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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 Testament reach the end for which the were defign'd.

The great clearness of prophefies has ever been deem'd a mark among intelligent people, whether believers or unbelievers in prophefy, 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 forg'd.

If the reader defires farther fatisfaction, that the literal, obvious, and primary fense of this prophefy relates to ISAIAH's own fon, or not to Jesus, I refer him to (w) GROTIUS; to (x) HUETIUS (who confirms his explication with the autority of EUSEBIUS, BASIL, JEROM, CYRIL, THEODORET, and PROCOPIUS;) (y) to CASTALIO; (2) to EPISCOPIUS; to (a) CURCELLÆUs; to (b) HAMMOND;

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(u) Montagu's Acts and Monuments, &c. c. 2. Sect. 2. &c. Auguftin De Doctr. Chriftian. 1. 2. c. 5. Stanhope, lb. p. 11-32. Jenkins's Reafon. of Chrift. Vol. 2. P. 159-170. (w) Grotius in Matt. & Ifaiam, (x) Huetii Demon. Evang. p. 352---3 5 5 • (y) Caftalionis, Biblia.

P. 206.

(1) Epifcopii Inftit. 1. 3. c. 13. Se&t. 14.
(a) Curcellai Inftit. p. 220.

(b) Hammond's Annotations, &c.

Huetiana,

HAMMOND; to P 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 fenfe, yet confeffes there are very confiderable difficulties in the matter, and after all is forc'd to have recourfe to type and allegory); to our learned and ingenious commentator (b) WHITE; and even to (i) Mr. WHISTON himself, who shows the words of ISAIAH not to be applicable to JEsus's birth in their literal fenfe, according to the prefent text of ISAIAH; which is deem'd by all chriftians, but himself, the true text of ISAIAH.

2. Again, St. MATTHEW gives us another prophefy, which he fays was fulfill'd. He tells us, that Jesus was carry'd into Egypt, 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 «fon." Which words being word for word in HOSEAH, () and no where elfe to be found

(c) Nichols's Confer. with a Theist, Vol. 3.

(d) Simon Hift. Crit. du N. Teft. c. 21.

(e) Le Clerc Nov. Teft.

(f) Lamy Harmon. p. 36.

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(g) Kidder's Dem. of the Meffias, Vol. 2. p. 285-431§.

P. 292, 309, &c.

(b) White's Comment. on Ifaiah.

(i) Whifton's Effay, &c. p. 229, &c.

(k) Matt. 2. 15.

(1) Hof. 11. 1.

in the Old Teftament, are fuppos'd to be ta ken from thence; where, according to their obvious fenfe, they are no prophefy, but relate to a (m) past 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 ftil'd, prophesy of Ho SEAH is faid by learned men to be mystically or allegorically apply'd in order to render MATTHEW's application of it just; and they fay, all other methods of fome learned men to folve the difficulties arifing from the citation of this prophefy, have prov'd unfuc cessful.

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 Testament, and therefore the Old Testament cannot be literally fulfill'd therein.

4. JESUS fays of JOHN the Baptift, (0) This is the ELIAS that was for to come: Wherein, he is fuppos'd to refer to these words of MALACHI, (p) Behold, I will fend you ELIJAH the prophet, before the coming of the СС great

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(m) See Whifton's Lect. p. 12. &c. Simon Hift. Crit. du N. Cuneus Rep. des Heb. Vol. 1. Evang. p. 730. (n) Matt. 2. 23. (p) Mal. 4. 5.

Ib. Effay, &c. p. 88, Teft. c. 21. p. 260. p. 376. Huetii Dem. (0) Matt. 14. 14.

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great and terrible day of the Lord;" which, according to their literal fenfe, are a prophefy, that ELIJAH or ELIAS was to come in perfon, and therefore were not literally but myftically fulfill'd in JOHN the baptift. ho

5. Again, Jesus (q) cites this prophefy of ISAIAH, (r)" By hearing, ye fhall hear " and fhall not understand," and he affures us, that it was fulfill'd in his time in thofe to whom he spoke in parables; tho' it is manifeft, that, according to the literal fenfe, it relates to the obftinate Jews, who liv'd in the time of ISAIAH.

In fine, the prophefies cited from the Old Teftament by the authors of the New, do fo plainly relate, in their obvious and primary fenfe, to other matters than thofe which they are produc'd to prove; that to pretend they prove, in that fenfe, what they are produc'd to prove, is, (s) to give up the cause of christianity to Jews and other enemies thereof; who can fo eafily fhow, in fo many undoubted instances, the Old and New Teftament to have no manner of connection in that refpect, but to be in an (t) irreconcileable State.

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(q) Matt. 13. 34; 35:

(r) Ifa. 6. 9.

(5) Cuneus Rep. des Hebr. 1. 3. c. 8. Vol. 1. p. 372,

&c. Simon Bibl. Crit. Vol. 4. p. 513.

du Nov. Teft. c. 21, & 22.

(t) Whifton's Essay, &c. p. 282.

Ib. Hift. Crit.

Nay, this inconfiftency is fhown to their hands by the most learned men of the Chriftian Church; who, according to Mr. WHISTON, (u) have taken no fmall pains to fhow, that the apoftles arguments from the Old Testament are not grounded on the literal sense thereof. Grotius (w) fhows this of moft, if not all, of the prophefies and citations quoted from the Old in the New Teftament. DODWEL (x) in a pofthumous work, does (with the learned (y) Sir JOHN MARSHAM) refer even the famous prophefy in DANIEL about the weeks to the times of ANTIOCHUS EPIPHANES; wherein he fhows, that the expreffions taken from thence by (2) CHRIST, and urg'd by him as foretelling the deftruction of Ferufalem by the Romans, have only in a fecondary fenfe a respect to that deftruction. And that famous passage in the pentateuch, (a) A. prophet will the Lord God raife up unto thee, like unto me; to him shall ye hearken; (which fome interpret literally to mean JESUS CHRIST, and which (b) LuKE in two places refers to as spoken

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(u) Whifton's Effay, &c. p. 92. Ib. Lectures, p. 13, 19, 20, 38, 47,48.

(w) Grotius in Novum Teftamentum.

(x) Apud Brookesby's Dodwel's Life, p. 508. (y) Marbam Canon Cronicus, &c. p. 568(z) Matt.

24.

(a) Deut. 18. 15, 18. : (b) Acts 3. 22. & 7. 37%

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