cellently verfed, in their Traditionary Explications of the more remarkable Prophefies: This is a wonderful Confirmation of our Religion, and, give me Leave to fay, is a total Overthrow of all the Cavils of the Modern Jews, and is the Glory and Triumph of Christianity:

I think there is no Need to make any confiderable Stay, for the Confutation of your Objection, against the Senfe of the Word Gnalmah; which you will not allow always to fignify a Virgin, from that Text in the Proverbs, chap: Xxx. v. 19 and 20: There are three Things which are too wonderful for me, yea, four which I know not: The Way of an Eagle in the Air, the Way of a Serpent upon a Rock, the Way of a Ship in the midst of the Sea; and the Way of a Man with a (Gnalmah or) Maid. Such is the Way of an adul terous Woman: She eateth, and wipeth her Mouth, and faith, I have done no Wickedness. For it is not neceffary to be granted, that the Adulterous Woman (in the second Verse) fhould be the fame with the Maid in the former: Nay, they seem to be perfectly different, and the First to be a Simily or Illuftration of the Latter. For the wife Man inftances in three or four Things which leave no Footsteps or Traces behind them; as the Flying of Birds, which leaves no Track in the Air; the Creeping of a Serpent, which has no Feet to make an Impreffion upon the Ground; the Sailing of a Ship, when the Water ftill clofes up again as foon as the Ship has passed through it; and as the Way of a Man with a Maid, between whom there are ufually fuch fecret Courtships and Addreffes, as they will not difcover. And to thefe Imperveftigabilia, which Men can find no Traces of, the wife Man compares the Artifices of an Adulterous "Woman; which are very handfomely indeed, fet forth by the foregoing Illuftrations. But what a Jeft is it, I pray, that a Thing fhould be compared to it felf? as it must be, if the Adulterous Woman in the latter Verfe, be the Maid in the former. For how can any one think, that the wife Mani could talk fo little Senfe, as to fay, That an Adulterous Woman is like an Adulterous Woman? Which is fuch an odd Sort of childish tautological Talk, as the Propriety

of no Language, nor any common Senfe, will bear. And therefore, I wonder, how the modern Jews fhould fo triumph, as they do, upon the Ufe of the Word Gnalmah, for a lewd Woman, in this Place; fince it must be not only a very forced Expofition of the Words, to make it fignify fo, but will make the Sense of the Place perfectly incongruous.

Phil. But muft Rachel's crying for her Children, Jer. xxxi. 15. and Out of Egypt have I called my Son, Hof. xi. 2. be understood after this typical Way of Prefiguration likewife, or that prophetick Excurfion, which you feem to hint at?

Cred. I told you before, Philologus, that several of thefe Paffages might be fairly accounted for, by Way of Accommodation, and that St. Matthew here might only, perhaps, make Ufe of the Words of those ancient Books, and put another Senfe of his own upon them; which is very often used among all Writers. But for my part, I believe that these Texts, here quoted, were by the Jews, in our Saviour's Time, generally looked upon as a Predictive of the Meffias, and as referring to fome Paffages of his Life. Which can hardly be denied by any one who is acquainted with the Jewish Way of Explication of Scripture; and, if there were many of their ancient Books remaining, might, I doubt not, be moft clearly evinced. And indeed fome of the modern Jews grant us, that the Text of Hofea, Out of Egypt have I called my Son, is understood of the Meffias: For generally their Commentators allow*, that this of Hofea xi. 2. has the fame Sense as Pfal. Ixxx. 9. I have brought a Vine out of Egypt. And this laft Paffage fuch a wary Commentator as Aben Efra himself, in his Notes upon this Pfalm, will have to be understood, not only of Ifrael, but of the Meffias.

Phil. And what do you fay to thofe Pfalms which are ufually brought for Prophefies of the Meffias, when they plainly appear only made upon David, or Solomon.

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369

A. Why, as for the fecond Pfalm, I fay, That is at hefy of Chrift; and there are feveral Expreffions fein, which are not only referred to David or Solomon a primary Senfe, (as Socinus, Grotius, and others fay) nd to Chrift in a fecondary Senfe, but are to be underflood of him principally and almost folely. I will not deny, but that the Author of this Pfalm defigned it, as a Poem upon David's being fettled in the Throne; but the Holy Ghoft, which affifted the Writer in the Compofition, did fo influence his Words, as made him, at the fame Time, to drop fuch Expreffions as fhould agree only to the Meffias, and be a Defignation of him to his fpiritual Kingdom; tho', perhaps, the Wiiter himself did not fully understand the Meaning of the Words he wrote. For, by the Way, I do not think that all the Prophets did understand the full Extent and Meaning of their Prophefies, when they first uttered them; nor was it neceffary they fhould: For Daniel fays, Dan. xii. 8. phetick Ex- Thefe Things I heard, but understood them not. It was turions fufficient to anfwer God's Defign, that these Prophefies explained. fhould be fully understood after the Coming of the

The Pro

Meffias, when the remarkable Paffages of his Life had given greater Light to them. For I make no doubt, but for the most part, the Holy Ghost influenced the Prophets, especially the Pfalmographers, in a pretty eafy Way, and as agreeable as might be to Nature; he first fuggefted to their Minds the Thoughts of writing upon fuch a Subject, and then affifted them, as far as was requifite, in the Compofition; oftentimes going along with, and little altering, the natural Chain of their Thoughts, and the common Vein of Reafoning; but, when he had a mind to make them Prophefy of fome extraordinary Decrees of God, viz. of the Kingdom of the Meffias, he then runs off their Thoughts into fome ftrange and furprifing Ideas, and makes them infenfibly leave their firft Subject, for those new Turns of Thought, which the holy Spirit had inspired them with. He begins, if I may fo fpeak, with a Kind of infpired Reafoning, but proceeds to a Sort of extatick Re

velation.

velation. And fomething like this is to be found, not only among the Heathen Prophefies, but even the Dithyrambick or Pindarick Poems, which are an Imitation of Prophefies; wherein, upon the Heat and Fury of the Poet's Fancy, the former Subject is deferted, and the Thoughts do, on a fudden, run off upon a new Hint, which is ftarted in the Imagination. And thus in the prefent Cafe, The Prophet fets himself to write upon Da-" vid's being fettled in the Throne of Ifrael, and he does not profecute this very far, but by a certain Impetus of the divine Spirit, he is carried off from that Subject to the nobler Theme of the Meffias. It may be, the Prophet, whilft he was under the Workings of the Holy Spirit, might not comprehend the Tenor of the Tranfition, and might not underftand the full Meaning of the Words which were fuggefted; yet, 'tis probable, it was afterwards revealed to him, or his Reafon told him, that it was a Prophefy of the Meffias; and from hence arofe thofe Traditions in the Jewish Church, which made them interpret thefe Tranfitions with fo uniform an Agreement, as they did, of the Messias.

And having premifed this, I will now fhew you, how

all this is plain in the Compofition of the II. Pfalm. That II Pfalm, a David himself compofed this Pfalm, is evident from Acts Prophesy of iv. 25. where it is afcribed to him; and probably it was Chrift. compofed not long after his being come to the Crown, when he had vanquished the Adherents of the House of Saul. He begins it, Why do the Nations rage? That is, thofe Heathen Nations, the Philistines, Moabites, &c. which made War against him, not long after his Succeffion to the Crown, 2 Sam. viii. and x. It is to no purpofe (faid he) that fo many powerful Enemies, Kings and Nations, as he calls them, had oppofed themfelves against me, who am the Lord's Anointed, and whofe Part God has efpoufed: For notwithflanding all their Oppofition, God has eftablished my Kingdom, and fet me King upon his Holy Hill of Sion. And after this mantner he goes on to Verfe 7; but there he makes a most furprising Excurfion, and, all on a fudden, brings in God Bb ż

Almighty

Almighty himself fpeaking from Heaven: I will declare the Decree, Thou art my Son, this Day have I begotten Thee, &c. And now what a ftrange Excurfion, and Abruption in the Senfe, is this? If the Prophet had only gone on upon the ordinary Subject he was upon before, there would be no Need of this unufual Introduction of the Deity, with this Speech, I will declare the Decree, &c. (i. e.) I will (as fome explain it) open to you Mortals the recondite Decrees of my eternal Will, That King David fhall ftill be King of Ifrael, now his Enemies are vanquished. What a poor jejune Interpre tation of these noble Words is this? This is making a Mountain to teem with a Moufe; this is to father fuch an Abfurdity upon an infpired and a very elegant Wri ter, which would be infufferable in any Author whatfoever. No, certainly, there is a more elevated Senfe of thefe Words, which I take to be this: The infpired Pfal mift, after he had given an Account, in this Compofition, of his own Succefs in relation to the Crown of Ifrach breaks out into another Field of Matter, and goes on to fing of the more glorious Kingdom of the Meffias. He brings in the Perfon of God fpeaking first of the Generation of this great Perfon, Thou art my Son, this Day have I begotten thee. Thefe Words are fo improper to be attributed to David, that all the ancient Jews explained them of the Meffias *; and this R. Kimchi himself owns in his Comment upon this Pfalm, where he fays, That thefe Words, Thou art my Son, &c. have been explained by our Doctors of pious Memory, as a Prophesy of the Meffias, and the Pfalm is very clear, being explained th Way; but it is better to fay that David Spoke this of himself. And we find, that not only thefe Jewish Rabbins, bu St. Peter, A&t. iv. 25. and St. Paul, Heb. i. 5. attribute this Paffage to Chrift, which they never would have done, if it had not been understood, as a Prophefy of Chrift, in thofe Times. And if this be underflood of Chrift, the Senfe is very natural, and the Expreffion

Vid. Pocock. Not, Mifcel, in Port. Mof.

proper