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whole Narration, that his own Child was the Sign mention'd, when he fays, (m) Behold I and the Children, whom the Lord hath given me, are for Signs and for Wonders in Ifrael; from the Lord of Hofts, that dwelleth in Mount Sion.

This is the plain Drift and Defign of the Prophet, literally, obviously, and primarily understood; and thus is he understood by one of the most judicious of Interpreters, the great GROTIUS. Indeed, to understand the Prophet as having the Conception of the Virgin MARY and Birth of her Son JESUS literally and primarily in View, is a very great (n) Abfurdity, and contrary to the very Intent and Defign of the Sign given by the Prophet. For the Sign (o) being given by the Prophet to convince АHAZ, that he brought a Meffage from the Lord to him to affure him that the two Kings fhould not fucceed, against him; how could a Virgin's Conception and bearing a Son feven hundred Years afterwards, be a Sign to AHAZ, that the Prophet came to him with the faid Meffage from the Lord? And how useless was it to AH AZ, as well as abfurd in itself, for the Prophet to fay, (p) Before the Child, born feven hundred Years hence, fhall diftinguish between Good and Evil, the Land shall be forfaken of both her Kings? which fhould feem a Banter instead of a Sign. But a Prophecy of the certain

(m) Ifa. 8. 19. Pref. p. 20.

v. 15, 16,

(n) White in hunc locum, & (p) Ib. 8.

(0) Ifa. 7. 14; 8. 4.

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Birth of a male Child, to be born within a Year or two, feems a proper Sign; as being not only what could not with Certainty be foretold, except by a Perfon infpired by God; but as immediately or foon coming to pafs, and confequently evidencing itself to be a divine Sign, and anfwering all the Purposes of a Sign. And fuch a Sign is agreeable to the divine Conduct on the like Occafions. God gave (4) GIDEON and (r) HEZECHIAH immediate Signs to prove; that he spoke to them; and that the Things promised to them fhould come to pafs. Had he given them remote Signs, how could they have known, that the Signs themselves would ever have come to pass? And how could those Signs evidence any Thing? Thofe Signs would have ftood in Need of other Signs to manifeft, that God would perform them in Time.

This Prophecy therefore not being fulfill'd in JESUS according to the literal, obvious, and primary Senfe of the Words, as they ftand in ISAIAH; it is fuppofed, tha: This, like all the other Prophefies cited by the Apostles, is (s) fulfill'd in a fecondary, or typical, or myftical, or allegorical Senfe; That is, the faid Prophecy, which was then literally ful fill'd by the Birth of the Prophet's Son, was again fulfill'd by the Birth of JESUS, as being an Event of the fame Kind, and intended to be fignify'd, either by the Prophet, or by

(4) Judg. 6. (r) 2 King. 20. Bib. Univ. Tom. 20. p. 54.

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(3) Le Clerc

God,

God, who directed the Prophet's Speech. I fay, like all other Prophefies cited by the Apostles, not only upon having myself particularly confider'd all thofe Prophefies, but upon what I find afferted by an eminent Divine, who fays, (t) 'Tis poffible in the Confideration of fingle Prophefies to find out fome other Perfon or Event, (befides JESUS and the Matters relating to him) to which thefe might be adapted without great Violence to the Text. And this fuppofed Allegory or Obfcurity (which indeed reigns in all Prophefies that ever were, whether Pagan, Jewish, Chriftian, or Mahometan, that have exifted before the Events, to which they have been referr'd) is fo far from being made Matter of Objection, that the Neceffity (u) thereof is contended for, in order to make the Prophefies of the Old Teftament reach the End, for which they were defign'd. The great Clearnefs of Prophefies has ever been deem'd a Mark among intelligent People, whether Believers or Unbelievers in Prophecy, that they have been made after the Event; and thus from their great Clearnefs, as well as from other Topicks, almost all Criticks now condemn the prefent Collection of Sybilline Oracles as forged.

If the Reader defires farther Satisfaction, that the literal, obvious, and primary Senfe

1701. p. 27.

(*) Stanhope's Boyl. Leat. Serm. 7, (x) Montagu's A&ts and Monuments, &c. c. 2. §. 2, &c. Augustin De Doctr. Chriftian. 1. 2. c. 5. Stanhope, Ib. p. 11-32. Jenkins's Reafon. of Chriß. Vol. 2. p. 159-170.

of

of this Prophecy relates to ISAIAH's own Son, or not to JESUS, I refer him to (w) GROTIUS; to (x) HUETIUS (who confirms his Explication with the Authority of EUSEBIUS, BASIL, JEROM, CYRIL, THEODORET, and PROCOPIUS;) (y) to CASTALIO; (2) to EPISCOPIUS; to (a) CURCELLAUS; to (b) HAMMOND; to (c) NICHOLS; to (d) SIMON; to (e) LE CLERC; to (f) LAMY; to (g) KIDDER; (who, tho' he endeavours in many Pages to prove the Words of ISAIAH applicable to the Birth of Jesus in their literal Senfe, yet confeffes there are very confiderable Difficulties in the Matter, and after all is forced to have Recourfe to Type and Allegory ;) to our learned and ingenious Commentator (b) WHITE; and even to (i) Mr. WHISTON himself, who fhews the Words of ISAIAH not to be applicable to JESUS's Birth in their literal Senfe, according to the present Text of ISAIAH; which is deem'd by all Chriftians, but himself, the true Text of ISAIAH.

2. Again, St. MATTHEW gives us another Prophecy, which he fays was fulfill'd. He tells us, that JESUS was carried into Egypt,

(w) Grotius in Matt. & Ifaiam. Demon. Evang. p. 352-355. (y) Caftalionis Biblia.

c. 13. §. 14.

Huetiana. p. 206.

(b) Hammond's Annotations, &c.

(x) Huetii

(z) Epifcopii Inftit. 1. 3.

(a) Curcellai Inftit. p. 220. (c) Nichols's Confer.

with a Theift. Vol 3. (d) Simon Hift. Crit. du N. Teft. c. 21.

(e) Le Clerc Nov. Teft.

(g) Kidder's Dem. of the

292, 309, &c.

(i) Whifton's Eay, &c.

(f) Lamy Harmon. p. 36. Meffias. Vol. 2. p. 285-315. P (b) White's Comment. on Ifaiah. p. 229, &c.

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from whence he return'd after the Death of HEROD, (k) that it might be fulfill'd, which was spoken of the Lord by the Prophet, faying, "Out of Egypt have I call'd my Son." Which Words being Word for Word in HoSEAH, (1) and no where elfe to be found in the Old Teftament, are fuppofed to be taken from thence; where, according to their obvious Senfe, they are no Prophecy, but relate to a (m) paft Action, and That to the calling the Children of Ifrael out of Egypt; as, I think, is denied by few. This Paffage therefore, or, as it is ftiled, Prophecy of HoSEAH is faid by learned Men to be mystically or allegorically apply'd in Order to render MATTHEW'S Application of it juft; and they fay, all other Methods of fome learned Men to folve the Difficulties arifing from the Citation of this Prophecy, have proved unfuccessful.

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3. MATTHEW fays, (n) JESUS came and dwelt at Nazareth, that, it might be fulfill'd, which was spoken by the Prophets faying "He fhall be call'd a Nazarene." Which Citation does not exprefly occur in any Place of the Old Teftament, and therefore cannot be literally fulfill’d.

4. JESUS fays of JOHN the Baptift, (0) This is the ELIAS that was for to come. Wherein he is fuppofed to refer to thefe

(1) Hof. 11. 1.

(k) Matt. 2. 15. (m) See Whitton's Lect. p. 12. Ib. Eay, &c. p. 88, &c. Simon Hift. Crit. du N. Teft. c. 21. p. 260. Gunaus Rep. des Heb. Vol. 1. P. 376. Huetii Dem, Evang. p. 730.

(12) Matt. 2. 23.

(0) Ib. 11. 14.

Words

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