the Birth of Jefus Chrift from a Virgin. And now I fhall give you my Senfe of the Meaning of the Prophefy, and how I think it had its Completion, at the Birth of our Saviour Chrift. I will not trouble you here with any Buftle about firft or literal, and fecondary Senfes of Scripture, a Fancy very much in Vogue ever fince Socie nus's Time, who was for running all Prophefy into this Notion. Ifhall only fhew what Part of this Prophefy had its Completion in Abaz's Time, and what at the Birth of Chrift.

The Occafion of the Delivery of this Prophefy, was this. About the beginning of Abaz's Reign, who was King of Judah, and Father of Hezekiah, Rezin the King of Syria, and Pekah the Son of Remaliah King of Ifrael, with joint Forces, made a Defcent upon Judea, and be ficged Ferufalem; in which, though they fucceeded not, yet confiderable Ravage was made over all the Country, efpecially by the King of Ifrael's Army, as is particularly recorded in the fecond Book of Chronicles. When Ahaz and his Court were firft alarmed by this dreadful News, they were ftruck, as must be imagined upon fuch an Occafion, by a very great Fear; or as the Prophet elegantly expreffes it, His Heart was moved, and the Heart of his People, as the Trees of the Wood are moved with the Wind. In the midft of this great Confternation, Ifaiah the Prophet is fent as a Comforter to him; bidding him not be afraid of the two Tails of thefe fmoaking Firebrands, to which he compares the two hoftile Kings; and af furing him, that they fhould not profper in their cruel Enterprise. Abaz, could not, it feems, frame himself to a Belief of fo comfortable a Meffage And therefore God was pleafed, fo far to comply with him, as to promife him, that the Prophet, for his Sake should do a Sign or Miracle to convince him of the Truth of what he delivered; nay, he left it to the King's Choice to demand, what Sign or Miracle he pleafed. Ask thee a Sign of the Lord thy God; ask it either in the Depth, or in the Height above. Ahaz remains incredulous ftill, and feems to have no Regard to what the Prophet said to

him; only he returns him this furly Answer: I will not ask, neither will I tempt the Lord. At which Anfwer, the holy Prophet feems fomewhat concern'd, and therefore rebukes him for his Incredulity; but still gives him hopes of his Deliverance: Hear ye now, O House of David! Is it a fmall Thing for you to weary Men, but will you weary my God alfo? Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a Sign, behold a Virgin fhall conceive and bear a Son, and fhall call his Name Immanuel. Butter and Honey fball he eat, that he may know to refufe the Evil and chufe the Good. For before the Child fball know to refuse the Evil and chufe the Good, the Land which thou abhorreft fhall be for faken of both her Kings. Now all perhaps that Ahaz, at that Time, could be fuppofed to have understood by thefe Words, is this: That there should be a certain young Woman, then a Virgin, who fhould have a Son upon her first bringing forth; and before this Child fhould know Good from Evil, that is, be able to know the Benefits of Peace from the Miseries of War, that Invafion fhould be at an End; and the Child should eat Butter and Honey, that is, enjoy all the Pleafures and Satisfactions of a fettled Peace. the Prophefy in this Senfe was compleated foon after. For in the next Chapter Ifaiah fays, He went unto the Prophetess, and he conceived and bare a Son; then faid the Lord, eall his Name Maher-fhalal-hafh-baz. For before the Child Shall have knowledge to cry my Father and my Mother, the Riches of Damafcus, and the Spoil of Samaria fhall be taken away before the King of Affyria. This is a plain historical Relation, of a great deal of the Event portended by this Prophefy, and therefore it cannot be denied, but that it was in great Measure understood of the Conception of this young Prophetefs, which was efpoufed to Ifaiah. And they have very little Reafon on their Side, who affert, That this Conception of Ifaiah's Wife in the 8th Chapter, has no Relation to the Prophefy in the 7th. Whereas it is plain that almost every Thing in the latter is faid to fall out as it was predicted in the former. He is married to a Virgin Prophetess; and fhe conceived and bare a Son, which is related in the very Words of the Prophefy; and,

And

before

before this Child should arrive to a rational Knowledge, Judea was to be delivered from its Invaders. Only that Paffage is related a little indifferently; what is in the Prophefy of the 7th Chapter, called, The Child's knowing to refufe the Evil, and chufe the Good, is in the 8th expreffed, by having knowledge to cry my Father and my Mother; and what in the 7th, is expreffed by the Land shall be forfaken of both her Kings, is in the 8th worded, The Riches of Damafcus, and the Spoil of Samaria, fhall be taken away before the King of Affyria. That is, the great King of Affyria fhall kill Rezin King of Syria, one of the invading Princes, and deftroy Damafcus's Capital City; and as for the King of Ifrael, his City fhall be plundered, and the King himself murdered by his Succeffor; which came to pafs within a Year or two, as the Prophefy foretold, Vid. z King. chap. xv. and xvi. which is tantamount to what is faid in the 7th Chapter of Ifaiah, v. 16. The Land which thou abhorret fhall be forfaken of both her Kings.

I think it is plain, by what has been faid, against all Manner of Exception; that this Paffage had a great deal of its Completion, in the Time of Ahaz. But then I farther contend, that these Words muft of Neceffity, not only have another myftical Meaning, as fome will have it, but muft imply a great deal more in their literal Senfe; or elfe there will be fo many Improprieties in the Expreffions, that we cannot fuppofe fo elegant, and fo exact a Writer, as Ifaiah, could be guilty of. If we confider only the ufual Purport of the word Virgin, any one would be apt to think, that fomething more was meant, than Ifaiah's marrying a Virgin, who fhould afterwards have a Son. There is fomething very emphatical and furpri fing in the Words, a Virgin fhall conceive; and it would certainly have been expreffed thus, Ifaiah, or his Wife, shall have a Child, if no more was meant by it, than that ordinary Birth, which was before mentioned. It is ufhered in with an Admiration, Behold! which would be a ftrange Impropriety of Specch, if no more was to be underftood, than that a Male Child should be conceived, after the ufual Way.. Befides, here is the Name of the

2

Child altogether as remarkable: And shall call his Name Immanuel, or God with us. Such á Name as this, impofed by God himself, is very wonderful, and muft needs import the Perfon it referred to, to be of a greater Character, than that obfcure Son of Ifaiah. Nay, what Per fon in all facred Hiftory can be found, to whom this Name can, with any tolerable Propriety, agree, befides our bleffed Saviour; who was truly God with us, a Perfon of the Trinity, affuming human Nattire? You cannot fay, that this was the Name of Ifaiah's Son, for he is faid to be called, upon his Birth, Maher-fhalal-hafb-baz, Ifa. viii.3. Therefore the Name Immanuel muft refer to fomé other Perfon, who I fay must be our Lord Jefus, because no other Perfon can be affigned befides, whom this Name can, with any Congruity, be afcribed to. And farther, in this Paffage it is faid, The Lord fhall give you a Sign or a Miracle. And what a mighty Miracle is it, that a young married Woman fhould have a Child? It was indeed a remarkable Prediction, That the first Child should be a Male, and that Judea fhould be in an unexpected Way delivered, by that Time this Child fhould be a Year, or two, old. But then, I fay, it does not at all feem proper, that this Prediction fhould be brought in, after fuch an unwonted Manner, with a Behold! as if fuch a Thing never happened before; whereas the Jews had many Deliverances as great, and fome more remarkable than this Prefervation from that Invafion. The Miracle, or Sign, is faid to be of God's own giving, The Lord fhall give you a Sign; and therefore it must be expected, that fomething more is couched under the Word, than the bare Prediction of this temporary Deliverance. These Confiderations weighed fo much with the ancient Jews and Chriftians, that they looked upon this Paffage, as a Prediction of the Meffias; because the Words could not The Jewi? be altogether applied to Ifaiah's Son. I am very well afWay of Exposition of fured, that fuch a Way of Interpretation looks very odd Scripture a to you, Philologus, who are only ufed to prophane AuConfirma- thors; among whom nothing, like this, is to be seen. But tion of ChriStianity. if you were converfant in Jewish Books, you would fee

in them a great deal of fuch Expofition, efpecially concerning the Meffias; whom, they fay, the Prophets are wont to reveal upon all Occafions, and to give many glancing Predictions of Him, oftentimes, when their Subject engages them upon other Matter. And therefore, when the Apoftles draw Arguments from thefe Sort of Predictions, which are occafionally brought in, amidft the Profecution of other Matters; it fhews them, to be fo far from Infincerity, or that their Writings are fuppofititious, that it is a very clear Argument, that their Works åre genuine, and their Confequences true. For what bet ter Explication of any Text, to confirm an Opinion, could be expected, than the Expofition which had obtain'd for fome Ages, in a National Church? This would have all the Power imaginable to convince, nor would it be liable to the ufual Objections, of New-fanglednefs or Innovation. But, if the Apoftles had criticifed upon the Paffages of the Old Teftament, like our modern Expofitors, you perhaps would have liked it better upon firft Thoughts; though, upon more ferious Confideration, their Writings would, for this Reason, have been ten Times more liable to Exceptions, than now they are. Suppofe the Apoftles fhould have explained Scripture, by fhewing the Senfe of the Words, as they are used in other Places of the Bible; by quoting of Lexicons, and citing fome parallel Arguments, out of prophane Authors; who would ever have believed, that fuch a Compofition was made by one that, feventeen hundred Years ago, was bred up amongst the Nation of the Jews, amongst whom fuch Sort of Learning was never in Fashion? If they had laid out their Labours after this Manner, I am confident, Philologus, you would have been the first Man, that for this Reafon would have arraigned them for Impoftors. But when fuch Men, as the Apostles were, of no Literature and Education, that never fpent their Time in the Schools of the Rabbies, fhould explain the Predictions of the Meffias juft in their Way; fhould be fuch eminent Mafters in their Learn ing; fhould confirm the Truth of their Lord's Miffion, by their Adverfaries own Arguments; and fhould be fo excellently