Exposition of the Epistle to the Hebrews

Shake thyself from dust, arise,

My people clothed in glorious guise, ‘For from Bethlehem Jesse’s Son Brings to my soul redemption.

They call him the son of Jesse from this place; which makes it somewhat observable, that some Christians, as Grotius, should apply it unto Hezekiah, Judaizing in their interpretations beyond the Jews themselves. Only the Jews are not well agreed in what sense those words, ‘the wolf shall dwell with the Jamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, &c., are to be understood. Some would have it, that the naiure of the brute beasts shall be changed in the days of the Messiah; but this is rejected by the wisest of them, as Maimonides, Kimchi, Aben Ezra, and others; and these interpret the words dwn 11, allegorically, applying them unto that universal peace which shall be in the world in the days of the Messiah. But the peace they fancy, is far from answering the words of the prophecy, which express a change in the nature of the worst of men, by virtue of the rule and grace of the Messiah. TI cannot but add, that Abarbinel, writing his commentaries about the time that the European Christian nations were fighting with the Saracens for the land of Palestine, or the Holy Land, he interprets the latter end of the tenth chapter, to the destruction of both sides by God, whereon their Messiah should be revealed, as is here promised. This he expresseth in the close of his exposition of the first verse of chap. xi, NVDN PA Mmayy ΠΩΣ pmn 7 ΣῪ POND WN DI Darwy Da ΤΙΣ da" waprt nad dy ws py ὃν Dd ryt PINT MrT TaN: ‘And there shall prevail great war between the? nations of the world, one against another, on, or for the Holy Land, and strong nations shall fall in it by the sword of one another, and therefore it is said, Behold the Lord, the Lord of hosts shall lop,’ ch. x. 33. And alittle after, he adds, ΓΘ ΩΤ zo mds manban mmx Jina; ‘In the midst of that war shall Messiah the king be revealed.’ For those nations he would have had to be Gog and Magog; and in many places doth he express his hopes of the ruin of the Christians by that war; but the issue hath disappointed his hopes and desires.

ὃ 40. Isa. xvi. 1. ‘Send ye the Lamb to the ruler of the land.’ Targum, ΣΝ ΟῚ Nrpwd pon por pm; “They shall bring their tribute unto the Messiah of Israel.’ Observing, as it should seem, that the Moabites unto whom these words are spoken, were never after this time tributary to Judah; and also considering the prophecy of ver. 5, which he applies (and that properly) unto the Messiah, the Targumist conceived him to be the ΣΥΝ), or Ruler here mentioned, unto whom the Moabites are invited to yield obedience; and I conceive it will not be very easy to fix upon a more genuine sense of the words. So also ver. 5, ‘Then shall the throne of the Messiah of Israel be prepared in goodness.’ Doubtless with more truth than those Christians make use of, who wrest these words also to Hezekiah.

§ 41. Isa. xxviii. 5. ‘In that day shall the Lord of hosts be for a crown of glory. Targum, M823 7 Nw, ‘The Messiah of the Lord of hosts:’ the Lord of hosts, in and with the Messiah, who is the crown of glory, and diadem of beauty in his kingly office and rule unto the remnant of his people that shall be saved by him.

ὃ 42. Isa. xlii. 1. ‘Behold my servant whom I uphold: my elect.’ Targum, ST TAY NT, ‘Behold my servant the Messiah.’ How much better than the translation of the LXX. Ιακωβ ὁ rate pov,* αντιληψομαε avrov, Ἰσραὴλ ὃ ἐκλεκτὸς pou; applying the words to the whole people of Israel, whereas they are expressly referred to the Lord Christ, Matt. xii. 17, 18. And Kimchi on this place, M1 Tn ὙΠῚ “TAY Fr, ‘ behold my servant, that is Messiah the king.” And Abarbinel confutes both R. Saadias, and Aben Ezra with sharpness, who were otherwise minded. How much better than he of late, who interprets these words of Isaiah himself, to whom not one letter of the prophecy can receive any tolerable accommodation. It is the Messiah then, by their own confession, who is intended in this prophecy: who is described not on horseback in his harness as a great warrior, such as they expect him, but one filled with the Spirit of the Lord, endowed with meekness, suffering opposition and persecution, bringing forth righteousness and truth unto the Gentiles, who shall wait for his law, and receive it, when it is rejected by the Jews, as the event hath manifested, Isa. xliii. 10. ‘My servant whom I have chosen.’ Targum, ‘ My servant Messiah in whom I rest.’

§ 43. Isaiah lii. 13. ‘Behold my servant shall prosper. Targum, xTwrA stay mx» xt; ‘Behold my servant the Messiah shall prosper.’

In these words that prophecy begins which takes up the remainder of this chapter, and that whole chapter that follows; in the tenth verse whereof there is mention made again of the Messiah. And this is an evidence to me, that the Jews, however bold and desperate in corrupting the sense of the Scripture, to countenance their infidelity, yet have not dared to intermeddle with the letter itself, no not in the Targums, which are not so sacred with them as the text. For whereas the application of this prophecy unto the Messiah is perfectly destructive to their whole present persuasion and religion, with all the hopes which they have in this world, or in another, yet they have never dared to attempt to corrupt the Targum where this prophecy is so plainly applied to Messiah. Though for many generations they had the Targums entirely in their own power, scarce any notice being taken of them by any Christians in the world. But concerning this place we must deal with them afterwards at large.

§ 44.. Jer. xxiii.5. ‘And I will raise unto Dayid a righteous branch.’ Targum, 8P°T8TT NM wn ΤΥ Dp; ‘And 1 will raise up unto David Messiah the righteous.’ This is he who in the next verse is called ΡΞ MM ‘ Jehovah our righteousness, The Jews generally agree that it is the Messiah who is here intended; and whereas a late Christian expositor would have Zerubbabel to be designed in these words, Abarbinel himself gives many reasons why it cannot be applied unto any one under the second temple. For saith he, during that space, no one reigned as king of the house of David, nor did Judah and Israel dwell then in safety and security, they being continually oppressed, first by the Persians, then by the Grecians, and lastly by the Romans. So he, and truly; and I see no reason why one should pervert the promises concerning the Messiah, when they cannot tolerably accommodate them unto any other.

Yor the preservation of the name of this righteous branch, 123—P78 Mmm, Jehovah our righteousness, we may bless God for the original; for the old translations are either mistaken or corrupt, or perverted in this place. The vulgar Latin is the best of them, which reads, Dominus justus noster, ‘ our righteous Lord;’ which yet corrupts the sense, and gives us an expression that may be assigned unto any righteous king.

The Chaldee, according to its usual manner, when any thing occurs which its author understood not, gives us a gloss of its own, sufficiently perverting the sense of the place. ‘7W32 DIP Ja Pst nnd ἽΝ), ‘let righteousness come forth to us from before the Lord in his days.’ Let them consider this instance, which is but one of many that may be given, who are ready to despise the original text, to prefer translations before it, and to cherish suspicions of its being corrupted by the Jews, or of their arbitrary inventions of its points or vowels, whereby the sense of the words 15 fixed and limited. Can there be any clearer acquitment of them in this matter, than this certain observation, that every place almost which bears testimony unto any thing concerning the Messiah which is denied by them, is far more clear in the original, than in any old translation whatever. And of this we haye an eminent instance in this place, where this name, denoting undeniably the divine nature of the Messiah, is preserved entire only in the original, and that as it is pointed, as some fancy, by some Jewish Masorites who lived they know not where, nor when. And those amongst ourselves, who are ready to give countenance unto such opinions, or to admire the promoters of them, may do well to consider what reflection they cast thereby on that translation which is of use among us, by the command of authority, than which there is no one extant in the world, that is more religiously observant of the Hebrew Text, and that as pointed in the Hebrew; nor hath it any regard unto any, or to all translations, where these differ from the original, as may be seen with especial respect unto that of the LXX, the stream that feeds most of the rest, in above a thousand places. But this by the way.

One of late hath applied this name unto the people of Israel; and interprets the words, Deus nobis bene fecit; ‘God hath done well unto us.’ But we have had too much of such bold and groundless conjectures about the fundamentals of our faith and worship. The Jews seek to evade this testimony, by instances of the applications of this name to other things; as to the altar built by Moses, to the ark, and to the city of Jerusalem. But it is one thing to have the name of God called on a place or thing, to bring the occasion of it unto remembrance; and another to say that this is the name of such a person, Jehovah our righteousness. And whereas the Holy Ghost says expressly that this is his name, the Jews must give us leave to call him so, and to believe him to be so; which is all we contend for. Of the same importance with this prophecy is that of Ezek. xxxvii. 24.

§ 45. Jer. χχχ. 2]. ‘Their nobles shall be of themselves, and their governor shall proceed from the midst of them.’ Targum, ‘Their king shall be anointed from amongst them, and their Messiah shall be revealed unto them.’ And upon his account it is, that God enters into a new covenant with his people, ver 22.

Jer. xxxiii. 13,15. For those words, ‘ Flocks shall pass again under the hand of him that telleth them.’ The Targum reads,» Dy Nay PIM Dy NIMw7, ‘and the people shall be yet gathered by the Messiah; and a prophecy of him it no doubt is, as the 15th verse makes it evident; where all the Jews acknowledge him to be intended by the branch of righteousness which shall spring up unto David, who also is promised in the sixth verse, as the abundance or crown of truth and peace; yet one of late hath wrested this place also to Zerubbabel.

§ 46. Hos. iii. 5. ‘Seek the Lord their God, and David their king.’ Targ. 72> 117 72 xmwnd pymnw, ‘And shall obey the Messiah the Son of David their king.’ The rabbins are divided about this place, some of them acknowledging the Messiah to be intended, others referring the prophecy. unto the temple, or house of the sanctuary built by the Son of David. But the words themselves, with the denotation of the time for the - accomplishment of this prophecy in the end of the verse, will allow of no application unto any other, and plainly discovers his mistake who would wrest this text also to Zerubbabel.

ὃ 47. Micah iy. 8. ‘And thou Tower of the flock, &c. ΝΟ mn xmindi at ny 75 HT SMW. 7 OTP 12 Ww Syw, «And thou Messiah of Israel, who art hid because of the sins of the congregation of Sion, to thee the kingdom shall come.’ This gloss, I confess, breathes the spirit of Talmudical rabbinism; for they fancy, that their Messiah was long since born, even at the appointed time, but is kept hid, they know not where, because of the sins of Israel.

§ 48. Micah vy. 2. ‘But thou Bethlehem Ephrata, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me the ruler over Israel, whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting” Targ. ὉΝ dy wud Tay “INI NTPW PID. 7p 4279, ‘Out of thee shall the Messiah come forth before me, to exercise rule over Israel.’ This prophecy was famous among the Jews of old, as_ designing the place where the Messiah was to be born, which alone is done here. ᾿ And its signal accomplishment is recorded, Matt. ii. 1, 5, 6; Luke ii. 6, 7. And unto this day, they generally acknowledge that it is the Messiah alone who is here intended. And yet this consent of all the Jews, ancient and modern, with the application of it unto the true Messiah in the gospel, manifesting the catholic consent of both churches, Judaical and Christian about the sense of this place, hinders not one from interpreting this place of Zerubbabel, whose goings forth, as he supposeth, are said to be of old, from everlasting, because he came of the ancient kingly house of David; whereas, not one,word of the prophecy ever had any tolerable appearance of accomplishment in him. For neither was he born at Bethlehem, nor was he the ruler over the Israel of God; much less had he the least share or interest in those eternal goings forth, which are expressed in the close of the verse. The words are an express description of the © person of the Messiah, who, though he was to be born in the fulness of time at Bethlehem, yet the existence of his divine nature was from of old, from everlasting. And the Jews know not how to evade this testimony. Rashi adds in the interpretation of the words, only that of Ps. xii. 17. aw PP Ὁ ΒΘ, which we have rendered, ‘his name shall be continued as long as the sun, not reaching the sense of theplace. Wi 7257 is rendered bythe Targum Nw 117779 DIP, ‘and before the sun was, an expression of eternity, as Proy. viii. 23. Kimchi and Aben Ezra would have the words respect that long season that was to be between David and the Messiab. Bethlehem, saith Kimchi, that is David, who was born there, and ἸῚ > mynrm zo pal ΤῊ pa TM, ‘there is a long time between David and the Messiah; but this gloss is forced, and hath nothing ἴῃ the words to give countenance unto it. It is the Messiah that is said to be born at Bethlehem, and not David, as shall afterwards be evinced; and 83172 denotes some acts, or actings of him that is spoken of, and not his relation unto another, not spoken of at all. Neither do those words, D>1Y ἜΡΩΣ denote a long time, but directly that which is before all times; see Prov. viii. 22. He yet proceeds to answer them who say the Messiah is God, from this place, because of this description of him. And first rejects the Lord Christ from being here intended, as supposing an objection to be made with reference unto him, though he express it not; for saith he, om>y ws mawn, ‘ this is an answer unto them, sw on San ΝΞ Sw ND NIT 5 42, He ruled not over Israel, but they ruled over him. Where it is evident, that some sentence written by him is left out of the copies printed among Christians. But,’ poor, blind, blasphemous wretch! this boast hath cost him, and his associates in infidelity, full dear. It is true, their progenitors did unto him whatever the counsel of God had determined. But notwithstanding all their rage, he was exalted by the right hand of God, and being a prince and Saviour, hath ruled ever since over the whole Israel of God, by his word and Spirit, and over them, his stubborn enemies, with a rod of iron. He adds, that it is false that these words are applicable unto the eternity of God; for, saith he, ὉΤῚ oun mrt ὈΣῚ» ~, ‘God was before the days of everlasting:’ as though in the same sense God were not expressly said to be D7p7 as here; see Hab. i. 11; and to be from everlasting. And this place is well expounded by Proy. viii. 21—23, as some of the rabbins acknowledge; so that we have in it an eminent testimony given unto the person of the Messiah, as well as unto the place of his nativity. Of which we shall treat afterwards.

δ 49. Zech. ii. 8. ‘ For behold I will bring forth my servant the Branch.’ Targum, Δ ΣΟῚ NT WA “TIDY Msn NIN NT, ‘Behold I bring forth my servant the Messiah, who shall be revealed.’ This revelation of the Messiah relates unto their apprehension that he was born long since, but is hid because of their sins, as was before intimated. And in like manner is he three times more mentioned by the Targumist in this prophecy, chap. iv. 7, vi. 12, x. 4, in all which places he is certainly designed by the Holy Ghost. There are also many of them who acknowledge him to be intended, chap. ix. 9, xi. 12, 13, xii. 10, where he is not mentioned in the Targum. I have not insisted on these places, as though they were all the testimonies which might be coliected to this purpose, out of the prophets, seeing they are a very small portion of the predictions, concerning the person, grace, and kingdom of the Messiah, and are not all those which are most eminent in that kind; but because, in the application of these to Messiah, we either have the consent of all the Jews, from whence some advantage may be taken for their conviction, or we have the suffrage of the more ancient and authentic masters, to reprove the perverseness of the modern rabbins.

§ 50. And this is He whom we inquire after—One who was promised from the foundation of the world, to relieve mankind from that state of sin and misery whereinto they were cast by their apostasy from God. This is He, who from the first promise of him, or intimation of relief by him, was the hope, desire, comfort, and expectation of all who aimed at reconciliation and peace with God—upon whom all their religion, faith, and worship was founded, and in whom it centered. He, for whose sake, or for the bringing of whom into the world, Abraham and the Hebrews his posterity, were separated to be a peculiar people, distinct from all the nations of the earth; in the faith of whom the whole church in the days of Adam, and in the period which followed, and in an especial manner the Jewish church, celebrated its mystical worship, endured persecution and martyrdom, waiting and praying continually for his appearance—He of whom all the prophets taught, preached, promised, and whom they raised the hearts of believers to a desire and expectation of, by describing beforehand his sufferings, with the glory that was to ensue—He of whose coming a catholic tradition was spread over the world, which the old serpent, with all his subtilty, was never able to obliterate.

§ 1. Ends of the promises and prophecies concerning the Messiah. Other ways of reve-, lation. Of his oblation by sacrifices. Of his divine Person, by visions. § 2. What meant in the Targums by “7 x79", the word of God. The expression first used, Gen. iii, 8, TT Sp, what or who. ὃ Aoyog. λογος ενυποστατος. Apprehensions of the ancient Jews about the word of God. Of the philosophers. Application of the expression, 6 λογος τοῦ Θεου, to the Son, by John. Expressions of Philo. Of the Mahometans. Christ called the word of God. Intention of the Targumists vindicated. § 3. How the voice walked. Aben Ezra refuted, and R. Jona. The appearance of the second person unto our first parents. § 4. Gen. xviii. 1, 2,3. God’s appearance, OYm OM. Suddenness of it. § 5. Who appeared. § 6. The occasion of it. § 7. Reflection of Aben Ezra on some Christian expositors, retorted. A trinity of persons not proved from this place. Distinct persons proved. No created angel representing the person of God, called Jehovah. Gen. xix. 24, from the Lord. Exceptions of Aben Ezra and Jarchi removed. Appearance of the second person. § 8. Gen, xxxiil. 24,26—30. § 9. Occasion of this vision. § 10. The Person, in appearance a man. ὁ 11. In office, an angel. § 12, 13. In nature, God, Gen. xlviii. 16; Hos. xii, 3—5. pax’, what. Who it was that appeared. § 14. Exod. iii. 2—6, 14. God that appeared. § 15, Exod. xix. 20— 22. Who gave the law. Not a created angel. The ministry of angels how used therein. § 16. Exod. xxiii. 20—23. ὁ 17. Exod. xxxili. 2, 5, 4,13, 14. Different angels promised. The angel of God’s presence, who. § 18, 19. Josh. v. 13—15. Captain of the Lord’s host described. §20. Sense of the ancient church concerning these appearances. § 21. Of the Jews. § 22, Opinion of Nachmanides. § 23, Tanchuma. Talmud. Fiction of the angel rejected by Moses, accepted by Joshua. Sense of it. § 24, Metatron, who. Derivation of the name.

§ 1. We have seen how plentifully God instructed the church of old by his prophets, in the knowledge of the person, office, and work of the Messiah. And this he did partly, that nothing might be wanting unto the faith and consolation of believers, which was suitable and proportioned to that condition of light and grace, in which it was his good pleasure to keep them before his actual coming; and partly, that his righteous judgments, in the rejection and ruin of those who obstinately refused him, might from the means of their conviction be justified and rendered glorious. But these promises and predictions were not the only means whereby God chose to manifest and reveal him unto their faith.

There are two things concerning the Messiah, which are the pillars and foundation of the church. The one is, his divine nature; and the other is, his work of mediation in the atonement for sin, which he made by his suffering, or by the sacrifice of himself. For the declaration of these unto them, who, according to the promise, looked for his coming, there were, under the Old Testament, two especial means graciously designed of God. The latter of these ways was that worship which he instituted, and the various sacrifices which he appointed to be observed in the church, as types and representations of that one perfect oblation which he was to offer in the fulness of time. The unfolding and particular application of this way of instruction, is the principal design and scope of the apostle in his Epistle unto the Hebrews. But as that must be insisted on at large in our exposition of that Epistle, I shall not anticipate what is to be spoken concerning it in these previous discourses, which are all intended in a sub-’ serviency thereunto. The other way, which concerns his divine Person, was by those visions and appearances of the Son of God, as the Head of

the church, which were granted unto the fathers under the Old Testament. And these, as they are directly suited unto our purpose, in our inquiry after the prognostics of the advent of the Messiah, so are they eminently useful for the conviction of the Jews. For in them we shall manifest, that a revelation was made of a distinct person in the Deity, who in a peculiar manner did manage all the concerns of the church after the entrance of sin. And here also, according unto our proposed method, we shall inquire what light concerning this truth hath been received by any of the Jewish masters; as also manifest to what confusions they are driven, when they seek to evade the evidence that is in the testimonies to this purpose.

ὃ 2. There is frequent mention in the Targumist of “7 817079, ‘the word

And this change of the appearance of God, some of the Jews take notice of; so the author of Tseror Hammor, Sect. Bereshith, xomm Ὁ ΠΡ pa Pana Yip wawads wn Nd wom pwsy) Day IAI ‘TAD PNT he, ‘ Before they sinned, they saw the glory of the blessed God speaking with them, but after their sin they only heard his voice walking.” God dealt now otherwise with them than he did before. And the Chaldee paraphrast observing that some especial presence of God is expressed in the words, renders them, xn222 ἽΠΠΩ DYTDN wT NaN Spon Ἵ 3), «And they heard the voice of the Word of the Lord God walking in the garden.’ So all the Targums, and that of Jerusalem, begins the next verse accordingly, ond ods YT ND NIP, ‘And the word of the Lord God called unto Adam.’ And this expression they afterwards make use of in places innumerable, and that in such a way as plainly to denote a distinct Person in the Deity. That this also was their intention in it, is manifest, because about the time of the writing of the first of those Targums, which gave normam loquendi, the rule of speaking unto them that followed, it was usual

In the words cited above, John might also have respect unto that ascription of the work of the redemption of the church to this Word of the Lord, which was admitted in the church of the Jews. That place, amongst others, is express to this purpose, Hos. i. 7, where the words of the prophet, “1 will save them by the Lord their God, are rendered by the Targumist, PATENT Na Pp IDs, ‘1 will save (or redeem) them by the Word of the Lord their God, —the Word, the Redeemer. And it is not unworthy of consideration, that the wisest and most contemplative of the philosophers of old, had many notions about the © λογος αἴδιος, ‘the eternal Word,’ which was unto them δυναμις της ὁλης κτίσεως ποιητικὴ, ‘the formative or creative power of the universe τὴ to which purpose many sayings have been observed, and might be reported out of Plato, with his followers, Amelius, Chalcidius, Proclus, Plotinus, and others, whose expressions are imitated by our own writers, as Justin Martyr, Clemens, Athenagoras, Tatianus, and many more. And among the Mahometans themselves, this is the name that in their Alcoran they give unto Jesus, wy 755, ‘the Word of God.’ So prevalent hath this notion of the Son of God been in the world. And as those words, Ezek. i. 24. ‘I heard the voice of their wings, *1W bpd, as the voice of the Almighty, are rendered by the Targumist, TW O1p 7.2 nopd, “89 the voice from the face of the Almighty, what this is shall be afterwards shown. Some copies of the LXX. render them by φωνὴν rov λογου, * the voice of the Worp, that is of God, who was represented in that vision, as shall be manifested.

Some would put another sense on that expression of the Targumists, as though it intended nothing but God himself; and instances of the use of it in that sense have been observed. As Eccles. viii. 17. ‘If a wise man say (m7.792) in his word,’ that is, say in himself, Gen. vi. 6. “ Τὸ repented the Lord (m7 *12) in his word, Also Ruth ii. 8, is urged to give countenance unto this suspicion; as did Paltiel, the son of Laish, who placed his sword ΣΝ na 55" p23) “W972 PA, between his word and Michal, the daughter of Saul, the wife of David.’ But, 1. The former places use not the word 772°, which is peculiar unto the sense contended for. 2. The Targums on the Hagiographa, are a late post-talmudieal endeavour, made in imitation of those of Onkelos and Ben Uzziel, when the Jews had lost both all sense of their old traditions, and the use of the Chaldee language, any farther than what they learned from those former paraphrases. Nothing therefore, can hence be concluded as to the intention of the Targumists in these words. And they can have no other sense in that of Psalm ex. 1, maa δ ἼΩΝ, ‘The Lord said in (or to) his word, for ‘to my Lord, as in the original.

§ 3. The Jews discern that imma, ‘ walking,’ relates in this place immediately to ΣῚΡ, ‘the voice, and not unto omy mim, ‘the Lord God, and therefore, endeavour to render a reason of that kind of expression. So Aben Ezra on the place giveth instances, where a voice or sound in its progress is said to walk. As Exod. xix. 19, pM sin pwr dp, ‘The voice of the trumpet went and waxed strong; and Jer. xlvi, 22, > wd mp, “The voice thereof shall go like a serpent.’ But these examples correspond not with that under consideration. For although 727 may express sometimes the progression or increase of a voice, yet it doth not so, but where it is intimated to be begun before; but here was nothing spoken by God, until after that Adam had heard this word of God ‘ walking.’ And, therefore, R. Jona, cited by Aben Ezra, would apply sana, ‘walking, unto Adam, ‘He heard the voice of God, as he was himself walking in the garden, the absurdity of which fiction the words of the text and context sufficiently evince. or not =>, but Dad would answer unto "ym" in the beginning of the verse. It is, therefore, most probable, that in the great alteration which was now coming upon the whole creation of God, mankind being to be cast out of covenant, the serpent and the earth being to be cursed, and a way of recovery for the elect of God to be revealed, that He, by whom all things were made, and by whom all were to be renewed who were to be brought again unto God, did in an especial and glorious manner appear unto our first parents, as he in whom this whole dispensation centred, and unto whom it was committed. And as after the promise given, he appeared, ev poppy ανθρωπινῳ, ‘in a human shape,’ to instruct the church in the mystery of his future incarnation, and under the name of angel, to shadow out his office as sent unto it, and employed in it by the Father, so here before the promise, he discovered his distinct glorious person, as the eternal Voice or Word of the Father.

the plains of Mamre, and he sat in the tent-door, in the heat of the day: and he lift up his eyes and looked, and lo three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he came to meet them from the tent-door, and bowed himself toward the ground; and said, My Lord, if I have now found favour in thy sight, &e. The Jews in Bereshith Ketanna say, that this appearance of God unto Abraham was three days after his circumcision, from the sore whereof, being not recovered, he sat in the door of his tent, and that God came to visit him in his sickness. But the reason of his sitting in the door of the tent is given in the text, namely, because it was 0} DMS, as in, or about, the heat of the day, as the day grew hot; in an opposition unto the time of God’s appearance unto Adam, which was B17 1192, in the cool air of the day. For as when God comes to curse, nothing shall refresh the creature, though in its own nature suited thereunto—it shall wither in the cool of the day; so when he comes to bless, nothing shall hinder the influence of his blessing upon his creatures, however any thing in itself may, like the heat of the day, be troublesome or perplexing.

§ 5. He lift up his eyes and looked, and ‘behold three men stood by him. The title is; MT}, yon ΝΥ, ‘the Lord appeared unto him;’ and the narrative is, ‘lo, three men stood by him: the Lord therefore was amongst them. And it seems to be a sudden appearance that was made to him: he saw them on a sudden standing by him: he looked up and saw them, and this satisfied him that it was a heavenly apparition.

§ 6. The business of God with Abraham at this time was to renew unto him the promise of the seed who was to be a blessing, and to confine it unto his posterity by Sarah, now when he was utterly hopeless of this, and. began to desire that Ishmael might be heir of the promise. Unto this signal work of mercy was adjoined the intimation of an eminent effect of vindictive justice, wherein God would set forth an example of this attribute unto all ensuing generations, in the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. And both these were the proper works of the Son of God. Unto him was committed the care of the church, as its blessedness depended on the promise of his coming: and to him was given the government of the world, that he may act as its present Ruler and its future Judge. And hence, in the overthrow of those cities, he is said to set forth an ‘ensample of his future dealing with ungodly men,’ 2 Peter ii. 6.

§ 7. Aben Ezra reflects with scorn on the Christians, who from this place, because three men are said to appear unto Abraham, and he calls them, my Lord, would prove the tri-personality of the Deity. ΠΡ mm JMDM N82) 2 NTP ITN NTO ΣΝ “A DWT °D WAN, ‘ Because of the appearance of three men, God is three, and he is one, and they are not separated. or divided.’ | How then doth he answer what they say? 82") WW 727 ΤῸ DDN WW, ‘ Behold, they forget that there came two angels unto Sodom. That is, that two of those who appeared were angels, and no more. But if any Christians have taken these three persons to have been the three Persons of the Trinity, it were an easy thing to out-balance their mistake with instances of his own and of his companions’ pernicious curiosities and errors. It is true, a Trinity of persons in the Deity cannot be proved from this place, seeing one of them is expressly called Jehovah, and the other two, in distinction from him, are said to be angels, ch. xix. 1. But yet a distinction of persons in the Deity, although not the precise number of them, is hence demonstrabie. For it is evident, that he of the three that spake unto Abraham, and to whom he made his supplication for the sparing of Sodom, was Jehovah the Judge of all the world, ver. 22, 25. And yet all the three were sent upon the work, that One being the Prince and Head of the embassy; as he who is Jehovah is said to be sent by Jehovah, Zech. ii. 8, 9. Neither is there any ground for the late exposition of this and the like places, namely, that a created angel, representing the person of God, doth both speak and act in his name, and is called Jehovah; an invention to evade the appearances of the Son of God under the Old Testament, contrary to the sense of all antiquity; nor is any reason or instance produced to make it good. The Jews indeed say, that there were three angels, because of the threefold work they were employed in; for they say, no more than one angel is at any time sent about the same work. So one of these was to renew the promise unto Abraham, another to deliver Lot, and the third to destroy Sodom. But besides that this is a rule of their own making, and evidently false, as may be seen, Gen. xxxii. 1, 2; 2 Kings vi. 17, so in the story itself, it is manifest that they were all employed in the same work, one as Lord and Prince, the other two as his ministering servants.

And this is further cleared in that expression of Moses, ch. xix. 24, ‘The Lord rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord in heaven.’ Targum, “7 07p%, ‘from before the Lord.’ or the face of the Lord. Aben Ezra answers, ἸΠΝῚ Dy mms pw, that this is the elegance of the tongue, and that the sense of it is, from himself, and this gloss some of our late critics embrace. And there are instances collected by Solomon Jarchi to confirm this sense. Namely, the words of Lamech, Gen. iv. 23, ‘Hear my voice, ye wives of Laméch, not, my wives. And of David, 1 Kings i. 33, ‘Take with you the servants of your lord, not, my servants. And of Ahasuerus unto Mordecai, Esther iv. 8, ‘ Write you for the Jews in the king’s name, not, in my name. But the difference of these from the words under consideration is wide and evident. In all these places, the persons are introduced speaking of themselves, and describe themselves either by their names, or offices suitably unto the occasion and subject spoken of. But in this place, it is Moses that speaketh of the Lord, and had no occasion to repeat 777° NN, were it not to intimate the distinct persons unto whom that name, denoting the nature and self-existence of God, was proper; one whereof then appeared on the earth, the other manifesting his glorious presence in heaven. Wherefore Rashi, observing somewhat more in this expression, contents not himself with his supposed parallel places, but adds, that the 1.1 m2. is to be understood; and gives this as a rule, 17 MD) NIN ΟἽ “ny opr 55, ‘Every place where it is said, mim, and the Lord, He and his house of judgment are intended; as if God had a sanhedrim in heaven, a fancy which they have invented to avoid the expressions which testify unto a plurality of persons in the Deity. There is therefore in this place an appearance of God in a human shape, and that of one distinct Person in the Godhead; who now represented himself unto Abraham, in the form and shape wherein he would dwell amongst men, when of his seed he would be made flesh. This was one signal means whereby Abraham saw his day and rejoiced, which he himself ascribes to his existence before his incarnation, and not to the promise of his coming, John viii. 56, 58. A solemn prelude it was to his taking of flesh, a revelation of his divine nature and person, and a pledge of his coming in human nature to converse with men.

§ 8. Gen. xxxii. 24. ‘And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the ascending of the morning. 26. And he said, Let me go, for the day ascendeth; and he said, 1 will not let thee go except thou bless me. 27. And he said unto him, What is thy name? and he said, Jacob. 28. And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel; for as a prince hast thou power with God and men, and hast prevailed. 29. And Jacob asked him and said, Tell me I pray thee thy name; and he said, Wherefore dost thou ask after my name? and he blessed him there. 30. And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.’ This story is twice reflected upon in the Scripture afterwards: once by Jacob himself, Gen. xlviii. 15, 16. ‘And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day, the angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads: And once by the prophet Hosea, ch. xii. 3,4: ‘ By his strength yhe had power with God; yea, he had power over the angel and prevailed: he wept and made supplication unto him, he found him in Bethel, and there he spake with us, 5. Even the Lord God of hosts, the Lord.is his memorial.’ In the first place, he is called a man; there appeared a man, ver. 24. In the second, Jacob calls him an angel; the angel that redeemed me, ver. 16. And in the third, he is expressly said to be God, the Lord of hosts, ver. 3, 5.

§ 9. Jacob was now passing with his whole family into the land of Canaan to take seizure of it, by virtue of the promise on the behalf of his posterity. At the very entrance of it, he is met by his greatest adversary, with whom he had a severe contest, about the promise and the inheritance itself. This was his brother Esau, who coming against him with a power which he was no way able to withstand, he feared that both his person and his posterity would be utterly destroyed, ver. 11. In the promise about which their contest was, the blessed seed, with the whole churchstate and worship of the Old Testament, was included; so that it was the greatest controversy, and had the greatest weight depending on it, of any that ever was amongst the sons of men. Wherefore to settle Jacob’s right, to preserve him with his title and interest, He who was principally concerned in the whole matter, doth here appear unto him; some especial particulars of which manifestation of himself may be remarked.

§ 10. First, He appeared in the form of a man, WAY SX Pax’, ‘a man wrestled with him.’ -A man he is called from his shape and his actions; he wrestled, PAN* that is saith R. Menachem in Rashi, “yn, ‘he dusted; this, saith he, is the sense of Pax, for pdsna apy Ddyr Ὑπὸ, “ they stirred up the dust with their feet, as men do in earnest wrestling; or as he would rather understand it, in allusion to another word, to signify the closing with their arms to cast one another down, as is the manner of wrestlers. A great contention is denoted, and an appearance in the form of a man, further manifested by his touching the hollow of Jacob’s thigh.

8.11]. Secondly, He is called an angel by Jacob himself, Gen. xlviu. 16, ‘The angel that delivered me.’ This was the greatest danger that Jacob ever was in, and this he remembers in his blessing of Joseph’s children, praying that they may have the presence of this angel with them, who pre-

‘ served him all his life, and delivered him from that imminent danger from his brother Esau. And he calls him, bert Ndr, ‘The angel the Redeemer, which is the name of the promised Messiah, as the Jews grant, Isa. lix. 20, ΣΝ} psd N27; «And the Goel, the Redeemer shall come to Zion.’ And he is expressly called the angel, Hos. xii. 14.

§ 12. Thirdly, This man in appearance, this angel in office, was in name and nature God over all blessed for ever. For in the first place, Jacob prays solemnly unto him for his blessing, Gen. xxxi. 26, and refuseth to let him go, or to cease his supplications until he had blessed him. 2. He doth so: he blesseth him, and giveth him a double pledge or token of it in the touching of his thigh, and in the change of his name; giving him a name to denote his prevalence with God, that is with himself. 3. From hence Jacob concludes that he had seen God, and calls the name of the place, the Face of God. In the second place, in Gen. xlvii. 16, he prays to this angel for his presence with, and blessing on the children of Joseph, which cannot regard any but God himself, without gross idolatry. And it is evident that the angel who redeemed him, ver. 16, is the same with the God who fed him, that is the God of his fathers.

And this is yet more evident in the prophet. For with regard unto this story of his power over the angel, he says he had power with God; and proves it, because he had power over the angel and prevailed. And he shows,whereby he thus prevailed, it was by weeping and making supplications unto him, which he neither did, nor lawfully might do, unto a created angel; and therefore some of the Jews apply those words, he wept and made supplications, unto the angel’s desiring Jacob to let him go; foolishly enough; and yet are they therein followed by some late critics, who too often please themselves with their curiosities. Again, this angel was he whom he found, or who found him in Bethel, an account whereof we have Gen. xxvii. 20—22; and ch. xxxy. 1. Now this was no other but he to whom Jacob made his vow, and with whom he entered into solemn covenant that he should be his God. And therefore the prophet adds expressly in the last place, ver. 5, that it was the Lord God of hosts, whom he intended.

§ 13, From what hath been spoken, it is evident, that he who appeared unto Jacob, with whom he earnestly wrestled by tears and supplications, was God, and because he was sent as the angel of God, it must be some distinct person in the deity, condescending unto that office; even the second person, who appearing in the form of a man, represented his future assumption of our human nature. And by all thjs did God instruct the church in the mystery of the person of the Messiah, that they mgt know for whom they were to look in the blessing of the promised seed.

ὃ 14, Exod. ii. 2—6. ‘And Moses came to the mountain of God to Hoereb. And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. And Moses said, I will turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush is not burned. And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said Moses, Moses, and he said, Here am I. And he said, Draw not nigh hither; put off thy shoes from thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest, is holy ground. Moreover he said, I am the ' God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God.’ And herein also have we expressed another glorious appearance of the Son of God. He who is here revealed, is called Jehovah, ver. 4. And he affirms of himself that he is the God of Abraham, ver. 6. He also describes himself by the glorious name of I AM that I AM, ver. 14. In his name and authority Moses was to deal with Pharaoh in the deliverance of the people, and him they were to serve on that mountain upon their coming out of Egypt. And for his)8>, or merciful good-will, Moses prays, Deut. xxxii. 16. And yet he is expressly called an angel, ver. 2, namely the angel of the covenant, the great angel of the presence of

God, in whom was the name and nature of God; and he thus appeared that the church might know and consider who it was, that was to work out their spiritual and eternal salvation, whereof that deliverance which then he would affect was a type and pledge. Aben Ezra would have the angel mentioned ver. 2, to be another from him who is called the Lord God, ver. 6. But the text will not give countenance unto any such distinction, but speaks of one and the same person throughout, without any alteration; and this was no other than the Son of God.

δ 15. Exod. xix. 18—20. ‘And Mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke; because the Lord descended upon it in fire; and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly. And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice. And the Lord came down upon mount Sinai, on the top of the mount.’ The Jews well interpret those words concerning the descent of God, to be by way of the manifestation of his glory, not in the way of change of place. And thence Aben Ezra interprets that expression, chap. xx. 22, ‘ Ye have seen that I have talked with you from heayen;’ God was still in heaven, when his glory was on the Mount. Yet those words D’awiT 1.2, do rather refer to his descent before described, than denote the place where he spake.. For in giving the law God spake on earth, Heb. xii. 25. That God in this glorious manifestation of his presence on mount Sinai, made use of the ministry of angels, both the nature of the thing declares, and the Scripture testifies, Ps. xviii. 17. The voices, fire, trembling of the mountain, smoke and noise of the trumpet, were all effected by them. And so also was the forming of the words of the law conveyed to the ears of Moses and the people. Hence the law is not only said to be received by them, εἰς διαταγας ἀγγέλων, (Acts vii. 53) by the disposition, or orderly ministration of the angels, and to be disposed by them into the hand of Moses, (Gal. 11. 19,) but is also called, ὁ δι᾿ ἀγγελων λαληθεις Aoyoc, Heb. 11. 2, the word spoken or pronounced by angels, that is, outwardly and audibly. As to him who presided and ruled the whole action, some Christians think that it was a created angel, representing God, and speaking in his name. But if this be so, we have no certainty of any thing that is affirmed in the Scripture, there is nothing which with assurance we can refer directly ἀπά. immediately unto God; but we may when we please substitute a delegated angel in his room. For inno place, not even in that concerning the creation of the world, is God himself more expressly spoken of. Besides, the Psalmist in the place mentioned, affirms, that when those chariots of God were on mount Sinai, Jehovah himself was in the midst of them. And this presence of God, the Hebrews call 1257 and 772 and 7px», whereby they now understand a majestic and sanctifying presence; indeed it intends him who is the ‘ brightness of the Father’s glory, and the express image of his person, who was delegated unto this work, as the great angel of the covenant, giving the law in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.

δ. 16. Exod. xxiii. 20—22. ‘Behold I send an angel before thee to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place that I have prepared. Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not, for he will not pardon your transgressions, for my name is in him. But if thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak, then will I be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries.’ The angel here promised, is he that went in the midst of the people in the wilderness, whose glory appeared and was manifested among*them. And moreover, another angel is promised unto them, ver. 23, ‘ For mine angel shall go before thee, and _ bring thee unto the Amorites, and I will cut them off’ This refers to ἃ ministering angel, to execute the judgments and vengeance of God upon the enemies of his people. And that this angel of ver. 23, is another from that of ver. 20, appears from ch. xxxiil. 2, 3, compared with ver. 13—16, of the same chapter, ver. 2, ‘I will send an angel before thee, and I will drive out the Canaanite and the Amorite,’ which is the promise; and the angel of ch. xxiii. 23. But saith he, ver. 3, ‘I will not go up in the midst of thee; which he had promised to do in and by the angel of ver. 20, 21, in whom his name was. ‘This the people esteemed evil tidings, and mourned because of it, ver: 4. Now God had not promised to go in the midst of them, any otherwise than by the angel mentioned; with which both Moses and the people were abundantly satisfied. But while he here renews his promise of the ministry, and assistance of the angel of ver. 23, yet he denies them his own presence, in the angel of ver. 20. For which Moses reneweth his request, ver. 13, whereunto God replies, ‘My presence shall go with thee, ver. 14, concerning which presence or face of God, or which angel of his presence, we must a little more particularly inquire.

ὃ 17. First, It is said to the people concerning him 12> “7207, beware of him, or rather take heed to thyself before him: before his face, in his presence, ver.21. “aw in Niphal, is sibi cavit; cave tibi. And this is the caution that is usually given the people, requiring that reverence and awe, which is due unto the holiness of the presence of God. 2. 1>3p3 yaw), and obey his voice. This is the great precept which is solemnly given, and so often reiterated in the law with reference unto God himself. 3. ἽΞ 77a 5x, provoke him not; or rebel not against him. This is the usual word whereby God expresseth the transgression of his covenant; a rebellion that can be committed against God alone. 4. Of these precepts a twofold reason is given, the first of which is taken from the sovereign authority of this angel; for he will not pardon your transgressions; that is, as Joshua afterwards tells the same people, ‘he is a holy God, he is a jealous God, he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins, Josh. xxiv. 19; namely, sins of rebellion, that break and disannul his covenant. And who can forgive sins but God? To suppose here a created angel, is to open a door unto idolatry; for he in whose power it is absolutely to pardon and to punish sin, may certainly be worshipped with religious adoration. The second reason is taken from his name, for my name is in him. A more excellent name than any of the angels do enjoy, Heb. i. 4. He is God Jehovah, that is his name, and his nature answereth thereto. Hence ver. 22, it is added, ‘if indeed thou obey his voice, and do all that I speak.’ His voice is the voice of God; in his speaking doth God speak; and upon the people’s obedience thereto, depends the accomplishment of the promise. Moreover, ch. xxxiii. 14, 15, God says concerning this angel “25, my presence, my face shall go with thee; which presence Moses calls his glory, ver. 18, his essential glory. This was manifested unto him, chap. xxxiv. 6, though the manifestation was but obscure when compared with what they enjoyed, who in his human nature, (wherein dwelt the fulness of the Godhead bodily, Col. ii. 9,) beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, John i. 14. For this face of God is he, who could truly say, ‘he that hath seen me, hath seen the Father,’ John xiy. 9, because he is the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, Heb. i.

3. This is he who accompanied the people in the wilderness, 1 Cor. x. 4, and whose merciful good pleasure towards them, Moses prayed for, Deut. xxxiii. 16. He is the ‘ Father of lights, from whom descendeth every good and perfect gift, James i.17. These things evidently express God and none other; and yet he is said to be an angel sent by God in his name, and unto'his work. So that he can be no other but a certain person of the deity, who accepted of this delegation, and was therein revealed unto the church, as he who was to take upon him the seed of Abraham, and to be their eternal Redeemer. -

§ 18. Josh. v. 13—15. ‘And it came to pass whilst Joshua was by Jericho, that he lift up his eyes and looked, and behold there stood a man over against him, with his sword drawn in his hand, and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? and he said, Nay; but as Prince of the host of the Lord, am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my Lord unto his servant. And the prince of the Lord’s host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot, for the place whereon thou standest is holy.’ The appearance here is of a man, ver. 13, a man of war, as God is called, Exod. xv. 3, armed with his sword drawn in his hand, as a token of the business about which he came. At first sight Joshua apprehends him to be a man only, which occasioned his inquiry, art thou for us or for our adversaries? which discovers his courage and undaunted magnanimity, for doubtless the appearance was august and glorious. But he answers unto his whole question, xd, Lam not; that is, a man either of your party, or of the enemy’s, but quite another person, Mim ΝΞ, the Prince of the host of the Lord. And this was another illustrious manifestation of the Son of God unto the church of old, accompanied with many instructive circumstances. As, lst. From the form in which he appeared, namely of a man, as a pledge of his future incarnation. 2nd. The title that he assumes to himself, the Captain of the Lord’s host, he to whom was committed the guidance and conducting of them unto rest, not only temporal, but eternal rest; whence the apostle, in allusion unto this place and title, calls him the captain of our salvation, Heb. 11. 10. And 3rd. The person unto whom he spake when he gave himself this title, was the captain of the people at that time, teaching both him and them that there was another supreme captain of their eternal deliverance. 4th. From the time and place of his appearance, which was upon the first entrance of the people into Canaan, and on the ‘first opposition which occurred to them there; his people were taught to regard him as engaging his presence with his church, in all things which oppose them in their way unto eternal rest. 5th. From the adoration and worship which Joshua gave unto him, and which he accepted of, contrary to the duty and practice of created angels, Rey. xix. 10; xxii. 8,9. 6th. From the prescription of the ceremonies expressive of religious reverence, Put off thy shoes, with the reason annexed, For the place whereon thou standest 817 D7, it is holiness, made so by the presence of God; the like precept whereunto was given to Moses, by the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Exod. iii. 5. By all these things was the church instructed in the person, nature, and othice of the Son of God: even in the mystery of his eternal distinct subsistence in the Deity, his future incarnation and condescension unto the office of being the Head and Saviour of his church.

§ 19. These manifestations of the Son of God unto the church of old, as the angel or messenger of the Father, subsisting in his own divine person, are all of them revelations of the promised seed, the great and only Saviour and deliverer of the church; all of them intimate his eternal existence before his incarnation, and are pledges of his afterwards taking upon him the human nature, for the accomplishment of the whole work committed unto him. And many other instances of the like nature may be added out of the former and latter prophets, which, because in most important circumstances they are coincident with these, need not here particularly be insisted on.

§ 20. Some of late would apply all these appearances unto a created delegated angel; which conceit, as it is irreconcileable unto the sacred text, as we have manifested, so is it contrary unto the sense of the ancient writers of the Christian church. A large collection of testimonies from them, is not suited unto our present design and purpose: I shall therefore only mention two of the most ancient of them; one of the Latin, the other of the Greek church. The first is Tertullian, who tells us, ‘Christus semper egit in Dei Patris nomine; ipse ab initio conversatus est et congressus cum Patriarchis et Prophetis.’ Adv. Mare. lib. 2. ‘Christ always dealt (with men) in the name of God the Father; and so himself from the beginning conversed with the Patriarchs and prophets.’ And again, ‘Christus ad colloquia humana semper descendit, ab Adam usque ad Patriarchas et Prophetas, in visione, in somno, in speculo, in enigmate, ordinem suum preestruens semper ab initio; et Deus, in terris cum hominibus conversatus est, non alius, quam sermo qui caro erat futurus. Adv. Praxeam. ‘It was Christ who descended to commune with men, from Adam unto the patriarchs and prophets, in visions, dreams, and appearances, or representations of himself, instructing them in his future condition from the beginning; and God who conversed with men on earth, was no other but the word who was to be made flesh.’ The other is Justin Martyr, whose words need not be produced, seeing it is known how he contends for this very thing, in his dialogue with Trypho.:

§ 21. That which is more direct unto our purpose, is to inquire into the apprehensions of the Jewish masters, concerning these divine appearances, granted unto the patriarchs and church of old, with what may thence be collected for their conviction concerning the person of the Messiah. The most part of their expositors do, I confess, pass over the difficulties of the places mentioned, (I mean those which are difficult to them because of their present infidelity) without taking the least notice of them. Some would have the angel mentioned to be Michael, to whom they assign a prerogative, above the other angels, who preside over other countries. But who that Michael is, and wherein that prerogative doth consist, they know not. Some say that Michael is the high priest of heaven, who offers up the prayers of the righteous: so R. Menachem. The priest above, that offereth, or presenteth the souls of the righteous, saith another, more agreeably unto the truth than they are aware of. One signal instance only, of the evidence of the truth insisted on, in the words of Moses Nechmanides Gerundensis, on Exod. xxiii., which hath been taken notice of by many, shall at present suffice. His words are; ‘Iste Angelus, si rem ipsam di- |

camus, est Angelus Redemptor, de quo scriptum est Quoniam nomen meum in ipso est. Ile inquam Angelus, qui ad Jacob dicebat, Gen. xxxi. 13. Ego Deus Bethel. ΠΙῸ de quo dictum est, Exod. 111. 4, Et vocabat Mosen Deus de rubo. Vocatur autem Angelus quia mundum gubernat. Scriptum est enim, Deut. vi. 21, Eduxit vos Jehovah ex Agypto; et alibi Numb. xx. 6; Misit Angelum suum et eduxit vos ex Aigypto. Preeterea

scriptum est Isa. Ixiii. 9, Et Angelus faciei ejus salvos fecit ipsos. Nimirum ille Angelus qui est Dei facies; de quo dictum est, Exod. xxxiii. 14, Facies mea preibit, et efficiam ut quiescas. Denique ille Angelus est de quo vates, Mal. i. 1, Et subito veniet ad templum suum dominus quem vos queeritis, et Angelus foederis quem cupitis. And again to the same purpose. ‘ Animadverte attente quid ista sibi velint, Facies mea {preibit. Moses enim et Israelite semper optaverunt Angelum primum, ceeterum quis ille esset vere imtelligere non potuerunt. Neque enim ab aliis percipiebant, neque prophetica notione satis assequebantur; Atqui Facies Dei, ipsum Deum significat, quod apud omnes interpretes est in confesso. Verum ne per somnium quidem ista intelligere quisquam possit, nisi sit in mysteriis legis eruditus. And again, ‘ Facies mea preecedet, ἢ, 6. Angelus foederis quem vos cupitis in quo videbitur facies mea: de quo dictum est, tempore accepto exaudiam te; nomen meum in eo est. Faciamque ut quiescas; sive efficiam ut ipse tibi sit lenis et benignus: neque te ducat per rigidum, sed placide et clementer. ‘ This angel, if we speak exactly, is the angel the Redeemer, concerning whom it is written, My name is in him, Exod. xxii. 21, that angel who said unto Jacob, I am the God of Bethel, Gen. xxxi. 13. He of whom it is said, And God called unto Moses out of the bush, Exod. i. 4. And he is called an angel because he governeth the world. For it is written, Deut. vi. 21, The Lord our God brought us out of Egypt; and elsewhere, Numb. xx. 6, He sent his angel and brought us out of Egypt. Moreover it is written, Isa. Ixii. 9, And the angel of his face (presence) saved them. Namely, that angel who is the face of God; of whom it is said, Exod. xxxiu. 14, My face shall go before thee, and I will cause thee to rest. Lastly, it is that angel of whom the prophet speaks, Mal. 11. 1, And the Lord whom ye seek shall suddenly come unto his temple, the angel of the covenant whom ye delight in.’ His following words are to the same purpose. ‘Mark diligently what is the meaning of those words, My face shall go before thee. For Moses and the Israelites always desired the highest angel, but who that was they could not truly understand. or neither could they learn it of any others, nor obtain it by prophecy. But the face of God signifieth God himself, as all interpreters acknowledge. But no man can have the least knowledge hereof, unless he be skilled in the mysteries of the law.’ He adds moreover; “ My face shall go before thee, that is the angel of the covenant whom ye desire; in whom my face shall be seen; of whom it is said, in an acceptable time have I heard thee; my name is in him; I will cause thee to rest; or cause that he shall be gentle or kind unto thee, nor shall lead thee with rigour, but quietly and mercifully.’

§ 22. This Ra. Moses bar Nachman, wrote about the year of our Lord, 1220, in Spain, and died at Jerusalem, An. 1260, and is one of the chief masters of the Jews. And there are many things occurring in his writings, beyond the common rate of their present apprehensions. As in the places cited, he doth plainly evert one of the principal foundations of their present infidelity. For he not only grants, but contends and proves, that the angel spoken of was God, and being sent of God as his angel, he must be a distinct person in the deity, as we have proved. The reason indeed on which he fixeth why he is called an angel, namely, because he governeth the world, although the thing itself be true, is not so proper. For he is so called, because of his eternal designation, and actual delegation by the Father, unto the work of saving the church in all conditions from first to last. And as he acknowledgeth that his being called the face of God, proves him to be God, so it doth no less evidently evince his personal distinction from him whose face he is; that is, the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person. And what he adds of the mercy and benignity which by the appointment of God he exerciseth towards his people, is signally suitable unto the tenderness and mercy which the great captain of our sal-. vation exerciseth by God’s appointment, towards all those whom he leads and conducts unto glory.

§ 23. It will also be not unsuitable to consider what some of them write in Tanchuma, an ancient comment on the five books of Moses. Speaking of the angel that went before them from Exod. xxi. 20. ‘God,’ say they, ‘said unto Moses, Behold I send my angel before thy face. But Moses answered, I will not have an angel, but I will have thyself. But when Joshua the son of Nun first saw the angel, he said, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? then the angel answered, I am, the captain of the Lord’s host, and now I come; as if he had said, [am come a second time, that I may lead the Israelites into their possession. I came when Moses thy master was the ruler, but when he saw me, he would not have me to go with him, but refused me. As soon as Joshua heard this, he fell on his face and worshiped, saying, What speaketh my Lord unto his servant?

Answerable hereunto in the Talmud. Tractat. Saned. cap. 4. Echad dine Mamonoth, they have a gloss on those words, Exod. xxiu. 21, poy» Xs nd, he will not pardon your transgressions; JIN" 7173) poywed mbom 515. xd WmIDN ἸῺΞ DN ΩΡ nNwd mda PSRw pra amon ΤΣ ὝΩΝΤΙΞ way ΝΟ 5 Pow npn sd-pn 2525 Ὁ Ν72..---- He cannot spare or pardon your transgressions: what then doth he do, or could he do; wherefore he said unto him, (to God,) we believe that he cannot pardon our transgressions, and therefore we refuse him, and will not accept of him; no not for a leader to go in and out before us.’ They greatly mistake in supposing that the angel whom alone Moses refused, was he that afterwards appeared unto Joshua; for he was the same with him in whom was the name of God, and who was promised unto them under the name of the face or presence of God. But in this they were right enough; that, not Moses, but their church under the law, refused that Angel of God's presence, who was to conduct them that obey him into everlasting rest. And the church of believers under Joshua, which was a type of the church of the New Testament, adhering unto him, found rest unto their souls.

§ 24, And this angel of whom we have spoken, was he whom the Talmudists call pruu, Metatron. Ben Uzziel m his Targum on Gen. ν. ascribes this name unto Enoch. He ascended, saith he, into heaven by the word of the Lord, N27 Ν ΒΟ PWV Taw NIP, and his name was called Mitatron the great scribe. But this opinion is rejected and confuted in the Talmud. There they tell us that Metatron is Dbymt “WwW the prince of the world; or, as Elias calls him in Tishbi, 0°27 WW, the prince of Ged’s presence. The mention of this name is in Talm. Tract. Saned. cap. 4. where they plainly intimate that they intend an uncreated angel thereby. For they assign such things unto him as are incompetent unto any other. And as Reuchlin informeth us from the Cabbalists, they say }7wwA myn dy a5 Metatron was the master or teacher of Moses himself. He it is, saith Elias, who is the angel always appearing in the presence of God, of whom it is said, my name isinhim. And the Talmudists add, that he hath power to blot out the sins of Israel, whence they call him the chancellor of heayen. And Bechai a famous master among them affirms, on Exod. xxii. that his name signifies both a Lord, a messenger, anda keeper. A. Lord, because he ruleth all; a messenger, because he standeth always before God to do his will: and a keeper, because he keepeth Israel. The etymology of that name which he gives unto this purpose, is, I confess, weak and _ foolish. Nor is that of Elias one jot better, who tells us that Metatron is 1. jw>a, in the Greek tongue, One sent. But yet the person who is intended by these obscure intimations, which are the corrupted relicts of ancient traditions, is evident, namely the uncreated Prince of glory, who being Lord of all appeared of old unto the patriarchs, as the angel or messenger of the Father. And as for the word itself, it is either a corrupt expression of the Latin Mediator, such as is usual amongst them, or a mere gematrical fiction to answer unto ‘TW, the Almighty, there being a coincidence in the numerical signification of their letters.

And this was another way, whereby God instructed the church of old in the mystery of the person of the Messiah who was promised unto them.

§ 1. Messiah promised of old. § 2. Faith of the ancient church of the Jews concerning him. § 3. State of the Jews at his coming. § 4. Expectations of it. Exposed to the seduction of impostors. Faith of their forefathers lost among them, Sadducees expected a Messiah. On what grounds. Consistency of their principles. ὁ 5. True Messiah rejected by them. General reason thereof. § 6. Story of Barcosba: and Rabbi Akiba. Miracles to be wrought by the Messiah. § 7. State of the Jews after the days of Barcosba. Faith of their forefathers utterly renounced. § 8. Opinion of Hillel, denying any Messiah to come. Occasion of it. Their judgment of him. § 9. The things concerning the Messiah mysterious. Seeming inconsistencies in the prophecies and descriptions of him. ᾧ 10. Reconciled in the gospel. That rejected by the Jews. § 11. Their imagination of two Messiahs: Messiah Ben Joseph, and Messiah Ben David. Story of Messiah Ben Joseph. § 12. Of Armillus. § 13. Rise and occasion of the fable concerning him. Jews acquainted with the revelation. § 14. Their story of the Building of Rome. 9p ΝΞ Ν what. § 15. Death of Ben Joseph. § 16, 17. The fable concerning him disproved. The same with that of the Romanists concerning antichrist. ᾧ 18. Of Messiah Ben David. The faith and expectation of the Jews concerning him. § 19. The opinion of Maimonides. § 20. Sum of the Judaical Creed. § 21. Ground and reason of their present unbelief. § 22. Ignorance of their miserable condition by nature. § 23. Ignorance ‘of acceptable righteousness. § 24. And of the judgment "of God concerning sin. § 25, 26. Also of the nature and end of the law. § 27. Corrupt affections. ᾧ 28. Envy againstthe Gentiles. Because of the privileges claimed by them. § 29. And of their oppressions. § 30. Judaical faith concerning the Messiah. § 31. The folly of it. ὁ 32. Of the promises of the Old Testament. § 35—36. Threefold interpretation of them.

δ 1. We have proved that there was a promise of a person to be born, and anointed unto the work of relieving mankind from sin and misery, and to bring them back unto God. And what kind of person he was to be we have also shown. It remains that we consider what was the faith of the ancient church of the Jews concerning him; as also what are, and have been for many generations, the apprehensions and expectations of the same people, about the same object of faith, with the occasions and reasons of their present infidelity and obstinacy.

§ 2. For the faith of the ancient church, it hath been already sufficiently discoursed. What God revealed, that they believed. They of old saw not indeed clearly and fully into the sense of the promises, as to the way and manner whereby God would work out and accomplish the mercy and grace, which they lived and died in the faith and hope of. But this they knew, that God would in his appointed time, in and by the nature of man, in one to be born of the seed of Abraham and house of David, cause atonement to be made for sin, bring in everlasting righteousness, and work out the salvation of his elect. This was abundantly revealed, this they steadfastly believed, and in the faith thereof obtained a good report, or testimony from God himself, that they pleased him, they inherited the promises and were made partakers of life eternal. And farther we need not at present inquire into their light and apprehensions, seeing they must be considered in our exposition of the Epistle itself, to which we are now advancing.

§ 3. It may be interesting to consider the state of the Jews, since by their unbelief they were deprived of the privileges of their forefathers. Their condition during this period may be best seen by attending, First, to their history from the time of the actual exhibition of the promised seed, or of the Messiah, to the time of the composition of their Mishnz, and Talmuds, that ensued thereon. Secondly, from thence unto this present day; and in both these seasons we may consider the prevailing opinions amongst them concerning the promised Messiah, concerning his coming, and the work he hath to do. That towards the close of prophecy in the church of old, the hearts and spirits of men were intently fixed in a desire and expectation of the coming of the Messiah, the last of the. prophets clearly testifies, Mal. ui. 1. ‘The Lord whom ye are seeking, the angel of the covenant whom you are desiring, shall come suddenly.” As the time of his coming drew nigh, this expectation was increased and heightened, so that they continually looked out after him, asif he were to appear amongst them every moment. No sooner did any one make an appearance of something extraordinary, but instantly they were ready to say, Is not this the Messiah? This gave advantage to various seditious impostors, as Theudas, and Judas of Galilee, who deceived many of them to their ruin. John the Baptist also they inquired about, John i. 19, 20. Yea, and they had divulged such a report of their expectations, with the predictions and prophecies on which these expectations were built, that the whole world took notice of it; as hath been elsewhere manifested out of the best Roman historians. This was the state of the Jewish church not long before the destruction of the second temple. And so fixed were they in their expectations, that he was to come about that season, that during the last desolating siege of the city, they looked every day when he would come and save them.

§ 4. But though they retained the earnest desire and expectation, they had utterly lost the light and faith of their forefathers, about the nature work, and office, of the promised Messiah. For having grown carnal, and minding only things earthly and present, they utterly overlooked the spiritual genealogy of the seed of the woman from the first promise, and wrested all prophecies and predictions, to their ambitious, covetous, corrupt inclinations and interests. Thus, regardless of sin and the curse, and deliverance from these, they fancied him unto themselves as one that was to deliver them from all outward trouble, and to satisfy them with the glory and desirable things of this world. And hence the Sadducees, who denied the immortality of the soul, and consequently all rewards and punishments in another world, yet no less desired and expected the coming of the Messiah, than the Pharisees and their disciples. And the truth is, they had brought their principles unto a better consistency than the others had done. For if the promised Messiah was only to procure them the good things of this world, and that whilst they lived in it; it was in vain to look for the world to come, and the bessings thereof. To look for eternal life, and yet to confine the promise of the seed to the things of this life only, was to form expectations without ground or reason. So that the Pharisees laid down the principle, and the Sadducees drew the natural conclusion from it. Some in the meantime among them, God’s secret ones, as Simeon, Anna, Joseph, Zacharias, and Elizabeth, but especially the blessed Virgin, with many more, retained no doubt the ancient faith of their forefathers. But the body of the people, with their leaders, being either flagitiously wicked, or superstitiously proud, fancied a Messiah suited unto their own lusts and desires, such an one as we shall afterwards describe. And this their headstrong opinion, of an outward glorious kingdom, in and of this world, was that which-wrought in them a neglect of those spiritual and eternal purposes for which he was promised, and hardened them to an utter rejection of the true Messiah, when he came unto them. _ § 5. That this was the ground on which they rejected the promised Messiah, is evident from the story of the gospel, and we shall farther prove it in our ensuing discourses. How they acted to the Messiah, and the issue of their conduct, is well known. But after they had done this, and murdered the Prince of Life, to justify themselves in their wickedness and unbelief, they still with all earnestness looked after such a Messiah as they had framed in their own imagination. And in this they grew more earnest and furious than ever. They had now not only their own false pre-conceived opinion, strengthened by their carnal interests and desires of earthly things, to actuate and provoke them; but also a regard to their reputation, and their pretensions to the love and favour of God, tended to heighten their presumptions. For if they should admit, that they continued to reject the true Messiah, because in his way and work he answered not their expectation, then they knew full well, that in consequence of this rejection of him, they could have no enjoyment of the favour of God. But pride and carnal wisdom engage men to pursue those miscarriages with violence, into which they have been wickedly led, and to lay hold on any pretence that may seem to justify them in what they have done. And on this account, they exposed themselves as a prey unto every seducer who made the least appearance of being such a Messiah as they thought meet for them to receive. This at last involved them in a second shipwreck, in the business of Barchocheba, who pretending that he was their Messiah, sent to deliver them from the Roman yoke, and to set upa kingdom amongst them, drew them all the world over into that sedition, outrage, and war, which ended in an almost universal extirpation of the whole nation from the face of the earth. $6. Now, because in the business of this Barchocheba, they met with a sore disappointment, that turned the stream of their imaginations and expectations for a long season, it may not be amiss to give in our passage a brief account concerning him, and the things which befel them in those days. Some of the Jews affirm, that there were two of that name, both heads of sedition amongst them. One of these they place under Domitian, and the other, who was his grandchild, under the reign of Trajan and Hadrian. So do the authors of Schalschelet Hakabala, and of Tzemach David. But the stories of those times, with the condition of the Jews under Domitian, will allow no other place to the former but in their own imaginations. The latter was well known in the world, and hath left himself a name, such as it is, in the writings of Christians, and the histories of the Romans. For Hadrian the emperor, provoked by a seditious tumult and rebellion of the Jews, in the second year of his reign, which he suppressed by Martius Turbo, as Dio, Eusebius, and Orosius declare, drove them from Jerusalem, VOL, L M and built a temple to Jupiter in the place where the old temple stood. This proved a great provocation to the Jews all the world over; yea, turned them into rage and madness. And they were in those days exceedingly prone unto tumults and uproars, as being poor and needy, not having as yet given themselves to scrape wealth together, the love of which hath been the great means of keeping them in quietness in succeeding ages.

When in their poor condition, Barcosba showed himself amongst them, pretending that he was their Messiah, as they confess in the Talm. Tract. Saned. Dist. Chelek. We reigned, they say, ‘three years and a half, a fatal period of time; ‘and (TD NS y2275 ἼΩΝ) he said to the Rabbins, I am the Messiah.’ Immediately one of their famous masters, whose memory they yet much reverence, Rabbi Akiba, became his armour-bearer; and_so far his trumpeter also, as to proclaim him to be their king Messiah. For this is their way; when they get a false Messiah, they have also a false prophet to usher him in, or to set him off unto the people. And this Akiba, as Maimonides informs us, M7277 231) TNT 5172 DIM, ‘was a great wise man, and one of the wise men of the Mishne, as his sayings in it manifest; so that all the wise men of that generation followed him, and took this Barcosba, for their king and Messiah. He first applied unto him the prophecy of Balaam, Numb. xxiv. 17, concerning the star that should arise out of Jacob, whereon they changed his name, and called him Barchocheba, or the son of the Star; or, as some say, that was his name at first, whence the blind Rabbin took occasion to apply that prediction unto him. Concerning him also, they interpreted the prophecy of the Shiloh; and also that in Haggai, about the shaking of the heavens and the earth, as they acknowledge in the Talmud in the place forecited. To this man therefore, a magician and a bloody murderer, by the common advice and counsel of their doctors and wise men, they gathered in multitudes, and him they embraced as their deliverer. As soon as he had got strength and power, he set himself to the work which they expected from their Messiah, namely, to conquer the Romans, and to extirpate the Christians; which last, as Justin Martyr, who lived near those days, informs us, he attempted to accomplish with all cruelty. In the pursuit of this design, he continued for three years and a half, obstinately managing a bloody war against the Romans, until the impostor himself was slain, their great Rabbi taken, and tortured to death with iron cards, and such a devastation was made of the whole nation, as that to this day they could never again gather together in great numbers in any place of the world.

Maimonides tell us of this Barcosba, whom they all received for their Messiah, ΠῚ Ndi MN Nd DOOM DA Nw Nd, ‘that the wise men required of him neither sign nor wonder, that is, no miracle; but others of them report, that he caused fire to come out of his mouth, with other diabolical delusions, fit to deceive a poor blinded credulous multitude. This opinion of Maimonides, that they look for no miracles from the Messiah, seems to be be invented on purpose to obviate the plea of the Christians from the miracles wrought by the Lord Jesus; and is contrary unto the constant persuasion of most of their masters, and to his own judgment declared in other places. And the Targum itself in Hab. iii. 18, hath these words,— rw JAYNT NIP 1H) No by joa, ‘because of the miraculous signs and redemption that thou shalt work for (or by) thy Messiah.’ So they call the miracles wrought at their coming out of Egypt, 0°D2 or Ν᾽ Ὁ), see Hos. ii. 15. Targum. And on this ground do they studiously and wickedly endeayour to stain by any means the glory of the miracles of the Lord Jesus.

But the end of this impostor, who probably was intended in those words of our Saviour, John v. 43, ‘If another come in his own name, him will ye receive, hath proved the shame and reproach of their hopes and expectations, unto all generations.

§ 7. From this time forward, the remaining Jews, with their posterity, utterly rejected the faith of their father Abraham, and the rest of their progenitors, who thereby obtained a good report, and this testimony that they pleased God. A Messiah that was promised unto Adam, the common father of us all; one that should be a spiritual Redeemer from sin and misery; a Goel, or Redeemer from death and wrath; a Peace-maker between God and man; one that should work out everlasting salvation; the great blessing, wherein all the nations of the earth were to have an interest; a spiritual and eternal Prophet, Priest, and King; God and man in one person; such a Messiah they neither looked for any more, nor desired. A temporal king and deliverer, promised unto themselves alone, to give them ease, dominion, wealth, and power, they would now have, or none at all. They would not think it thank-worthy towards God himself, to send a Messiah to deliver them from sin. And in their expectations of such a one, after they had been well wearied with many frustrations, they were, as was said, in their adherence unto Barcosba, almost extirpated from the face of the earth; but God in his providence, who hath yet another work to accomplish towards them, lath preserved them a remnant unto his glory.

“ὃ 8. In this condition, some of them began to deny that there was any Messiah to be expected or looked for. This opinion is ascribed in the Talmud unto Rabbi Hillel. lib. Sand. Cap. Chelek. This was not that Hillel whom they call }pin, the Elder, the famous master of traditions, who with Shammai lived under the second temple, but another, of whom some say that he was the son of Gamaliel, others more probably that he lived a long time after those days. But whenever he lived, they say of him, 7x 5573 WP pT ΡΛ Ἢ ὙΠῚΣΘΝ bs jm be) ΣΝ ΣΝ mw ἘΠῚ TS, ¢ Rabbi Hillel said, a Messiah shall not be given unto Israel, for they enjoyed him in the days of Hezekiah.’ This was a consequence of their applying that prophecy of Isaiah, ch. ix. 5, 6, unto Hezekiah; for if he was intended therein, he was unquestionably the only Messiah. But it doth not appear that this opinion was much followed; for a great dispute arose amongst them whether Hillel were not to be esteemed an apostate, and to have_lost his.interest in the world to come by this opinion. Those who, following Maimonides, make the article of the coming of the Messiah one of the fundamentals of the law, are greatly offended at him; but he is more gently treated by Joseph Albo, Sepher Ikkarim, Orat. 1, on the account that this article is not fundamental, but only one branch of the great root of rewards and punishments. Abarbinel, in another way attempts to excuse him, but generally they all condemn his opinion. In this persuasion then, that a Messiah is promised and shall come, they all continue. But whereas, as was before observed, they have utterly rejected the faith ‘and light of the church of old, they have in their Talmuds, and. in the ages which followed the composition of the Talmuds, coined so many foolish imaginations concerning him, concerning his person, work, office, kingdom, life, continuance, and succession, as are endless to recount. But yet it may be useful for the reader to consider the woeful condition of men rejected of God, cast out of his covenant, and bereaved of his Spirit; and to perceive of how little use the letter of the Old Testament is unto the vain minds of men, wholly destitute of divine illumination and grace. It may be also interesting to him to learn, M2