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blessed accomplishment amongst them. But we have sufficient, ly 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 Gid 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.

§ 25. Although we have sufficiently confirmed our argument, and vindicated it from the exceptions of the Jewish masters; yet as 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, and as the modern Jews have apostatized from this faith, and countenance themselves in their infidelity, by the miserable evasions before mentioned: I shall yet add farther strength unto it from a parallel testimony, and from their own confessions. The parallel place intended, is that of Malachi iii. 1. “Behold I send my messenger, 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 n DVD, a little while; and Malachi answerably affirms, that he shall come on, suddenly, in the sense before declared. He who by Haggai is called on the

desire of all nations, with respect unto the Gentiles, all desirable things being laid up in him, is by Malachi called 78 1787 Dwpan Onx, 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, 1 1, he shall come to his temple. Further to clear what it is, that in both these places is intended, he is called, 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 this on Jer. xxx. 21. closing the

ויתר בא מלכיהון ,romise of the covenant with these words -and their king shall be anoint * מנהון ומשיחיהון מבניהון יתגלו

ed 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 to that temple.

§ 26. And here the Jews are at an end of all shifts and evasions. It cannot be said that the Messiah is not here intended; yet Rashi would fain evade it; the Lord whom ye seek, that is DDW, the God of Judgment: because they had said before, Ch. ii. 17. Where is the God of Judgment? Vain man! these words, Ch. ii. 17. 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, interpreted as to be expressive of the same earnest desire of seeking after the Lord, which is evidently meant by the words, the Lord whom ye seek, the angel of the covenant whom ye delight in; for both these are the same, as Aben Ezra acknowlegeth,

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The האדון הוא הכבוד הוא מלאך הברית כי הטעם נפול

Lord he is the glory, and the angel of the covenant, the same things being intended under a double expression.' And the person to whom he refers is evident, from 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, as 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, Mat. xi. 10. Mark i. 2. As for the Lord

הוא מלך המשיח הוא מלאך,they sought, he speaks plainly

This is the king 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

-he shall come suddenly to his tem פתאם יבוא אל היכלו,words לפי שלא נגלה הקצ ולא ;ple, lhe adds in their explication

נתבאר בספר דניאל אמר כי פתאום יבא שלא ידע אדם יום -Because the time of the end is not re • בואו טרם בואו שיבא

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vealed nor 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 cometh.' 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 would admit: and that all future expectation is there declared to be void, we shall immediately de

monstrate. At present we have proved, and find that they carr not deny, but that he was to come unto the second temple, while 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. Saned. cap. 11. the application of this place of Haggai unto the Messiah,`is ascribed unto Rabbi Akiba; his words, as they report them, are,

A • מעט כבוד אתן להם לישראל ליא אחר כך יבא המשיח

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

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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, is here confirmed by this double prophetical testimony; and the temple was utterly and irreparably destroyed above 1600 years ago. It must be acknowledged then, 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 objection 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 prediction

of Haggai and Malachi, that he should come unto the temple then built amongst them, 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 concerns of the glory of God and of their own eternal welfare, when they are left destitute of the Spirit of light and truth, and are sealed up under the efficacy of their own blindness and unbelief. But of this we shall treat further in the consideration of their general answers to the whole argument in hand.

EXERCITATION XIV.

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1. Daniel's weeks, Ch. ix. 24-27. proposed unto consideration. 2. At tempt 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, and sixty two and one. Reason of it. § 7. Objection thence answered. § 8. The cutting off the Messiah, and the destruction of the city, not joined in one week. § 9. Things mentioned, ver 24. peculiar to the Messiah. 10. The prophecy acknowledged 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. § 12-14. The prophecies of Daniel do not principally respect the churches of the latter days. § 15. Streights of time 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 accommo dated 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. Abarbinel'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 expres sions 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. 39. Opinion of Abarbinel and Manasseh Ben Israel. Cyrus not intended. Not Herod Agrippa. § 40. Not Magistracy. Africanus, Clemens, and Eusebius noted. § 41. Messiah came before the ceasing of the daily sacrifice. 42. Chronological computation, not necessary.

§ 1. THERE remains yet one place more, giving evident testi

mony unto the truth under demonstration, to be considered and vindicated. And this is the illustrious prediction and specification of time granted unto Daniel by the angel Gabriel. Ch. ix. 24-27. "Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people, and

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