII vers 39 40. An evil and adulterous Generation seeketh after a sign and there shall no sign be given to it but the sign of the Prophet Jonah For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the Whales belly so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the Earth 2. That upon this account the Messiah is represented to us not as rising again alone but as making all his Brethren partakers of the same glory which makes the Prophets speak of him not as a single person but in common with others who by him are made possessors of the same advantages 3. That most of these Texts were quoted by the Apostles who in so doing followed the sense of the whole Nation as appears from Acts II. vers 24 25 26 27 28 and 29. Whom God hath raised having loosed the pains of death because it was not possible that he should be holden of it For David speaketh concerning him I foresaw the Lord always before my face for he is at my right hand that I should not be moved Therefore did my heart rejoice and my tongue was glad moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope because thou wilt not leave my soul in Hell neither wilt thou suffer thy holy One to see Corruption Thou hast made known to me the ways of life thou shalt make me full of joy with thy Countenance Men and Brethren let me freely speak unto you of the Patriarch David that he is both dead and buried and his Sepulchre is with us unto this day And Acts XIII vers 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 and 37. But God raised him from the dead And he was seen many days of them which came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem who are his witnesses unto the people And we declare unto you glad tidings how that the Promise which was made unto the Fathers God hath fulfilled the same unto us their Children in that he hath raised up Jesus again as it is also written in the second Psalm Thou art my Son this day have I begotten thee And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead now no more to return to corruption he said on this wise I will give you the sure mercies of David Wherefore he saith also in another Psalm Thou shalt not suffer thine holy One to see corruption For David after
would have taken by force to make him their King What likelyhood was there that the Apostles a company of poor miserable Jews should bring over the Gentiles to the Religion of a man who was accursed by the Synagogue of the Jews and crucified like a Slave by the Authority of the Roman Magistrate What probability was there of the destruction of Jerusalem whilst the Jews accustom'd to the Roman yoke made it their business to avoid all manner of occasions that might stir up the indignation of their Masters against them It is expedient say they rather that one man perish meaning Jesus than to hazard the welfare of the whole Nation The third is That these Oracles were written by the Apostles not only amongst Discourses of another nature but also linked together in such a Chain that their connexion will not permit us to believe that they were contrived after the matters which they relate to were past and also that they are constantly related by three Evangelists long time before the things came to pass S. John being the only Witness of the Destruction of Jerusalem The fourth is That these Oracles gave the Apostles as much grounds to expect Calamities and violent Deaths as to Jesus Christ himself so that there is no pretence of doubting that they were not faithfully recorded by the Evangelists and that therefore seeing the Accomplishment has exactly answered to the Oracle we ought to look upon them as Divine Oracles I confess that these Oracles no more than the Books of the New Testament were ever committed to the publick custody of the Jews as formerly the Oracles of the Prophets of old were but this cannot really diminish their Authority I will not observe at present that because the Temple was to be burnt it was not proper to depose them there and 't was for this reason God thought fit to cause the Oracles of the Old Testament to be translated long before Nor yet that it was very proper that these Predictions as well as the Books of the New Testament should be put into the hands of the Gentiles who thence-forward were to be the People of God and his Temple But this I observe that nothing can be imagined more solemn than these Prophecies of our Saviour and his Disciples as well as never any thing was more exactly fulfilled Jesus Christ was born at Bethlehem according to the Oracles Now as no man is Master of the place of his Birth so it is plain that here is no room left for imposture neither is a man any more the Master of his Death wherefore to give a certain Character to his Prophecy he foretells his dying at Jerusalem which accordingly was accomplished in all its Circumstances can any thing be more exact But one may say That it was easie for the Disciples to forge Predictions suitable to the Event in like manner as Virgil hath done in the sixth of his Aeneids of Marcellus One may indeed contrive an imposture which shall be possible and which may answer to some few Oracles but I shall hereafter shew the folly of that thought when I come to prove the faithfulness of the Apostles and Evangelists But can we conceive such a suspicion concerning the Conversion of the Gentiles the ruin of Paganism the Victory of Christianity after Ten Persecutions 'T is now above 1600 years that the Christian Religion subsists whereas who could have assured the Disciples of Jesus Christ that their Doctrine would have had so much as one or two followers after their Death The greatest Empires that of the Chaldeans of the Persians of the Grecians and that of the Romans have been overturned and none of them singly have been of so long continuance as the Kingdom of Jesus Christ which nevertheless was attack'd by all that was great and powerful in the World. Who see 's not that this is the Empire whereof Daniel speaks in the seventh of his Revelations which was never to have end Jesus Christ foretold as it is set down by his Disciples according to the Prophecy of Daniel that the Temple of Jerusalem should be destroyed and never built again who could tell the Apostles if they had forged this Oracle themselves that the endeavours of Julian to confound this Prophecy when he began to rebuild the Temple would be in vain as indeed they proved by an effect of the Divine vengeance against the Jews who were engaged in the rebuilding of it Ammian Marcellin Lib. 23. under the Authority of that Emperour Indeed if one reflects on the Oracles of Jesus Christ one shall find them a thousand times more known than those of the Jews 1. The greatest part of them were penn'd at one and the same time 2. They were writ by several Authors who lived in different places 3. They were read over the whole Earth every Lord's day they have been explained and commented upon soon after every one endeavouring to take notice of their Accomplishment 4. They have been alledged in Disputes against Jews and Gentiles and have served for a Foundation to the Faith of the Christian Church whose Teachers have made it their business to shew their uniformity with the Oracles of the Old Testament which are in the hands of the Jews tho' the Jews have always considered the Christians as their most mortal Enemies But one may also find that these Oracles being for the most part much more clear and express their Accomplishment also hath been so much the more easily discernible from whence it evidently follows That Jesus Christ ought to be acknowledged as the Prophet that was like unto Moses as is mentioned in the Eighteenth of Deuteronomy that is indeed the true Messiah CHAP. XII That Jesus Christ died precisely in the same manner as it was foretold that the Messiah should dye I Have shewed in my third part that God had given to his Church several Oracles to explain distinctly this great Truth concerning the Messiah 1. He had set this up for a Rule by Moses Cursed is he that hangeth on a Tree 2. He had proposed by David the Idea of the Messiah as having his hands and feet pierced the Gentiles and Jews uniting themselves against him 3. He had foretold by Isaiah that the Messiah was to be accounted a Malefactor and put to death 4. He had repeated the same Idea's by the Prophet Zechariah who describes the manner of his being pierced which has a natural reference to the notion of Crucifixion I have also set down the Reasons for which God separated the several parts of those Prophetical Descriptions of so surprizing an Event the difficulty there was on the one hand to make these Idea's to be received which seem full of Contradictions the Messiah having been at first set forth as the Fountain of Blessing and on the other hand their seeming incompatibility with the Glory which God had promised to the Messiah and by him to the Israelites And at last I have shewed that these Oracles do exactly
by chance and without any certain Principle CHAP. XX. An Answer to the Objection which may be drawn out of the History of China against the Mosaick Hypothesis concerning the newness of the World. I Come now to the other Objection which may be made against Moses's Calculation according to the Hebrew Text as we have it now It is drawn from the History of China whose uninterrupted Series runs up the Succession of their Emperors to Fobius who Reign'd about four hundred years before the Flood Some Learned Men have already made use of that Argument to discredit the Mosaick Chronology according to the Hebrew Text and to cry up the Calculation of the Septuagint which exceeds that of the Hebrew Text in the History before the Flood by 800 years and above 700 in the History from the Flood to Moses This Objection appears very strong to those who read in the History of Martinius that there is not the least interruption in the Catalogue of the Kings of China from Fobius that the History of their actions is so certain having always been written by a Publick Authority that no Man can reasonably entertain any doubt about it And the Missionaries in China have thought that there was no other way to reconcile the Mosaick Chronology with the Chinese but in making use of the Septuagint's Account and wherein they agree with all the Asiatick Christians and even those in Europe who follow the Septuagint in their reckoning up the years of the World for the most part Though St. Hierome's Translation which follows the Hebrew Text exactly is received in the West But after all there is little difficulty in answering this Objection and we may hereupon easily satisfie those who do not dispute only for disputing sake but are ready to examine this Question with that equity which is requisite in the examination of all Questions of that nature I confess ingeniously that this History which is one of the most ancient in the World hath many Illustrious Characters of certainty especially if we give credit to all that Martinius relates of it First It marks out exactly the Series and Succession of all the Kings of China from the very beginning and original of that Nation Secondly It records in what Year of each Cycle of threescore years every King began his Reign and did such or such an action Thirdly It relates some Astronomical Observations older than any that have been made by the most Ancient Astronomers in other Nations Fourthly It was written by a Publick Authority and by such Authors as lived in the time when the things which they record were transacted the immediate Successor to the Empire taking always care that the History of his Predecessor should be written Nay to all this we must add that the Chinese's way of writing making no use of Letters but of Hieroglyphicks may have prevented these alterations which might otherwise have been made in their History the whole Life of a Man being hardly sufficient to attain to the perfect knowledge of a Tongue which hath above Threescore Thousand Figures which must be all learnt before a Man can be able only to Read and Write But besides that all this depends upon the sole Authority of Martinius no body else beside him having given us as yet any opportunities of examining those ancient Monuments of China we may find out of this very History some strong Proofs to confirm that of Moses and so easily resolve the Difficulties which may be raised out of it against the Book of Genesis First F. Martinius observes that the common Opinion of the Chinese is that the World had a beginning And tho' there be some of them of Epicurus's Opinion yet there was never any amongst them that was for the Eternity of the World but since the Incarnation of Christ and the Introduction of Idolatry amongst them Secondly He tells us that they commonly acknowledge a God whom they call Xangti which is not the Name but the Epithet of God this word signifying Supream Governour of Heaven and Earth Thirdly He saith that they acknowledge a first Man brought forth out of the Chaos in one Night in the Spring which opinion some amongst them have made intricate by the addition of their own Fables Fourthly He shews that Sacrifices have been in use amongst them Fifthly That they believe a certainty of Punishments and Rewards after this Life for Vice and Vertue Sixthly That they believe the existence of good and bad Angels Seventhly That they assign to some of them the protection of Cities and Provinces and pay them great Veneration at the Instalment of their Magistrates Eighthly That they acknowledge them to be Incorporeal Beings and that it is but of late that they have Erected and Consecrated Statues to them And Lastly That they have a very great knowledge of the Flood which in their account happened about 3500 years before Jesus Christ Here are we see many truths which are the grounds of Religion and which were known to them from whence we may easily judge in comparing those Truths with the History of Moses that the ancient Chinese did agree with all other Nations in the believing the first Principles of Religion laid down by Moses We may likewise observe that those Antiquities of China for the most part are as like those recorded by Moses as a Tradition which cannot but have received many alterations during such a long interval of time can be like to an exact Narrative of Matters of Fact drawn up by an Author who knew very well what he writ First It appears that what they say concerning the Thirteen Successors of the first man named Puoncuus all descended from him is agreeable enough to the History of Genesis which sets down the successive Patriarchs from Father to Son. All the difference is that the Chinese by a foolish Ambition of appropriating all to themselves maintain that those Thirteen Kings were all in China Secondly What they tell us of the World being civiliz'd under the second of those Kings call'd Thienhoang after the death of the great Dragon that had disturbed Heaven and Earth agrees very well with the History of Seth who began to form Mankind to a right notion of the worship of God when he separated them from Cain's Family Thirdly It is very probable that when the Chinese have reckoned up thirteen Kings lineally descended from the first man and his Successors they have included in that number Cain and Abel who tho' they were both the Sons of the first man yet were not reckon'd up by Moses because his Scope was only to give an Account of the Lineal Descent of Adam's Posterity by Seth. They believe that under Ginhohang there was a kind of Golden Age the Earth being then fruitful to admiration and that under his Successor Men being extreamly simple and altogether ignorant of the several Arts necessary to Human Life as of Characters and Letters one Sujus to supply the want of them
O my God yea thy Law is within my heart I have preached Righteousness in the great Congregation Lo I have not refrained my Lips O Lord thou knowest I have not hid thy Righteousness within my heart I have declared thy Faithfulness and thy Salvation I have not concealed thy loving Kindness and thy Truth from the great Congregation In the XVI Psalm he describes the inviolable stedfastness of the Messiah to the Service of God who had sent him to form a great People with the manner of his deliverance by God from all the powers of the World by raising him up from the dead and afterwards receiving him into Glory Psalm XVI 8. c. I have set the Lord always before me because he is at my right hand I shall not be moved Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoyceth my flesh also shall rest in hope For thou wilt not leave my Soul in Hell neither wilt thou suffer thy holy One to see corruption Thou wilt shew me the path of Life in thy presence is fulness of joy at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore In the XXII Psalm he describes the Agonies through which the Messiah was to pass the manner of his Death the Victory which he should obtain over his Enemies and the Conversion of those very Nations which had cast him off In the CIX Psalm he speaks of the Oppressions of the Messiah pronouncing great numbers of Imprecations against that very person who should signalize himself by persecuting his Innocence Hold not thy peace O God of my praise for the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful are opened against me they have spoken against me with a lying tongue Verse 1 2. Set thou a wicked man over him and let Satan stand at his right hand When he shall be judged let him be condemned and let his prayer become Sin. Let his days be few and let another take his Office Verse 6 7 8. Because that he remembred not to shew mercy but persecuted the poor and needy man that he might even slay the broken in heart As he loved cursing so let it come to him as he delighted not in blessing so let it be far from him As he clothed himself with cursing like as with his Garment so let it come into his bowels like water and like oyl into his bones Verse 16 17 18. In the CXIX Psalm he carries this Argument further in his Description of the Zeal of the Messiah for the House of God and of those insultings which he should meet with and the manner of their giving him Vinegar and Gall to drink with the hardning and rejection of those who had used him in that manner Save me O God for the waters are come in unto my soul I sink in deep mire where there is no standing I am come into deep waters where the floods overflow me Verse 1 2. Let not them that wait on thee O Lord Ged of Hosts be ashamed for my sake Let not those that seek thee be confounded for my sake O God of Israel Because for thy sake I have born reproach shame hath covered my face I am beoome a stranger unto my Brethren and an Alien unto my Mothers Children For the zeal of thy House hath eaten me up and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me Verse 6 7 8 9. Reproach hath broken my heart and I am full of heaviness and I looked for some to take pity but there was none and for comforters but I found none They gave me also Gall for my meat and in my thirst they gave me Vinegar to drink Let their Table become a snare before them and that which should have been for their welfare let it become a trap Let their eyes be darkned that they see not and make their loins continually to shake Pour out thy indignation upon them and let thy wrathful anger take hold of them Verse 20 21 22 23 24. In the XCVII and XCVIII Psalms he describes the destruction of Idolatry when the promised Saviour should appear and when God should raise him upon his Throne The Lord reigneth let the Earth rejoyce let the multitude of the Isles be glad thereof Psalm XCVII 1. Confounded be all they that serve graven Images that boast themselves of Idols worship him all ye Gods. Zion heard and was glad and the Daughters of Judah rejoyced because of thy Judgments O Lord For thou Lord art high above all the Earth thou art exalted far above all Gods Verse 7 8 9. O sing unto the Lord a new Song for he hath done marvellous things his right hand and his holy arm have gotten him the Victory The Lord has made known his Salvation his righteousness hath he openly shew'd in the sight of the Heathen He hath remembred his Mercy and his Truth towards the House of Israel all the ends of the Earth have seen the Salvation of our God. Make a joyful noise unto the Lord all the Earth make a loud noise and rejoyce and sing praise Psalm XCVIII 1. 4. In the LXVIII Psalm he explains the glory of the Messiah and his Ascension into Heaven with the effusion of those gifts which he was to spread abroad for the Conversion of the Nations that God might dwell amongst the most rebellious Princes shall come out of Egypt Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God Sing unto God ye Kingdoms of the Earth O sing praises unto the Lord. To him who rideth upon the Heavens of Heavens which were of old lo he doth send out his voice and that a mighty voice Ascribe ye strength unto God his excellency is over Israel and his strength is in the Clouds O God thou art terrible out of thy holy places the God of Israel is he that giveth strength and power unto his people Verse 31 32 33 34 35. The Prophets who lived in the time of David or soon after pursued all his Idea's One see 's that Nathan II Sam. VII foretells Solomon's glory and the honour which he should have in building that Temple of which David had formed the design before in such a manner that he clearly shews three things which will by no means agree with Solomon I. That God should raise up a Son to David after his Death and place him upon his Throne whereas Solomon was born and advanced to the Throne by David himself II. It was promised that his Government should be endless this is not applicable to the Royal Posterity of David who had but Twenty Successors who bore the Title of Kings III. That God particularly promises to be the Father of this promised Son which is not more applicable to Solomon than to David to Josiah or Hezekiah One see 's that Corah's Posterity gave that Account of Solomon's glory upon his marriage with the King of Egypt's Daughter He speaks of a Throne much more august then that Princes was and he represents to us a God consecrated with
of one that was Blind and another that was Lame at Alexandria He that would know the Particulars may consult Tacitus his History And last of all we ought to observe That the Jews do not only agree that this Oracle of Isaiah refers to the Messiah but they also still propose the Power of working Miracles as a Character which would render the Messiah very illustrious and certainly known CHAP. XVII That the Messiah was to be an illustrious Prophet THis Truth I have already asserted in the Reflexions I made on the Prophecy of Moses Deut. XVIII But one ought to explain this Character of the Messiah more particularly God having been pleased further to illustrate this Oracle of Moses First then We say that the word Messiah implies Anointing which was common to Kings Prophets and Priests and since David's time we find nothing more common than this Title in the Books of the Old Testament where we may observe that Moses was dignified with this Gift of Prophecy and that Samuel communicated the same to Saul and David when he anointed them to be Kings Yea the Jews to this day are of opinion that Elias the Prophet shall anoint the Messiah that is initiate him in his Prophetical as well as his Royal Function Secondly God more precisely signifies this Isai XI Vers 1 2 3. where he declares he would communicate all the necessary Gifts of the Prophetical Function to the Messiah There shall come forth a Rod out of the stem of Jesse and a branch shall grow out of his Roots And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him the Spirit of Wisdom and Understanding the Spirit of Counsel and Might the Spirit of Knowledge and of the Fear of the Lord. So that he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes neither reprove after the hearing of his ears These words need no Commentary For the Jews refer them constantly to the Messiah and they plainly import that he was to be a great Prophet forasmuch as all the Characters which are there given to the Spirit which was to rest on the Messiah are the same which in the Old Testament we find attributed to the Prophets and may easily be taken notice of in the History of the Prophets especially of David and Solomon And much to the same purpose is that passage Isai XLII vers 1 2 3 4 5 6 and 7. Behold my Servant whom I uphold mine Elect in whom my Soul delighteth I have put my Spirit upon him he shall bring forth Judgment to the Gentiles He shall not cry nor lift up nor cause his voice to be heard in the street A bruised Reed shall he not break and the smoking Flax shall he not quench he shall bring forth Judgment unto Truth He shall not fail nor be discouraged till he have set Judgment in the Earth and the Isles shall wait for his Law. Thus saith God the Lord he that created the Heavens and stretched them out he that spread forth the Earth and that which cometh out of it he that giveth breath to the People upon it and spirit to them that walk therein I the Lord have called thee in Righteousness and will hold thine and will keep thee and give thee for a Covenant of the people for a Light of the Gentiles to open the blind eyes to bring out the prisoners from the prison and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house In which Oracle one ought to take notice particularly of those things which the Jews apply to the Messiah 1. That God proposes the Gifts of the Spirit which he bestowed upon him as an Effect of his Love and the choice he had made of him 2. That the Messiah was to make use of the same as Rules for reforming the Country and propounding Gods Covenant to the Gentiles which clearly suppose the necessity of the Gift of Prophecy to qualifie him for such great Undertakings 3. That contrary to the thundring Character which distinguished the rest of the Prophets who were as so many publick Censors the Messiah was to speak with all meekness and sweetness to the Nations which should receive his Preaching One see 's that Isaiah repeats the same Idea's Chap. LXI vers 1 2 3 4 5 6 and 7. The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek he hath sent me to bind-up the broken hearted to proclaim liberty to the Captives and the opening of the Prison to them that are bound To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord and the day of Vengeance of our God to comfort all that mourn to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion to give unto them Beauty for Ashes the Oyl of Joy for Mourning the Garment of Praise for the Spirit of Heaviness that they might be called Trees of Righteousness the planting of the Lord that he might be glorified And they shall build the old Wasts they shall raise up the former Desolations and they shall repair the waste Cities the Desolations of many Generations And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks and the sons of the Alien shall be your Plowmen and your Vine dressers But ye shall be named the Priests of the Lord men shall call you the Ministers of our God ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles and in their glory shall ye boast your selves For your shame ye shall have double and for confusion they shall rejoyce in their portion therefore in their Land they shall possess the double everlasting joy shall be upon them In short he represents in this and the former Oracle the Gentiles as a People being in darkness and in the misery of a Prison from whence we may easily infer First That the Messiah was to be a Prophet how vile and abject soever that Character might appear in the eyes of the World as I have shewed that it was where I spake of the Prophets in general Secondly That he was to discharge these Functions during the whole course of his Life and that it was to be his chief Employment here upon Earth David had before signified Psalm XXII verse 22. that the Messiah was to declare the Name of God unto his Brethren viz. the Jews by exercising his Prophetical Function in Judea but the Holy Spirit did something more when he seem'd to point out Galilee as the place where this Sacred Doctor was chiefly to fix his abode This is in effect insinuated when God tells us that he was to begin his Ministerial Functions in the Tribes of Naphtali and Zebulon Isai IX vers 1 2 and 3. Nevertheless the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation when at the first he lightly afflicted the Land of Zebulon and the Land of Naphtali and afterwards did more grievously afflict her by the way of the Sea beyond Jordan in Galilee of the Nations The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light they that dwell in the land
the Messiah forasmuch as none with pleasure do precipitate themselves into Death or are Masters of the Manner and Circumstances of it therefore God caused the same to be expressed by the Prophets with the greatest plainness and exactness possible It can't be denied but that some of the Prophets have been very cruelly persecuted and that some of them have died in the midst of Torments But concerning the Death of Christ we have many more particulars viz. 1. That he was to be forsaken by his own Friends Psalm XXII verse 11. Be not far from me for trouble is near for there is none to help And Psalm LXIX verse 11. I made Sackcloth also my Garment and I became a Proverb to them And verse 20. Reproach has broken my heart and I am full of heaviness and I looked for some to take pity but there was none and for comforters but I found none 2. That he was to be exposed to all manner of reproachful usage Psalm XXII vers 6 7 and 8. But I am a worm and no man a reproach of men and despised of the people All they that see me laugh me to scorn they shoot out the lip they shake the head saying he trusted in the Lord that he would deliver him let him deliver him seeing he delighted in him And Psalm LXIX vers 1 2 3 4. Save me O God for the waters are come in unto my Soul. I sink in deep mire where there is no standing I am come into deep waters where the floods overflow me I am weary of my crying my throat is dried mine eyes fail while I wait for my God. They that hate me without cause are more than the hairs of my head they that would destroy me being my Enemies wrongfully are mighty The same is represented to us Isaiah LIII vers 4 5. Surely he hath born our griefs and carried our sorrows yet we did esteem him stricken smitten of God and afflicted But he was wounded for our transgressions he was braised for our iniquities the chastisement of our peace was upon him and with his stripes we are healed They take notice that he should be beaten and abused as appears from Isaiah LIII vers 3 4 5 6 7 8. He is despised and rejected of men a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief and we hid as it were our faces from him he was despised and we esteemed him not Surely he hath born our grifs he was wounded for our transgressions c. The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all He was oppressed and he was afflicted yet he opened not his mouth he is brought as a Lamb to the slaughter and as a sheep before her shearer is dumb so he openeth not his mouth He was cut off from the Land of the Living for the transgression of my people was he stricken 4. They declare that he should be sold Zach. II. vers 12 and 13. And I said unto them if ye think good give me my price and if not forbear so they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver And the Lord said unto me cast it unto the potter a goodly price that I was prized at of them And I took the thirty pieces of silver and cast them to the potter in the House of the Lord. 5. They make mention of his being condemned by the Jews and Heathens Psalm II. verse 2. The Kings of the Earth set themselves and the Rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his Anointed And Psalm XXII verse 16. For Dogs have compassed me the Assembly of the wicked have inclosed me they pierced my hands and my feet And Psalm LXIX verse 12. They that sit in the Gate speak against me and I was the Song of the Drunkards And Isaiah LIII verse 8. He was taken from Prison and from Judgment and who shall declare his Generation for he was cut off from the Land of the Living for the transgression of my people was he stricken 6. They specifie his Death on the Cross Psalm XXII verse 16. They pierced my hands and my feet And Zach. XII verse 10. And they shall look upon me whom they have pierced 7. They intimate his dying between Thieves Isaiah LIII verse 12. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great and he shall divide the spoil with the strong because he has poured out his Soul unto Death and was numbred with Transgressors 8. They take notice of his being mocked before his Death Psalm XXII vers 6 7 8. But I am a worm and no man a reproach of men and despised of the people All they that see me laugh me to scorn they shoot out the lip they shake the head c. And Psalm LXIX vers 17 18 19. Hide not thy face from thy servant for I am in trouble hear me speedily Draw night unto my soul and redeem it deliver me because of mine Enemies Thou hast known my reproach my shame and my dishonour mine Adversaries are all before thee 9. That they who put him to death should divide his Garments Psalm XXII verse 18. They part my Garments amongst them and cast lots upon my Vesture 10. That the Messiah should complain that God had forsaken him in the hands of his Enemies Psalm XXII vers 1 2. My God my God why hast thou forsaken me why art thou so far from helping me and from the words of my roaring O my God I cry in the day time and thou hearest not and in the night season am not silent 11. That they would give him Vinegar and Gall to drink Psalm LXIX verse 21. They gave me also Gall for my meat and in my thirst they gave me Vinegar to drink 12. They set before our eyes the manner of his death on the Cross Psalm XXII vers 14 15 16 17. I am poured out like water and all my bones are out of joint my heart is like wax it is melted in the midst of my bowels My strength is dried up like a potsherd and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws and thou hast brought me into the dust of death For Dogs have compassed me the Assembly of the wicked have enclosed me they pierced my hands and my feet I may tell all my bones they look and stare upon me And Isaiah LIII vers 7 8 9. 13. That not one of his Bones should be broken Psalm XXXIV verse 20. He keepeth all his bones not one of them is broken 14. That he was to be buried in the Sepulchre of a rich man. Isaiah LIII verse 9. He made his grave with the wicked and with the rich in his death because he had done no violence neither was deceit found in his mouth We may make these following Reflexions on the foregoing Oracles 1. That here are many very different Events and Circumstances all meeting in the same end 2. That many of these Passages that might be questioned whether they were particularly applicable to the Messiah are joyned with such hints as
a new Society which was to be regulated not by the Laws given on Mount Sinai but by those which were to be published from Mount Zion CHAP. XXIII That the Gentiles in the time of the Messiah were to be called to the Knowledge of the true God THis Article being one of the most important and most visible Characters of the Times of the Messiah and also the great effect of his Ministry we see that God had a particular care to divulge the same by a multitude of Prophetical Representations of it For not only had he declared that the Seed of the Woman should bruise the Serpents head Gen. III. 15. that is the Works of the Devil And we can't deny but that the Errors and Idolatries of the Gentiles and their Vices which arise from thence were the Fruits of Sin which this unhappy Spirit brought into the World. It was not only foretold that God would perswade Japhet to dwell in the Tents of Sem Gen. IX 27. by uniting the Posterities of both those Patriarchs in one and the same Religion Not only had he signified that the Messiah should reign over the Children of Seth that is over all the Posterity of Noah the Off-spring of Cham not excepted Not only had he foretold that all Nations Kindreds Gen. XII Ch. XVIII XXII and Families should be blessed in the Messiah But God went much further afterwards for as the Light of the Revelation encreased so the same was declared more distinctly For 1. The Patriarch Jacob tells that the Messiah should be the desire and expectation of all Nations Gen. XLIX verse 10. The Scepter shall not depart from Judah nor a Law-giver from between his feet until Shiloh come and unto him shall the gathering of the people be 2. Moses threatens the Jews that if they despised the Law of God Strangers that is Gentiles should be preferred before them Deut. XXVIII verse 43. The Stranger that is within thee shall get up above thee very high and thou shalt come down very low The same Prophet menaceth them from God that he would stir up their jealousie by calling a foolish people to his Service and Worship Deut. XXXII verse 21. They have moved me to jealousie with that which is not God they have provoked me to anger with their vanities and I will move them to jealousie with those which are not a people I will provoke them to anger with a foolish Nation Nothing can be said more express and particular than these last words of that great Law giver and Founder of the State of the Jews 3. David sets forth the Empire of the Messiah as that which was to reach over all the Earth Psalm II. verse 8. Ask of me and I shall give thee the Heathen for thine Inheritance and the uttermost parts of the Earth for thy possession And Psalm XXII vers 27 28 29 30. All the ends of the World shall remember and turn unto the Lord and all the Kingdoms of the Nations shall worship before thee For the Kingdom is the Lords and he is the Governour amongst the Nations All they that be fat upon the Earth shall eat and worship all they that go down to the dust shall bow before him A Seed shall serve him it shall be accounted to the Lord for a Generation Psalm LXXII vers 8 9 10 11. He shall have Dominion from Sea to Sea and from the River unto the ends of the Earth They that dwell in the Wilderness shall bow before him and his Enemies shall lick the dust The Kings of Tarshish and of the Isles shall bring presents the Kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer Gifts Yea all Kings shall fall down before him all Nations shall serve him Which Prophecy is the more remarkable because the Promise made to Abraham is there repeated in so many words viz. That all Nations of the Earth should be blessed in the Messiah Psalm-CII verse 15. So the Heathen shall fear the Name of the Lord and all the Kings of the Earth thy Glory And Psalm CX verse 2. The Lord shall send the Rod of thy strength out of Zion rule thou in the midst of thine Enemies One ought to transcribe almost the whole Book of Psalms to take notice of all the passages which are to this purpose The Prophet Hosea declares in general terms That it was not an impossible thing for those who had been God's people to cease to be so or for those that were not his people to become his people Chap. I. verse 10. Yet the number of the Children of Israel shall be as the Sand of the Sea which cannot be measur'd or numbred and it shall come to pass that in the place where it was said unto them ye are not my people there it shall be said unto them ye are the Sons of the living God. Isaiah mentions this so often and in such an emphatical manner that it seems to be the main thing he drives at in all his Writings Chap. II. verse 2 3. he speaks thus And it shall come to pass in the last days that the Mountain of the Lord's House shall be established in the top of the Mountains and shall be exalted above the Hills and all Nations shall flow unto it And many people shall go and say come ye and let us go up to the Mountain of the Lord to the House of the God of Jacob and he will teach us of his ways and we will walk in his paths for out of Zion shall go forth the Law and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem And Chap. XI verse 10. In that day there shall be a Root of Jesse which shall stand for an Ensign of the people to it shall the Gentiles seek And Chap. XVIII verse 7. he makes a manifest allusion to the expectation of all Nations In Chap. XLII vers 1 2 3 4. he repeats the same thing Behold my servant whom I uphold mine elect in whom my soul delighteth I will put my Spirit upon him he shall bring forth Judgment to the Gentiles He shall not cry nor lift up nor cause his voice to be heard in the streets A bruised Reed shall he not break and the smoking Flax shall he not quench he shall bring forth Judgment unto the Earth and the Isles shall wait for his Law. Chap. LV. vers 4 5. Behold I have given thee for a witness of the people a Leader and a Commander to the people Behold thou shalt call a Nation that thou knowest not and Nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee because of the Lord thy God and for the holy One of Israel for he hath glorified thee But one see 's these Truths in their greatest lustre in the LX Chap. of his Prophecies vers 3 4 5. The Gentiles shall come to thy light and Kings to the brightness of thy rising Lift up thine eyes round about and see all they gather themselves together they come to thee thy sons shall
come from far and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side Then thou shalt see and shine and thine heart shall fear and be enlarged because the abundance of the Sea shall be converted unto thee the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee And Chap. LXII vers 2. The Gentiles shall see thy righteousness and all Kings thy glory and thou shalt be called by a new name which the mouth of the Lord shall name And vers 11 and 12. Behold the Lord hath proclaimed unto the ends of the World say ye to the daughter of Zion behold thy salvation cometh behold his reward is with him and his work is before him And they shall call them the holy people the redeemed of the Lord and thou shalt be called Sought out a City not forsaken And Chap. LXV vers 1. I am sought of them that asked not for me I am found of them that sought me not I said behold me behold me unto a Nation that was not called by my Name And Chap. LXVI verse 18. It shall come to pass that I will gather all Nations and Tongues and they shall come and see my Glory Amos who was contemporary with Isaiah speaks the same thing Chap. IX vers 11 12. In that day will I raise up the Tabernacle of David which is fallen and close up the breaches thereof and I will raise up his ruins and I will build it as in the days of old That they may possess the remnant of Edom and of all the Heathen which are called by my Name saith the Lord which doth this The Prophet Micah also follows the Prophet Isaiah step by step Mich. IV. vers 1 2 3. But in the lasts days it shall come to pass that the Mountain of the House of the Lord shall be established in the top of the Mountains and it shall be exalted above the Hills and people shall flow unto it And many Nations shall come and say Come and let us go up to the Mountain of the Lord and to the House of the God of Jacob and he will teach us of his ways and we will walk in his paths for the Law shall go forth of Zion and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem And he shall judge among many people and rebuke strong Nations afar off and they shall beat their Swords into Plow shares and their Spears into Pruning-hooks Nation shall not lift up a Sword against Nation neither shall they learn war any more Zephaniah is as clear as any of the rest Chap. II. vers 11. They shall worship him every one from his place even all the Isles of the Heathen And Chap. III. vers 9 10. Then will I turn to the people a pure Language that they may all call upon the Name of the Lord to serve him with one consent From beyond the Rivers of Ethiopia my Suppliants the daughter of my dispersed shall bring mine offering Jeremiah in the Fourth Chapter of his Prophecies vers 2. confirms the same Truth as likewise Chap. XVI vers 19. and more expresly Chap. XXXI verse 34. And they shall teach no more every man his Neighbour and every man his Brother saying know the Lord for they shall all know me from the least of them unto the greatest of them saith the Lord. After the return of the Captivity we find that the Prophets still pursued the same Idea's Haggai II. vers 7 8. And I will shake all Nations and the desire of all Nations shall come and I will fill this House with Glory saith the Lord of Hosts The Silver is mine and the Gold is mine saith the Lord of Hosts Zechariah speaks in like manner Chap. II. vers 10 11. Sing and rejoyce O daughter of Zion for lo I come and I will dwell in the midst of thee saith the Lord. And many Nations shall be joyned to the Lord in that day and shall be my people and I will dwell in the midst of thee and thou shalt know that the Lord of Hosts hath sent me unto thee And Chap. VIII vers 20 21 22. Thus saith the Lord of Hosts it shall yet come to pass that there shall come people and the inhabitants of many Cities and the inhabitants of one City shall go to another saying Let us go speedily to pray before the Lord and to seek the Lord of Hosts I will go also Yea many People and strong Nations shall come to seek the Lord of Hosts in Jerusalem and to pray before the Lord. And Chap. XI vers 10. he expresses the same thing more distinctly And I will cut off the Chariot from Ephraim and the Horse from Jerusalem and the Battel bow shall be cut off and he shall speak peace unto the Heathen and his Dominion shall be from Sea to Sea and from the River unto the ends of the Earth Malachi speaks to the same purpose with the greatest clearness imaginable Chap. I. vers 10 11. Who is there among you that shuts the doors or kindles fire on mine Altar for nought I have no pleasure in you saith the Lord of Hosts neither will I accept an offering at your hand for from the rising of the Sun even unto the going down of the same my Name shall be great among the Gentiles and in every place Incense shall be offered unto my Name and a pure offering for my Name shall be great among the Heathen saith the Lord of Hosts On all which passages one may make these Observations 1. That all this whole Series of Idea's hath as much connexion to one another as the words of those Oracles have which we have now alledged 2. That these Prophets have set it forth with all its possible Characters by the Original of these People calling them the Children of Seth by their Countreys Egypt Assyria the East and West by their Idolatry by their Aversion to the Jews their Ignorance c. 3. That these Prophecies were generally understood by the Jews of old of the Calling of the Gentiles as appears from the use the Apostles made of them when they preached to the Gentiles 4. That forasmuch as God had ordered Proselytes to be received into the Jewish Communion he seem'd thereby to have hinted to them that what he had enjoyn'd them as to particulars ought with much more reason to be practiced in general to all the Nations of the World and ought also to be universally desired 5. That the Modern Jews themselves constantly believ'd that the Messiah should lead the Gentiles to Repentance So Kimchi Moses Maimonides and many other Authors since the Talmudists 6. That the Opinion which the Jews have entertained That the Messiah as a great Conquerour was to subdue the Nations proceeds only from the sense of the Oppression they have been and still are under which makes them so earnestly desire a temporal deliverance from the power of the Gentiles by means of the Messiah and the pompous expression of some of the Prophets have strengthen'd this belief in them tho'
the manner in which the Twelve Princes or Heads of the Tribes did contribute towards the building of the Temple and to the manner of the building of it If the Children of Zebedee are called Boanerges 't is with reference to the second of Haggai Yet once and I will shake the Heavens and the Earth That the Heathens are described as a people afar off and what is spoken concerning the Wall of Partition hath a visible respect to the Gentiles being prohibited to enter into the holy place of the Temple If I would instance in all the mystical Relations of the one Volume to the other I might say that there appears a singular conformity between them even in those things which seem most opposite Moses the first and great Minister of the Law had a stammering speech Zachary the Father of S. John the Baptist was struck dumb when he was to pronounce the solemn Blessing to the people where as Jesus Christ on the contrary has this character given of him that never man spake like him God said at the beginning Encrease and multiply he repeats the same to Noah in order to the propagation of Mankind and replenishing the Earth Jesus Christ saith Go and teach all Nations and the Word is constantly represented to us as the Seed of the Regeneration and Paptism as the Laver or washing whereby we acquire a new Birth We see Noah receiving the Dove into the Ark with an Olive Branch as a sign of the peace of Heaven and Jesus Christ receives a like Token Fire falls down from Heaven on the Sacrifice of Abel Noah Moses David Solomon and Elijah as a Token that God accepted their Offerings and God sends the same Mark of his Favour on the day of Pentecost to declare that the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ was most acceptable to him God had forbid the High Priest to rend his Clothes on any occasion whatsoever that rending of Garments involving a Mystery as appears from the History of Jeroboam and yet we see that the High Priest rent his Cloaths at the Condemnation of our Saviour and thereby violated for ever the Authority of his Priesthood whereas on the contrary we find the Garments of our Lord and Saviour were left whole and entire to signifie to us the Eternity of his Priesthood We see that the Ear of Malchus the High Priest's Servant was cut off by S. Peter and that Jesus Christ restored it again to shew that the Synagogue had lost the true Faith and Jesus Christ alone was able to restore it We see the holy place in the Temple opened at the Death of Christ by the rending of the Vail which signified that the Ceremonial Law was then to lose its force and authority But the Observations already made are sufficient to make out what I intend without having recourse to these Mysteries and I believe no man can make such Reflexions without being perswaded that so great a conformity of Idea's must necessarily imply a perfect unity of design now it is impossible to suppose that this unity of design should be so constantly observed by different Authors who lived at such a distance of times places and interests without being convinced of a perpetual Divine guidance I acknowledge that in the New Testament there may be found some Decisions which seem wholly opposite to those of the Old For instance We find there a total abrogation of the Ceremonial Law but forasmuch as all those Observations had no other use but to distinguish the Jews from all other Nations of the Earth and by this means to make the Messiah known to the Jews amongst whom he was to be born so it is obvious to conceive that all those Ceremonies were of course to be abolished after that the Messiah was come into the World and that if we consider things in this view we shall find no contradiction at all between Moses who established these Ceremonies and the Apostles who abolished them But before we come to confirm these Grounds we must make it appear that the Idea's of the Messiah continued very fresh in the minds of the Jews and this shall be the subject of the following Chapter CHAP. II. That the Idea's of the Messiah continued very fresh in the Minds of the Jews at the time of the Coming of our Saviour Jesus Christ IT would be an easie matter for me here to shew that the Idea's of the Messiah were lively in the Minds of the Jews before the coming of Jesus Christ This appears from the Fable which the Rabbies told Origen concerning Zedechiah and Ahiab whom the King of Babylon burnt for perswading the Jewish women that they were the persons that were to conceive the Messiah But I intend to make use of proofs of a different nature Now to prove that the Notion of the Messiah was very fresh in the minds of the Jews we need only take notice that the promise of God concerning him was the first the most important and repeated with the greatest assiduity in the Books of the Prophets and consequently it employed them the most God having for this reason obliged them to read the Books of Moses every Sabbath to sing the Psalms of David and to examine the Writings of the Prophets where the promise of the Messiah was a thousand times repeated We may add a great deal of light to this Observation if we consider that the Circumstances of the Jews at that time engaged them to give more diligent heed to what the Prophets had declared and by weighing several Matters of Fact set down in the Gospel to shew the Universal effect of the lively impression of this Notion of the Messiah on the minds of the Jews Without doubt the Estate of the Jews at that time being equally opprest by the power of the Romans and that of Herod could not but put them upon a careful examining of the promises which God had so often vouchsafed them concerning the Messiah and the rather because God had often represented to them the Kingdom of the Messiah as a Temporal Kingdom which was to deliver them from the power of their Enemies This appears very evident in the Gospel on several occasions We find that the people of Jerusalem and Herod were troubled at the News of the Birth of Jesus as that which would probably cause great Troubles and Desolations before the Kingdom of the Messiah could subdue the Romans as well as Herod One see 's that the Multitudes would have taken Christ and proclaimed him their King and submitted themselves to him as the true Messiah One see 's that Christ's own Disciples both before and after his Death talked agreeably to these popular Idea's What else can we make of that passage of the Mother of James and John when she begs for them the chief places in his Kingdom When the Apostles dispute which of them should be the greatest was it not an effect of the same cause Did not the Apostles when they went to Emaus
Manna to rain down upon the Israelites and had opened the Sea for their passage 4. One ought to observe here That if Jesus Christ's Miracles were not like those of Moses two only excepted viz. his cursing of the barren Fig-tree and the drowning of the Swine this was to shew that he was not come like Moses to execute the Judgments of God but to exercise Acts of Grace and Mercy those now mentioned being sufficient to evince it was not for want of power If the Samaritan Woman argued very rationally when she said concerning Christ When the Messiah shall come will he do greater signs than these we may with more reason urge it now since we know not only that Jesus Christ hath wrought such great Miracles but also conferr'd upon his Disciples a power of doing greater Miracles than himself ever did CHAP. XI That the Predictions of our Lord Jesus Christ clearly prove him to be the Messiah ONe might have observ'd That John the Baptist foretold many things concerning the person of our Lord and the glory of his Ministry that Simeon foretold that he was to be a sign which should be spoken against and it is known how exactly these things were fulfilled But it will be more for our purpose to examine those Prophesies which were pronounced by Christ himself I pretend not to repeat them all here nor to shew by how many ways and upon how many occasions Jesus Christ did reiterate them this would take up too much time I shall only set down the chief of them and add some few Reflexions When Jesus Christ calls the Fishers to follow him he foretels that he would make them Teachers of the World I will make you saith he Fishers of Men. He promises to make them famous by Miracles and to send them the Gifts of his Holy Spirit which the People of Israel had now for above 400 years been deprived of He promised to give them an Authority over the consciences of men so that what they should forbid us on Earth should be forbidden in Heaven He foretels the Calling of the Gentiles to his Religion Many saith he shall come from the East and West and shall sit down with Abraham Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom of Heaven Which is the more considerable because he seemed himself unwilling to shew any favour to the Gentiles whom he called Dogs according to the Language of the Jews He foretels the Rejection of the Jews The Children of the Kingdom saith he shall be cast out into outer darkness He foretels the Persecutions which were to happen to his Disciples from the Jews as well as from the Roman Governours They shall lay their hands on you and persecute you delivering you up to the Synagogues and into Prisons being brought before Kings c. He foretels that notwithstanding all these Persecutions yet his Church should not only continue assuring them that the Gates of Hell should never prevail against her but also should greatly flourish and encrease according to what David had foretold Psalm CX verse 3. alluding to the suddain fruitfulness which is caused by Dew He above thirty times foretels his Suffering and Death He foretels his Resurrection the third day He foretels that Judas should betray him S. Peter deny him that his Apostles should be scattered as soon as they should see him smitten He foretels the Martyrdom of S. Peter which he was to suffer for his sake and to S. John that he was to survive the destruction of Jerusalem He foretels that after his Ascension to Heaven he should begin the Call of all the Nations of the Earth When I shall be lifted up from the Earth saith he I shall draw all men unto me He often foretels the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple Behold saith he your House is left unto you desolate He foretels that many false Messiah's should come after him whom the Jews should receive tho' they had rejected him as an Impostor Several Reflexions may be made upon these Predictions of our Lord. In short one may observe at first That there are three sorts of them in the New Testament some of them were fulfilled soon after they were pronounced as those concerning the Ass which he sent his Disciples for those of his Death and Resurrection of S. Peter's denying him and the flight of his Apostles c. The Design of these was to establish the belief of those which were further off which is the Method of God himself the Father of our Lord in the Old Testament as I have observed Some of them related to matters which were more remote as the Wars for instance which Christ foretold the destruction of Jerusalem and the dispersion of the Jews Lastly There were some whose accomplishment was at a very great distance after many Ages some of them reaching to the end of the World. One see 's plainly that this mixture of our Saviour's Predictions which are of so very different sorts is of use to confirm the belief and ascertain the truth of them the exact fulfilling of the first Oracle making way for the belief and expectation of the second and so on till all be fulfilled One may observe afterwards That Jesus Christ and his Apostles on whom he according to his promise after his Ascension poured forth the Spirit of Prophecy did ordinarily follow the same Notions and Expressions which the Prophets of the Old Testament made use of Thus we find Jesus Christ makes use of Daniel's Notions where he speaks of the destruction of Jerusalem thus we see that he imitates the most illustrious Actions of the Prophets and to make his Predictions the more observed in accomplishing the Prophecy of Zachariah on Palm-Sunday in the midst of the acclamations of the People he weeps over Jerusalem as if its destruction were already come Thus Jesus Christ saith to S. Peter When thou shalt be old Joh. XXI 18. another shall gird thee and carry thee whither thou wouldest not thus foretelling his death Thus he instructs him in the Calling of the Gentiles under a representation of all sorts of Beasts commanding him also even as to the impure Animals Slay and eat All the Revelations are full of such Prophetical Idea's taken from the Old Testament from Genesis Isaiah Ezechiel Zachariah c. But here are other Reflexions of as great importance as the former The first is That the greatest part of these Predictions are nothing but a continuance and more distinct explication of the Oracles of the Old Testament concerning the Sufferings of the Messiah the Calling of the Gentiles the destruction of the Commonwealth of the Jews and besides they are continued to the last day of the World which is the end of Prophecy The second is That these Predictions had not the least probability upon which they might rationally have been grounded What likelyhood was there that Jesus Christ should be crucified he who raised the dead who commanded the Sea and Winds he whom they