Jerusalem." Well, let that be granted, what will thence ensue ?

,Behold - הנה מיום שנולד משיחם לא היה שלום ירושלם,Why, saith he

from the day that the Messiah was born, there was no peace in Jerusalem, but wars, destruction, and desolation." We say, then, that by "peace" here must be understood either outward, temporal, worldly peace, or spiritual peace between God and man, between Jews and Gentiles in their joint communion in the same worship of God. If they say the former was intended, I desire to know when this promise was accomplished under the second temple? Before the days of the Asmonæans, the whole people were in perfect bondage and slavery, first to the Persians, then to the Grecians; and bondage is not "peace," especially in the Hebrew dialect, wherein that word denotes an affluence of all good things. The rule of the Asmonæans was wholly spent in bloody wars and intestine divisions. Their power issued in the dominion of the Romans, and their vassals the Herodians. What signal peace they had in those days they may learn from their own Joseph Ben Gorion. To say, then, that this was the peace intended, is to say indirectly that God promised what he never performed; which is fit only for these men to do.

Besides, though God promised to give this peace at Jerusalem, that is, amongst the Jews, yet he promised not to give it only to Jerusalem, unto the Jews, but to all nations also, whom he would shake and stir up, to bring in this glory. Now what pretence of peace had the Jews under the second temple, wherein all nations were concerned? I suppose they will not say they had any. Moreover, the peace promised was that which was to be brought in by the Messiah. This Abarbanel grants, and thence seeks to strengthen his objection; for saith he, "Then we shall have peace, rule, and dominion, according to the manifold promises given us unto that purpose.” I answer, Those promises are of two sorts. Some express spiritual things allegorically, by words literally signifying things outward; and they are all of them fulfilled in and unto them that do believe: others of them, that really intend outward peace and glory, are made concerning them, to be fulfilled, not when the Messiah comes to them, but when they shall come to the Messiah. At his coming unto them, they rejected him, and he rejected them; but when their blindness shall be taken away, and they shall return unto the Lord, all these promises shall have a blessed accomplishment amongst them. But we have sufficiently proved that the principal work of the Messiah was to make peace between God and man by taking away sin, that was the cause of their separation, distance, and enmity. This, then, is the "peace" here promised. This God gave at Jerusalem, whilst the second temple was standing: for "He is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even

the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; and that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby and came and preached peace to them that were afar off, and to them that were nigh." Thus did God give "peace" at Jerusalem, both to the Jews and Gentiles, by Him that was the "desire of all nations;" and so by this circumstance of the context also is our interpretation fully confirmed.

my mes

25. Although we have sufficiently confirmed our argument, and vindicated it from the exceptions of the Jewish masters, yet, because it is most certain that the constant faith of their church of old was, that the Messiah should come whilst that second temple was standing, which they have now apostatized from and renounced, countenancing themselves in their infidelity by the miserable evasions before mentioned, I shall add yet further strength unto it from a parallel testimony, and from their own confessions. The parallel place intended is that of Mal. iii. 1, “Behold, I will send senger, and he shall prepare the way before me: even the angel" (or "messenger") "of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts." The time future of his coming is by Haggai said to be ?, "a little while;" and he (i. e., Malachi) answerably affirms that he shall come DD, "suddenly,' in the sense before declared. He who by Haggai is called Dian, "The desire of all nations," with respect unto the Gentiles, all desirable things being laid up in him, is by Malachi called D'UPER DANTEN 177, with respect unto the Jews, "The Lord, whom ye seek," whose coming they looked for so long, and prayed for so earnestly. And what Haggai expressed absolutely, "shall come," afterwards intimating the respect his coming should have unto the temple, Malachi sets down fully, ii," He shall come unto his temple." Further to clear what it is that in both these places is intended, he is called, 2, "The angel of the covenant," God's "messenger," who was to confirm and ratify the new covenant with them; that is, the Messiah. The Targum of Jonathan expresseth it on Jer. xxx. 21, closing the promise of the

; ויתרבא מלכיהון מנהון ומשיחיהון מבניהון יתגלי,covenant with these words

"And their King shall be anointed from among them, and their Messiah shall be revealed from amongst the midst of them." He who was "the desire of all nations," "the Lord" whom the Jews sought, "the messenger" by whom the new covenant was to be ratified, that is, the Lord the Messiah, was to come, and he did come, unto that temple.

26. And here the Jews are at an end of all shifts and evasions. It cannot be avoided but the Messiah must be here intended. Rashi would fain yet evade: "The Lord, whom ye seek;' that is,

Den — The God of judgment;' because they had said before, chap. ii. 17, 'Where is the God of judgment?'" Vain man! these words, which he himself had but just before interpreted to be the atheistical expression of wicked men questioning the judgment of God, are now, to serve his turn, an earnest desire of seeking after the Lord, which in these words is evidently set forth, "The Lord, whom ye seek," "The angel of the covenant, whom ye delight in;" for both these are the same, as Aben Ezra acknowledgeth:

The Lord, he is the -; האדון הוא הכבוד הוא מלאך הברית כי הטעם כפול

glory and the angel of the covenant; the same thing being intended under a double expression." And it is evident whom he intends thereby,by his interpreting the "messenger" to be sent before him to be Messiah Ben Joseph, whom they make the forerunner of Messiah Ben David.

Kimchi interprets the angel to be sent before him, "The angel of God's presence from heaven," to lead the people out of their captivity, as of old he went before them in the wilderness, when they came out of Egypt. But we are better taught who this messenger was, Matt. xi. 10, Mark i. 2. As for "the Lord, whom they sought,”

This is the King -; הוא מלך המשיח הוא מלאך הברית : he speaks plainly

the Messiah, and this the angel of the covenant." He adds, indeed, the old story about Elijah and his zeal for the covenant, whence he had the honour to preside at circumcision, to see the covenant observed, and may be thence called the angel of the covenant. But it is plain in the words, and confessed by Aben Ezra, that "the Lord whom they sought," and "the, angel of the covenant," are the same. And as to these words, i si DÂND,— "He shall come suddenly to his temple," he adds in their explica

יָבוֹא אֶל־הֵיכָלוֹ

לפי שלא נגלה הקץ ולא נתבאר בספר דניאל אמר כי פתאום יבא שלא ידע,tion

-;אדם יום בואו טרם בואו שיבא

"Because the time of the end is not revealed or unfolded in the book of Daniel, it is said "he shall come suddenly," because there is no man that knows the day of his coming before he come." We grant that the precise day of his coming was not known before he came; but that the time of it was foretold, limited, and unfolded, in the book of Daniel,-so far as the season and age of it would admit was made evident, all future expectation declared to be void, and that in the book of Daniel,—we shall immediately demonstrate. At present we have proved, and find that they cannot deny, but that he was to come unto the second temple, whilst it was yet standing.

27. Once more, we may yet add the consent of others of their masters besides these expositors. Some testimonies out of their doctors are cited by others. I shall only name one or two of them. In the Talmud itself, Tractat. Sanhed., cap. xi., the application of this place of Haggai unto the Messiah is ascribed unto Rabbi Akiba.

מעט כבור אתן להם לישראל ליא אחר :His words, as they report them, are

MIWDM NI' 70;—" A little glory will I give unto Israel, and then the Messiah shall come." And this man is of so great repute among them that Rabbi Eliezer affirms that on S, “all the wise men of Israel were like a little garlic in comparison of that bald rabbi." This, then, is their own avowed tradition. And the other place of Malachi, concerning the angel of the covenant, is expounded of the "In the days," saith he, "of the Messiah, the children of Israel shall be restored unto their genealogies by the Holy Ghost, that shall rest upon him; as it is said, 'Behold, I send my messenger before me, and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall come unto his temple.'

הלכות מלכים Messiah by Rambam in

We have found out, then, both from the clear words of both these prophecies and the consent of the Jews themselves, who it is that is here promised in them, that he should come to his temple.

28. This is the glory of the second house promised in Haggai. The end of the temple, and of all the glory of it, and all the worship performed in it, was to prefigure the promised Seed, who was the true and only substantial glory of them all, and of the people to whom they were committed; for he was to be "a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of his people Israel." Therefore, in all the worship of the temple, those who believed, and, in the use of the ordinances of it, saw unto the end of their institution, did continually exercise faith on his coming, and earnestly desire the accomplishment of the promise concerning it. The great glory, then, of this temple could consist in nothing but this coming of the Lord whom they sought, the desire of all nations, unto it. Now, that he should come whilst the temple stood and continued is here confirmed by this double prophetical testimony; and the temple being utterly and irreparably destroyed now above sixteen hundred years ago, it must be acknowledged that the Messiah is long since come, unless we will say that the word of God is vain, and his promise of none effect.

29. The general exception of the Jews unto this argument, taken from the limitation of the time allotted unto the coming of the Messiah, we shall afterwards consider. In one word, that which they relieve themselves withal against the predictions of Haggai and Malachi, that he should come unto the temple then built amongst them, which they acknowledge, is so truly ridiculous that I shall not need to detain the reader with the consideration of it. They say the Messiah was born at the time determined, before the destruction of the second temple, but that he is kept hid in the sea, or in paradise, or dwells at the gates of Rome among the lepers, waiting for a call from heaven to go and deliver the Jews! With such follies do men please themselves in the great concernments of the glory of God and their own eternal welfare, who are left desti

tute of the Spirit of light and truth, and sealed up under the efficacy of their own blindness and unbelief. But hereof we shall treat further in the consideration of their general answer to this whole argument in hand.

EXERCITATION XIV.

DANIEL'S PROPHECY VINDICATED.

1. Daniel's weeks, chap. ix. 24-27, proposed unto consideration. 2. Attempt of a learned man to prove the coming and suffering of the Messiah not to be intended, examined. 3. First reason, from the difficulties of the computation and differences about it, removed. 4. Whether this place be used in the New Testament. 5. Objection from the time of the beginning of this computation answered. 6. Distribution of the seventy weeks into seven, sixty-two, and one-Reason of it. 7. Objection thence answered. 8. The cutting off of the Messiah and the destruction of the city, not joined in one week. 9. Things mentioned, verse 24, peculiar to the Messiah. 10. The prophecy owned by all Christians to respect the Messiah. 11. The events mentioned in it not to be accommodated unto any other. 12. No types in the words, but a naked prediction. 13, 14. The prophecies of Daniel not principally intending the churches of the latter days. 15. Straits of times intimated, when they fell out. 16. Coincidence of phrases in this and other predictions considered. 17. Removal of the daily offering, and causing the sacrifice and offering to cease, how they differ. 18. The desolation foretold. 19. Distribution of the seventy weeks accommodated unto the material Jerusalem. 20. Objections removed. 21. Distribution of things contained in this prophecy. 22. Argument from the computation of time warranted. 23. First neglected by the Jews, then cursed; yet used by them vainly. 24. Concurrent expectation and fame of the coming of the Messiah upon the expiration of Daniel's weeks. 25. Mixture of things good and penal-Abarbanel's figment rejected. 26. Four hundred and ninety years the time limited-Fancy of Origen and Apollinaris. 27. The true Messiah intended, proved from the context. 28. The names and titles given unto him. 29. The work assigned unto him. 30. That work particularly explained-The expressions vindicated-To" make an end of transgression," what. 31. To "seal up sins." 32. To "reconcile iniquity." 33. To "bring in everlasting righteousness." 34. To "seal vision and prophet." 35. Messiah how cut off. 36. The covenant strengthened. 37. Ceasing of the daily sacrifice. 38. Perplexity of the Jews about these things-Cyrus not intended by "Messiah." 39. Opinion of Abarbanel and Manasseh Ben Israel -Not Herod Agrippa. 40. Not magistracy-Africanus, Clemens, and Eusebius noted. 41. Messiah came before the ceasing of the daily sacrifice. 42. Exact chronological computation not necessary.

1. THERE remains yet one place more, giving clear and evident testimony unto the truth under demonstration, to be considered and vindicated; and this is the illustrious prediction and calculation of time granted unto Daniel by the angel Gabriel: Chap. ix. 24-27, 'Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins,

VOL. XVIII.

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