with him: It muft needs follow, that the Miracles of our Bleffed Saviour were not only a good Proof of his Divine Authority; but (what is to be farther prov'd) Such very Miracles in Kind, as the Meffiah (whenever he came into the World). was pre-ordained to do. of Ifaiab The 35th Chapter of Ifaiah's Pro- The 35th phefy, ('tis generally agreed) relates to Chapter the Meffiah, and that his coming, his confiderPerformances, and the Progrefs of his ed. Kingdom are there defcrib'd in pretty lively Colours. The Prophet indeed has employ'd a variety of Stile in its Compofition: he begins with the Figurative, Let the Wilderness and the folitary Place be glad; let the Defart rejoyce, and bloffom as a Rofe, &c. then he defcends to the Plain, and literal, ffay to them, that are of a fearful heart, be ftrong, fear not, behold your God will come with Vengeance, even God with a Recompence, he will come, he will come, and Save you, for the Eyes of the blind fhall be open'd, &c. and then he rises again in his ufual Metaphors and Allufions, f In the Wilderness shall waters break out, and ftreams in the Defert, and the parched Ground fball become a Pool, and the thirfty Land Springs of Water, &c. But whoever confiders the nature of Prophetical Writings, how various M 3 In which it. various they are in their Matter, how bold in their Figures, and how very uncertain in their Tranfitions, cannot be under any Surprize, that the Characters of the Meffiah fhould be fometimes more exprefs and literal, fometimes wrapt up in high Oriental Figures, and Enigmatical Allufions, and fometimes intermix'd with the Affairs of the feveral Ages, in which their Authors wrote; but should rather be induc'd to think, that a continued and uniform Narrative, without any Intermixture of this kind, would be a Solecism in Prophetical Compofitions, and expofe them to the like Objections, that Porphery once made against those of Daniel, for being too plain and too literal, viz. That they were an Hiftorical Account rather of Things paft, than any Predictions of Things to come. Tho' therefore the variety of Stile, Senfe the and mixture of Matter, and other Causes Fewstook of Obfcurity, were much greater, than is pretended; yet, that these Confiderations ought not to exclude the literal Senfe of those Paffages, which relate to the Works of the Meffiah, is plain from the Opinion of the ancient Jews, who very frequently tell us, that h when the Meffiah cometh, he will open the Eyes Targum on Ifa. xiii. 1, 6, 7. ! of k of the blind, and that all forts of Leprofies fhall be healed in his Days; is plain from the Notions of the Jews in our Saviour's Time, who, upon feeing him do fuch Miracles, as Isaiah here foretold, * glorified the God of Ifrael, and faid, this is of a Truth the Prophet that should come into the World; and (what is more) is plain from the use and application,that our Lord himself makes of them: For how much foever other Interpreters may disagree in the Acceptation of any Paffage, relating to the Merah, all ambiguity ought certainly to cease, after it hath been determin'd to one Senfe, by the Authority of a Person, working fuch Miracles, as could proceed from no lefs a Principle, than the Spirit of God. Let us then confider a little what the Occafion of our Saviour's Application, was. m Lord ap plied it. Upon the Report of our Lord's Mi- In what racles, which had now over-fpread all Senfe our Judæa, John the Baptift, being then in Prison, fent two of his Difciples to know whether he was the promis'd Chrift. John, who had fo often given an ample Teftimony of our Saviour, could not be ignorant of his Divine Miffion; and therefore the Meaning of his fending, was, not to inform himself, but to give M 4 his * Matth. xv. 21. i Vajikra Rab. on Lev. xiv. 2. n his Disciples an Opportunity of being fatisfied from his own Mouth and Actions. At that Hour (as the Hiftorian informs us) Jefus had cur'd many of their Infirmities, and Plagues, and to many, that were blind, had given Sight, when the Disciples of John addrefs themselves to him in Words, taken from the Prophet Ifaiak, Art thou he that should come, or look we for another Saviour? To which our Lord (pointing very probably to the Objects he had healed) replies in the very next Words of the Prophet, Go your way, and tell John what Things you have feen and heard, how the blind fee, the lame walk, the Lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raifed, the poor have the Gospel preached unto them, and bleed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me. Can any thing be more plain, than that our Saviour intended the Disciples should understand him in a literal Sense? Any thing more incongruous, than that he fhould refer them to certain Spiritual and Allegorical Cures for Conviction, and furdity of difmifs them at last with some fuch Mya contrary fical Harangue as this. The Ab Sense. "The Baptift, I find, has fent you "to enquire of me, whether I am the "Power Bp. Chandler's Defence, p. 436. Ifa. xxxv. 4. "Power you have feen in the Objects, "that at present stand before you; but "let not these feeming Miracles deceive έσ you. That blind Man, whose Sight "I have restored, that Lame, that Le per, that dead Perfon, to whom I have "given Soundness, and Limbs, and "Life itself, are not really and actually "cur'd. Whatever Ido of this kind, is "only by way of Figure and Allegory, "to denote my much greater Perform ances, in curing Mens Errors, and "Ignorance, and want of intellectual Knowledge of God, and his Providence, by adhering to the Letter of the Scrip"tures; in curing the Lameness and In"firmities of their Minds, the unclean"nefs of their Hearts and Affections, " and in raifing them, in fhort, from "the Death of Sin, unto a Life of Righ"teoufness. These are Performances "that do truly denote the Meffiah; but "these I fhall not attempt to do, until 66 my Second and Spiritual Advent, un"til the Time of the Evangelical Sab"bath: and therefore and tell your "Mafter, 'tis to that time I refer him "for a proper and authentick Proof of "my Miffion. go After fuch a ftrange and unaccountable Speech as this, what Notions, I pray, muft the Difciples of John have of our Saviour's' |